The Prometheus Spark

The canyon floor was dry and cracked, pockmarked with scorch marks and gouges from past battles. A flicker of golden fire arced through the air—Selene spun with a shout, sending a streak of flame from her palms that struck a rock wall and scattered into embers.

"Too wild," Hercules said, voice gruff but patient. "Control it. Don't let your fire control you."

"I am controlling it," Selene snapped, brushing sweat from her brow. She was breathing hard, her knuckles scraped and singed. "Maybe if you stopped treating me like I'm about to break—"

Hercules strode forward, towering over her but not looming. His expression softened.

"I'm not treating you like you'll break," he said. "I just know what happens if you do."

Selene hesitated. The spark on her fingers dimmed.

"I know you're strong. But strength without restraint? That's how people die. That's how you die."

She looked up at him. "Is that what happened to the last one?"

Hercules's jaw tightened, but he didn't answer right away.

"If you're serious about learning the kind of power I carry," he said slowly, "you have to show me more than fire. The strength I have—real strength—uncontrolled? It's dangerous. For you. For everyone around you. It took me years to learn what I was truly capable of."

He met her gaze.

"The power I hold could give you the edge you need to defeat Cronus. But you need to prove you can handle it first."

Selene held his gaze, breathing steady. "Then tell me what I have to do."

A breeze stirred the canyon dust. Hercules glanced toward the ridge. "I have to go. Olympus needs something."

"Of course they do," Selene muttered.

He turned back and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be back before nightfall. Don't burn the canyon down while I'm gone."

She smirked, but it faded when he walked away.

Seconds later, a shadow peeled from the wall behind her. A voice, slick and amused, broke the silence.

"You know he's not telling you everything, right?"

Selene spun. "Hermes?"

He stepped casually from the shadows, leaning on his winged staff like he'd just been there the whole time.

"You trust him too much," he said, nodding after Hercules. "All that strength, all that noble face—but you ever wonder why he keeps you down here? Why he won't let you train with the others?"

Selene's brow furrowed. "Because he wants to keep me focused."

"Sure," Hermes said with a grin. "Or maybe he wants you isolated. Maybe he doesn't want Olympus seeing what you can really do."

She folded her arms. "You're full of shit."

Hermes tilted his head, watching her. "Am I?"

Selene turned away.

The canyon began to shift. The shadows stretched. The light bled out.

"Kevin?"

The voice snapped him out of it like a slap. He blinked. The vision shattered.

Colton's mom stood in front of him, one hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

Kevin's mouth opened, but nothing came out at first. His chest was heaving. His fingers trembled.

"I—I saw her."

She guided him to sit down near the hearth where the others had gathered. Apollo was watching him closely. Colton leaned forward.

"What do you mean?" Colton asked. "You were just standing there."

"I wasn't here," Kevin said. "Not really."

He looked down. More drawings were scattered at his feet. He hadn't remembered making them.

"I saw her," he said again, quieter this time. "Selene. She was training. With Hercules."

Apollo sat up straighter.

Kevin stared at the hearth like it held the memory. "They weren't enemies. He cared about her. He was trying to teach her control. But then…"

He shook his head.

"What?" Colton asked.

"Then Hermes showed up. And he started telling her not to trust him. That Hercules was hiding things."

Colton's stomach dropped.

Kevin looked at each of them in turn. "I think… maybe Hermes was telling the truth. About Hercules turning on her."

A long silence followed.

Apollo's gaze hardened, unreadable.

Colton stood. "Apollo. Can we talk?"

Apollo didn't answer right away. He watched Kevin—watched the haunted glaze still hanging in the boy's eyes—then finally gave a small nod and followed Colton outside, into the quiet dark beyond the columns.

The night air was cool, touched faintly with ash and pine. Crickets murmured in the distance.

Colton stopped just past the torchlight. "Was Kevin right?"

Apollo folded his arms. "About what?"

"About Hercules turning on Selene."

Apollo's brow furrowed, his face shadowed in thought. "Hercules was a lot of things. Stubborn. Reckless. Proud. But he was also the most noble man I've ever known. He protected Selene like she was his own blood."

Colton waited.

Apollo's gaze drifted upward, toward the stars. "He trained her. Fought beside her. Believed in her more than most of Olympus ever did."

He hesitated.

"But…"

Colton stepped in. "But what?"

Apollo's jaw tightened. "There was a time… long ago. Before any of this. Hera drove him mad. Twisted his mind until he couldn't tell friend from foe. He killed his wife. His children. His hands were soaked in their blood before he even realized what he'd done."

Colton didn't speak.

Apollo shook his head. "He never forgave himself. He spent a lifetime trying to prove he wasn't a monster. Olympus gave him trials to test his strength. But he carried those ghosts everywhere."

"Could it have happened again?" Colton asked. "Could someone like Hera—or Cronus—or even Hermes—have done that to him again?"

Apollo's mouth opened, but no words came. He closed it.

"I don't know," he said finally. "I want to say no. I need to say no. But after everything I've seen… I can't be sure."

Colton stared into the dark. "So we don't know if Hercules betrayed her. Or if Hermes just made it look that way."

"No," Apollo said, quieter now. "But if Hercules is still out there… locked away somewhere… and if we can find him—maybe we can finally hear his side of the story."

Colton nodded slowly.

"Then we find him. And we figure out what really happened."