Chapter Nine
Isnuck into my dorm a couple hours later, grinning like a clown. Was there anything better than sex? Yes, and it was sex with Alexander Damien.
My smile dimmed. Daciana sat on her bed, staring at a blank spot on her wall.
“Daciana?” I tapped on her desk, drawing her head up. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
She looked okay. Daciana was bright and beautiful as she was every morning. Her wavy two-colored crown was brushed till it shone and that always present smile hung on her lips. Dare I say something that would take it away?
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” I began slowly. “You disappeared after history class yesterday. I was worried about you.”
“Disappeared,” she repeated, rolling it on her tongue. “What a nice thought. Back home, I’d have to run for miles through mud and lakes for my pack to lose my scent. Kinda nice to be somewhere I don’t have to run far for peace.
“It’s not as nice that I worried you. Sorry about that. I just wasn’t expecting to hear about vampires here of all places.”
I joined her on the bed. “You didn’t know about the wars either?”
“No, I knew. Knowledge can’t be hidden from the pack. The history of our ancestors is a gift from the goddess that’s meant to grant us wisdom. Seeing the lessons they learned and the mistakes they made makes each generation stronger.”
“What does that mean? Seeing the lessons?”
Daciana gazed off into the distance. “It means I’ve lived a thousand lives, Aella, and nearly all of them were ended brutally and painfully by a vampire... including my mother.”
It was the second time within hours that I was struck speechless. She can’t be saying... Please, Hera, mother of all, don’t let her be saying what I think she is.
“Do you mean you saw it all in a vision? Like Ionna?”
“I wish they were visions. Those would be easier to bear.” She tossed her head. “We see it all as if we’re walking in their shoes. Looking through their eyes. On the longest night of the year, we pray for the goddess to unite us—binding us together, and to her, forever. In return we are blessed”—she let out a small laugh—“or maybe we’re humbled to see, hear, smell, and feel those who came before.
“I felt his teeth sink into her throat as she screamed for my father to run with me. I heard my own fading cries as she died alone on the cold floor.” Daciana flashed me another smile, but there was no mirth. And it wasn’t that pleasant. “So, you could say I’m not particular to vampires. There wasn’t mention of them in the chapter we were assigned. Madame Remis blindsided me with the true, unedited version.”
“Oh, Daciana.” I threw my arms around her. “Everything I think to say sounds silly and basic. I’m so sorry for your mother, and that you’ve had to relive the pain of her death in the worst way. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. Even if it’s just someone who’ll run through the mud and lakes by your side.”
“You couldn’t keep up, Olympian.” She nudged my shoulder, smiling a real, true smile. “But thank you. You offering to be here for me... there’s nothing silly or basic in that.”
We sat in silence for a little bit, but we weren’t alone. The space was filled with our demons paying call.
Shaking herself, Daciana cleared her throat. “What about you? Are you okay?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It must’ve been a shock to find out vampires exist. All of this must be a shock,” she said, waving her hand. “From New York to Deucalion Academy. Nothing can prepare you for that culture shock.”
I gaped at her. “Wh— Wh— How? Who told you?”
She gave me a knowing look. “You did, of course. If your New York accent wasn’t enough of a clue, you say things like basic and lip gloss, your pulse races and swallow reflex increases with every new monster you learn about—including the vampires. You look blank-faced at everything Ionna, Theron, Nitsa, and Tycho say, even though it’s common knowledge to them. And again, but it bears repeating, your accent is incredibly obvious.” She winked. “Literally everyone would know you weren’t from here, if they’d ever been anywhere else to compare.”
“I...” My brain went offline. Was there a single part of that I could argue with? Deny? If I could, what would be the point? Daciana had me cold. “Why didn’t you say anything before now?” I asked softly.
“There were always other people around. I assumed you had a good reason for keeping quiet about your past. I’m not going to out you.”
Looking around, I leaned in close. “Yes, it has to be a secret. I shouldn’t even exist,” I whispered. “My father broke all kinds of laws sneaking out of Olympia to be with my mother. He broke even more when he let me be raised on the wrong side of the barrier so that our family wouldn’t break up.”
“Oh no. Does that mean he’d be arrested if anyone found out? Or worse?”
I shook my head. “Worse has already happened. My father died when I was two.”
“I’m so sorry, Aella.” She squeezed my hand, comforting me.
“The reason I have to hide now is...”
A wolf will cross domains, floated through my mind.
“...is because Olympia isn’t very kind to outsiders,” I finished. “It’s hard enough being a Sisyphean. I don’t need to be the half-mortal Sisyphean too.”
“I understand. No one understands better than me. I hear the things they whisper about me for being a werewolf. Not kind to outsiders is putting it nicely.”
I squeezed back, wishing I could hunt down all of those whisperers and kick them in the junk. I also wished I could tell Daciana the truth.
You can’t,sense said. This is my fight and my mother. Daciana is going through enough here. Like Theron said, she didn’t leave her home to fight my war.
“Well, now that you know, I can finally ask without giving myself away. How do these dominions work? Why do you know about New York accents, but no one else here does? Do werewolves not have barriers and wards around their dominion?”
“We do,” she said. “Nothing like the Olympian ones. We werewolves have our own kind of magic, and use that to mark and protect our territory, but it is different from Olympia. Olympians all live together, while for us, different packs live apart. Plus, the Olympian barrier has to be sealed off from the other dominions so monsters don’t escape.” She shrugged. “Werewolves are peaceful. We have no animosity toward any being other than vampires, and that’s because those fuckers keep attacking us.
“We love the mortal dominion. I’ve visited New York many times with my pack sisters.”
“Uh-oh, where in New York are we talking about? The real NYC, or all the touristy spots?”
She laughed. “Now I don’t want to say. Empire State Building?”
“Ugh.”
“Times Square?”
“Ugh,” I groaned.
“Statue of Liberty?”
“UGH!” I tossed my head. “No, no, no. The next time you’re in New York, I’ll be your tour guide. I’ll show you all the best spots. Like first, there’s this brunch place where...”
We talked and traded stories about our homes until I finally asked the question on my mind.
“Daciana, I hope you don’t mind, but when Vasili introduced you, he called you a high priestess. What does that mean?”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all. It’s not a secret. It means I’m a vessel for the goddess,” she said. “Every thirty years, the great packs gather for the blood moon. During the ceremony, the goddess will bestow her light on the mate she’s chosen for me. A mate guaranteed to help me raise a strong and proud new generation of werewolves.
“Under the blessings of the goddess and the packs, we’ll consummate our union, bond, and through me the goddess will bestow her gifts to the bloodlines. Without the ceremony, the werewolves will stop giving birth to werewolves, and will instead give birth to mun— I mean, mortals. The werewolf race will die out in a single generation.”
I gaped at her. “You’re responsible for all that? But— But— But that must make you the most famous, most important werewolf in the world.”
“I mean, yeah.” She shrugged. “I guess it does.”
“Wow.” I rocked back, taking in that I was sitting next to werewolf royalty. “That’s a lot of pressure. Finding out who your husband is minutes before you have sex with him in front of everyone. What if it’s bad?” I mused. “What if he’s sixty years older than you with six teeth, yellow toenails, and bad breath?”
She giggled. “The goddess has yet to be so unkind to one of her priestesses. She chose my father for my mother, and they were very happy. I trust that she wants my happiness too.”
I squeezed her hands. “Me too. Whoever she chooses is going to be amazing, because amazing is what you deserve.” My grin turned wicked. “Although, now I know why you chose to do the interdominion program.”
“You do?”
“Don’t play innocent. You came to set your little wolf free where there were no other wolves to see or gossip.” I waggled my brows. “Time for a ho-down, slut party, sex parade, orgasm jamboree.”
Her jaw dropped. “No, it isn’t! I did not— That wasn’t— I wanted to learn about—”
“If demigods have power in the bedroom too?”
Alex sure does. I shivered thinking about last night.
“I like it, and I respect it,” I said. “Who do you want to be your first conquest?”
A pillow to the face was my answer.
“I did not come for a slut party ho-down,” she said, laughing. “But... I won’t deny I did want some freedom. Back home, I can’t go anywhere without a dozen guards. There’s nothing vampires want more than the end of the werewolves. Assassinating me before the ceremony will give them their wish.”
She sighed. “They’ve been trying to kill me since...”
Since they killed her mother.
My heart broke in half. “I’m so sorry. Are you sure you’re safe here?”
“Oh, yeah. You heard what Remis said. Vampires are an even bigger threat to you guys than monsters. No way Olympians would risk one crossing the barrier. This is the safest I’ve ever been.”
“It’s going to be the happiest too.” I leaned in, pressing my forehead to hers. “You’re going to have the best four years here. Friends, fun, parties, a little ho time when your schedule permits.”
That got another laugh from her.
“I promise.”
“Thank you, Aella. You’re a good friend.” She pressed back, smiling. “My best.”
My lips smiled, but my eyes didn’t. Visions of Kylie and Dina danced through my mind.
We talked a little more, then I had to face the music.
Swallowing a sigh, I approached my alcove. Selene sounded off before my foot hit the first step.
“How dare you!”
I rolled my eyes.
“Insolent, disobedient, stupid, promiscuous girl! Don’t you ever, ever take me off again. If you do, I’ll have you ripped apart and badly put together again. I’ll have you beaten, drawn, and quartered. I’ll—”
Her threats continued on like that in a steady, unending, irritating stream.
“All right,” I gritted. “Would it make you feel better if I told you we spent all night looking for a place where Clotho, Apate, and Pistis can be found together?”
She quieted. “Did you?” Selene’s voice was heavy with suspicion.
“Yep,” I lied through my teeth. “We didn’t let up all night. Going and going and going. To be fair, Alex put in most of the work, but the man knows what he’s doing. We searched so well, I’m sore in places I didn’t know I could be sore.”
She sniffed. “Well, that’s what I expect to hear. Were your efforts fruitful?”
“Oh, they were very, very fruitful,” I replied. “But we didn’t find anything. I’ll ask around today.”
“See that you do.”
With that, she fell silent.
Eventually, we were all ready to go. Stepping out into the hall, we—
“Whoa, look out!” Theron pulled me back as a pack of rushing, writhing bodies bowled through the spot I was standing in.
“Whoops.” Kosma burst into giggles mid-twirl. Her other friends were still dancing and running about the place—colliding with each other like drunk billiard balls. “Sorry. Didn’t see you there.” Grabbing my cheeks, Kosma smooched me full on the mouth.
Whoops and applause went up in the hall.
“Aww. They’re in love.”
“No, we are not!” I batted her hands and lips away. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Shhh.” She smooshed her finger against my mouth. “We’ll continue this later.”
“Um, no we won’t.”
Kosma danced away.
“There will be no later!” If she heard me, she gave no sign. She was too busy bursting into song.
“What in the fuck just happened?”
Nitsa cringed. “I’d know the expression on their faces anywhere. Paradise tea,” she said to our confused looks. “Looks like they may have gone a little overboard. Jason warns no more than one flower a day. I wouldn’t be surprised if they brewed and downed five.”
“What happens if you drink too much?” Daciana asked.
“You just saw it.”
“Yikes,” I hissed. “If they dance into Hondros’s class like that, he’ll lose it on all of us.”
I was wrong. Hondros didn’t lose it. He took one look at the novices dancing on his desk, climbing his bookshelves, and running up and down the aisles, and turned and walked out.
My friends and I traded looks.
“Uh, what now?” I asked. “Is class dismissed?”
The Titans didn’t look like they knew any better than we did. I caught Alex’s eye and he tipped his chin down, eyes pointing something out.
I didn’t know what he meant until my pocket heated up. I took out the box he gave me the night before. Inside was a small, folded note.
You look pretty today.
I smothered a smile. I couldn’t take it. He was just so adorable.
Before my eyes, another note appeared. Not there one second and then there the next. It wasn’t as cool as my cell phone, but it was pretty close.
Makes me want to bend you over this desk and see how many times I can get you to make that squeak.
I choked, brows blowing up. Gods above. Cell phones or not, guys were the same everywhere. Nothing gets in the way of sexting.
Peeking through my lashes, I dashed off a note while Kosma bounced from table to table, singing a particularly raunchy song to Daciana, of all people. The growls peeling from the werewolf’s throat kept Kosma’s lips at bay—for now.
I tucked the note in the box, heating up as Alex opened it.
The last thing a girl wants to hear about her first time is that she’s squeaky.
His reply was immediate.
Does she want to hear that her pussy tastes sweeter than honey, she smells heavenlier than paradise flowers, and I’m so hard for her right now, I couldn’t stand up if a manticore burst through the door?
“What are you reading?”
I jumped. “What? Nothing. What?”
Daciana stuck owlish eyes in my face. “Can’t be nothing. Your heart’s racing, your neck’s sweating, and arousal is wafting off you hot and thick.”
“Fuck’s sake, woman.” I crumpled the note, hiding it under my leg. “Do you have to spell it out like that?”
She shrugged. “Not my fault. I smell what I smell.”
“Well—well, stop smelling what you smell!”
Daciana laughed, leaning away. “I’ll try. But whoever they are...” She winked. “Hold on to them.”
Oh, I would.
“Enough of this shit.” One of the Titan boys grabbed his bag and shoved back from the table. “Why they let these stupid fucking Sisypheans in the same class as us, I have no idea. Just because all of you useless sacks of tears and snot are monster food doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t want to learn how to protect our home!”
“Hey.” I shot to my feet. “Why are you shouting at the Sisypheans? We all know they’re acting like this because they’re high on your Titan buddy’s plant piss!”
Jason hummed. He was in the middle of dropping kisses up Penelope’s, one of Sirena’s handmaidens, arms and didn’t see the need to stop. “Never heard anyone refer to tea as plant piss, but it’s my new favorite phrase. You’re as witty as you are beautiful, Aella Vanda.”
“Seriously?” I cried in disbelief. “I’m cursing you out and you’re still flirting with me? What does it take to turn you off?”
Jason’s smirk was wolfish. “Let’s find out together, gorgeous.”
“That is not a sexy thing to say.”
“Then why are you blushing?”
My hands flew to my heated cheeks, deepening my embarrassment.
Crash!
“That’s enough,” Alex barked, kicking away his toppled chair. “Don’t turn your shit around on her. This is your fault. Apologize to her, then put these six back the way they were.”
“Who says he has to?”
It wasn’t Jason who spoke.
Dimitri rose to his full height. All smoking hot, bright-eyed, enigmatic inch of him. “You going to make him, Golden Boy?”
“Because we’d love to see that,” Sebastian added, rising out of his chair.
Grinning away, Jason stood up too. “Oooh, are we about to do this? Excellent. Fighting is my next favorite thing after loving.” He winked at Penelope. “If I lose, I’ll need tending and comforting. If I win... then I’ll leave it up to you to decide a hero’s prize.”
Daciana didn’t need to say it. I smelled the arousal coming off that daughter of Athena.
“You don’t want to pick this fight.” Alex stepped into the aisle, eyes sparking with the power of Zeus himself. “It’s not one you can win.”
The Hell Boys—minus Castor who was once again fast asleep—advanced on him, cracking their knuckles.
“We’ll see about that.”
“No,” said a dry voice. “We won’t. Sleep.”
Alex crumpled like old laundry, collapsing on the floor.
“Sleep, sleep, sleep.”
The Hell Boys went down quicker than bowling pins. Jason took out a desk on his way down, flipping it on top of him.
I spun around. Hondros and Vasili stood at the door, calm in the face of half the girls’ screaming, asking Jason and Alex if they were okay.
Vasili turned his sights on the high, out-of-control Sisypheans.
“Sleep, sleep, sleep—”
“Wait, sir,” someone cried. “Let me get him down first—”
“Sleep.”
The novice fell from the shelves, hitting the floor with a terrible thud.
“Ouch,” Daciana hissed. “That broke something.”
Vasili made short work of the rest, leaving us all sitting in horrified silence. His gaze swept over us. “That was your last warning, novices. Pray we don’t have this discussion again.”
Last warning? When was the first one!
Vasili left.
“Son of Hypnos,” Tycho murmured. “God of sleep. I never met one before. Kind of hope I don’t again.”
“Now,” Hondros began, stepping over the pile of sleeping Hell Boys in his path. “Let us begin with chapter four...”
ALEX, SEBASTIAN, JASON, and the others didn’t make it to history. They were still passed out on the floor, and Hondros wouldn’t allow anyone to help them.
Halfway through the lesson, there was finally a lull in the discussion for me to sneak in a question.
“Madame Remis?” I spoke up. “Since we’re speaking of one-sided history, can we talk about Michail Midas? I read a book in the library yesterday that suggested there was more to him than there seemed.”
“Ahh, Michail Midas.” She stopped pacing to lean against her desk. “I’m glad you brought him up, Miss Vanda. He is a great topic for our lesson today. King Midas’s reign was a fascinating time in Olympian history.”
“The usurper Midas,” Sirena stressed, “was a traitor and assassin. That psychotic Hades spawn is a black stain on our history. Nothing more.”
Remis smiled patiently at Sirena. The daughter of Hera was making a habit of arguing with her.
“No one is arguing the man’s morality left a lot to be desired,” Remis said, “but when he unseated the council and named himself king, he repealed a fair number of laws. Including the one that didn’t allow regular Olympians to come and go from our dominion as they pleased.”
I sat up straighter. He did what?
“Really?” Delia, a Titan, asked. “He brought down the barrier?”
“He didn’t bring it down. Such an ancient and powerful spell, he couldn’t. But he did command the children of Hecate working in the palace. They guarded the potion that let council members pass through and return. Midas made it so anyone with a reason or request could take a jaunt into the human dominion.”
“Wow,” Daciana said. “So that’s why even mortals know the legend of King Midas—the man who turned everything he touched to gold.”
“That is why exactly. With the lid popped off our hidden world, mundanes learned of Midas, and that’s not where it stopped. Of course, mundanes already had a concept of gods, demons, and magic from before the scatter and the treaty of the five dominions. Gods they still believed in, but the rest faded into legend and scary stories.
“When we powered demigods suddenly reappeared in their lives, it set off a wave of hysteria among those who couldn’t believe we were real, let alone meant no harm. To be fair, it’s possible quite a few demigods did do harm.” Once again, we were a rapt audience. “True magic performed before their eyes. Fatal illnesses healed overnight. Men taking the form of animals. Women controlling people with the snap of their fingers.
“Mundanes quickly determined that we were demons sent by Hades or poor mundanes possessed by such a demon. Naturally, the only solution was to hang, stone, or burn every suspected communer with Hades.”
“Rhea and Cronus,” a guy behind me said. “Savages.”
“Looking back, their actions were certainly cruel and barbaric, but they were scared. Everything they thought they knew of the world was turned on its head. All of a sudden, they were seeing impossible things wherever they looked. Many thought they were going mad. Many deemed others mad when they told tales of men who wielded fire with their bare hands. Too many people to name were locked away in asylums for sharing the truth of what demigods could do.
“Yes, they were wrong to kill out of fear. Although I ask you, my young novices, were we not wrong too? We could’ve been passive observers in their world. Instead, we blew in, had our fun throwing our powers around, and then blew out, leaving them to deal with the consequences,” she said.
“Around the time mundanes started hunting for ‘witches,’ they stumbled on vampires by accident. This gave birth to vampire hunters that drove their covens deeper into hiding. Of course, we were blamed for reawakening them to humans with extraordinary abilities. It nearly kicked off another interdominion war.
“King Midas appeased the vampires by giving them gold. As much as they desired,” she said, motioning to an invisible pile taller than her. “From then on, vampires went from living in crypts and abandoned buildings to occupying castles and buying out entire out-of-the-way towns. One ill-conceived act led to another, and as a result, we made an enemy stronger than they ever were.”
I flicked to Daciana. Did she know this particular part of history, or was she learning about it for the first time too? Knowing her hatred of vampires, she can’t be thrilled to learn demigods had a hand in making them stronger.
“Why are you telling us this?” Sirena didn’t ask a question politely when rude and demanding worked just as well. “Midas was stupid to break council law, but you can’t expect much more from a psychopath. Everything else that happened with the mundanes and the vampires is just too bad. Their weakness and ignorance weren’t our fault.”
Remis picked up her feet and walked the room. The lady was never behind her podium. “I don’t aim to assign fault. My goal is to teach you history and hope you learn more than facts and dates. I won’t tell you what the lesson is to be learned in this instance.” She turned her enigmatic smile on us. “You tell me.”
I could tell her. The lesson was a child of the Fates gave Midas the power to get rid of his enemies, steal power, name himself a king, and wreak havoc that spilled into nearly every dominion—the worst damage being on the mortals.
The more you change your past, the further your future unravels.
Yes, I got the lesson. Bad things happen to people who mess with fate.
I approached Madame Remis after class ended and everyone left.
“Excuse me?” Remis looked up from her papers. “Do you have a minute? I wanted to ask you something.”
“Go on.”
“The other day, I overheard some Titan girls talking about this cool, quiet spot in the castle where you can hang out and study without anyone bothering you,” I began. “They said something about it being just them, Clotho, Apate, and Pistis—demigoddesses and goddesses only.
“Do you know the spot they’re talking about?” I asked. “A quiet place to read and study sounds nice to me.”
She hummed, brows furrowing. “Nice indeed, but are you certain they said those goddesses? There’s a portrait of Apate and Pistis in the west wing, but Clotho is nowhere near it. If Clotho is portrayed with two other goddesses, it’s always her sisters of fate.”
“Maybe I misheard. Where in the west wing is that portrait? Maybe that’s the place they were talking about.”
“I doubt it,” she replied. “The west wing is where the instructors eat and sleep. Students aren’t allowed in there.”
I rocked back on my heels, chewing my lip. “So there’s nowhere in the castle where those three goddesses are together,” I said mostly to myself. “Maybe it’s outside. Somewhere on the grounds.”
“I couldn’t say for certain that it’s not in the castle. As much as I’ve explored, there are dark corners and forgotten corridors that not even I’ve ventured down.” Picking up a stack of scrolls, she carried them to her side door and office. “There are secrets in Deucalion Academy that there isn’t time enough to discover—in this life or the next.”
She left me with that, and a whole lot of help it wasn’t.
“Well?” Selene slid into my ear. “Who will you speak to now?”
“No one.”
“No one? What do you mean no one?”
“There are no more demigods to talk to because Madame Remis just confirmed a suspicion of mine. No one can tell me where to find the weaver, deceiver, and believer, and I doubt it’s because their memory is wiped every time they trip over their location. Because something like that would have been noticed by their friends and colleagues.”
“Go on.”
“You said the gods themselves locked you away. If they did, they did it before they scattered, before Olympia, and before Deucalion Academy,” I said. “You also can’t have been moved from your prison because you said yourself anyone who enters it becomes a vacant, drooling moron.”
“Yes, this is true. What has this led you to conclude?”
I didn’t have to look back to be sure. This was definitely the first time Selene spoke to me calmly, rationally, and without implying I was stupid or insolent. For the first time, she wanted to hear what I had to say.
“It’s too strange. Too much of a coincidence that you would happen to be locked away in the most impenetrable, best-defended location in Olympia.” I paced the room much like Madame Remis did. “It’s too much of a coincidence that when the demigods came together and formed their dominion, they happened to choose the very land where you were cast out. The lost and forgotten city of Atlantis.
“It’s like you said. You don’t make something that you’re trying to hide easy to find. But here we all are, right on top of you.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, it is strange. Continue, girl.”
“This spot was chosen by the demigods for a reason. It was different. Special in some way. I think when the gods locked you away, they left behind more than just the protections you and the prophecy know about.
“This place was already protected. Already defended. Already a monster repellant. Already a safe place. So, they built the castle on or around whatever those protections were, not knowing those protections were made to keep you in.
“We’re not supposed to be looking for paintings, or tapestries, or anything put here by demigods. We need to know what was here before the academy, before the castle, before Olympia, and before the gods fell because that’s the entrance to your prison.”
“Yes, my champion. My savior. I knew the Fates were right to send you to me.” I never heard her sound so pleased. “Speak to the Remis woman again. She knows the history of this world. She will know what stood here when nothing did.”
“No,” I said, turning away. “I told you. We’re not speaking to any more demigods. We’re talking to the beings who were here when the gods created your prison. The trees.
“The dryads.”
Half an hour later, I ran out of the forest with a grapefruit-sized bruise on my head—getting bigger and purplier by the second. “All right, all right,” I shrieked, dodging the rainstorm of rocks and branches. “You evil, stumpy tree rats! I got one word for you jerks: matches!”
“Ahhhh!”
The wailing and outrage of the forest resounded in my bones, rattling my teeth. They didn’t have to say it. I wasn’t welcome back in there again, even if I brought flowers, chocolate, and jewelry.
“That was a bust.” I collapsed on the foot of the stairs, catching my breath. “Guess I should’ve seen that coming. They hate women. I’ll ask Alex to—”
“No.”
“What? Did you say no?”
“No. You are not to tell the Damien boy anymore about this. You’ve already told him too much.”
“How can I not tell him? He’s a part of this. He’s in the prophecy. You said so yourself.”
“And he said himself that there are spies watching his every move. An Olympian spy is ever more dangerous than a mortal one. Not even your thoughts are safe. He will know no more about what you’re doing. Especially now that you’re so close.”
“Close? Did you miss what just happened? A guy has to talk to them. They won’t have anything to do with me.”
“No one else will know! Unless you want my prison doors to open on your mother’s corpse, you will do as I say!”
Her shrill, ringing voice faded from my ear, but my hatred didn’t. With every day that passed, I grew more certain—the gods did the right thing.
Selene belonged exactly where she was.