¹Royal Cries.

014.

ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter fourteen

━━ PERCY HAD LEFT to talk to Lord Hermes. Elisa figured they had a lot to talk about so she let them be. Annabeth and she had gotten separated on their trek back to the elevator; Athena wanted to talk to her daughter and was clear on having it be a private conversation. Elisa wasn't really in the mood to test the Goddess of Wisdom, either.

That left Elisa alone on her way to the elevator that would take her back to the mortal world. She really wasn't excited to see what it looked like after the battles that had raged. She wouldn't have to clean it up, but it would be a nasty reminder of what had happened.

But an ever-changing goddess strode toward her from one of the gardens. Elisa had only ever seen one goddess who changed forms the way this one did.

"Hello, Lady Aphrodite," she said, trying her best to sound kind and not-so-tired.

"Ah, Elisa!" the goddess said happily, clapping her hands together. "We haven't had the pleasure of speaking yet."

The Goddess of Love was right. They had never spoken one-on-one before. Elisa had only ever met the goddess once—two winters ago on the winter solstice. But she didn't know Aphrodite wanted to speak to her at all back then.

The goddess was as pretty as ever. Her form flickered, struggling to pick what to look like. Annabeth told Elisa that the goddess looked like whoever they thought was the most attractive. But Aphrodite's smile, as blinding as it was, had a diminished quality to it. And for a moment, Elisa thought she saw Sliena's blue eyes and then Callum's warm brown ones.

Elisa tried to keep the smile up. "I didn't know you wanted to speak to me," she admitted.

"Of course I would!" said Aphrodite. "You've peaked my attention since that quest to save Artemis."

The goddess had shown up with Ares back then, but she had only talked to Percy, not to Elisa. And the daughter of Dionysus said that to her.

The goddess waved her hand dismissively. "I only had so much time. I wanted to talk to you then, too. But I figured I would have an easier time getting something out of Percy."

Elisa blinked. "I'm sorry, but I'm not following."

Aphrodite sighed. "All in due time, I guess." She grabbed the black-haired girl on the shoulder giving it a squeeze. Her green eyes turned teary and her voice grew softer when she spoke next, "I also wanted to ... Your father has told you the gods can only do so much for their children, of course. And he's right, unfortunately. I want to ask you to check on my children. With Callum and Silena gone—" Her voice broke.

Elisa tried to swallow the tightness in her throat. "I will," she promised. "You didn't have to ask. I was going to anyway."

Aphrodite took a deep breath, shaking her head. She tried to smile at the girl before her. "I also wanted to say thank you for loving Callum and Silena. Everyone deserves love."

The daughter of Dionysus watched the goddess sadly. "They of all people did," she agreed. "And I won't stop loving them just because they're gone."

The Goddess of Love gave the girl one final smile before heading down the grand street of Olympus, her head raised high.

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