Free Shadow Titan by Lizzy Ford Page A

owed a life debt by a queen?
    The wealth and power I
could’ve asked for … But I didn’t have the
chance, and now, I was probably going to die in this damn
forest.
    The reality of my situation hit me then with
such force, the constant stream of thoughts in my head fell
silent.
    I’d gone soft over the past few years. I was
raised on the streets after being abandoned by my mother, a human
who hadn’t wanted to deal with society scorning her for raising a
demigod child. When old enough, I earned money as a street corner
magician and used my Titan power to wow strangers for money. At one
point, until my mid-teens, I’d been a survivor, someone who had
lived through cold winters under the bridge and survived stretches
where I was too sick or injured by thugs to beg for food and money.
My wits, charm, and my power had made me successful, even before I
found Adonis to do my dirty work.
    I was the son of a Titan. A forest wasn’t
going to best me.
    “ You’re alive, Titan.” The
disembodied whisper was strained and faint, originating from the
air itself.
    “ Oh, so you haven’t
abandoned me,” I murmured. “I didn’t think I’d be able to hear you
without my power.”
    “ I’m using my power, what’s
left of it,” she replied. “You did as I asked. I’m
grateful.”
    I debated how to answer.
The Oracle of Delphi had spoken to me out of the blue three days
ago. She was powerful, if she could talk to me without being
present. One of the perks of being the son of the Titan of the
Unseen – I lived in shadows and secrets. But she’d seen me somehow when gods
and goddesses could not. She’d then tracked me down. I hadn’t
expected to hear from her again after doing as she bade me and
warning the Queen about the impending danger.
    I wasn’t going to perish in the woods, but
did I dare trust her intentions were good? I knew better than to
trust anyone with supernatural power; they were generally arrogant
and manipulative, same as I was.
    “ You can show your
gratitude by driving out here to pick me up,” I replied
wryly.
    “ That’s not possible,” the
Oracle said. “But I can alert someone to help you. They cannot be a
human or a god. If you know a priest or priestess, or another
demigod, I can speak to them.”
    “ For anyone else, that
might be a problem,” I said with a pained laugh. “Adonis, my
companion, is neither god nor human. He’s not a priest or demigod,
either. I’m not sure how to classify him, except he’s half
monster.”
    “ Where can I find
him?”
    “ Can’t you locate him like
you did me? Suddenly and in such a terrifying manner, I didn’t
sleep for two nights?”
    “ You are an odd man,
Titan,” she said.
    Was she amused or irritated? I couldn’t
tell, except there was a note in her voice I hadn’t heard
before.
    “ It took me quite some time
to discover you,” she continued. “If you want him here soon, you’ll
tell me where to start looking.”
    I rolled my eyes then wondered briefly if
she were able to witness the act. “He’s at our apartment in
downtown Chevy Chase.”
    Silence.
    I waited a few breaths.
    “ Do you need more
information? Or will that suffice?” I asked, unable to sense her in
any form.
    “ That was enough. He’s on
his way to you.” She paused, and this time, when she spoke again, I
recognized the suspicion in her tone. “What did you do to him? His
mind is dark.”
    “ It’s not your concern,” I
replied. “So you can see me when no other goddess can and peer into
the minds of strangers at will. What else can you do?”
    “ There are few limits to my
abilities.”
    “ Meaning what? You’re more
powerful than a goddess?”
    “ My power is derived from
this world, which gives me the home advantage.”
    Along with my curiosity
about her power, I’d been trying to figure her out. At times sarcastic and other
times compassionate, she was very much human and yet distinctly
not. “Thank you for alerting my friend. Shall I assume