(He Never Should've Done That)

Korri POV

I get out of bed and press my ear to the door.

"He never should've done that," says Lola.

"I'm just plain surprised by his handwriting." Apollo breathes.

"That's not what we should be worried about. Do you think she knows?"

"Unlikely. If he can barely convey that, then it's very unlikely."

"If she's the reincarnation of Sol, then wouldn't they be siblings?" Lola asks.

"Not really, they wouldn't biologically be siblings, the closest would be half-siblings. Sol didn't have the same mom or dad as Ares."

"Still, he's an idiot."

Apollo laughs. "I thought you were gonna call him a twit."

"He is also, that." And their footsteps recede down the stairs.

ARES? I call out through telepathy again.

I get to my feet, regretting it from the sharp hiss of air I suck in through my clenched teeth.

My leg hurts.

I put on hand to the wall, and other around my side, hoping I don't fall—and/or throw up—and make another commotion.

I succeed in only one of those things.

No one hears anything, or, at least I think so, and I creep down the stairs.

Apollo and Lola are sitting at the dining table.

"Do you think she knows what he meant?" Lola asks.

"Again, unlikely." Apollo says, raising his eyebrows. "Do you think she does?"

"Depends on what exactly." She says, her words turning into a whisper.

I'm too far away to hear what she said, but I definitely hear Apollo. "Good point, but do you think that Ares knows?"

"No. Probably not, from what I've seen of him is that he's as dense as a chunk of granite. Like he wouldn't even know what an admirers' letter was if he got smacked in the face with it."

Apollo shrugs. "That is a fair description. I've seen such things happen."

"I'm gonna go check on Korri."

I hurry back up to my room and shut the door softly behind me.

I go back to bed—which felt good compared to before—and try to put her words together in my head.

Did she tell Apollo... SHE DID! THAT TRAITOR!

Lola comes up a few minutes later, with the note in hand, and sits on the bed beside me.

I smile. "The last time someone sat beside me on my bed like this, was when Ares fell asleep on me."

"Seriously?" Lola says, a smirk forming on her face.

"Seriously," I chuckle. "He went to go see his dad, but when he came back, he just sat by me and waited, even though I was a complete stranger, and a pretty mean person, he just waited, and waited, and eventually, fell asleep on me. He got all fired up when I woke him up."

"Sounds like he's committed." She mumbles.

I look at her. "What do you mean committed?"

"Just a comparison to other people," she lies.

"How old are we?"

"Well, this year we're twelve."

"I've missed almost a year of my life. Ares will have been about thirteen by now."

"I have lost time too."

"What do you mean? I've been out for nearly a year, while you've been up and at 'em."

She looks at me. "I've lost nearly a decade without my sister, and without even knowing it. But what did Ares mean by Fey?"

"What?"

"Why did Ares say 'My Fey,' at the end of the note?" Lola repeats.

"He's favored calling me that." I say, smiling at the memory.

"What does it mean?"

"A fey," I say, "is a fairy, always trying to explain that they aren't a fairy, but they're their own darker mystical race. I've always thought that he called me a fairy by that name."

Lola grins. "That seems romantic,"

I raise my eyebrows. "Where is all this romance stuff coming from?" I ask, even though I was pretty certain it was from Aphrodite, 'cause apparently she's her favorite goddess now.

"What's it like, being you?" Lola says, changing topic.

"Wondering when you are going to die, mainly. But also wondering, if under different circumstances would he have ever found me, and if not, would his sister be alive, but also wondering if it's just all a dream."

"That just seems... busy."

"When you're wondering when you're gonna die, it isn't much."

"Fair point,"

"Have you ever wondered if you were gonna die?"

"I actually have. But I've wondered if I would die of guilt, guilt of losing my only sister, and now, her closest friend."

"Back to what we were saying before," I say. "Where is this kissy stuff coming from?"

"Well," she says, twirling another lock of hair. "I've always been thinking that it was a trait from Aphrodite, 'cause Apollo said I may or may not have some kind of connection to her."

"I still think we're kids. And we should wait till we're older to worry about that shit. What were you and Apollo talking about earlier?"

"About what the note meant," she says. "And to discuss other things that I was wondering if he knew what exact things he was conveying."

She isn't lying.

"What do you think he meant?"

"Things that I'm sure he regrets." she says, "I'm gonna bring up some food, unless you can walk down there without spilling your guts on the floor."

I smile at her sarcasm, "I can...ish. I'd do better knowing that Ares was down there too, though. Granted, he'd have probably fallen asleep on me, waiting for me to wake up."

"We all would feel more comfortable with him here." She sighs. "Do you want me to help you or...? I know that normally Ares would've asked you."

He would've.

My smile fades. "Yeah. Anyway, I don't need any help. I'm good."

"Okay," she says and opened the door.

I get up, realizing that I am in the same clothes and condition—besides hair tangled, teeth unbrushed, a bit taller, my nails a bit longer, and covered almost head to toe in a bruised purple—I am the exact same.

"Whoa," I say standing, a wave of dizziness flying over me. The contorting feeling coming all over again.

Lola squeezes my wrists. "Are you okay?" She asks seriously.

I don't think I've even heard her actually serious before...

"Just not used to walking anymore." I stammer.

"Okay, I'll help you then,"

"But-"

"No 'but's. You almost fell down, no."

I stand up. "I'm fine, I insist." I walk—more accurately hobble—down the stairs toward the kitchen, to see Apollo doing his darnedest to try and cook, and failing miserably.

"Um, do you need any help?" I ask as I walk into the room.

"Nope, got it covered," he says. "GAH!" He runs over to the burning pot on the stove.

I walk over. "No, no you don't."

I glare at him, and his stupidity, and take over the cooking. I make the only thing that I can, a slice of toast and an egg—the exact thing I had made for Ares...

At least it's better then burnt shit that's probably poisonous. Such as holly...

It smells like burnt holly anyway...

"I have to admit," Apollo says, with genuine pleasure bolted on his face—no matter how hard he tries to hide it, it is just plain obvious. "I couldn't have done better."

"This was the same thing you did for Ares," Lola breathes.

"Ares is way better at this stuff than I am." I say. "But it'll save us from starvation. Wait, how did you guys survive in the first place? Apollo can't cook, and Lola," I glance at her, "You never learned how too. Plus, last time I actually talked to you, you wanted to kill each other."

"Well," Lola says, "I just pulled out a few old boxes of Fruit-Loops out of the back of the cupboard," She gestured toward the kitchen.

"Well, tomorrow, I'm going to find Ares. So if you guys wanna ditch me..."

"NO!" Lola slams her fists on the table. "NO YOU ARE NOT. I will chase you down to the Underworld and back to have you not do that."

"I go where she goes." he says, with a look that blatantly expressed, 'Don't do it. Please be rational. She'll do something crazy if you don't.'

"I need to find Ares. I will find him." I snap and stride off toward my bedroom door.

I grab my bag, five pairs of clothes, and a water bottle. I've been lucky so far, I've even danced with death.

I won't die now unless Hades stabs me in the back. (Granted, I've never seen him, but he would definitely have the power to do so... I think.)

I start toward the door, and Lola and Apollo come up from behind me.

"I suggest you bring at least a somewhat fancy gown. You are going to confront a goddess. It's better to be polite." Apollo pulls out a maroon gown from his bag, which seemed light as a feather, compared to Lola's. "I saw this in Ares's room," he says, avoiding my gaze. "I remember when Sol would wear it. Her midnight hair waving down her back, she looked like a daughter of a goddess." He smiles softly at the memory. "Anyway, I found it on his desk, it was in supreme condition. It looked like it was set aside, maybe meant it as a gift, or something."

Lola glances at him, and raises her eyebrows, almost as if to say 'Seriously?'

He nods.

"You guys are still following me?"

Apollo shrugs. "I'm the only one here who knows how to get there." He bites his lip. "And to save Ares..."

I look at them. "Then let's get a move on."

And we run out of the house and toward the towering mountains beyond.