“Stronger,” mumbles Hyacinth, “than you know…” and Apollo’s face, already ashen, pales outright.

A thousand excuses dart through his mind: I didn’t mean to, you should have been watching, a stray malicious wind must have thrown my discus off-target….

But before he can list any of them, or even apologize as he ought to, Hyacinth half-chuckles, half-gasps with one last breath: “Strong enough to live.”