PHOEBE STARED out at the ocean. In La Coruna, or A Coruna as the locals called it, the ocean was everything. Next to her was the world’s oldest lighthouse. It was said to have been built by Hercules himself in ancient times. After several weeks of being in Spain and an excellent grammar book, she was finally starting to pick up on the language. Right now was not the time for studying. This moment was hers alone to stare into the great expanse of ocean before her. Across those waters, she had helped to search for a new leader, find the Qilin, and fell in love.
Already, memories were starting to float back into her mind. The spiteful witch, Juno, had taken her memories temporarily. As memories of Supay started to flow back, Phoebe realized why. Juno was not intent on leading daemons to take over the world or even gain power. They had overestimated her goals. From everything that Phoebe could figure out, Juno just wanted to cause trouble. She thrived on causing hurt to people. Although Juno had agreed to stay out of the infighting, she had managed to split Supay and Phoebe apart. Now, Phoebe was across the world with Apollo. He had rented a condo near the beach and spent each day trying to prove his love. At first, his attempts had been endearing. Now, it felt like he was smothering her. In reality, nothing may have been different. She had just started to change as her memories came back. Phoebe remembered Supay’s cute quirks and his dedication to always doing what was right. She also remembered her own disapproval of Apollo and his intention to kill the Qilin. Alone at the edge of the world, there was no escape from her memories.
Picking her way down the rocks, Phoebe got as close to the ocean as possible. The few tourists that were there spoke Spanish, since La Coruna was a Spanish-tourist destination. On occasion, she ran into the random English family who had decided to take holiday there. The number of English speakers that she had met could be counted on one hand. It made for a lonely existence, but she felt less alone as her Spanish improved. The warmth of Spain and the salty sea air were a welcome change from the thin air at Cuzco.
Sitting down on a rock, Phoebe started to cry. Since finding out she was pregnant, her hormones had gone haywire. It did not help that she truly was in a bad situation. She was stuck in Spain with Apollo and could not bring herself to tell him that she was pregnant. Since she was only a few months along, it still was not noticeable. Even worse, she could not bring herself to call Supay and tell him that she was going to have their child. Unless Supay stopped by the cabin, he may not even know that she was gone. Even worse, he may have already realized she was gone. If so, he would be frantic with worry.