Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

I watch as his skin becomes sallow and his eyes turn soft blue. He speaks again but his voice is less confident than it was before, “Okay. Stop. Please stop. I will give you what you want. You can have your baby.”

I let go of his chin roughly, letting him fall forward. My arms cross in front of me and I watch him grab his chest, panting and looking up at me.I meant it when I said I would suck his energy dry. Besides, now I have what I need from him; I have no use for his egotistical ass.

“Oh, an energy empath, well played, Iokaste,” Hera smirks with her chin against her hand as she watches me jump down from Zeus’s throne to stand back with Amari and Jasen, “Selene, with her gifts, your daughter would make a good Olympian. Are you sure you want to let her continue as part of the Manae?” °

“She has her place, Hera. We are here to discuss Iokaste and the future l and scape of the Manae. Not her place in the hierarchy of the Gods,” Mother says in a damning tone.

“Iokaste,” a man’s voice says from behind me, “word has traveled that you have devised a plan to bring balance to the Manae.”

A man sitting behind me says. I turn to face a muscular blonde man with curly hair. He’s wearing a short toga, witha metal hat, and winged sandals. Hermes, Messenger of the Gods, is addressing me as if I didn’t just suck almost all the life force out of Zeus.

Zeus’s energy is still coursing wildly through me. I swallow hard as I find room for it to be contained in my soulso it doesn’t affect my decisions. Even contained in its spot, I feel the power of the staticky force crackling inside me, begging to be released.

“Yes, Sir. I have. The last time I was here, Zeus told me I would have tough decisions to make. SoI made them based on the limited knowledge I have. The wheels are in motion as we speak. They have been for centuries, but I have finally crossed the Rubicon in this lifetime. I have to see it through,” I tell him, "It needs to be finished before I move on to the next lifetime. I don't

know if I will ever get all these memories back to be capable of completing my mission."

“Iokaste, we have heard about the details of your plan. We have seen your sacrifices, and commend you for seeing this plan through. We do not fight all wars on the battlefield, as you are soon to find out, Daughter of the Moon Goddess. You truly are the warrior Selene prides you to be,” the man sitting next to Hermes says. There is no confusing him to anyone else. Ares stands as tall as Zeus. He is broad and muscular like Bronx, with light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He is wearing an ornate golden chest plate and matching plumed helmet.

“Thank you, Sir,” I accept the compliment from the God of War.

Mother speaks again, “Iokaste, we want you to know that while we cannot interfere with your plan, we all support it. Even dear Amari and her mate will help. If you can see this through to the end, you will be rewarded.”

“Rewarded?” I ask, confused, “I don’t want a reward for doing what is right. Even if the right thing is difficult. I just want this mess to be fixed. I have worked hard for too many lifetimes to give up now.”

“And when we explained this to your sister and her mate, they agreed. That is why they want to help,” Hera smiles warmly.

“Help? How?’ I turn my attention to Amari.

“Kas, you have everything you need to succeed within you, and it seems you have finally learned how to balance it all. You have a powerful pack to support you and friends who truly love you to guide you. After all these eons of watching you struggle, I can finally say I am proud to call you my sister,” Amari looks at me with tears in her eyes as Jasen places his hand on her back, “If we stay, we will only be in the way of what you need to do. Jasen and I have accepted our fate. We will greet you with open arms in our next lifetime, darling.”

“Next lifetime? Amari, what are you talking about? What's going on? Jasen?” I try to reach for her, but she and Jasen stand back. An invisible barrier shimmers up between us and I am trapped. I pound on the barrier and yell for Amari. She smiles weakly and turns her body to be held by her mate.

Zeus seems to have recovered from me taking his energy. I try to find a way around the barrier, but Iam trapped in the center of the compass rose. Zeus takes a deep breath and creates a ball of electricity in his hand.

“I'm sorry, child. I have no way to make this less painful,” he says sympathetically at Amari, then hurls the electricity at her and Jasen.

I watch in horror as Amari and Jasen drop to the ground, still in each other's arms, staring blankly at the sky.

No. No. No. No. No.

I can’t breathe. I press my hands against the barrier and push hard against it. It feels like I’m running through quicksand as the barrier gives way to my force. I have to get to Amari and Jasen. Maybe there is still time. Maybe I can heal them. The harder I try to run, the further away I feel. The room around me turns blurry and dark until I'm running in pitch blackness.

As Icome out of the darkness, I feel Lex close to me again, “It’s okay, Kas. I’m right here. What happened? I saw Mother, then you disappeared.” I try to answer her but I can’t, “Amari. She...I...Jasen...”

“Come on, Kas, keep making your way back. Everyone is waiting for you,” Lex says soothingly, “Follow me.”

I let Lex’s spirit lead me back to my body. I can feel myself shaking and sobbing as the room around me comes into focus. Bronx is holding me in his muscular arms, rocking me and rubbing my back, trying to soothe me. Delilah is holding my hand, chanting a spell under her breath. Her eyes are navy blue as she looks at me witha worried expression.

James and Marco are standing behind them. James has his hand on Marco's shoulder. Marco has his hand to his mouth and tears in his eyes.

I look around the room, trying to absorb what I'm seeing. I’m not in the halls of Mount Olympus. Maybe it was a bad dream. Maybe it was a premonition and hasn’t happened yet. There’s no way I just watched Zeus murder Amari and Jasen. The Olympians, Amari, and Jasen seemed like they already knew it was going to happen.

I try to move so! can explain what I just experienced, but a searing, crushing pain forces me into the fetal position.

I've never felt pain so intense. Not even during the worst beating of my life by my former Alpha. Not even when Bronx almost died, and I felt our mate bond break. It feels like I’m being torn into tiny pieces and those pieces are being lit on fire. I hear myself screaming and wailing Amari’s name. It hurts so badly,

I can’t even catch my breath to cry. I feel my face getting red as the torment grinds deeper into my bones. My whole body shutters trying to expel the agony, but there’s nowhere for it to go.

Bronx is talking to me, trying to find out what is happening. I can hear him, but I can’t answer. Delilah is trying to use a magic spell to calm me down, but it isn't working. All I can focus on is the pain and Amari being killed in front of me.

I see Marco on the phone. His face goes pale as he looks at me, then his eyes haze over when he sends a mind link.

“Get Katherine on the phone. Now,” Bronx says, “Now!”