My brows furrowed as I caught another memory. “Wait, is he how you got me out of trouble for injuring those girls?”
Hip nodded. “He owed me a favor.”
I turned back to Theseus. “But you were surprised by what happened.”
He shrugged. “Well, Hip never told me why I was erasing their memories of what happened, and I didn’t ask. I put two and two together when I saw you the next day.”
I didn’t know how I felt about this proclaimed ability, but if it bought us time, I would have to deal with it.
“It won't hurt Clint, will it? Like, his mind won't get scrambled by you messing with it?”
“A simple suggestion like this? No,” Theseus reassured me, shaking his head.
I blanched at the idea that there were suggestions that could fry someone's brain and then nodded. “Okay. Do it.”
With a smile, Theseus gave a slight bow and then walked out of the room.
“So is he the only one with this ability?” I asked, remembering that Theseus wasn’t the only one my brain had gone all cotton ball for.
I was staring at Jason when I asked, and I watched as a small blush reddened his cheeks.
“Most of us have a bit of what we call ‘syren voice’, though we can't do much with it unless there's a lot of emotion in the suggestion. Plus, humans kind of become immune to our voices over time,” Jason answered.
So that was why Jason's voice hadn’t drawn me nearly as much since that first day.
Hip picked up a lock of my now long hair and twirled it between his fingers. “I personally stink at syren voice. Never been able to convince anyone of anything.”
“I don’t know about that, you little trickster,” I grinned.
“Hush,” He replied, gently tugging on the lock of hair.
Percy and Theseus came back into the room. Clint wasn’t with them.
“I persuaded your uncle that staying at the inn was better than with you. He was a hard one. Wanted to make sure you were okay before he left. I told him he could see you tomorrow.” Theseus said, his tone relaxed as if he hadn’t just manipulated someone's mind.
“Alright.” I relaxed, sinking into the chair, my tired eyes sliding over to my father. “You're sleeping more than me, old man. You better wake up soon.”
The guys didn’t say anything as I watched my father’s chest rise and fall for a long time. They sort of settled in around me. Jason perched himself on the arm of my chair while Hip actually sat down at my feet and rested his head against my knee. The other three stood against the wall next to us.
The silence didn’t feel awkward. There were a lot of things we had to settle, Clint being a big one, but at that moment everything was relatively peaceful. Before I knew it, my eyes were drifting closed.
Chapter Three
Ajax
I felt as Atalanta drifted off to sleep. The underlying torrent of torment that was her signature settled. The others in the room were completely aware of her every movement, and relaxed when they too realized she had slipped into dreamland.
Jason sighed and leaned down to kiss Atalanta’s head. “My parents suggested we take her down to the beach tonight. Said it would help her recovery.”
“That doesn’t sound like a half bad idea.” Hip agreed.
I cocked an eyebrow at him. Hip, agreeing with Jason?
Hip, seeing my expression, shrugged and mouthed ‘what?’.
I shook my head. I hoped this was the olive branch for the two of them. I was getting tired of the hostility between them.
Granted—
I looked over to Percy and Theseus, who, though standing next to each other, were about as far apart as two people could be. The tension was almost palpable, even for those without my ability.
“I think we could all use a swim,” I threw out.
The others looked at me, confused. I didn’t want to have to spell it out to them. We were all just as tired as Atalanta was, and with us having been preoccupied with her care, the cravings were hitting us hard. Or perhaps their confusion stemmed from my active participants today? I suppose I had spoken more than the average…
“He’s right,” Theseus said.
Percy nodded. “All right. Let us get the little princess back to the cabin and then head out for a swim.”
Hip and Jason slowly stood and stared each other down, their hands up. I thought they were about to attack each other, their emotions brimming with the anger between them. Just before I was about to intervene, they began shaking their fists and then opening them. One paper, one scissors.
I snorted.
Rock paper scissors?
Jason had been the one to lose. I was confused at why they had played such a childish game until the triumphant Hip slowly moved to pick up Atalanta.
That was one way to not fight over her. I couldn’t help but smile. Progress. These last two weeks, stepping around each other hadn’t been a total waste.
That smile fell and turned into an eye-roll when Hip smirked pompously at Jason, who responded by sticking his tongue out at him. I empathized with the spark of jealousy Jason felt at seeing Hip’s arms around her, as I longed to hold her as well. My skin still felt warm from when I had carried her to the room.
The five of us, plus our cargo, made our way out of the hospital. I made a point to stop by the nurse’s station to see if Dr. Charles, Titus’ doctor, had left any notes with his nurse. He hadn’t, but the nurse said Titus’ vitals seemed better today, so that was good at least.
In the parking lot, we decided Hip would ride with me. As he carefully climbed into my passenger seat with his precious package, I lifted his motorcycle into the back of my truck next to a few of the paint buckets.
The drive back to the cabin was more peaceful than when we left. Hip wasn’t the type to feel the need to fill the silence beyond a soft humming, which I didn’t mind as he seemed a decent singer. His emotional signature was also lighter than the others. A little mischievous, but not constantly filled with the darkness like the others. It was nice.
Our little caravan filled up almost all of the available space on the cleared cliffside that the cabin sat on.
“Come on, Speedy, it’s time to wake up.” Hip crooned as he poked the tip of Atalanta’s nose.
I thought for a moment that she wouldn’t wake up, but her uncovered eye fluttered open.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Have a good nap?” Hip asked.
I felt his adoration flare for her as he stared down at her beautiful face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She looked around. “We’re back at the cabin?”
She was disappointed. She probably wanted to stay with her father longer.
“We can visit him again tomorrow,” I said, pulling her attention to me.
She brightened up at that, and wiggled herself around in Hip’s lap as she tried to open the door and get out of the truck.
I chuckled when Hip groaned softly, and I felt his desire flare.
If she heard him, Atalanta ignored the groan, and successfully hopped out of the truck.
“It should be safe enough to take these off, right?” She called, gesturing to the bandages.
“It should be safe. We will have to get more of the adhesive ones until you learn to control your shift,” Percy replied, as he walked up to her and gently removed the one over her eye.
Atalanta slowly unwrapped the bandages on her hands and wrists, being careful not to let her sleeves slide up. “I would prefer to do that sooner than later. So I believe it’s time for a lesson while I can still keep my eyes open.”