Apologize Not

Chapter 7:

     I throw a glass of wine at Elektra and yell in frustration. My blood boils with anger. I curse in multiple languages. Azora won. I close my eyes and fall to my knees. I cry into my hands loudly. The after effects of Depression still linger even after four hours. My demon is losing it and so am I.

      Why did I drop my sword? Why did I pity her? Why didn't I just grab her and— I grab Elektra's wrist just before she touches my shoulder. She screams and tries to pull away. I yank her towards me and start tearing at her clothes. Elektra begins to cry and fight against me. She claws at me while covering herself with her arms and legs.

        "Amorious! Not like this!" She cries. I grab her by the hair and drag her to our bedroom. My demon begins to laugh and taunt Elektra. I tie Elektra to the bed posts and search for something sharp. I find a pair of golden scissors. I climb on top of Elektra and begin to snip at the corners of her mouth and through her cheeks. She screams and cries, pleading for me to stop.

        "Shut up, b***h!" I yell and stop above her thigh. Elektra screams once again. Her wrists and ankles begin to bleed from the ropes that bind her. I wait for her to calm down.

        "Amorious, listen to me—"

        "Last time I listened to you, it was at the cost of my true love! You had my child and you gave her away!"

        "She's not yours!" My demon falls silent.

        "Then I'm going to make sure that won't happen again. Kalavos and I are going to make sure of it!" My sight becomes red and my skin becomes red. My nails grow into claws. I throw the pair of scissors aside and begin to tear at Elektra, muttering a curse under my breath as I do. I begin to slowly scream my curse. Elektra screams and cries. Blood gushes from her inner thighs. 

       "Enough!" A strong powerful wind hits me, forcing me to fly off of Elektra. I slam against the wall and fall onto the floor. Panting, I look up to see Styx standing over Elektra. Her outstretched hand falls to her side. She glares at me with such seething hate that fear crawls up my throat.

       "What are you doing here?" I growl.

       "I could hear her screams, dumbass. I didn't think you'd do something like this." Styx shakes her head and begins to cover Elektra. Elektra sobs quietly.

       "Get out!" Styx looks at me. I look away.

       "A tyrant. Like Zeus, Kronos, and Uranus were." I smirk and shake my head.

       "I'm nothing like them. I don't eat—"

       "But you r**e your own wife!" Styx places her hand over Elektra. Slowly, Elektra's sobbing and panting calms to slow breathing as she begins to sleep.

        "I'm not done with her!" Styx's eyes snap up. Suddenly, I see Azora standing in Styx's place. Her eyes are fiery red, giving away her anger. Blood streams down the corner of her mouth. Her scars bleed lazily. Her clothes are torn, bleeding skin and bones exposed. Her hair's tangled and has been clearly pulled every which way. 

        "You claim to love her so much. Yet, you do exactly what she despises. Look at me. And now look at your wife." I obey. I stumble back and trip. What have I done?

       "Go away." I mutter. Azora shakes her head and smiles. Her eyes turn blood red as she smiles.

       "If you can't even look at her in the eye, what makes you think you're not like the past kings." Styx says as she becomes herself again. I tremble. She's right.

        "There's a difference alright. I love her while they—"

         "Love her? Amorious, if you really did love Azora, you wouldn't have done what you did all these years! That demon inside you isn't an excuse You're a pathetic and useless king!"

         "Then what do you want me to do? Kneel before Azora and confess all my wrongs?" I snap. Styx doesn't say anything. The look in her eyes says everything. That's what she wants. That's what everyone wants. Everyone except...

        "You make it hard on yourself, Amorious. You demand for respect and forgiveness. But you won't receive it until you earn it. You wonder why I don't see you as a king. The answer's clear. You must fall on your knees with your head touching the ground at the Huntress's feet and ask for forgiveness! You must show that that demon is only an inconvenience!"

       I stare down at my feet. What she demands is too much. Azora will never forgive me. It doesn't matter how forgiving, lenient, and just she is. She can never forgive someone as tainted as me. Especially, after what I just did.

      "How do you expect me to do that?" I mutter. Styx appears before me.

      "Azora has to attend to a ball for a meeting with the other forest entities. They're on alert for any of your possible attacks. Go through to the ball and show that you show no intention of causing anymore trouble." Styx disappears and reappears sitting on the bed with her hand on Elektra's shoulder.

      "Don't f**k up, Zagreus. You have no idea how much damage you'll cause if you mess this up. The ball's tonight. Mess up, and I'll take over the Underworld."

      I sit on my father's throne above the judges and watch souls get separated into sections of the Underworld. Styx is incredibly strong. If I mess things up, Azora will weaken me. Using that to her advantage, Styx won't have a problem taking over. As for Azora herself, if she finds out what I did...

      I sigh and sit up. Who knows what she'll do. Azora herself is incredibly unpredictable. I've seen her become the monster she feared so much. She nearly wiped out the entire universe then if it wasn't for a human child who came up to her and hugged her. He had resembled Azora's first adopted child, Nico, so much that Azora instantly broke and fell. Encouraged by the child, all the children surrounded Azora and began to sing the very lullaby Artemis sung to Azora when she was a baby. Before she was forced to grow up.

       Not long after, Azora's body got covered with scars resembling nets. The humans had tortured Azora. And she took it all to protect the innocent. I remember wondering if there was any innocent left. There was. There just wasn't many.

        "Even the most powerful fall, Amorious. So, when he changed me and hurt me the way he did, I was powerless." Her words echo in my head. I close my eyes and reflect on what I did to Elektra. I stand and leave. It's about to get ready anyway.