Iridescence

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

KRISSY

I was completely freaking out. As everyone stood in stunned silence around Altheos, I could only think about Eliza.

"Where is she?" I demanded. "Where did Apollo take Liz?"

"Home," Artemis replied. "He took her to Mount Olympus."

"Is she dead?" Faith demanded.

"I honestly can't say for sure," Artemis replied sadly. "Kleia did something similar before she died. Her body remained alive for three days, but her brain..." She didn't complete the sentence.

"She's okay," Vanessa said firmly. "She has to be."

"She'll make it," Jenna agreed.

"Emily," I said, "you'd know, right? If Liz was dead, you'd be able to tell."

"I can't feel her, Krissy," Emily said softly. I started to panic more, but Emily continued. "She fried herself, and I can't read her energy. I just don't know for sure either way."

I looked at Hades. "What about you?" I asked.

"I can't feel her right now, either," he admitted.

"I can go to Olympus and check," Poseidon volunteered.

"There's no need for that," Morpheus said suddenly. He motioned toward the end of the hallway.

"Eliza!" Faith cried in relief as we all turned toward her.

"Liz... Oh Gods, don't ever do that again!" I shouted as I ran to her and flung my arms around her.

"Welcome back, Eliza," Artemis said. She hugged her quickly before hugging Apollo, who definitely seemed to need it more.

"Are you alright?" Jenna asked.

"I'm okay," Eliza reassured us. "Zeus stopped me from completely frying myself, and Apollo reversed the damage I'd already done. I don't think I should try any magic for a bit, but I'm going to be fine."

"You met Zeus?" Vanessa asked. "That's so cool."

"He's not that impressive," Hades mumbled.

Emily hugged Eliza tightly. "Thanks for not dying," she said softly. "That would have really sucked."

"I'm so glad you're alright, Eliza," Jack said as he hugged her, too. "I just found out I've got a sister. I'd hate to lose you already."

"I'm glad I'm alright, too," Eliza admitted. "I wasn't sure I would be."

"I'm very proud of you girls," Artemis said. "You have surpassed my expectations by far."

"I knew they'd pull it off," Apollo said in a confident tone. "God of Prophecy and all of that."

"Shut up. You were just as worried as I was," Artemis replied with a subtle smile.

I started to relax as I realized we'd done it. Then, I realized we still didn't know that for sure. "Is the traitor dead?" I asked.

Nemesis kicked Altheos as hard as she could. Nothing happened. "It appears so," she replied.

"He's a tricky one," Hermes reminded her. "Let's check for a pulse." He bent down beside Altheos and did his due diligence before cheerfully proclaiming, "Yep! Dead as dead can be!"

Hades frowned. "Leo Lukas is dead," he said deliberately.

"Yes, Hades, I just established that," Hermes said. "Weren't you listening?"

"No, Hermes," Hades said. "Leo is dead. He was just an incarnation. Altheos continues to exist. Now that he is free from his mortal vessel, he will begin to come into his full powers. It will take some time, but when he returns, he will be stronger than ever. He won't be a mortal boy playing deity; he will be a God, and he'll be that much more dangerous."

"Great," Emily said sarcastically. "Something to look forward to."

"That's alright," Jenna said. "When he returns, we'll be ready. For now, let's focus on celebrating the fact that we won our first big battle. We all came out of it alive. That's what matters."

"Spoken like a true Earth Goddess," Adrian said with a smile.

"Indeed," Gaia agreed. "And how lovely it is to see you again, Nero." Adrian nodded at her in acknowledgment.

Lucky released the labyrinth he'd wrapped around Baby Doll. She immediately ran into Faith's arms and hugged her tightly.

Faith's eyes widened as she held Baby Doll. "That's what I made myself forget!" She said. "Baby Doll was the only surviving Fire Nymph! I hid her to protect her before Chaos attacked all of us."

Artemis studied Baby Doll in wonder. "You are a miracle, little one," she said.

"She was my baby sister," Faith said, shaking her head as the memories seemed to return to her. "Just like she pretty much is now."

"It's a family reunion! This seems like a good time to celebrate," Prometheus decided.

"Perhaps after a change of scenery," A powerful voice echoed through the hallway. Everything shook with the force of his words.

Suddenly, the hallway vanished. We were in a bright, open ballroom with several people who radiated power. I had no idea how we got there.

"Welcome home!" The mysterious voice greeted us.

I stared at him and realized exactly who he was. "Zeus," I said with a smile.

"Yes, Rydia," he replied. "After your ordeal today, I figured a celebration was indeed in order."

"Wait," Ares said. "My demigod son, Darrell, is still missing. I nearly forgot about him in all of the chaos of the battle."

"Fear not, Ares," Aphrodite said. She looked much better than she had when Altheos was threatening to kill her. "I found him on my way out. He's badly wounded, but he's going to survive. He's receiving proper care in one of our facilities, and I had his sister brought to him."

Ares looked at her with something close to respect. "Thanks, Aphrodite," he said. "I get tunnel vision in battle."

"I'm well aware, Ares. It's not a problem."

"Did you hear that, Liz? Your bodyguards are okay!" I said.

"I'm relieved to hear it," she admitted. "Viktor's still out there somewhere."

"I won't let our dad hurt you," Jack promised.

"I won't let him hurt you, either," Eliza replied. I smiled, because it was nice to see Eliza finally bonding with a family member she could actually count on.

"So, who's up for a party?" Dionysus asked. He clapped his hands and turned the ballroom into a club. Lights flashed and changed color. A disco ball spun above us, seemingly not suspended by anything yet still hovering steadily. Club music played around us.

"Just don't serve the minors liquor, Dionysus," Apollo said firmly.

"You're no fun," Dionysus replied.

"I second that," Jake said with a pout. Emily whacked his chest playfully with her hand.

As everyone started to relax, the party began. Soon, it was like everyone forgot we'd just survived an epic battle. Still, it was nice to see everyone smiling.

Vanessa was teaching Billy to dance, which was quite possibly the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Adrian offered Jenna his hand, and they started to dance, with Jenna stressing it was just as friends. Jake coaxed Emily to dance with him in a corner. I noticed she was trying to hide a smile as they moved together.

Faith was dancing wildly beside Artemis, not holding back in the slightest, because Faith was probably incapable of ever holding back. Artemis watched her with an amused smile until Faith grabbed her hands and started moving them in sync with her own. By the end of the first song, they were both laughing. Faith kissed Artemis as they waited for the next song to begin, then pulled Baby Doll between them and started dancing with her. The little girl smiled in delight, clearly having the time of her life.

"Eliza, I am a God of Music," Apollo said beside me. "I simply must dance. It's expected! Will you do me the honor of joining me?"

Eliza looked at him shyly. "I don't really dance in public," she replied nervously.

"You do now," I said firmly. "We just survived an epic Boss Fight, Liz! You're dancing!" I took her hands and dragged her onto the dance floor. Soon enough, she was laughing and starting to relax.

"She's all yours," I told Apollo.

"I'll take good care of her," Apollo promised. He swept Eliza into his arms and they continued to dance.

Lucky grabbed me and pulled me onto the dance floor. "Since we're both without a consort, I say that makes us partners!" He decided. He began dancing ridiculously to the music blasting around us.

I laughed and started dancing in sync with him. Being pretty outrageous myself, I had no trouble keeping up with his crazy dance moves. I was soon laughing so much it was hard to breathe at points. Those are the best laughs, the ones that stay with you long after you've caught your breath again.

As we all danced and celebrated our victory, I felt a sense of peace despite knowing another battle would come eventually. It may be temporary, but I knew that we should treasure this joy while we could because it might end at any moment.

That didn't bother me so much because I also knew something else. We'd survived worse. The six of us had supposedly been destroyed during the first battle against Chaos and his allies, yet here we all were. We'd been reincarnated as six very different girls, but somehow, we'd come together as a team and won. Somehow, against all odds, we'd pulled this off.

We were the members of Iridescence, and no matter what we faced next, I knew without a doubt that we could handle it as long as we had each other.

THE END.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so excited to have finished this book. The girls came a long way, and I'm as proud of them as Artemis is.

There is going to be a sequel, coming in the near future. I'm aiming to make this part of a trilogy. I hope you'll all stick around to see the journey through to the end.

When I start the next book, I'll post an update to this one so you all know to look for it.

See you soon!