Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Beth, wake the fuck up, now. The voice in my mind is commanding and familiar. I’ll let the realms burn if you don’t wake up, my love. Wake up.
I groan as I blink my eyes open, still rolling in the chariot. The middle chariot is gone and the only opponent left is Heracles’ team. I don’t know that I can fight anymore. My ribs are cracked and every move shoots fire across my chest.
Heracles and Theseus are whispering among themselves as we continue to race along the track side by side. No one is shooting magic or brandishing weapons now. They appear to be waiting for something and it occurs to me suddenly that it’s me.
I sit up with a groan of pain and a roar rattles through my bones. I glance at the platform where the others are and it’s taking all four men to keep Jayden back. His eyes are solid black pits and the shadows are slowly creeping up my friends’ legs, but they either aren’t aware or unconcerned.
“Jayden,” I grunt out a hoarse whisper. “I’m okay. Just a few broken ribs, I think.”
“This ends now. You should have never been in there. You were right. The queen set you up to be murdered and she almost succeeded twice.” He thrashes in my friends’ grip.
“We concede,” Heracles says loudly. “If the queen wants my sister’s death, it will not be by my hand. I will gladly stand aside.”
Theseus nods as well. “Never did like how the queen treated people because of her husband’s mistakes. I won’t be helping her cause.”
They throw down their weapons and their driver stops the chariot. I wave for Draven to do the same. As soon as it stops, Jayden is in front of me, running his hands over me. I wince when he runs a palm over my ribs. His nostrils flare with anger and vengeance.
“He’s dead,” I say. “He is no threat to me anymore.”
“It’s a good thing the dead are my domain, then, isn’t it?” His smile’s wicked with the promise of pain and torture.
“We have bigger things to deal with than torturing someone over a few broken ribs. Come back to me, love. I need to see your bright-blue eyes.” I cup his cheek in an effort to calm him.
His shoulders slump as the shadows recede. The black in his eyes slowly fades away and he releases a breath.
“You made the right choice, Heracles, Theseus,” Apollo says with a bow of his head. “You were always cunning but knew the difference between right and wrong, even if you didn’t always follow it.”
“Thank you, Lord Apollo.” Heracles returns the bow.
“You may be called upon again before the war is won but for now return to the Isles of the Blessed and rest until you’re called upon to fight evil once again.” Apollo waves a hand and the heroes along with the driver vanish much like the others.
“If the queen stole the plinth and wanted to open it, why would she gift it to the winner of the Olympian games?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest.
“The queen never had the plinth. She sent her own greatest warriors to retrieve it.” Apollo’s mischievous smile is almost contagious.
“I thought Hermes was the god of mischief.” I raise a brow.
“Well, with my little brother out of commission someone has to step up,” Apollo shoots back.
“Do they really, though? That race was fucking crazy. I was poisoned and hit with magic. That is not my idea of fun,” I grumble.
“You won first blood and everything. It was spectacular.” Apollo throws his hands up.
“I also got mowed over, but Pandora wants her box back, so can we have it?” I ask.
“Pandora? That’s who sent you? Not Hermes?” Apollo’s eyes widen and he curses. “That’s the timeline we’re on.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“Be very sure of yourself before you trust anyone with the plinth. It’s not only the hope for humanity but the realms.” He transports us back to the road with that cryptic warning.
Shit.
The plinth is in my arms as I touch solid ground and instantly my friends surround me.
I scan the highway until my glare lands on Pandora.
Apollo gave me that warning and I don’t doubt him anymore now that we have an idea of his struggles with being the villain in his own story. How lonely that must be for him.
“You got it,” Pandora breathes and lunges forward.
Raven brandishes her swords at Pandora, not allowing her too close to me or the plinth. Pandora stops dead, her eyes wide and innocent, but the act doesn’t work on me. She’s up to something.
“How did the queen get the plinth in the first place?” I ask.
“I don’t know. It was there one second and gone the next.” She scans the group for any sign of a friendly face but finds none. “She can god travel like Prometheus. Maybe she traveled to my cave got it and transported out.”
“Why would she offer it as a prize in the Olympian games if she wanted it? Wouldn’t she just open it herself?” I tap my foot.
“Only a human can open it,” she says.
“None of the warriors in that race were considered human anymore,” I counter. “Try again.”
“What? That’s not right,” she says. “I’m sure she had a human champion there to win it for her.”
Her story is full of holes and she just keeps digging them deeper. Should I tell her that actually Apollo stole it and either the queen lied to her or that we know she’s working with the queen to open the damn thing? Nah, I’m gonna let her sweat more.
“Nope,” I say, popping the P. “It was all the best warriors of centuries past.” I wince as my rib shifts back into place.
Healing wounds suck. Especially fast healing ones that snap and crackle as they mend together.
The elixir. Damn it. It’s gone. What in Hades are we going to do if someone is seriously injured?
We still have a ton more battles to face.
Hermes is out of commission so even if we got a message to the academy, there’s no way to get us a new bottle.
“No, no, no, the spirits of men can’t open it. I told her that. Only a human.” She grips her hair on both sides and tugs like she’s having a mental breakdown.
She probably is, but it’s enough to give me everything I need.
A grin spreads across my lips. “Told who? Who’d you tell that to, Pandora? The queen?”
Her hands drop from her hair and she covers her mouth, horror in her wide eyes. “I-I I didn’t tell anyone that.”
“You just said it. Am I wrong?” I glance around at my friends who all have weapons drawn.
“Nope, you’re not wrong. I don’t think the queen had the plinth at all. I think it was all a trick to get it back because you sided with her in this war, didn’t you?” Raven asks with a glare.
“Give me my plinth,” Pandora screams.
She lunges forward again but Raven once again blocks the clumsy human woman.
“How dare you fight against me? I’m the only reason our sex exists,” Pandora screeches.
“You see? That’s where you’re wrong. The only reason women exist was to punish him for his gift to mankind.
They put all kinds of nasty traits into you that we have had to battle against the stigma of for centuries.
It’s a wonder we didn’t trust you even before we received the warning,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Don’t bring me into this.” Prometheus raises his hands. “My only worry was for the plinth and that the hope of mankind remains inside after this foolish woman let everything else out.”
“Foolish woman, see what I mean? We have been fighting against the stigmas you gave us for millennia.” I shake my head.
Jayden’s shoulder brushes against mine. “Our deal is done, Pandora. You asked us to compete in the games and win the plinth to keep it safe. It’s not our fault you suck at manipulating people and can’t even come up with a plausible story.”
“Then give me the plinth and you can be on your way,” she growls, reaching for it again.
The final broken rib snaps back into place and I whimper in pain, but the pain quickly fades and all I feel is rage at the first woman of humankind.
“You have been guarding the hope of humanity for millennia. It’s probably the only reason you haven’t crumbled to dust already. Why now? Why give up hope now?” I ask with a growl in my tone.
“Do you think hope will matter when Hera wins?” she asks.
I lunge for her, passing the plinth to Jayden and calling on my whip. I want to strangle the woman with it.
“I gave you a warning about speaking that name around me.”
“You think it matters?” She cackles. “You really think she doesn’t already know where you are and what you’re doing? She knows all and she sees all.”
“Yeah? So that means she’s seen me kick her minions’ asses over and over again. She’s seen me win every battle. How does she possibly think that she can win the war?”
“She’s the queen of the gods. She always gets what she wants and what she wants is your pretty little head. I’m shocked she didn’t get her wish during the games.” Pandora shrugs.
“She almost did but we’re smart enough to have healers who stock us up for these little missions.” I flick my hair over my shoulder.
“I’m surprised we didn’t all die at one point or another in the past.” Jayden smirks. “It’s because of Beth and that’s why the queen is playing dirty now. Because her monsters didn’t work, no matter which ones she sent or how many. We have always come out on top.”
“Don’t get cocky, son of Hades. You’re still part human,” Pandora sings.
“It’s a very small part at this point,” Prometheus says with a frown as something occurs to him.
“You can sense it, right? The gods touched blood running through our veins?” I raise a brow.
“That’s impossible. You would have been exposed at least twice to be this close to a full-fledged god.” Prometheus tilts his head to the side.
“I was almost exposed to it a third time in the fae realm but I backed off real fucking quick.” I shudder.
“The fae realm? Why would you back away when it gives you the power of a god?” Prometheus asks, thoughtful.
“I don’t want that kind of power. I don’t think anyone should have it. Sometimes not even the gods themselves. We’re already dealing with a problem because the wrong shifter was exposed to it. No thank you.”