Chapter 5
Abang, bang, bang startles me awake and I pull my sword from the ether without thinking. “What the fuck?”
“It’s Raven.” Jayden tightens his arms around me. “She’s been yelling obscenities through the door for twenty minutes.”
“Why didn’t you answer?” I ask.
“Didn’t want to move.” He tightens his arms around me as I pull the blanket off me.
“We have to get up. I have to leave today, and we need to call a meeting with everyone to let them know where they are going to make their stand.” I kiss him softly.
“I know.” He sighs. “I just don’t want to let you go yet.”
“This sucks but I’ll be back before the battle ends.” I promise. “If the hammer will turn the tide, then we have to be back before the end.”
“We have no idea how long that will be.” Jayden buries his face in my neck, still refusing to let me go.
“You could always change your mind and come with me,” I say but I know it’s selfish to even bring it up.
“You know why I can’t. You’re right. We need to get up.” He unwraps his arms from around me and reaches for his clothes.
“B, come on. We need to get moving,” Raven shouts through the door.
“Easy for you to say, your mate is coming with us. Give me a break,” I snarl.
I yank my pants on, irrationally angry about this whole situation. I glance at Jayden to make sure he’s dressed as well and slam the door open.
“I’m sorry, B. I know it’s not enough time for what we’re all walking into, but the only other choice is saying fuck the world. Which we can totally do but I somehow think you’re not gonna want to do that.”
“Artemis offered the same. It’s not an option. Even if it didn’t mean the end of everything, the queen will never stop hunting me.” My shoulders slump.
“Let’s get this meeting over with.” Jayden wraps an arm around my waist.
“Do we have people in place to check the charms? I don’t want anyone without one in the meeting.”
“No one at the academy has a bare right wrist, baby,” Jayden says. “We’ve checked everyone including the professors. We’re clean of traitors.”
“We should check again. Allegiances change and I don’t know if Apollo’s mark will disappear if that happens.” I snap the door shut behind us.
“That’s smart.” Raven nods. “I’ll have Greyson and Thad check everyone out before the meeting starts but it’s been called already.”
“Who called the meeting?” I ask, picking up my pace and taking the stairs two at a time.
“I did. No one wanted to bother you on your last night with Jayden.” Raven shrugs.
“Thank you. At least some planning got done while I was having my meltdown.”
“That wasn’t a meltdown, Beth. You’re allowed to feel a certain way about being separated from Jayden. The fates already ask too much of you.” Raven pats my shoulder.
“Yeah, well, we’re in the home stretch now and I don’t have to be a part of any war I don’t want to be a part of ever again.” I huff.
“Goals for sure but you know you’ll get drawn into the wolves war.” Raven points a finger at me.
“That is actually our fault, though,” I say. “That guy needs to be taken out before he ruins everything.”
“We didn’t cause that. The queen did,” Jayden says. “It’s not our problem.”
“We have other things to worry about than the shifter war.” I wave him away. “Where are the others?”
“They are in the cafeteria where they set up a base to discuss things before the meeting,” Raven says.
My stomach rumbles at the idea of food and they both laugh at me. Traitorous organ. It’s constantly starving.
“Don’t worry. There will be food in the cafeteria before the meeting,” Raven says with a grin.
“Your stomach is as much of a monster as mine anymore.”
“That’s true. Let’s go eat before everyone gathers in the courtyard.” Raven loops her arm through mine.
I push through the doors and bright sunshine filters down on me. I sigh. It shouldn’t be a sunny happy day. It should be overcast with the way I feel about this mess we’re in.
“Hey, guys,” Thad says as we enter the cafeteria.
“Hey, can you and Greyson check everyone’s marks are there before the meeting? We can’t be too careful with what we’re divulging.” I glance at the buffet line.
My stomach rumbles again and Thad laughs. “I should have known better than to get between you and food. I’ll go get Greyson and we can set up a spot to check them.”
“Very funny. My stomach is a menace, I know.” I roll my eyes.
We make our way to the buffet and fill several plates before sitting with the others. Dax won’t meet my gaze but that’s fine. I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive him yet. He’s an ass.
“Do you guys have the battle plans? What are you doing to reinforce the defenses?” I ask with the fork halfway to my mouth.
Draven sits forward. “I have a group of my siblings who are some of our best magic users reinforcing the wards. They won’t hold indefinitely but you guys will have a warning system in place to tell you when they attack.”
“That’s a good start.” I nod.
“If I didn’t have to be on the mission with you guys, I would do it myself, but they are going to need round the clock maintenance to stay secure.” Draven runs a hand through his hair.
“You don’t have to come with us, Draven. We can do this on our own.” I shovel eggs into my mouth.
“No, I do have to. The other guys are needed here so someone has to protect you girls.” He shakes his head.
“Did he really just say that?” Raven whispers to me.
“Yeah, the likelihood is that we will be protecting him,” I scoff.
“We’re the badasses here, Draven. I’m pretty sure we can protect ourselves.” Raven throws a hunk of bread at him.
“Fine, I’ll protect Kira.” He takes a bite out of the bread Raven just threw.
Jayden cuts off any more bickering. “Kira, did you talk to Ben about reinforcements or traps?”
“Yeah, he’s been working with Claud around the clock to get things in place. I told him that he’s to report to you on all things reinforcements for the academy.” Kira nods.
“So, really the only thing left to discuss is the battle assignments.” I take a bite of bacon.
“Sara and Jackson have been assessing everyone and putting them in groups,” Dax says.
“Did they give you their findings?” I ask.
“What does it matter?” Dax slams his fist on the table. “We don’t know when the damn battle is going to be. We just know the queen will hit us here and no amount of extra wards or planning is going to give us enough time to get into position.”
“Easy there, asshole.” Jayden leans forward. “You’re not taking this shit out on her or anyone else.”
“How are you not pissed about this? They’re going on a mission without us,” Dax snarls.
“Do you want to be the reason we lose? You’re a son of Ares; you live for winning battles. This is what we need to do to win and minimize casualties. So stop fucking whining about it and give me the damn recommendations.”
“Fine,” Dax grumbles.
He pulls a piece of paper out of his back pocket and hands it to me. It has names on it and ranks, everything we would need to decide who goes where.
“They worked out the zones on the map?” I ask.
“Yeah, we figure the queen will send the monsters in as the first line of attack. If we set traps meant to kill them, they will stumble into them because most don’t have a lot of brain power.” Jayden sips his orange juice.
“True. Whatever demigod forces they have with them will be more cautious and easily slip between the traps.”
“Any Athena and Apollo demigods they have fighting for them won’t be too much of an issue, but I don’t want casualties on either side.” Jayden shakes his head.
“Agreed. Employ less than lethal methods on the other demigods. Some could be controlled by the queen, but we won’t be able to tell that. Monsters need to be turned to dust.” I sit back in my chair.
Thad jogs in followed by Greyson. “They are ready for us in the courtyard. Everyone still has the mark on their wrists.”
“Good,” I say, popping the last of my bacon in my mouth. “Is the table with the map we drew up with the different zones on it set up out there?”
“Everything’s ready.” Thad nods. “Are you?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I sigh. “Let’s get this shit show over with so we can finally rest.”
“We’re in the final stretch. One more battle and it’s over no matter what happens.” Jayden wraps his arm around my waist.
“No matter what,” I agree.
It does matter, though, because if we don’t win, it’s the end of everything. Not just in this realm but in all the realms. They each have their own battles to face but ours determines everything. No fucking pressure.
The courtyard is packed with students. The low murmur of voices cut off as soon as they see us walking to the platform where we’ll hold the meeting.
I take a deep breath, balling my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. “Thank you for coming. We have word from the oracle that the queen will attack the academy. We no longer have the option not to fight. They are going to attack our home.”
The whispers start back up again at a dull roar. I raise a hand to quiet everyone, my hand blessedly still even though my heart pounds in my chest.
“Do we know when she’ll attack?” Sara shouts from the front row.
“No, but it’s imminent. We have a couple days until the final battle begins at the most.”
“You’ll be here to help, right? I thought you had to get the hammer,” Sara asks, too smart for her own good… or mine.
“I will be leaving today with a small team to retrieve the hammer. We will not be here when the queen’s forces attack.”
“You guys are the strongest of us, though,” Jackson says.
“That’s why not all of us are going on this mission. We have to leave reinforcements behind if we’re expected to win and mitigate casualties.” My tone is formal and robotic.
Stop reminding me that I have to leave him behind. It’s the best option for us all but I hate it. Jayden squeezes my hip, pulling me closer to him.
“I will be staying behind,” Jayden says. “Along with Thad, Dax, and Adrian. We will be in charge of battle strategy and making sure that everyone is settled into their teams.”