Page 34 of Heroines of Olympus

The feeling remains, even once her pulse is even, and her heartbeat is steady. It must be lingering from her dream, but a nagging voice in the back of Hestia’s mind says something is wrong.

Avoiding the cold wet puddle of her sheets, she lays down on the sofa, tossing and turning there before falling into a fitful sleep that is thankfully devoid of any nightmares.

* * *

When she wakes,the looming dread is still present, clawing and nagging quietly in her heart. It plagues her throughout the day, and has her looking over her shoulder and monitoring everyone closely, certain at any point her world is going to come crashing down.

The clock on the wall in her chambers ticks and the normally soothing noise is grating. With twenty minutes left to get to the grotto to meet Dionysus, it is time to get moving. The investigation into Hera id slow going and tedious, but Hestia hopes that someone would do the same for her if she disappeared one day.

The walk through the compound is nerve-racking, and as she makes it to the outer walls of the Temple and through the gate, she breathes a little easier.

While walking below a series of windows, Hestia hears Aphrodite’s voice coming from the room above. What are these rooms? Security outpost?

“Make sure every soldier has their eyes peeled for rebel activity at the Love Temple event. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you personally responsible, Commander.”

“Yes, goddess.” A voice answers. Hestia recognizes it as Orpheus, second in command of the Heroes, and personal security to Zeus.

“Nicodemus should be checking in shortly. He has proven his usefulness thus far. Let’s see where that can take us.”

Nicodemus? Nicodemus.

The captain of the Leviathan, Nicodemus. Allegiance Council member, Nicodemus.

Hestia has to warn them.

She abandons her route to the grotto. Dionysus will understand.

Each second ticks by agonizingly slow as the walk back the way she came takes forever.

When Hestia bumps into Ares, he chuckles at her with his usual menacing air.

“I think you should be careful where you’re going there, don’t you? Accidents can happen too easily.”

Is there more meaning behind that? Is he on to her, or is he being himself?

The uncertainty is driving her mad. She needs to get to the library the moment it will be empty. Her heart is in her throat as she races to deliver this information. After, hopefully Hestia can make another attempt at getting some sleep.

As expected, the library is silent and vacant. Hestia feels weak and shaky as she trembles with anxiety. Her intuition is screaming. If only it would be more clear. What does it mean?

She tries to focus on getting the message sent to the Allegiance. The stone is flashing and her heart pauses, ready to shatter at any moment if this feeling has anything to do with what is about to come through the stone.

“Hello, My Fire.” She blushes at the silly nickname. A joke between them regarding the constant misinterpretation of her sacred duty, maintaining the Flame of Knowledge.

The splintering cracks that have started to form recede and Hestia’s heart is momentarily safe from shattering as Alec’s voice comes through, the jovial tone soothing her even if only a little.

Alec keeps the mood light for a minute, and Hestia is grateful for the slight reprieve. The message ends on a more sobering note.

“Preparations are heavily underway and even though I’m thrilled to be back on the Isle, I’m itching to get going. Every second I think of those nymphs being held captive, and what they will be forced to do, I can’t stand it,” he says and she can hear the pain in his voice. It is one thing that allows Alec to hold space in her heart. His anger at injustice and desire to right it matches her own and makes her thinkheshould be the one nicknamed “Fire.”

“As always, please be careful. It’s difficult having one’s heart be so far away.”

Hestia blinks at those words.His heart? Could he possibly love her? Does she love him? Her head shakes at the silly thought. Of course she loves him… is sheinlove with him as well?

The auction details spill out of her as she tries to be as clear and concise as possible. So much care is going into making sure the nymphs have everything they need until the Allegiance can get them home.

Too often, despite everything being risked spying on the gods, Hestia feels like an imposter amongst the rebels. They are out there getting things done while she sits in the lap of luxury, disgusted by all of it.

One time Hestia mentioned this to Alec and his next message was full of reassurances of the importance of what she is doing. He reminded her that being inches from the wrath of the gods every day and working against them in secret is equally as dangerous as everything the Allegiance does, if not more so. Hestia is as much a member of the Allegiance as anyone else who has taken the oath, and for the first time Hestia felt like she really was a part of everything, not just an informant bystander.

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