TAMING APOLLO | completed

26. ultralight beam

I must have passed out and now I'm in my own head.

"Did you just knock me out?" I ask, stepping back from Cyrene who merely shakes her head, an idle smile on her lips.

"No, the power surge from Apollo did. Fated love remember?" She asks me, her smile not quite reaching her cold, dark eyes.

"So, why did you bring me here?" I ask, glancing back at the dancing ten year olds making faces at my younger self behind Mademoiselle's back.

She shrugs. "This has always been my favourite memory of you. Just look at you... all small and defenseless. If I wanted to, I could squish you under my feet like a bug." She whispers calmly, glaring daggers at me.

So, she is angry about the kiss.

"Was that a threat?" I ask her, taking slow hesitant steps back and she turns to face me, eyes widened in alarm as a bitter chuckle vibrates out of her chest.

"Heavens no." She sighs, flicking her hair neatly. "I don't make idle threats, peasant. I make promises." Her face has suddenly changed from her not-so-warm smile into a threatening glower, brown eyes burning with fury as she pushes me.

I stumble backwards, within the blink of an eye, we are no longer in my childhood ballet studio but in an empty white mass of space.

I reach out to grab onto her, but find that my arms have been constrained. My eyes widen in alarm as I look around.

I'm tied to a chair with rope, similar to the way I tied Apollo down when we met again. I try to break free, but the rope is stronger than I anticipated.

"We had a deal. You would help free me so that I could be with Apollo, but you betrayed me." She's leaning dangerously close to me, a wild look in her eyes as she clicks her tongue.

"I didn't! I would never – " but I'm interrupted when she slaps my cheek, leaving behind a hot mark I know I'll feel in the morning.

"You say all these sweet things to me, but you lie! How could you kiss him? How could you fall for him?" She screams, her voice echoing through the white mass of space.

My brows furrow as I try to find the right words to say to her. "No! You're wrong, I haven't, I — "

"Don't lie to me, peasant." She tuts, rolling her eyes. "I'm in your head, I have access to your every thought, your every emotion. You are falling for my fated love!" I struggle against the rope, attempting to pry myself free but failing.

"No, I can explain. I'm just... I'm confused, I would never." She puts her palm up in my face, signaling for me to stop talking.

"I've had enough of your lies." She deadpans. "I've been on the sidelines while you've been in control too long." She tells me drastically, her eyes darkening as she licks her lips in anticipation. "I tried to be your friend, but now you get to find out what it's like to be on the sidelines." She whispers, straightening.

My heart stops for a moment, trying to figure out what she's got planned for me.

She snaps her fingers, glaring down at me as chains begin to materialize in her hands. "You are going to be stuck here forever. And since you want what's mine so much, well... you can get to know how it feels to be me." I struggle harder against the rope binding me to the chair.

"No." My eyes widen when I realise what she plans to do. She wants to bind me here while she goes out and pretends to be me!

I can't let that happen!

I won't let that happen!

"I've had twenty-two years to study you, so don't you worry. They won't know the difference." She grins maliciously as the metal chains in her hand clang loudly.

"No! You'll never get away with this! We can still talk about it! This isn't you Cyrene! I know you, you aren't the bad guy!" I whimper as tears begin to stream down my paling face.

She says nothing, lips turning over into a smile as she takes slow calculated steps towards me to bind me.

Before she can put the cuffs on me, however, the ground below starts to rumble. It sounds like an earthquake, my heart beats harshly against my chest as Cyrene curses loudly but the sound is drowned out by the earthquake.

"What is going on?" I ask her, trying to steady myself but to no avail. The princess glowers at me, rolling her beautiful brown eyes.

"You're stirring," she explains, grabbing onto the material of my shirt. "Hear me and hear me well, you peasant; next time you close your eyes will be the last time, got that?!" She hisses into my ear, just as everything goes dark, and I've drifted back into a black abyss.

The last thing I remember is her merciless brown eyes glaring into mine.