Part 42. Try your best

Li Changying grinned to herself when she saw Ajaxson through the crystal ball on the side of her chair. Her long nails tapped against her as she thought about what a perfect opportunity it indeed was. Besides, she has been waiting for a long time for something like this to happen. 











Initially, the demon was planning on taking help from the Queen of Olympus—Hera. However, she backed away at the last moment, cutting off all the ties with her after Zeus found out about their charade. Hera was resting somewhere far away, refusing to speak to anyone now that her husband stopped entertaining his wife.











That’s why Li Changying was all alone in her plan until she came across Ajaxson’s story. It fascinated her to the extent she kept tabs on him. Seeing the Greek God so defenceless, she had no choice but meet him. So muttering the familiar chant under her breath, the demon appeared in front of the now homeless Son of Ajax.











He immediately got on his feet, fire bubbling behind those orbs. "W-Who are you?"









She grinned at him. "Oh, I'll tell you who I am." Looking around, the demon was quick to realise that they were standing in the open and could be heard by any passerby. That's why she took them back to her place, Diyu, in the snap of her fingers. Ajaxson seemed confused by the turn of events, shoulders defeated. "Now we can talk."









"Why did you bring me here?" The Greek God questioned, looking around the dark walls covered in runes. Not that Li Changying knew witchcraft, but some of her friends taught few tricks that helped the demon.









Taking a deep breath, Li Changying told him everything about her past and the relationship she had with Lukas. Non-existent one. Still, it insulted the way he treated her and humiliated the demon in front of everyone by rejecting her. She would have let it go if not for Lukas almost killing her in her Palace. How can she forget that insult? 











By the time she was done with her story, Ajaxson seemed hopeful that they could get somewhere if they worked together. Exactly what she wanted for him to think. 









"But how do we find them?" The Greek God muttered. "Lukas did not go back to Hell. He is not in Olympus as well."











"Oh, I know where they are hiding", Li Changying smirked. The demon was waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike them. After Lukas left her Palace, she put a spell on him to track him down. Ever since then, she had been watching his every moment in that little cottage he shared with Talia and his trusted guards. 









“What?”









“Yes,” She bobbed her head, signalling him closer to the crystal the demon kept on the table. It changed colour as Li Changying muttered something before faint images began appearing. A gasp of surprise escaped Ajaxson’s mouth, eyes glued to the crystal. He opened and closed his mouth. "Wow, you are something else! How did you pull it off?”









As if she’s going to reveal her ancient old magic to someone like him. The demon shrugged her shoulders. “You don’t need to worry about that.”









He didn’t press her after that, his lips curving in a grin. “Alright. Shall we go and pay them a lovely visit then?"









Li Changying got on her feet, bobbing her head. “Of course.”

***

Talia woke up with a jolt. Sweat clung to her body, chest heaving up and down. In sheer panic, her hands went to her side, looking for Lukas only to find him gone. She can feel it right now, squeezing her eyes against the onset of wetness as her fingers curled into the sheets helplessly. Her throat burned with the effort of holding back a sob, the silence pushing in on the young woman. 











The moon princess tried to fight against it, but she's all too aware that when the tears come, there's nothing she could do to stop them. A shudder wracked her entire body as wetness spilt down her cheeks. Every sound felt like it's been pulled from deep in her lungs, raw and strangled and pained. These weren’t soft, melancholy tears or tears of frustration—these are the worst kinds of tears. 









The moon princess exhaled loudly, blinking against the sun filtering in the room. She suddenly remembered that Lukas said he was going to meet Hades in the Underworld. Her hand immediately flew towards her stomach, eyes red as she realised. They were all alone. 









It was her task to protect the baby now. 











Before she realised it, the pregnant woman stumbled to her feet. The flood board was cold against her toes, but she didn’t notice, trembling as she staggered to the wardrobe. Quickly slipping into her clothes, Talia rushed towards the door of her bedroom.











Her fingers quivered when she wrapped them around the wood, yanking on the door until it slid open with a slight creak, a rush of cold air seeping into the room and settling in her bones. That was not a dream but a glimpse of what to come. She used to get those a lot in her previous birth, especially before someone was dying. Unfortunately, the moon princess had one of those when her mother passed away. 











Talia whimpered, another wave of sobs rising in his chest, begging to be released. She lasted about a minute before the first cry broke through, a dam bursting inside her as she gripped the metal railing, shaking. 











“Dean!”









The loyal guard burst through the doors; his spear gripped in his arm, a frantic look settling over his face. “What is it?”









“T-They are coming”, She managed to croak in between her sniffles, angrily wiping at the tears forming in those orbs. It frustrated her that there was no way to reach Lukas, not without sending Dean to fetch him. 









“Who?”







“Li Changying and Ajaxson.”









Deans eyes widened, grip tightening around his spear. There was no point in hiding. They could be here any minute, so the guard alerted everyone to take their place. She followed him to the living room.









“You need to hide.” The guard turned to her.









“But Dean, they will find me.” Talia rubbed her hands over her face, a groan slipping out. The moon princess was tired of hiding in fear; she had enough of them. 









“We will try to hold them off as much as possible. Do they have an army?”







“N-No, I don’t know.” 









Before Dean could respond, they heard it. A loud bang echoed from outside, making her freeze in spot. The guard pushed the moon princess before rushing towards the main entrance of the cottage. It was too late. Talia was in no position to turn around or find a place to hide.











Li Changying walked in quickly, her hands waving around the room to cast a spell. 













Dean got affected by it, too, loosing his footing before hitting the floor with a dull thud. Her lips parted at sight, colour draining her features as he didn’t move at all. Angrily, Talia snapped her attention towards the demon. 









“What did you do to him? Why is he not moving?”









“Oh, relax! It's nothing, dear Talia.” The demon smirked. “Just made him sleep for some time. Why drag a poor soul in our fight?”









She started to break out into a cold sweat, eyelids heavy and not enough breath getting into her lungs. Black dots clouded her vision, but Talia forced her body to move, needing to face the evil person in front of her. Tears stung her dried eyes again. The moon princess was putting her child in danger by doing this.









The ground was hard and solid underneath her feet, but she felt like she could fly with how both light and heavy the moon princess was feeling at the moment. Talia was drowsy, feeling like she could collapse at any minute. Li Changying took a step in her direction, looking fresh and light on her feet, very unlike the pregnant woman. 









All she could feel was the fear. Talia suddenly realised that the young woman wasn't only fighting to keep herself alive; she was fighting for her child as well.









That seemed to snap her back into action, facing Li  Changying with newfound adrenaline rush and sharp eyes, calculating her every movement. There was no way Talia was letting this demon get anywhere near to harming her innocent child.











“Wow, you look determined.” The demon remarked, a smirk curving around her lips. "Maybe I should have killed you when I had the opportunity.”









Talia instantly froze, and everything inside of her narrowed down to that one unbelievable sentence. The moon princess slowly and forcefully turned to meet her eyes, clearing her throat to ensure she would pronounce every syllable of her next question without a stutter. "Too bad, right? Now my stepmother is not here to help you in cheap tricks." She said dangerously low, feeling the dread from what Talia already knew in her soul to be true. 











“Oh, I don’t need anyone to end you, Talia.”









"Underestimating me is your stupidity.”









Li Changying scoffed, raising her sword in the air and giving the pregnant woman a maddening wink. "Allow me to correct my mistake, then."









Talia took a deep breath and prayed to the moon goddess, her mother and got her adrenaline going. Her body quivered with the rush of strength, and Talia smiled menacingly at the demon, beckoning her with a flick of her wrist. "Try your best."

***