Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

Chapter Thirty

 Fire

It had been a day since Mason woke up. A day since he had bombed us with questions. And since then, he had been very quiet. He said he needed time to process everything he had just heard, and I couldn’t blame him, it was a lot to take in. Especially since none of us ever expected our parents to be out there doing godly stuff. At least he knew who both of his parents were, Demeter and Apollo. Who would have ever guessed?

When he had told us what he had dreamt of before waking up, a slightly uncomfortable sting ran through my chest. I didn’t know gods could communicate like that, I never imagined it was possible. But now that I did, I felt even more isolated from my parents. Neither of them had tried to contact me, not even once I transformed. It hurt and I had to push past it to put on a strong face and pretend it was the most normal thing.

Now, as I laid on the couch, looking up at the dark ceiling, I pondered about what we were supposed to do next. Mason had transformed, now what? How were we supposed to find Andrew if the compass didn’t seem to be working? Was there something else we needed to do before we left? If so, what? Why couldn’t fate or the gods or life gives us a clear, direct message instead of just throwing a couple of clues our way. It didn’t have to be this difficult.

The sound of someone stirring in their sleep caught my attention and I slowly turned around to see who it was. Alex was lying on the other couch, snoring softly and she hadn’t moved since she fell asleep. Slowly, my eyes traveled to the individual couch where Mason had been sleeping. I couldn’t see very clearly in the darkness, but I saw his silhouette get up from the couch and head out of the living room.

Before I knew it, I heard the sound of the front door closing after him and I cursed to myself in a whisper as I hurried out of the couch. Taking my shoes, I put them on as quickly as I could before walking out of the cabin, expecting to find myself alone on the porch looking for Mason after he made a break for it.

But I was wrong.

Mason was sitting on the steps looking out into the horizon. His arms rested on his knees as he sat still, in silence. “You thought I was going to run off?” Mason asked after a moment. A chuckle escaped his lips and I stiffened when he turned to look at me with an amused expression on his face.

Sheepishly, I stepped forward and sat down next to him. “Can you blame me? I don’t know a lot about you other than we are cousins. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you ran off, it’s a lot to take in. I also ran off, but before I transformed, it only made it worse, especially since Andrew went after me to help me,” I said with a shrug.

Slowly, I felt Mason’s eyes on me as he pondered on what to say next. “Who’s Andrew?” He asked with a smile on his face.

Blushing, I turned away. I didn’t know why I suddenly felt so shy talking about him. Especially to someone like Mason. “He’s the Gods Poseidon and Athena. His element is water and he’s very smart and brave,” I said without looking at him.

I saw as Mason raised an eyebrow from the corner of my eye. “Okay, so he’s water. But what is he to you?” He asked and I felt my heart thudding in my chest.

Why was he so adamant about knowing? What difference would it make if I told him Andrew was my soul mate? I didn’t see the point.

“He’s my boyfriend,” I said slowly as I looked at my hands.

Mason nodded his head and stayed silent for a moment. “And why isn’t he here?” He asked and I tensed.

“He was sent on another path, to find the girl who’s the fourth element. It wasn’t our choice,” I explained softly.

“Isn’t it?” He asked and I pursed my lips together but didn’t respond. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so… straightforward or to pry, I’m just curious. Truthfully, I have never had any friends before, not really, but for some reason, I feel a tie to you. I’m just trying to understand what it is. I’m trying to get to know you to see if there’s anything similar between us other than family blood.”

I chuckled and nodded my head. Under different circumstances, I would have been annoyed, heck I would have been furious if someone pried into my life like that, but this was Mason. And I knew what he meant by the bond because I felt it too. It was strange. Not like lovers but like something different.

“I know what you mean and, I feel it too. Actually, I have a hypothesis about that,” I said as I finally turned to look at him. His green eyes were already staring into mine, filled with curiosity and intrigue.

“Artemis and Apollo used to, or still have, a special bond between them. Some said they were able to feel what the other felt or know where or how to find each other, no matter how far apart they were from one another. It was like they shared a mind,” I suggested with a shrug.

Mason’s eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. “But Apollo and Artemis are siblings, twins to be exact. Even normal people claim they feel a certain connection to their twin. We’re not siblings,” he said as he pointed at me and him.

I chuckled and nodded my head. “I know but, we are their descendants, their children. There had never been those circumstances before since I’m my mother’s first child. I think Apollo did or does have other children. But there have never been two descendants coexisting at the same time. I don’t know, maybe there’s a possibility,” I said with a slight smile.

Mason didn’t say anything as he turned his attention to the tree across from us. “I never had a family before, not with friends, not with anyone blood-related, yet somehow, you feel very close to I what I think having a sister feels like,” he murmured, taking me by surprise.

“You don’t even know me,” I teased as I gently nudged him, and he chuckled.

“But I feel like I do, somehow, I don’t think we’re so different,” he said as his eyes met mine.

“I guess we will have to see,” I said, and a slight silence fell over us.

After a moment, I broke eye contact and got to my feet while brushing the dirt off of my clothes. “Come on, it’s getting cold out. We should head back inside,” I said as I held out my hand for him to take.

Mason smiled and nodded his head. “In a minute, I just want to be here a minute longer. Alone, if you don’t mind,” he said as he turned to look at the darkness in front of us once again.

Raising an eyebrow, I shifted my weight uncomfortably and he chuckled. “I give you my word that I will go inside once I’m ready. You don’t have to be so untrusting.”

I rolled my eyes and headed towards the door without saying anything.

“Besides, if your hypothesis is true, then I wouldn’t be able to get very far without you catching up to me and scolding me for running away,” he said in an amused tone, and I could not help but laugh as I imagined the scene in my mind.

“Good night, Mason,” I called out as I opened the door and walked into the warm cabin. Mason didn’t even turn to look at me, but I knew he was still not used to being a part of the team. From what he said, I could tell he had been isolated for the most part of his life, it was something he was going to slowly get used to being around others.

I could understand that since I had once been a loner myself. Before Alex and while Alex had shared rooms with other girls in our orphanage.

As I walked back towards the couch, Alex was still snoring softly, and I gently tucked her in when I saw her shivering. She was very sensitive to temperature changes. She stirred when she felt the blanket wrapped tighter around her, but she didn’t wake up.

Soon, I was back on my couch as I got under the thick, heavy blanket I had found. The last thought in my mind before drifting off into sleep was that Mason could probably be right. Maybe we were more alike than we had through.

Letting out a yawn, I shrugged and pulled the blanket tighter around me, wanting to feel warm and cozy. Only time would tell if either of us were right, in the meantime, we had to focus on the present.

I didn’t hear Mason walk back inside and I was too tired to go see if he was still sitting outside. In a moment, I was asleep.