Page 222 of Styx

with a tempered wrath – ‘that you would

never keep a secret from me.

Not ever again.’

‘And you never kept secrets from me?’

My voice rose sharply.

‘Why did you never tell me of Asteria’s

daughter, Hekate?’

Pallas ran his hand through his hair,

frustration making his fingers tremble.

‘What good would it do for you to know

of a child you may never meet?’

I retreated back from him in revulsion.

‘Who are you to make such decisions

for me? She is my niece, my friend’s daughter!’

Pallas’s eyes met mine and I saw molten fury.

‘I am not the one who has kept secrets

that could win or lose us the war!’

My split eyes flashed as I hissed,

‘And when was I supposed

to tell you of what happened,

when you are never here?’

My Poniard-shaped Words Made Their Mark

His amber eyes, which I once knew

to hold more warmth than the sun,

looked like the withered petals of a sunflower.

Realizing my own folly, my cruelty,

I reached out to touch his hand.

He evaded my touch.

‘Pallas,’ I said softly, ‘please.’

Kratos, who was asleep now on my lap,