Chapter 4
Chapter Four
A pounding on the door startles me before Raven’s irate voice breaks through the hushed silence. “You guys better be decent because I’m coming in one way or another.”
“Uh-oh,” Jayden says with a small smile. “Someone’s in trouble.”
“Shut up,” I whisper, wiping under my eyes.
“This conversation isn’t over, my love. I can’t let you do this.” Jayden kisses my forehead and then opens the door for Raven.
“Where is she?” Raven growls.
Jayden moves over and Raven’s gaze snaps to mine. “You. You better not even think about it.”
She storms over to the bed and clutches my shoulders. Her grip is tight as if worried I’ll disappear if she doesn’t hold on tight. She might be right but for now, I’m not going anywhere.
“I have to at least consider it,” I say. “If it can save you all, would it be so bad?”
“That’s a big if and one I’m not willing to bet your life on. We need you.” Raven glares at me. “Don’t be an idiot.”
“I’m not one of your brothers. I know what I’m doing and if this can save everyone, I will do it.” I cross my arms over my chest.
Raven turns to Jayden with a raised brow. “What did you say about this?”
“You know I’m not going to let this happen. Why would you even ask me that?” Jayden asks.
“See? You’re outvoted. We aren’t going to let you do this.” Raven nods in satisfaction.
“If I do this, you won’t be able to stop me,” I say.
Am I being stubborn? Absolutely, but I don’t like being told what to do.
The thought of losing anyone else is so painful that I’m constantly searching for ways out of this whole big mess.
I would rather no one have to fight and die.
If I have to sacrifice my life for theirs, then I will do it a hundred times over.
“I already told you that I will chain your ass to the bed to stop you, baby. Don’t test me,” Jayden growls.
“Kinky, but not the time, Jayden.” Raven rolls her eyes. “We need to find Hermes’ caduceus and stop thinking about the rantings of an evil queen.”
“Yes, let’s work on a plan that will actually happen rather than the ones that won’t.” Jayden nods his agreement.
“So you all just decided this?” I ask.
I hate how cavalier they are about their lives and a huge civil war among the gods. We won’t come out of something like that unscathed and I could stop it, but they are right. There are no assurances that Hera will end this craziness.
“Yes, you are too self-sacrificing and you jump in headfirst so no one else gets hurt. You can’t objectively make a decision like this.” Raven leans over me. “Don’t try me, Beth. It’s not happening.”
“Whatever.” I stand from the bed and trudge into my closet to get the book.
A furious knock sounds on the door and I throw my hands up in the air. This day just keeps getting better. Who could that be? The question is answered a minute later when Adrian and the others trail into my room.
“You can’t, Beth. She’s lying,” Adrian rasps. “I saw it. I saw the possibilities. That one doesn’t end the way you think. It can’t even be an option.”
“When did you have this vision?” I ask, suspicious.
“Not long after you disappeared from the dungeon. I came up here as soon as it was over.” Adrian runs a hand through his hair.
“This isn’t all bullshit to force me into a decision that puts you all at risk, is it?” I drop the book on the table.
“No, I wouldn’t lie about a vision like that.” Adrian shakes his head. “You can’t do it. We are all doomed to fail if you agree to this.”
“Why are you telling me this? You are never super forthcoming with your visions.”
“I got the impression during the vision that if I didn’t tell you, then it would spell disaster for us all,” Adrian says.
“Okay.” Raven claps her hands. “Now that stupidity is settled, we can get down to planning the real mission.”
“Sometimes I wonder why we’re friends.”
Raven scoffs. “You would be lost without me and you know it. Ever since the first time we met.”
“I thought you were weird and unhinged the first time we met.” I point at her.
“You did not. You were wary of everything because you felt this guy’s eyes on you.” She waves a dismissive hand in Jayden’s direction.
“That’s not how I remember it,” Jayden says. “You clearly freaked her out.”
“I just knew we would be best friends.”
“Then stop calling me stupid for considering saving your ass,” I say.
I flop onto the couch and pull the book closer, ready to be done with this pointless conversation. They don’t realize that I’m not as convinced by Adrian’s vision as they are because if it comes down to it, I will still choose them.
“Okay, so Hermes said he is more than just the messenger god but the god of travelers and communication, right? I wonder if we can get Kira or the other Hephaestus kids to come up with a type of magical radio so we can hear what’s happening outside the walls of the academy. ” I flip through the book.
“Yeah, he seemed really concerned about a possible rip in reality or something sending travelers to other realms,” Jayden says as he sits next to me.
“The idea of other realms never even occurred to me,” I say. “How are there other realms close enough to us that we could just slip inside them without even trying?”
Greyson tilts his head. “All these months and you never wondered where other supernatural creatures came from?”
“Um, no. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been kind of busy. I thought they were all from here. Or like children of the gods like shifters are Artemis children.” I shrug.
“A lot of supernatural species can be traced back to the fae. They are ancient magic users from the Otherworld which is split by a veil between realms. They closed the veil long ago because they were interfering too much with humans and the gods were getting angry at them.”
“I can see that.” I nod. “The gods are all about the power they wield over humans so another species coming in and making them more powerful would piss the gods off, I’m sure.”
“Okay, so how do we stop ourselves from slipping through this veil if it is open and popping up in weird places, trapping travelers in other worlds?” Raven asks.
“I don’t know. I’m unsure if we will even know it’s happening until it’s too late,” I say.
“Great, so this mission just got infinitely trickier,” Raven grumbles.
“We really need a radio. We could just be borrowing trouble that doesn’t actually exist.” Jayden pats my knee.
“Agreed. I think we should talk to Kira now and have her get started on a radio for information.” I push myself up from the couch.
“If Hermes is weakening and is the god of communication, can we even trust any communications?” Greyson asks. “The communications would already be breaking down outside the academy, right?”
“We need something. Last time we went in completely blind and that wasn’t okay.” I pull the door open.
Jayden strides next to me, studying my face with a small frown.
He knows me too well and I’m not sure how long I can hold up this facade.
They think I’ll blindly trust Adrian’s visions and though I usually do, I can’t shake this horrible feeling in my gut that something is off.
That if I don’t take her offer, something terrible is going to happen to my friends.
“We’ve pretty much always gone in blind to what’s actually happening in the world around us. Having a radio to tell us what’s going on and how many are missing already is a good start.” Jayden squeezes my arm lightly.
“Hopefully. I don’t think it will give us any clues on where to look for his temple, though.” I chew my lip.
“It’s more than we’ve had in the past, and with the messenger god practically out of commission this time, we would have even less information without a radio.” Raven jogs to catch up.
She eyes me warily too, like she’s trying to get inside my head. Between the two of them, I don’t really stand a chance at hiding my true feelings on all of this Hera shit. I just need to focus on the task at hand and not think about Hera’s deal.
They aren’t wrong, though. She didn’t say anything about ending the war or giving Hermes his caduceus back, just that she wouldn’t destroy it. Is that her play, then? She wants me to take this deal so she doesn’t destroy Hermes and then once I’m out of the way, her victory is ensured?
Adrian’s vision could be true and if I make that bargain, then everything is over anyway. Am I willing to sacrifice myself for nothing? Absolutely not.
We get to the Hephaestus floor but Kira is nowhere to be found. “Hey, Grant, where’s Kira?”
“That girl spends all her free time either at the forge or with those men of hers.” Grant shrugs.
“We should have checked the Ares floor first,” Raven says. “They wouldn’t be on the Hermes floor because it’s too crowded.”
“Let’s check the forge first and then try the Ares floor once we get back. I don’t want to keep going up and down the stairs if I can help it,” I say. “Thanks, Grant.”
“No problem,” he mutters and turns his back on us.
The campus is quiet for the first time in weeks since all the crazy bullying started. I guess forced training is tiring them out enough that they don’t have energy for much else. I’m glad it’s working so far.
Trudging through the forest, the sounds soothe my battered soul. The rustling of the trees in the breeze. The sun is setting and I have never been so thankful for a sunset in my life. The weeks without Artemis were brutal.
“Do you think she’s out here?” Raven asks.
A tree branch smacks her in the face and a tinkling giggle sounds from the trees. Raven spins, gripping her battle ax, and bellows.
“You would think they would get bored with torturing you, by now,” I say.
“Dryads are long-lived and they can hold grudges with the best of them.” Jayden chuckles. “If Raven didn’t provoke them so often, they might get bored, but her reactions are pretty entertaining.”
“Shut it, Jayden. You’re going to make this worse,” Raven scoffs.
“I’m only speaking the truth,” Jayden says.