Chapter 6 - Pools of Honey

APOL

While Tala slept soundly upstairs, Apol sat in his office couch, staring at the floor, his mind elsewhere. The sound of defeat in her voice in the bathroom, the whimpers in cries – they gnawed at him. He felt helpless; as powerful as he was, he was unable to console her or explain to her about anything that was happening. To his surprise, she didn't bother asking him about Erina on the balcony, though he noticed a few moments when she might have had the courage to ask anyway.

Maybe she was too scared to ask, or maybe she didn't believe anything that happened. He could only speculate what was going through her head as she forced a smile and a laugh while talking about how she quit her job. 

He contemplated waking her up, spilling everything about her, her mother, about Erina. He contemplated simply taking her away with him. He contemplated several scenarios but he ultimately, and perhaps fortunately, decided against them all.

"Coffee at this hour?" a voice disrupted Apol's thoughts, opening the French doors to the office.

Remembering he in fact made himself a cup of espresso, Apol took a sip and gestured to Noli to take a seat.

"I couldn't sleep." Apol said, "Took you long enough to come back. Where's Eleri?"

"Upstairs, sleeping." 

"How did it go?"

Noli rubbed the temples of his head, "Putang ina. We searched for her everywhere, Apol. We couldn't find anything."

"None of your friends have spotted her?"

"Not a single one."

"Did you pay them this month?" Apol laughed; as organized as Noli was, there had been a few times he'd forgotten to pay his dues to his…people.

"Gago ka." Noli shot a haughty look, "No, they haven't seen or heard anything remotely connected to her."

Though there's been little evidence, Erina's been under somewhat of a covert investigation for the last three decades. For what, exactly, she has been under scrutiny for had evaded Apol to that day. As highly ranked as she was and under the protection of even higher rankings, it hadn't been easy trailing and gathering intel on her whereabouts and activities. 

But Apol knew she was involved in something, and he suspected that whatever it was – Maria found out.

"We have to bring her back." Apol said, taking a sip.

Noli sighed deeply, exhausted, "We can't bring her back to Chicago, Apol."

"Not Chicago."

It took a minute for Noli to understand what Apol meant; of course, not back to Chicago - it's too dangerous. They would need to make sure Tala was not only safe, but also had protection. There's always been strength in numbers, and Apol's numbers were back home…

Noli shook his head, "No, we can't take her back to Laguna. It's not time yet."

"When the fuck will it be, Noli? In ten years?"

 "Apol. We agreed that we would ease her into everything. Introducing Laguna and everything else to her is not yet in the plans."

"I don't give a shit about the plans." 

"Apol—"

"The plans were made before Theo died." Apol's voice turned abrupt and harsh, "They were made before Erina came for her throat."

Noli shook his head and stood up, "We can't take her with us, Apol. When we took this mission on, you agreed not to change course."

"I changed my mind."

"You can't just—"

"Yes, I can. She's coming with us, and we are going to Laguna."

"Apol. The Elders' orders—"

"I don't give a fuck, Noli!" The intensified tone in Apol's voice heightened the sense of authority that the God of Sun held, and as a servant to the god's court, Noli instinctively bowed his head.

 "Don't—" Apol sighed, "Don't bow, I'm not asserting anything."

Apolaki, the God of Sun and War. In the past couple centuries, he began using a shortened, more informal name – Apol.

Also well-regarded as the Chief Commander of warriors, his reputation on the battlefield was fierce, to say the least. He has led his forces through countless battles, both in the Heavenly and mortal realms, his sword always the one to take the first life. In his true form, his shadow towers, exuding the heat of a million suns. His presence can be intimidating and his gaze intense, but his loyalties run deep and firm.

Noli has been by his side for a millennia.

"She is going to die, Noli. We can't protect her here; she needs to go back home."

"She's not ready."

"Haven't you seen the skies lately?!" Apol let out an incredulous laugh, "She's practically controlled it already."

Noli didn't respond; Tala did display impressive levels of power, though inconsistent and unintentional. Not to mention, without training.

Divine powers, while inherent, are dormant during childhood and into the earlier adult years. For demigods and halflings, training and succession must occur before their thirtieth birthday, else it disappears entirely. Pureblood children, on the other hand, despite lack of training, would succeed through their intrinsic powers regardless. But untrained divine powers have proven dangerous and, in the past, deadly.

And for Tala…

"Tell her the truth about Maria." Apol finally broke the silence.

"I did. She wanted some time—"

"No. Tell her the whole truth about Maria, not the bullshit the Elders advised." Apol turned to Noli, a stern expression across his face, "Tell her about the Courts, her succession…tell her about her father."

It seemed that idea was far worse than taking Tala back to the Philippines. Noli stood, obviously apprehensive, "No. No, no – what the fuck are you asking from me, Apol?"

Apol simply stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"Apolaki. I have only questioned your logic just a handful of times. I have and will always follow your orders. But position is that breaking our contract with the Moon Court Elders can have…repercussions."

"Will you stand by me if that happens?"

"Yes." Noli said, without hesitation.

"Then?"

There was a pause that could have suffocated every living thing within the office. The tension, palpable. The breaths, audible. Neither of them broke their gazes.

Finally, Noli spoke, "Telling her here, on foreign soil, is improper. I'll arrange for our trip to the Philippines this weekend."

"We can teleport."

Noli sighed, shutting his eyes, "We can't—Apol, we can't teleport back to the Philippines."

"Why?"

"Tanga. She doesn't even know who you are."

Apol pursed his lips, realizing the issue. He didn't particularly enjoy plane rides, especially ones over four hours long. But since Tala still didn't know about them…he nodded once, in agreement.

Noli continued, "It's not my place to tell her the whole truth – either you do that or leave it to the Elders. If you choose the latter, remember that they will tell her their impartial truth."

"I know." Apol sighed, knowing the burden had fallen on him, "I'll deal with it."

"One more thing…" Noli said, "Nalya's coming."

"Nalya? What? She's in the US?"

Noli began to exit the office. Before he closed the doors behind him, he called out to Apol, "I ran into her tonight. Oh, and just so you know…"

Apol turned around, cocking his head slightly.

"I did pay my people this month." And he shut the door.

Apol let out a laugh, partially relieved that he didn't push Noli over the edge. 

Out of all his advisors, Noli was the only Apol trusted. He wasn't always in Apol's court; in fact, he wasn't always immortal. Noli was born to mortal parents, his mother died at childbirth giving birth to his younger sister. Their father raised them both with meager earnings, barely enough to feed just the girl. It was through their father that they both received immortality; in exchange for serving a court, the god he served granted his children immortal lives upon his death.

It wasn't until Noli's five-hundredth year that he began to serve the Sun Court.

.--.--.--.--.

Apol woke up to sudden bright lights, as if the curtains were suddenly flung open, "What in the hell…"

"Oh!" Tala yelped, obviously didn't expect anyone to be on the couch, "Oh my god, Apol, I'm—I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone was in the living room, it was so dark."

Apol sat up, rubbing his eyes, "Yeah, it's kind of how most people catch some sleep…you know, in the dark?"

She placed a hand on her hip and leaned forward towards Apol, meeting his eyes. He was taken aback for a split second, unsure of where it was going to…go.

"You know, you gave me so much grief for using your ensuite. But it doesn't seem like you even use your room."

"It's my house, I can sleep where I want." He replied, matching her stare. He noticed then, her eyes. 

Sunlit pools of honey, sprinkled with golden flecks as bright as stars. They reminded him of the warmth of autumn – inviting, comforting, sultry…

"Must be nice to be so bliss." She raised a brow, interrupting Apol's daydreaming.

Apol crossed his arms, a smirk formed on his face, "Who knew you'd have a sharp tongue?"

"Well, it's not just for Chardonnay."

 Apol bit his lip, enjoying the banter and trying not to laugh.

"Ahem." A voice cleared its throat in the background. Tala and Apol quickly pulled themselves together and turned to Noli.

"I was just opening up the blinds." Tala announced, her hands behind her back, as if she were hiding something.

"And you?" Noli looked at Apol, "You were…just about to put a shirt on?"

Tala let out a snicker, turning away.

Apol huffed, combing his hair through his fingers, "It's my house. If I want to sleep on the couch, I'll sleep on the couch. If I want to sleep shirtless, I'll sleep shirtless."

"Next time, try sleeping outside." Tala said, walking past both men, "Eleri's making breakfast, hurry up."

"She's made herself at home." Apol said, smiling, as he put a shirt on.

"Good. It'll be easier to tell her everything then." Noli smiled, patting Apol's shoulder, "By the way, Nalya's here."

Apol stopped, "Already?"

"Yeah, hurry up or she'll eat Tala alive."

Nalya was the product of a mortal woman and Amani, an ill-tempered god of hunters. Well-recognized for her beauty, she was even more well-known for her precision. It wouldn't have been so surprising to see the daughter of Amani to have exceptional aim, but when her arrow flew a mile into the heart of a flying bird…

 When she decided to serve the Sun Court, she was tasked with aiding missions across both realms, and it seems as though Apol's was no exception.

"Well, well," Nalya raised a brow as she saw Apol approach the kitchen, "look what the…ano? Dog? Cat?"

"Cat. Look what the cat dragged in." Apol rolled his eyes, taking a bite of the waffles, "These tastes great, thanks Eleri."

"Oh, who cares. Dog, cat, carabao…"

There was an awkward silence that left everyone fiddling with their fingers. Well, at least it left Tala fiddling with hers.

Noticing Tala's discomfort, Apol tried an introduction, "Uh, Nalya. Have…have you met Tala?"

She took a bite of a waffle and smirked, "Of course…I mean, what was I going to do, wait for you to introduce us?"

"Shut up."

Tala laughed, and a relief came over Apol which he found odd, "Noli told me she's in the Army. She was deployed, but she just flew in last night."

Apol and Noli exchanged a quick look. 

Eleri, innocently unaware of Tala's lack of information, began to correct her, "Oh, well actually Nalya is in Apol's—aah!"

Noli tapped Eleri on her leg, causing her to lose balance. Before she hit the floor, Noli bravely came to her rescue, "Careful, Eleri."

Nalya caught on to what Noli had done and shot a look over at Apol, incredulous that Tala has yet been told about anything.

She was about to unleash an earful of scolding when a sudden explosion deafened everyone in the room, shattering the windows with violent force. The kitchen was engulfed in a dense shroud of smoke, obscuring visibility to mere inches.

Though Apol's vision became clearer, the sounds around him were still muffled, like eerie silence. Across the room, he could see Noli's mouth moving. He shut his eyes once, twice, trying to make sense of what Noli was saying.

Then finally, the sounds came back.

"Erina!!" Noli yelled, pointing out towards the gaping hole where the balcony doors once were, "ERINA!!"

Apol's eyes widened and he turned to search for Tala. He found her covered in ash, on her knees, her eyes wide and hands trembling. Just behind her, Nalya stood, also looking towards the hole, her shoulders squared, and arms recoiled, as if ready for an ambush.

"Nalya!" Apol shouted, but Nalya didn't hear him. He tried again, "NALYA!"

She heard him then and whipped her head towards him.

For only a split second, perhaps even less than that, he thought about whether he would regret ordering what he was about to say.

"TAKE HER." 

And then they were gone.