Chapter 19- Epiphanies

(it's finally finished! sorry for taking so long, but this is the last chapter! this series is basically over, but I might make a spin-off for one of our other characters!)

TWENTY FOUR MINUTES AGO...

(AIDEN'S POV)

I turn around, letting out a scream when someone's hand curls tightly around my throat, slamming me into the far wall.

I cough at an attempt to inhale, prying at the person's hand.

"Wh-What're you doing?! Stop!"

My eyes focus on Crius, and he narrows his eyes.

"You mortals are sickening. You will pay for your wrong-doing."

He violently grabs my hands with his other, twisting them easily until they snap.

I let out a choked scream, tears streaming down my face as my lips go blue.

I can't breathe.

Fuck.

Aiden.

You're fine.

Just stay awake...stay awake...

My vision blurs as his hand tightens around my neck, and soon enough I slump onto the floor, unconscious.

*******

My eyes snap open again to feel a sharp pain in my stomach, hearing a high pitched laugh coming from my left.

"Do it again! Do it again!"

My weary eyes drift down to my bare abdomen that is spurting blood everywhere from multiple deep slash wounds.

I wince from another attack, my eyes gliding over to Theia, Cronus, and Crius.

The other Titans are nowhere to be found.

"What...hey! Stop it!"

I throw my hand forward to stop another blow, only to get a sharp knife straight through my palm.

I let out a yelp, wide eyes trained on the blade sticking through the middle of my hand.

"Look what you did...there's blood all over my new shirt now."

My eyes shoot up to Cronus, and I bite my lip so hard it starts bleeding.

"Why are you guys doing this?! I didn't do anything! I just got sucked down here! I-ow!"

Cronus grips my arm tightly, snapping it easily.

A wave of pain goes through me, and I shut my eyes at the site of my actual bone sticking from my arm.

"Listen little girl, you're the reason we're stuck back in here. You're going to pay for it. With. Your. Life."

Theia continues giggling, looking at me with a large grin.

"This is very fun...watching you suffer. But since I'm nice, let me ask you. How are you feeling?"

I grunt in response, my now completely shattered and useless arm now bleeding and suspended limply from the contraption I'm stuck in.

She narrows her eyes, teleporting in front of me and grabbing my chin.

"Answer me you useless human!"

I bite her hand, and she yelps, yanking her hand away.

"She's crazy! Kill her!"

"What?"

Crius snaps his head around.

"Theia—you said we were just—"

"I said we were just going to torture her twenty minutes ago! Kill her you useless shit!"

Crius stands up, and Cronus and Theia watch as he comes towards me, producing a large glowing sword.

"Goodnight Aiden."

My eyes widen as he brings the sword down at full force, and I feel a sting in my throat when everything goes black.

********

PRESENT.

(RYDER'S POV)

Our eyes snap on Hecate, Carden, Adrienne, Rylan, Tempest, Ryan, Mal, and Davina.

"Where did you guys come from-?"

Stella says while rubbing Alec's back gently, and Ryan's eyes snap on him.

"What happened?"

"The girl happened."

Thanatos says somewhat bitterly, and Ryan's eyebrows furrow slightly when her face fills with realization.

"Oh...Aiden? Did she get sucked into the Titans lair?!"

I nod before standing up from the floor.

"Someone tell me how the fuck you guys can help us. And why Hecate is here."

Hecate gives her a tight smile.

"Hello to you too, Ryder. I'm helping these little pipsqueaks. Seafoam can tell you how she can help. She's the witch...not me."

Her auburn eyes glide over to Alec with a slight frown.

"Hey. Boy?"

He looks at her with a pained expression.

"I couldn't help her again. I fucking suck, don't I?"

"You kinda do, son."

"Not helping, Thanatos!"

Stella seethes through her teeth, and he holds his hands up.

"Just saying facts, stellina."

Stella rolls her eyes and Hecate sighs.

"You don't suck, Alec, we're gonna go help her, alright?  You've gotta look on the bright side sometimes."

"I never thought I'd hear Miss Debbie Downer say something so motivational—"

"Shut your trap."

Hecate squats down, holding his face between her hands.

"Hey. Look at me. Not everything wrong that happens to her is your fault, boy. She's gonna be okay. Trust me. Now get your ass off the floor."

They both stand up, and Tempest smiles.

"Great. Now that you're done with your pity-party I can get onto what I was saying. So you see, I can teleport y'all into the Titans lair."

"So why aren't you doing it-?"

"Shut up Carden! There's always something I can't do. I cant get all of us down there. The limits 6. There's twelve of us."

"Just teleport us separately. Round one six and round two the other six."

Adrienne says, and Tempest nods.

"Oh. You are smart sometimes minty. Well, it's time to go down then I guess. Are you guys ready?"

*********

Me, Ryan, Mal, Thanatos, Hecate, and Tempest herself get teleported down last, and we hear a slight squeak.

"What was that?!"

I whisper, and and Alec turns to look at me.

"It sounded a lot like Myra...Myra?! Are you in here?!"

Silence.

"I guess not."

I say, and Carden points at a dark corner.

"Come, guys. I heard something down here."

********

(ALARIC'S POV)

Oh, fuck.

I rub my head, and Oakley's jaw drops.

"What happened to her?! My god this is horrible..."

Tears start streaming down Hazel's face as she stares wide eyed into Aiden's wide eyes, and I hear Myra's silent sobs in the distance.

What the hell am I meant to do?!

What am I meant to tell Alec?!

We all stare at each other as we hear familiar voices from down the hall.

We're in deep shit.

********

(ALEC'S POV)

We continue down the twisting narrow hallway, until we come out into the open.

The first thing I see is them with blood everywhere.

The next thing I see is her mutilated body.

My eyes then snap on Alaric, who's eyes widen.

"It wasn't me, Alec. I wouldn't kill her. You know that."

My face drains of all color, and my jaw clenches so tight it feels like my teeth are going to shatter.

I charge at him, and Hazel slides right in my way with both of her hands on my arms trying to restrain me.

My eyes snap on hers and I glare at her.

"You can't possibly be defending the guy who killed your sister—killed my Aiden, Hazel. Move."

I pry her hands from my arms, lightly pushing her out of the way.

Hazel stumbles slightly, eyes wide as I grab Alaric by the throat.

Alaric's red and blue eyes are trained on mine as I squeeze tighter on his neck, and he tries to pull my hands away when I crumple to the floor, blacking out.

Myra lowers her hand slowly, eyes wide.

"Oh no."

*********

(HAZEL'S POV)

I let out a gasp, running over to Alaric who's rubbing his neck with a pained expression.

"Alaric are you okay?!"

He nods, eyes moving over to mine.

"I'm fine, Hazel."

We both look over to Alec, passed out on the floor with more blood dripping from his nose.

"Fuck. Myra? What did you do?!"

Stella exclaims, shaking Alec slightly who doesn't respond.

Myra's eyes go wide.

"I'm—I'm sorry, I didn't want Alaric to get hurt—"

Thanatos pats her shoulder and Myra snaps her head around to look at him.

"Don't fret, my british bitch. I'm sure the boy's fine. But what in the world happened?! And who is that?"

Acacia sighs.

"Acacia Evans. Im an archer for a large group of forest nymphs. We came here to try and find her, but we didn't find her alive. We found Aiden dead."

Thanatos makes a face when we hear a grunt.

Alec lifts himself off the floor and we stare at him blankly.

"Are you okay...?"

Ryder asks, and he looks at her.

"I'm fine."

His eyes switch back to Alaric.

"Sorry..."

Alaric waves his hand in dismissal.

"It's okay."

Alec sighs, his tired green eyes briefly brushing over Aiden again.

He grimaces.

"It wasn't a dream. She's still dead."

Althea clears her throat and we all turn around.

"Guys I think I can heal her...it'll just...it'll just take a little bit of time and a lot of my energy."

We all stare at Althea, then Pandora who grimaces.

"Althea you'll die if you pour all of your energy into Aiden to save her."

Althea's blue eyes snap on her briefly.

"There's things you do for people that you love that you don't do for others. Everyone will be happier to have her here."

********

(ALTHEA'S POV)

I feel everyone's eyes on me as I drop down on my knees in Aiden's blood, holding both of my hands over her chest.

I gently place them down, trying not to get freaked out at how ice cold she is.

I release a breath, shutting my eyes.

"In Fate's hands she lies, every ounce of life gone, this should bring her back in time, for her last moments to be redone. I allow you to use my energy, transport my life into her, so we can trade places, and her life can begin again."

I begin to hum the small song, letting out a small gasp when the wind gets knocked out of me.

I continue humming, the world beginning to spin when I fall backwards onto the floor with a thump, not before I feel her chest move underneath my hands.

*******

(HAZEL'S POV)

I run over to both of them, dropping down onto the floor.

I watch in shock as Aiden's limbs go back together, my eyes then snapping on Althea.

Fuck.

She's out cold, and color quickly drains from her face.

"Guys?! Someone help!"

Alaric, Alec, Stella, and Carden run over, and everyone else begins to crowd behind us as Aiden shoots up, letting out a gasp.

"What in the world-?!"

We all stare at her.

"Aiden?"

"Hazel?"

I hug her tightly, and she freezes, before hugging me back.

"What happened?!"

"You—"

"Aiden?"

Her eyes snap behind me, and she scrambles forward, hugging Alec tightly.

"Alec!"

He holds her tightly, sighing.

"I thought you were gone!"

"I'm here...I'll always be here..."

She pauses.

"Wait. Guys?! Where did Althea go?"

*********

(AIDEN'S POV)

I detach myself from Alec, pushing past everyone to see Myra, Acacia, and Hecate looking over her body.

"She's gone."

Myra says, her tone flat as she begins shaking slightly.

Everything goes blank, and Tempest sighs.

"I hate to be insensitive, but if we don't leave now we won't be able to get out of this place alive."

We all stare at her, and I start to cry as we get teleported out of the Titans lair.

********

We all land back in the green field, and Alaric holds Althea's body in his arms with a pained expression.

"We have to leave this place before anything else bad happens."

Stella says, her silver eyes cloudy with tears.

Hecate continues to mumble under her breath.

"I told Athena I'd fucking protect her daughter. I told her no one would get hurt."

Tempest frowns.

"It was her choice, Hecate. She sacrificed herself for Aiden. Can't you see this is what she wanted? She wanted Aiden with us. She wanted us to bring Aiden back alive."

My heart squeezes in my chest as I realize how much Althea cared for me, she cared so much that she'd take her own life away.

I start crying, and Alec hugs me.

I sob into his chest, and Hazel still stands there, frozen in pure shock.

"Thea..."

She looks at her body in Alaric's arms, then his face.

"She isn't gone, is she?! Alaric?!"

"She's gone, hazelnut. I'm sorry."

"She can't be. She can't be fucking gone, Alaric!"

Hazel breaks down crying, and Tempest teleports us to the end of Duskmire Woods, where we see a large swirling portal.

Through my teary eyes I walk closer to it, and I look up at the sky.

It's twilight.

We all stand at the face of the portal, turning around to see Myra and Acacia standing together, holding each other's hands.

"We can't leave the Sinners Realm. We're both bound here by magic."

Myra says with a small smile, and my eyebrows furrow.

"We will break that bond. Tempest, you can do that for us, right?"

Tempest sighs, stepping forward.

"I suppose I can. Just for you."

She smiles, before holding out both of her hands.

Acacia takes one and Myra takes the other, and they both let out a gasp as a black mist gets sucked out of them, dispersing into the air.

Myra's once purple eyes turn blue, and she looks at Acacia then all of us with a large smile.

"The curse is lifted...thank you all so much. For everything. I'm free."

She and Acacia walk with the rest of us through the portal, and it shuts behind us.

*********

All of us exit the portal, into the main room of Hades's house once again.

We hear footsteps and see Athena running through an arch, her happy eyes going dark when she sees Althea's body laying limply in Alaric's arms.

He steps forward, laying down her body with a sad expression.

Athena drops down, lifting her body into her arms, tears streaming down her face.

"What happened to my daughter?! What happened to my daughter?!"

I slide between Carden and Ryder, staring down at her as more tears fall down my cheeks.

"She took her own life to save mine, Athena. I don't know how to repay her."

Athena's bright eyes focus on mine, and through her tears she manages a smile.

"Of course she did. That's my Thea alright."

She hugs Althea's body when I hear a familiar voice.

"Aiden? Hazel?"

Me and Hazel turn around to see Hades, and we both run over, hugging him tightly.

He hugs us back, smiling.

"Thank goodness you guys are okay."

We smile and he opens his mouth to say something else when another deep voice cuts in.

"I didn't take you as the fatherly type."

Hades looks up to see Thanatos, laughing.

"I didn't either. Trust me."

I then release myself, smiling softly.

"I'm going to go see Alec. I'll be back."

Hades nods, motioning I go.

"Go ahead, Aiden. I have to talk to Thanatos anyways."

I nod, turning around and jogging towards Alec and Alaric, jumping into Alec's arms, squeezing him as tears run down my cheeks.

He freezes, before squeezing me back.

Alaric grins, eyes moving away from the both of us.

"Ah, the lovebirds are reunited once again. Don't mind me. I believe Hazel is awaiting my arrival."

He winks, before disappearing into thin air.

I plant a kiss on his cheek, smiling.

"This is finally over!"

He grins.

"It is. Now I can hang out with you."

I grin back.

"Yes you can."

I look behind me at Tempest sitting on some steps, frowning.

"I'll be back."

He rubs my head, messing up my hair.

"Do your thing, Aiden."

I nod, smoothing my hair before going over to Tempest, sitting next to her.

"Hey."

"Hi."

She looks at me.

"What in the world are you doing over here?! Go talk to your friends."

"What're you doing over here, Tempest?!"

"Planning my trip across the Styx. I have to go back home. Do you still want that potion? To forget Alec?"

I shake my head.

"Never wanted it in the first place. I don't need to forget the person I love the most, Tempest."

She smiles.

"I didn't think so. Thanks for coming to talk to me, Aiden. It's nice to talk to you. I have to go now...don't forget to name you and Alec's children after me. Muah! Bye sweets!"

She disappears out the door, and I stare blankly at where she once was.

Me and Alec's children?!

********

LATER THAT NIGHT...

After planning Althea's burial, me and Alec go outside.

I sigh, and he looks at me.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just—you aren't going to leave me again, are you?"

I look up at him, and he rubs my back gently.

"I won't leave you, sweetheart. That's not what you do when you love someone, right?"

I sniffle.

"Right."

I hold onto him tightly, trying not to be the emotional ass I am and keep the tears in.

"I'll always be by your side, Alec."

Alec strokes my hair, looking down at me with a small smile before back at the sky.

"And I'll always be by yours, Aiden."