After we finished enjoying the meal, the king provided us with rooms to rest, Milo's room right across from mine. Before I knew it, I fell into a void. Darkness was all I could see in my dreams, which was a break from the memories that begged to resurface. I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. I slept for what felt like days.
Only to be woken up by three women staring at me, everyone more peculiar than the other; they were all three blind, and their eyes were white orbs that seemed to look deeper into your soul. It made my skin crawl. I attempted to move, but I couldn't. I was sedated.
That son of a bitch had put something on our food. My body was not responding to my requests, so I attempted to move my toes but had no luck. The women came closer. They all looked similar. The only difference between them was their hair color; one was had long blond hair, resembling the midday sun, and the other one had red wavy hair mirroring the sunset, and the last one had ebony black hair mid-shoulder length, just like the night itself. Based on the king's description. Clotho.
The king stared me down from the threshold. He looked confused as if I wasn't supposed to be looking back at him, but I was. The fury that filled my body was not to be messed with. We gave him our trust, and he immediately betrayed it. He walked closer curiously, his finger tracing the curves of my leg.
"Do you feel that?" he asked.
All I could do was look at him as I lay there defenseless.
In silent accord, the three women conveyed their disapproval of his intrusion, prompting his swift departure at Clotho's behest. Left alone with them, I could only watch as they disrobed me, revealing Phane's mark emblazoned upon my skin, its significance burning like a beacon. Panic gripped me as they began chanting, the mark blazing with an intensity that bordered on agony, rendering me mute with terror. agony radiated out my mark, engulfing every fiber of my being. It wasn't a diffuse ache but a pinpointed assault, as if a hot iron had been pressed against my skin, branding me with its relentless intensity. With each throb, it felt as though invisible tendrils were tightening around my core, constricting me with a merciless grip. As the chanting stopped, the pain resided.
"Even after coming back, you are still his creation," said the one with the red hair as she closed in and placed her cold hands in my mark.
"We don't want to hurt you," said the blonde one with a reassuring tone.
"But you are also now more human than you have ever been before," said the one with the red hair. "We have been waiting for you — Hybrid."
The three sisters rose gracefully, each movement deliberate as they made their way toward the door, a silent procession of enigmatic figures. With a final glance over her shoulder, Clotho, the eldest, paused, her gaze piercing yet strangely reassuring.
"Rest," she murmured softly, her voice a gentle caress before she closed the door behind her with a soft click.
Left alone in the oppressive darkness, my thoughts raced like a tempest, a whirlwind of confusion and apprehension swirling within me. Why had they subjected me to such torment? Still clad only in the remnants of my clothing, I found solace in the return of my mark to its customary white hue. Yet, it was no longer a solitary emblem; three stars now adorned the once-empty expanse, a cryptic addition to its celestial design.
I couldn't go back to sleep. Hours passed, and I started to regain power over my own body. My fingers began answering my commands, and not too long after that, my legs returned to me. I stood up. But fell flat in my ass. I was drowsy and not very coordinated. Milo.
I slowly made my way towards the door. The cold gnawed at my fingertips, rendering them numb and unresponsive. With each attempt to grasp the handle, my hands felt like lifeless weights, barely able to register the sensation of touch. The metal of the doorknob seemed foreign, distant as if separated by a thick veil of frost.
I stared at my hands, willing them to obey, but they remained stubbornly unyielding. Frustration welled up inside her as she wiggled her fingers, hoping to coax some warmth back into them. Yet, they remained as stiff as ice. I tried again. Success. The door opened slowly.
I crossed over and went into Milo's room. He was asleep, unaware of the danger around us and what had just happened in the room next door. I looked down at myself. I should have grabbed my shirt before coming here. Milo's eyelids fluttered open languidly, revealing sleepy ocean eyes that blinked against the faint light filtering through the room. With a deliberate motion, he reached out to the nightstand beside him, fingers fumbling momentarily before closing around the familiar frames of his glasses.
"I think you need to take me out on a date first, Ren." He said as he slowly made his way out of the bed.
"I… It is not like that," I felt as my face began burning. "They took my shirt off."
Milo ambled across the room, his steps deliberate, until he reached the corner where his chair stood sentinel. With a purposeful gesture, he retrieved his jacket, its fabric whispering softly in the quiet room. Drawing nearer, he extended it toward me, a silent offering of comfort and warmth.
"They?" he said as he carefully placed the jacket in my hands.
"The Fates visited me last night and drugged me. They did this," I said, pointing at the new addition to my mark. Three small stars looked back at me. He was making an effort not to look at me. Until then, I could feel his eyes traveling through my arms, resting on my shoulder. His head tilted slightly, as his eyebrows raised in concern.
"They own you," he said.
"There is no way."
"Well, not own. But in a way, you belong to them now; we must talk to them," Milo said with determination. "Phanes likes to mark his creations so no other god might claim them as their own, and Zeus is well known for attempting things with mortals…. It was protection for you and his children."
"I don't like this."
"Neither do I, But remember why we are here."
"The Irony," I said, rolling my eyes.
I stared down at the hood in my hands and took a deep breath. What did I just get myself into?