Chapter Ten
Weeks passed, and I had nothing to show for myself. Every day, I went out into the forest and tried to get one of the dryads to talk to me. Every day, I walked out with twigs in my hair and dirt on my face. Didn’t matter how much I begged, pleaded, cajoled, and bribed—all I could get out of them was screeches to go away. They refused to tell me a thing.
With each day that passed, guilt ate me alive. I was so close to Mom, and I couldn’t get to her. It made no sense to me that she had to keep waiting to be rescued because a bunch of tree goddesses were women-haters, but saying that to Selene didn’t make a difference either.
No one could know anything more about her, the prophecy, or that they built an entire academy on top of an ancient, godly prison. She wouldn’t even stand for me to keep pretending the clues and hints came from Ionna. I was on my own to figure this out, and I was failing.
The only thing going right in my life... was Alex.
Gods help me. How was it possible to be so desperately miserable and blissfully happy at the same time? I had no idea, but the blissfully happy part was all thanks to Alex. He was the best boyfriend in any dominion, and I didn’t need to date other guys to know that.
Every morning, I woke up to flowers, chocolates, or other little presents left on my pillow. Easy for him to do since I spent every night with him, rolling around in the sheets and making those contraceptive potions work for it.
During the day, my pocket was constantly warm from my bellcone heating up with another note. Some of the messages were sweet. Most were filthy hot, describing all the things he planned to do to me in the bathroom, the broom closet, the forest, his bedroom—basically wherever he next caught me alone.
He was so incorrigible Daciana couldn’t sit next to me anymore. She said the scent coming off me kept getting her horny, which was doing strange things to our friendship and shaking her certainty in her sexuality.
We laughed our asses off about that, but I was still sitting next to Nitsa these days.
Even with how low, depressed, and sorrowful I wanted to be, Alex could turn my whole day around with one word, one note, one kiss. With each day, I fell harder for him. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to tell the guy that I loved him before he said the words to me. Gods knew I wanted to.
Leaving behind field medicine, my friends and I headed for our final lesson of the day, making for the southern field.
A stretch of freshly cut green grass went as far back as I could see. It’d be a beautiful place to picnic under the open air, enjoying the breeze and sunshine while working on assignments with friends. But of course, the academy put it to more practical use.
Platforms of the same type, but much smaller than the one in the stadium, were scattered about the lawn. A row of stands stretched in a neat line alongside them, and among them all—waiting for us—was Commander Vasili.
“Titans, find your groups. Sisypheans, find a seat.”
Groaning, our group broke apart into two. The commander made us sit on the stands, rays beating down on us while we watched the Titans train, practice, and form battle strategies with other children of the same god. He wouldn’t even let us work on assignments for other classes. I knew because one girl tried, and he confiscated it and made her do a lap around the castle.
Only after Vasili was satisfied that the Titans had put in a good day of training did he turn his attention to us. It wasn’t that he short-changed us. I was learning how to do things my noodle arms and flabby butt never thought they could do. I couldn’t lift my practice sword when I first started. The day before, I used the same sword to cleave a lamia dummy’s head from its neck.
No, he wasn’t a bad or even unfair teacher. The plain fact was his priority was to get the Titans ready for the front lines. All of us who couldn’t aspire to do more than dig latrines could wait.
“I still don’t get why we can’t practice with them too,” I said. “They keep saying we fight together and we die together. It’s impossible for them to predict that we’ll all only have nonfighting roles. If you are called to battle a manticore or protect your village from a lamia, you need to know what to do, so why have you sitting on your butts?”
“I hate to say it, but I’m not sure we would be much use off this bench,” Theron said. “My powers are violent and unpredictable. There’s no measuring the scale of my destruction like there’s no hating something a little or halfway. I could take out half the green and for what purpose? In battle, of course I won’t hesitate, but when we’re just practicing...”
I inclined my head. “True, but, Ionna, Nitsa, and Tycho, you could—”
They were all shaking their heads.
“If my gift of prophecy were more focused—more accurate—Commander Vasili would pair me with the other children of Apollo. Otherwise, who wants me out there confusing them, shouting out the dozens of possible futures I see with no idea which one is right or if they’re all wrong?”
“Nothing for me to do either,” Tycho said. “Unless someone dies.”
He didn’t need to say more. The commander would be a twisted person indeed to send him out there to fight with animated corpses.
Nitsa just shrugged. “How many famed battles do you know that involved a cow? For once, I don’t think they’re being cruel. They’re just being realistic. Sisypheans are destined for positions in the army that don’t see a lot of combat. The medical battalion, messengers, sentries, border watchers, trackers, and weapons makers. We’ll still do our part, Aella. But not right now. Not today.”
“I still say it’s messed up,” I muttered.
My pocket warmed, veering my thoughts away from injustice.
“Let’s sit over there,” Daciana said. “There’s a little shade.”
We followed after Daciana, skirting the groups of Titans unleashing on practice monster dummies. They were all roughly the same size, even though they were modeled after manticores, typhons, hydras, gorgons, and griffins.
Something hooked my ankle, holding fast. We fell flat on our faces—foreheads bouncing off the ground.
Raucous laughter went up around me.
“Shit!” Theron erupted. “What was that?”
“Are you guys okay?” Daciana ran to us, helping us up.
“I’m okay.” A blunt ache pounded my temple. I’d have a lump there within the hour. “What happened?” I asked, twisting my neck. Roots jutted out of the ground. “Were those there before?”
“No.” Anger leached into Daciana’s voice. “They weren’t.”
I glared at a pack of laughing Titan girls.
“What?” one shot back. “You should be thanking me. You Sisypheans almost got in the way.”
I didn’t know what they were talking about until a hush fell over the grounds.
The imperial heirs crossed the lawn. Gorgeous, powerful, unstoppable, and led by the pinnacle of all three—Alexander Damien. It was wild. I used to think those slow-mo movie scenes on the popular kids were silly. In real life, and in real high schools, no one gave half a shit about the self-named cool kids, and they definitely didn’t stop everything just to watch them walk down a hallway.
But then, none of those people were Alex. Everyone cared what he said, what he did, and when he bent over, and we all damn sure stopped what we were doing to watch him walk down a hall.
Alex halted, stopping all the Twelve in their tracks. He bent and held out a hand to Nitsa. “Are you okay?”
She blinked at him from the dirt as if not understanding what he was doing with his hand. “What? Oh—! Yes, I’m fine.” She laughed nervously, letting him help her up. “Thanks, Alex. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Course I did. After all those times you made faces at me during Kiri Stavros’s boring lectures, making me laugh out loud.”
Nitsa blushed. “You remember that? We were six.”
“No one could forget you.” He turned to the now-silent Titan girls who’d laughed and tripped us. “Thank you, ladies, for wanting to keep the way clear for me, but I still know enough from my etiquette lessons to say excuse me.” He smiled that heart-stopping smile. “I’ll take care of it next time.”
“Of course, Alex.”
“Sorry, Alex.”
“Whatever you say, Alex.”
I was watching and I still didn’t know how he did that. A few words and a smile and our bullies go from pushing Sisypheans around to apologizing, and the Sisypheans go from bursting to fight to gazing adoringly at Alex.
As much as the Sisypheans were coming to hate the Titans—and they were giving plenty of reasons—no one hated Alex.
Sebastian loudly scoffed. Rolling his eyes, he and the Hell Boys blew past us all and continued to the green.
Almost no one.
Alex zeroed in on one of the girls. “Chara, would you be so sweet and heal my friend Nitsa and her friends?”
“Yes, Alex.” She was running before he finished the question.
She tapped us each on the head, and a cool, skin-popping sensation ran down my spine. In a blink, the pain in my head was gone.
Chara wiggled between him and Nitsa, latching on to his arm. “Daughter of Asclepius. God of healing,” she announced for absolutely no reason. He obviously knew that. “It’s always been my dream to be the imperial palace healer. When you claim your seat and take over—”
“I’ll know exactly who to choose,” Alex finished, kissing her hand.
Chara fainted. I wasn’t kidding. The girl literally swayed on her feet and almost went down, catching herself just in time for Sirena to shove her out of the way—claiming Chara’s spot and Alex’s arm.
“What’s going on over there?” Vasili barked. “Titans and Sisypheans, separate. Now.”
“Gladly,” Sirena said, dragging Alex away, but not before gifting us a disgusted sneer. “Xander, baby, you know I love everything about you, but you don’t have to be so nice to everyone. Especially the Sisypheans. They’re not worth your time and...”
Distance carried her nastiness away. At the last minute, Alex turned back to me, giving me a look that both heated my panties and my cheeks.
Nitsa shook her head, rejoining us. “Why do the evilest people always snag the nicest guys? Meanwhile, the only guy who even looks my way is Jason. And he’ll sleep with literally anyone. I mean, anyone. I saw him flirting with Healer Helena yesterday, and she’s a hundred years old, married, and has grandchildren!”
Tycho threw an arm around her shoulder, tugging her in for a hug. “Hey, don’t do that. You’re amazing, Nitsy. Any guy would be lucky to—”
Calix walked past us.
“Hey, Cal!” He almost knocked Nitsa over chasing after the Titan. Daciana had to catch her again. “You’re going to do great out there. You’re such a talented, strong fighter.”
Calix didn’t so much as look back. Hyacinth, Elisavet, Cora, Charity, Sara, and Penelope hovered, hanged, draped, and flirted all over him. It was easy to see that the women outnumbered the guys among the future Twelve. With Sirena guarding Alex like the last piece of meat, and none of them knowing he was actually mine, that left them fighting over Calix, Ajax, Galen, and Kairos.
“I know you don’t need any,” Tycho called at his back, “but I was trained by Platon Kyriakos, so if you ever want any tips.”
Calix halted. Turning around, he walked straight up to Tycho, making the son of Persephone utter the most unfortunately loud squeak.
“You were trained by Platon Kyriakos?”
Jaw working, Tycho could only nod.
“He’s a legend. He fought in the great Typhon War. It’s said he slaughtered ten thousand of them. Single-handedly. In one night,” Calix said. “My parents offered him any amount he wanted, and he still refused me for training. How did you get him to train you?”
Theron, Daciana, Ionna, Nitsa, and I ping-ponged to Tycho—our eyes wider and more disbelieving than his. For weeks, we watched Tycho chase after Calix while the guy acted like he genuinely didn’t know he was alive. How was this happening?
“H-he uh— He uh... He’s a friend of my mother,” Tycho got out. “He trained me personally as a favor to her, so if you ever want to spar—”
“Yeah,” Calix said easily, flashing a huge, dimpled smile that made even my heart skip a beat. “That’d be great, man. How about tonight?”
Tycho nodded so hard I feared his head would pop off his neck. “Oh... kay,” he rasped. “Tonight. Me and you will spar tonight. Tonight we’ll spar... tonight.”
Calix laughed. “Yes, tonight. After dinner and don’t be late.”
“Don’t be late?” Nitsa muttered. “Tycho’s going to be five hours early, and I’ll put drachmas on it.”
“You’re on,” Theron said.
The son of Aphrodite tipped his head, scrutinizing Tycho. “Hey, you look familiar? Do I know you from somewhere?”
“Uh, yeah,” Tycho replied. “I sat behind you in Greek class for... six years.”
“Hmmm, no.” Calix tossed his head and those luscious, wavy locks. “No, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t you.”
“You’re right. I was kidding.”
Laughing, Calix punched his shoulder. “You’re funny, sesza, but no joking around tonight. All seriousness when we get on the mat.”
“I will be so serious,” Tycho said solemnly. “I will be whatever you want.”
“Great, man. See you later.”
Calix folded back into his harem of demigoddesses, one of them asking if he was really going to spar with that freak Sisyphean. Tycho floated back to us.
“You’re right. I was kidding,” Ionna deadpanned. “Are you serious, Tycho? The guy just erased your existence, and you let him.”
“Who cares if the last six years don’t exist? All that matters is tonight I’ll be alone and training with Calix.”
“Uh, that’s the problem,” Theron said. “Platon Kyriakos trained you for one week, declared you hopeless, and stormed out of the palace. While Calix Lambros is one of the best fighters in the academy. Not in the novice class but the entire academy. What in the hades do you think you’re going to teach him?”
Ionna patted Tycho’s shoulder. “He’s going to kick your ass up into your neck. And that’s not a guess. Every version of the future agrees.” She tapped her throat. “Ass in neck.”
Tycho waved his hands. “All of you are saying things that don’t matter. Why? Because tonight I’ve got a date with Calix.
“Daciana, do you make clothes for men? I need to wear something tonight that Calix will never forget.”
Daciana threw her arm around him, leading him to the stands. “Don’t worry, friend. I’ll dress you in my best ‘make him forget he likes women’ outfit, but I cannot guarantee the results.”
We continued on to our seats and settled in for ninety minutes of tedium.
“We should play a game to pass the time,” Nitsa offered. “Ionna, what was that one you were talking about last night? Guess the God? Ionna?”
Our crimson-haired, freckled friend stared off in the distance. I was beginning to understand what that meant.
“Oh, okay.” Nitsa let her be and faced us. “Basically, I think what we do is describe one of the many crazy godly tales, and then the others guess the god involved. The trick is you have to be vague. No obvious details that would give it away. Okay, like this.” She clapped, getting excited. “I say pride made her boastful, arrogance made her challenge, hubris made her fall. Who is this story about?”
“Hmm.” Tycho stretched out on the seat behind, resting on his elbows beside Daciana. “You said her, so that takes a few people out of the running.”
“And it’s punishment for hubris,” Theron added. “Is it—?”
“Guys!” Ionna jerked up, startling Tycho into falling on Daciana’s lap.
“What?” I said. “What is it?”
If she heard me, she gave no sign. Ionna scanned our surroundings, eyes narrowing. I looked where she was but didn’t see anything.
Her shoulders slumped. “Nothing. Just another wrong vision.” Shaking herself, she tried for a smile. “What were we talking about?”
“We’re playing your Guess the God game.” Tycho righted himself. “My guess is Arachne and Athena.”
“Correct,” Nitsa said. “Now it’s... your turn...” Nitsa frowned over our heads. “Wow. What’s going on with her? Sirena’s even more brutal than usual.”
I turned as the bo staff struck Chara’s face, snapping her head around. Blood, and possibly a tooth, spurted from her mouth. The girl hit the ground and didn’t get up.
“Weak,” Sirena barked. She kicked Chara away. “Who’s next!”
No one volunteered.
“Fucking hell,” I cried. “All that because Chara hugged Alex’s arm?” I’m actually Alex’s girlfriend, and it didn’t bother me. “Why is Sirena so scarily possessive?”
“It’s not that,” Ionna said. “I mean, she is scarily possessive, but she’s not angry because of Chara. Didn’t you guys hear the rumors? It’s going around that Alex is dating someone.”
I stilled.
“It’s serious too, going by Eleni.”
“Eleni?” I strained to keep my tone even. “Who’s that?”
“Daughter of Aphrodite. She’s a Sisyphean like us because her power is being able to know when people are in love.”
What did she say?
“Apparently, Alex went from not in love to in love recently, and since he’s been with Sirena forever and wasn’t in love before, something’s changed since he got here. And that change isn’t Sirena since she’s still a vicious, fork-tongued harpy.”
My breaths were coming too fast. My cheeks hurt fighting off my smile. Alex loved me? No. He was in love with me. That was infinitely so much better. “But why would Sirena know what Eleni knows? She doesn’t talk to Sisypheans.”
Ionna winced. “It was in field medicine. You didn’t hear because you were talking to Madame Cassia. Sirena was going on about Eleni being so stupid and useless, she couldn’t even tell the difference between a leaf and a berry. Eleni shot back that at least she can tell that her girlfriend loves her, and Sirena’s lover is in love with someone else.
“The only reason Sirena didn’t tear her head off is because we were in the middle of class, and Cassia punishes Titans harshly for fucking with Sisypheans. Harsher than any of the other instructors.”
Daciana flicked to Sirena. She was currently in the process of beating another sparring partner to a pulp. “Instead, she’s tearing off every other girl’s head. Lovely.” Daciana looked away from her and fixed on me. “Guys, just a guess, but what do you think Sirena will do if she finds out who Alexander is dating?”
“Kill her,” Nitsa, Ionna, Tycho, and Theron said at the same time.
I forced a laugh. “You guys are exaggerating. She wouldn’t really kill someone over a guy she’s only engaged to in her head.”
No one else laughed.
“Sirena will have a powerful position as the heir to the Hera seat, but the power she’d have if she were married to the Zeus councilman.” Theron whistled. “It’s like in the ancient times. Hera’s power came from being Zeus’s wife. Otherwise, she was just another one of his sisters. The council can be unnecessarily traditional about these things.”
“What kind of difference of power are we talking about here?” I asked. “What exactly will being married to Alex do for her?”
“She’ll have an entire wing in the palace instead of just a room. She’ll have personal staff and an army of servants who work only for her. Ten times the salary. The right to veto and repeal laws,” he said. “The Zeus and Poseidon council members already have those rights over laws, but she’ll have it too if she marries Alex.
“She’ll also become the official tiebreaker. You need one with an even number. It’s the Zeus councilman if they’re married to anyone else, but married to Sirena, that power goes to her.”
“It’s the power to veto and repeal laws,” I said, voice flat. “That’s what she wants, isn’t it?”
Nitsa and Theron nodded.
“So she can axe the law that everyone who lives and works in the palace is educated the same?”
“Yes.”
“So she can kick Sisypheans out of Deucalion Academy?”
“Double yes,” Nitsa replied. “She also wants to put an end to all the aid that goes to struggling villages, as well as the protection. According to Sirena, if you aren’t strong enough to defend your home and family, you deserve to lose them.”
My stomach heaved. “That’s barbaric. How could she open her mouth and say something so horrible?”
“It’s tough,” Tycho said, tone soft. “Monsters hit the outer villages the hardest. You can’t send Sisypheans to fight them, so it has to be the best and strongest. The Titans. Scattering them all over Olympia to put down those random strikes splits our forces and puts the Titans at higher risk. Which the monsters know very well.”
Nitsa met my eyes. “My parents say it’s a part of the monsters’ larger plan. They wear the Titans down to nothing. Stamping the army’s best force out, and then there’s no one else but the useless to fight back.
“Sirena has her own ideas for how to make sure that doesn’t happen. The strong will protect their own. The useless can do the same.”
“You think her cruel, don’t you?” I was wholly unsurprised Selene took that moment to speak up. “Why, I ask? Isn’t it the expectation of every being in this universe to protect themselves? The lion doesn’t protect the mouse. The shark doesn’t fight for the fish. Is it not asking too much of those young men and women that they should fight and die for you because you’re too weak to fight for yourself?”
I didn’t reply to her then, and I wouldn’t later.
“I understand now,” I said. “She doesn’t want Alex because she loves him. She wants him because she loves power.”
If I felt any guilt for sleeping with her wannabe fiancé behind her back, this killed that guilt dead.
We turned the conversation to lighter topics, going back to the Guess the God game.
“Titans, you’re done for the day,” Vasili announced, releasing the battered Titans to the showers. “Sisypheans, I assume you’ve been rigidly practicing your arm-strengthening exercises?”
“Yes, sir,” we chorused.
We climbed down from the stands. Something moved out of the corner of my eye. I turned just as Sebastian and Marinos disappeared into the forest.
“Good, then you’ll have no trouble proving it.” Vasili flipped up one of the fighting platforms. “All of you, grab a shovel. I want a pit latrine that’s ten feet deep and three feet wide from each of you. One hour. Begin.”
He rattled off his instructions so calmly. Our reply wasn’t.
“But, sir! We can’t dig that deep in only an hour.”
“Why do we have to dig shit pits?” Kosma argued. “The Titans got to train and fight, so should we.”
Vasili’s blank expression didn’t blink. “The task of preparing a base camp falls to the Sisyphean army members. Every act and every task are vital to the well-being and success of the whole. It grieves me to hear you all feel this task is beneath you. Maybe you would all like to adjourn to the reflection room, ponder which lessons you deign to learn, and then return with a list of your demands?”
No one spoke.
“No?” Vasili asked. “Well, then. Pick a shovel.”
My class moved on the shovels with no more complaints. I didn’t.
Breaking away, I slipped through the trees—searching for Sebastian and Marinos.
A strange noise drew me to the left. Rounding a tree, I stepped out as Sebastian buried his fist in Marinos’s gut. Marinos doubled over and the son of Hades cracked his knee into his nose—spurting blood down his pant leg and raining crimson on the grass.
“P-please,” Marinos cried. “Stop. Why a-are you doing this?”
Roaring, Sebastian grabbed his pants and collar and threw him overhead. Marinos smashed into a tree so violently, I screamed—feeling the breaking bones like they were my own.
Marinos crumpled on the ground. Barba advanced on him.
“Sebastian, stop!” I shot between them, throwing my arms out. “What are you doing!”
“Out of my way, Vanda.” I’d never seen the expression on his face before, or felt such bone-chilling fear at the growl ripping from his throat. “This is none of your business.”
“I’m making it my business!” I threw my arms around him, locking fingers and palms. “Marinos, run. Get out of here!”
The guy didn’t need me to tell him twice. He beat it away from us without a glance back, limping as fast as he could. Surprisingly, Sebastian didn’t try to follow him.
“You know something, Vanda?” He untangled from me. “I’m starting to see what your roommate is talking about. You’re developing an annoying habit of sticking your opista in my business.”
I heated under the collar. “I’ll tell you where I’m about to shove my opista!”
Sebastian cracked bloody knuckles. “You should learn what that word means before you repeat that sentence to anyone else.”
“Fuck you!” I shoved his chest.
It was like pushing on a mountain. I didn’t move him a millimeter.
“We made a deal, Barba. I don’t tell Drakos what you’re doing, and you stop torturing people and fucking up their lives.”
“I didn’t break our deal,” Sebastian said through clenched teeth.
This wasn’t the usual smirking, winking guy I was used to. Sebastian was angry, and angry made him dangerous.
I erased the distance, getting in his face. I was angry too. “What do you call what just happened? You could’ve killed him! And why? Let me guess, he was short on a blackmail payment? Or maybe he didn’t pay at all, and you’re sending a message to all your victims about what happens when they get cute. Fuck’s sake, Barba!
“This place is hard enough. Life is hard enough. Do you realize that the rest of us are going through shit you can’t even begin to comprehend? Some of us are crying before they open their eyes in the morning.” Visions of my mom trapped, isolated, and losing her grip on hope and sanity burned across the inside of my skull. “They’re crying because their problems are already crushing them before they get out of bed.”
I uselessly shoved him away. “What gives you the right to make it worse! You promised me no blackmail, no selling secrets, none of it. We had a deal!”
“I wasn’t blackmailing him,” Sebastian exploded, blowing me back. “I was just good, old-fashioned kicking his ass.”
Sebastian walked off, leaving me staring after him with nothing to say.
THAT NIGHT I SOAKEDin the bath, trying to relax.
“You’re not trying hard enough. A dimwitted rock could’ve figured out how to interrogate the dryads by now. One would think you want your mother to waste away down here.”
I strangled the bar of soap, imagining it was Selene’s neck. Can a human get their hands around a goddess’s neck? Couldn’t say, but when I met the bitch, I’d damn well try.
The Sisyphean dorm baths were like many public bathhouses in that they were shared. The difference in this grand castle though, was there were ten bathing pools in this dim, candlelit, black-marbled space. Each one was circled by three walls and a black curtain, shielding me from passersby and their passing glances. There were four more rooms like this one on the first floor, meaning no single one was ever crowded.
Lucky for me, I had privacy while she chewed me out.
“Maybe you’re enjoying the freedom. No mommy or daddy around to stop you riding that Damien boy’s cock every—”
“Fuck off!”
“Oh, shit.” I spun as the curtain ruffled. “I only wanted a quick dip with my girl.” Alex appeared, grinning that grin. “What’d I do to get in trouble?”
I melted like ice cream in the sun, laughing in the steamy water. “About a million things just in the last hour, I bet.” I held my arms out to him. “But I’m only mad at you for one thing.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
Stalking closer, Alex peeled off his clothes and tossed them in the corner.
I shivered under his gaze. No one, not even his enemies, could deny Alexander Damien was sculpted perfection.
He was the personification of male beauty that artists tried and failed for decades to capture. He was the bawdy, impossible descriptions in erotic novels. I didn’t know how skin could glisten, eyes could be swimmable, or a cock could be powerful... until him.
He jumped in, making me squeal. My lips were on his the moment he scooped me into his arms.
“I’m mad because I heard a rumor about you today.”
Alex hummed, dropping kisses along my collarbone.
“Apparently, you’re in love with someone.” The kisses stopped. “And I want to know who this bitch is.”
“What would you do to her,” Alex asked, nipping my chin, “if I told you?”
My fingers curled on the nape of his neck. “I’d tell her she’s a lucky girl because I’m in love with someone too,” I whispered. “There’s nothing in the world like this feeling.”
Alex’s soft smile mirrored mine. “Who is this guy? Anyone I know?”
“Hmmm. I don’t think so. He’s short, stocky, bald, terrible body odor, and few teeth,” I replied. “His name is Orfeas.”
Alex cracked up.
I loved that I was the only one who made him laugh loud and unreserved. I’d hear him up above during meals, politely chuckling with the other imperial heirs. But not with me.
I got the real him.
“Well, this Orfeas is going to hate me.” Alex lifted me out of the pool, placing me on the rim. Excitement built as he spread my legs. “Because I’m not sharing you with anyone.”
“I could be okay with that.”
“Don’t be okay with this. I’m sorry you heard the words from someone other than me.” He swirled a finger around my pussy, collecting the drops of wetness already coming. “You had the right to hear it from me first. Not the Deucalion Gossip Press.”
I moaned, spreading my legs wide. “I’d be just as happy to hear it from you second.”
“Aella, I—”
Bang!
“—Lethe water is amazing.”
Voices bowled us over.
“I bought some off that Dimitri guy. So fucking sexy, by the way,” she said. “Anyway, when Petros caught me fucking Viktor, I freaked. I thought for sure it was over, then I asked him to sit down with me so we could talk. A few drops of Lethe water in his coffee, and the last two days are nothing but a blank.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Incredible,” the third girl agreed. “How much does he want for it?”
Alex tossed me a wink, then ducked between my legs.
His tongue slipped between my folds and my head fell back, welcoming the shooting sparks of living explosions bursting beneath my skin.
“Ahh, yes, Orfeas.” I moaned deep and loud, not caring who heard. Alex loved it when I was loud.
“Oops.” Giggles echoed off the wall. “Don’t let us stop you.”
“Shhh,” one of the girls said. “Let’s go over there.”
“Ooh,” I squeaked, jumping a little when a finger joined the party. Alex had introduced me to a lot of new things in the time we’d been together, ridding me of my innocence in every way. Even so, it all felt new. Every time with Alex was the first time.
He teased that bundle of nerves with his tongue, raising my temperature in our own steamy, private world. Alex pushed another finger inside me and spread them apart—together, apart, together, apart, in, out, in, and fucking out.
“Orfeas, you’re so—”
The door banged open again. “Alex? Alex, are you in here?”
I slipped off the rim, taking him out.
“Xander!” Sirena shrieked. “Penelope saw you go in here. Where are you—? Hey, you three. Did Alexander Damien come in here?”
We splashed, rolled, and clamped each other’s mouths—eyes huge over our hands.
“Nope, no Alexander. But there is some guy named Orfeas that’s giving the girl over there a good fuck. Might want to take him for a ride instead.”
Rapid footfalls advanced in our direction. I jumped on Alex’s head, shoving him under the water as the curtain flew open.
“What the hell!” I rounded on her, heart pounding my rib cage. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Sirena frowned, scanning the small space. “There’s no one in here.”
“Why would anyone be in here?” I squeaked. Clearing my throat, I lowered my voice. Mom told me once that I got all squeaky and high-pitched when I was lying. “It’s a bath. It’s private. Get out.”
Sirena’s eyes narrowed on the water. I could tell she was searching for the slightest air bubble. Thankfully the suds and steam hid him. “Those girls said they heard someone in here with you.”
Yeah, someone who needs to breathe!
“What they heard was me masturbating. Last I checked, there’s no law against that. So unless you plan to watch, I repeat, get out.”
She rocked back, scoffing. “Of course you’re in here alone—playing with yourself. What else does a worthless loser like you have to look forward to? I hear you’re ranked bottom in the entire novice class. Failing absolutely everything.” Sirena blew me a kiss. “Enjoy your fantasies while you can, Sisyphean.
“You’ll be monster food soon enough.”
She swept out, not sticking around for the string of curses I flung at her back. Sirena had more power than just turning into any flying creature. She also had an uncanny ability to find someone’s weak spot and strike.
It was true. I was failing every single class. Wasn’t a surprise since I knew absolutely nothing about this world, and the time everyone else was using to study, was devoted to searching the archives for records of what stood before Olympia was founded, or combing the forest for a single dryad who wouldn’t throw a pine cone at my head on first sight.
I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t identify monsters or how to kill them. I couldn’t dig shit pits, and I couldn’t save my mom.
So what else did a worthless loser like me have to look forward to?
Alex burst out of the water, gasping. “Is... Is she gone?”
I wrapped my arms around him, hiding my face in his neck. “Yes,” I said softly. “She’s gone.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just... I realized you’re the only good thing in my life right now. I love you, Alex,” I said wholly and unreservedly.
Leaning back, I winked. “I mean, Orfeas.”
The most heart-trapping, beatific smile lit his face. “I love you too, Aella. I hope it doesn’t freak you out when I say you’re the only good thing that’s ever happened in my life.” He dropped the lightest kiss on the tip of my nose. “Ever.”
“That doesn’t freak me out.” Visions of the echidna tossing me and Mom around the room, Mom being taken, the world denouncing me as a crazed murderer, my friends abandoning me, and Selene holding me and Mom hostage—all flashed in my mind. “You’re the only good thing ever too.”
I SLIPPED OUT OF THEdorm last night, ignoring Daciana’s wolf whistle. Hiding from her that I was out all night with a guy was impossible. She smelled the sex on me the next morning. She hadn’t asked who I was with... because I had a sneaking suspicion that she already knew.
Daciana knew Theron was coming around the corner when he was still twenty feet down the other end of the hall. She must know that my secret guy was Alex. Even so, she didn’t question me or give me away.
I tiptoed to the foot of the Titan staircase, listening out for movement upstairs. Alex and I messed around in the baths for a bit until it got too obvious that the other girls were listening and enjoying it too much. With the creep factor outweighing the sexiness factor, we broke apart so he could put an end to Sirena’s search, and I could spend the next two hours in the library—checking out more on the origins of Olympia.
“Is there nothing on the history of Atlantis?” I asked Madame Sharp, the librarian. “What was here before Olympia took its place?”
She shook her head. “Nothing here but ruins, child, and writings on walls that no one could read. Everything that was here before was destroyed to build our world on the one forgotten. As far as I know, our ancestors didn’t take the time to write or record before they did.”
Her reply, and the finality in it—jangled in my head. I believed the demigods of old didn’t spend any time documenting or preserving the relics of the lost civilization, but I didn’t believe they chose this spot for Deucalion Academy as a coincidence.
There was something unique about this spot, and someone somewhere—whether in a book or hanging off a tree—knew what it was.
I padded quietly up the stairs. “I wished you’d let me talk to Alex,” I murmured. “This would’ve been done weeks ago if you let him talk to the dryads. You keep saying I don’t care about my mom, but it seems to me you care more about your stupid secrets than you do your freedom.”
“As always, you’re wrong. I care about keeping my freedom, girl. When I escape, I shall not be put back. No one shall stand against me.”
“Who are you?” I hissed. “What are you the goddess of?”
Laughing, her voice faded away.
I let it go as I topped the stairs. No amount of yelling, begging, or pleading would make her say, which was answer enough. Selene wouldn’t have reason to hide it if she was the goddess of cuddly animals. She was clearly the goddess of something wretched and evil, and with every passing day, I sensed the gods were right to lock her away.
But she has my mom. I’ll do everything I can to free Mom without freeing her, but I will not abandon Mom.
She was there for me every single day of my life, and the one time she needed me, I was more useless than pocket lint. A rare, life-changing power right at my fingertips, and monsters still abducted my mother right in front of me. I couldn’t fail her again. I just couldn’t.
Taking a breath, I sent good thoughts to Mom—wherever she may be. Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll never give up until I find you. No matter what it takes. No matter how long. Soon, we’ll be in our little apartment behind our flower shop—together and laughing in a room full of chrysanthemums.
I knocked on Alex’s door.
“There you are.” The door banged open behind me, spinning me around. “Sorry, love. I meant the fourth door on the left, not the right.”
Sebastian grasped my hand and snapped me to his chest. I didn’t have time to gasp before his lips were on mine.
Fingers curling through my hair, Sebastian pressed me up against the wall, and kissed the shit out of me. Bodies molded, tongues tangling, lip biting, thigh between my leg and rubbing in the least innocent way a thigh could rub. Sebastian kissed me like I was going off to war and wanted to give me a gift the next ten generations wouldn’t forget.
“Hmmpf!” I pounded his chest, fighting to shove him off.
He broke away, pressing his forehead to mine. “Play along,” he rushed under his breath. “Sirena’s here. Watching.”
My eyes bugged. “Where?”
“She changed into a gnat and perched on the door, waiting to see who sneaks into Golden Boy’s room tonight.”
I cursed. Damn, she was good.
“If she finds out it’s you, she’ll kill you,” he said without a trace of irony or exaggeration. “Now, kiss me and save your life!”
“But—”
He captured me again—deepening the kiss without a second’s hesitation. Did saving my life require so much tongue!
I was about to knee him in the groin when—
“Hey, I’m...” Our wide eyes connected over Sebastian’s shoulder. Face crumpling into a snarl, Alex punched the air.
“Ahh!” Sebastian hit the ground, howling. “Sorry, darling. Bad cramp,” he gritted. “Must’ve been the b-beef stew. Sirena, you had the beef stew. Are you sick too?”
“Sirena?” Alex dropped his fist, releasing his power and the vein-popping tension in Sebastian’s limbs.
“Come on out, Cirillo,” Sebastian called. “Don’t know if this is some kind of weird sex game you and Damien play—a little Daddy’s got the flyswatter—but you’re freaking me out with the voyeur routine.”
I blinked and Sirena was standing in front of me.
Alex gaped at her, then snapped his head up. He quickly put two and two together, or I hoped he did. We just said I love you to each other. I was not having Sirena and Sebastian screw up the only good thing in my life.
Sirena sniffed. “You’re one to talk about weird sex games. Watching you and Vanda tonguing almost made me vomit.”
Alex’s knuckles turned white strangling the doorframe.
“I was keeping an eye out for Alex,” she went on. “Make sure he’s not bothered by Hades scum, and useless toovas like the two of you.
“Let’s go, Alex.” She snatched his hand, dragged Alex inside his room, and slammed the door.
Sebastian slammed into his room too—leaving me standing there alone in the hall, not knowing what to do.
“Are you coming inside or what?” Sebastian snapped.
I scrambled over the threshold, letting him shut us in.
“You’re welcome, by the way. I got my blood boiled for you.” Sebastian tore off his tunic and tossed it on the bed. He tossed himself after it, reclining against his pillows.
“I didn’t ask for your help,” I pointed out through swollen lips. Memory of that kiss brought an immediate flush to my skin. “What the hell was that, by the way? You could’ve run out with the textbook you said you’d lend me, or given me a hug? Why did you kiss me to make a porn star blush!”
“What’s a porn star?” He tipped his head to the side, looking at someone I couldn’t see. “Really? Damn, your dominion is so much better than ours.”
“What is with you, Barba? One minute you’re beating on innocent Sisypheans, and the next you’re taking it upon yourself to save me with your lips?” I marched up to the bed. “Admit you did that to mess with Alex.”
He cast a lazy glance over me. “I did that to help you, Vanda. She’s not going to think you’re with him, if you’re with me. It works very well in my favor—for all our favor—for Damien to be in love with you, not her.” Sebastian shuddered. “The very last thing I want is for Sirena Cirillo to inherit the full power of the Hera seat.”
I studied him, wondering if I should take a single thing he said as truth. It was impossible to know with Sebastian Barba. He was impossible to read. A fact driven home by his room.
I glanced around at the gorgeous, impeccable, ornate space that was exactly the same as when he first walked into it. There wasn’t a single personal touch to reflect the real him. No portraits. No books on the bedside table. No clothes strewn about the place. If he left the academy right now, no one would know he was ever here.
Except...
I lit on a small, open journal on his nightstand. Stepping closer, my lips parted with the tiniest gasp.
A drawing. The most beautiful drawing of the meadow where the Titans threw their party that first night, but this scene was how it was meant to be enjoyed. No people, no drinks, no debris.
Foxgloves, cornflowers, and poppies practically burst from the page—their color and detail lifelike in an almost fantastical, playful way. Dancing among their petals were the dryads and naiads as men saw them. Tiny, beautiful, naked goddesses—mesmerizing in their harmony with nature.
Sebastian snapped the book shut, snatching it away in a blink. It quickly disappeared under his pillow.
“How did you know Sirena was there?” I asked, not remarking on the sketchbook.
“I have someone watching her at all times,” he replied easily. “I’d be stupid not to. She’s dangerous.”
Irritation lit me up. “You admit it just like that. Even though we had a deal, you’re still spying, blackmailing, intimidating, and selling secrets. I saw Marinos leaving the infirmary when I came back from the library. Even with Healer Helena’s potions, he looked awful. What’s wrong with you? Why would you do that?”
“Marinos isn’t worth your time or your pity,” he growled. “You think you have a right to be mad at me when it’s the other way around. I should’ve killed him when I had the chance. You got in the way.”
I recoiled.
“Now he’ll be on his guard.”
“Fuck’s sake,” I breathed. “Why would you say that? What did he do?”
Sebastian reared up. “Oh, now you want to stop accusing and start asking questions? I’ve held up my end of the deal, Vanda. I always keep my word, and I’m really getting tired of you painting me as the monster in your story. Last I checked, your monster’s name is Selene.”
A roaring sounded in my ear.
“—him! Kill him!”
Sebastian fixed on me—a bare-chested trickster god relaxing on his throne. “Trixie thinks you really are crazy. A deluded lunatic talking and whispering to yourself in empty hallways and bathrooms, but you and I know better. Someone is pulling your strings and using your mom to do it.”
He tipped his head, peering into my face. “You weren’t lying when you said monsters broke into your little mortal home and stole her, but that they brought her here?” Sebastian tossed his head. “That was a hard idea for me to swallow. The wards around this place are impenetrable.” He grinned. “For most people, anyway. Still, knowing that there’s a trapped goddess spreading her influence from this place to manipulate monsters and you into doing her bidding—”
“Kill him!”
“What do you want, Sebastian?” I sliced in. “Go ahead. Spare me the recap and name your price.”
He smirked. “I keep telling you, Vanda. I’m not in the blackmail business anymore. I’m not going to repeat a single thing Trixie’s told me to anyone—” He winced, flicking off my face. “I never said I was going to ruin her life,” he said to someone I couldn’t see. I assumed Trixie. “No, you said that. You said—!”
Sebastian shook himself, taking a breath. “My apologies,” he told the shaking, sweaty heap that used to be me. “Lost souls can get fixated on problems they never resolved in life. Trixie never did get a chance to—these are her words—fuck that pretty face up.
“Anyway. I don’t want to hurt you.” Sebastian slid off the bed, planting his feet between mine. “I want to help you.”
“Help me? Ha!” I barked a loud, shrieking laugh that blew his brows up. “That’s rich coming from you.”
“It’s not a trick. This is your mom,” he said, tone steady. “If I could have a soft spot for anyone, it’s someone trying to save their mom.”
I was quiet for a long time, studying him.
Selene was not.
“End this now. The Hades spawn lies. He’s dangerous. Kill him! Kill him or I’ll have it done myself!”
“How?” I croaked. “How are you going to help me?”
“I’ll tell you what stood here before Deucalion Academy did. Better yet, I’ll show you.”
Selene’s tirade cut off so quickly, the silence shocked me. Suddenly, she had nothing to say.
“I had a chat with the dryads,” he continued. “So kind and sweet, they told me everything I wanted to know immediately. I barely got the question out first.”
My eyes narrowed. Douchebag. “And you’re going to tell me just like that? You don’t want anything in return?”
“I didn’t say that.” He crossed to the wardrobe and fished out another tunic. “I propose a trade. Information for information. That’s fair, no?”
“What information could you possibly need from me? Your spies are working around the clock—collecting all the whispers and juicy secrets. I don’t know anything you couldn’t find out yourself.”
“I want to know what your power is,” he dropped. “Your real power.”
I expected Selene to start kicking off again, but she was strangely silent. I was on my own.
“You know my power.” I shrugged. “Child of Eirene. Like I said the first day.”
“You lied the first day, because you can’t be a child of Eirene. If your power was to defuse anger and conflict with a single kiss, you’d have been all over Trixie.”
I froze.
“She went into detail about the many times she’s attacked and tried to kill you. Why did you waste your energy screaming and fighting back if a simple kiss would’ve ended the fight?” Sebastian peered at me through his lashes. “I’m not stupid, Vanda, and you’re not opaque. Tell me the truth and I’ll tell you the truth. Simple.”
My mind raced as fast as my pulse. What do I do? What should I say?
“Why do you care?” I stalled. “So what, I lied about my true power. According to the entire school, you and the Hell Boys are lying about your true powers too. Don’t be a hypocrite, Barba.”
He chuckled. “But that’s exactly why I want to know. There are only two reasons why someone goes to these lengths to hide their powers from their demigod brethren. Either you’re an independent thinker who finally asked yourself why it’s so important that they not only know what each of us can do, but that they also control every aspect of our lives until we’re either old or infirm?
“Or, you’re planning to fuck shit up, and you can’t have anyone knowing you were the one to fear all along.” His grin widened. “Which one is it, Aella Vanda?”
“Which one are you?”
“I asked you first.”
Stepping back, I sank into the armchair beside the fire—considering. If there was anyone on this planet who shouldn’t know my true power, it’s Sebastian Barba.
But I’ve been trying for weeks to get the dryads to talk to me, and the librarian basically confirmed that there wasn’t a single book among those thousands that would help me. What choice do I have?
This is for Mom.
“I’m a daughter of fate.”
Sebastian’s smile melted away. “What did you say?”
“I said I’m a daughter of—”
“Who?” he barked, making me jump. “Who told you to say that to me? Was it Damien?”
“Alex? What the fuck are you talking about? Alex doesn’t know. No one does.”
He crossed the room in a bound. Grabbing my chair arms, he leaned over me—sticking his face in mine. “Are you telling the truth? You’re a daughter of fate?”
“Yes,” I cried. “And now that you’ve got your information, tell me where the entrance to the prison is.”
Sebastian didn’t appear to have heard. He muttered to himself, eyes darting around. “Credit to you, Vanda, you surprised me. Of all the powers I was thinking, I never once considered this. Am I really the only one who knows?”
“I... yes. I was told I had to keep it a secret.”
“You were told correctly. No one can know, Aella. Not your friends. Not Alex. Don’t even whisper it to your pillow at night. No one can know.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to go shouting about it, but eventually I will tell Alex and—”
“Did I fucking slip into ancient Greek? You can’t tell anyone!”
I jumped at the shout. I wanted to back away, but there was nowhere to go.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous it will be if the council got their hands on you? The last time a power-hungry maniac got their hands on a daughter of fate—”
“I know,” I broke in. “Midas slaughtered the council, overthrew the government, and named himself king.”
“No. That was the first time.” Hard, glittering eyes pierced me. “The last time was Despina Barba... and Maximos Damien.”
“Despina Barba?” I rasped. “Your family?”
“My only family. My mother.”
Selene was still so strangely silent. I almost wanted her to talk. The oppressive silence that fell over us smothered me.
“Your mother was a daughter of fate too.” It wasn’t a question. “How can that be? I thought this power was rare.”
“It is rare,” he said, throwing himself back in the chair opposite. He was reclined and still looked tenser than a bowstring. “Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Three goddesses. Three demigoddesses. They aren’t like other gods who sprinkled their essence like rain. There are only ever three beings walking the earth with their power at any point in time. Only when one dies is someone else born with the power.”
I frowned. “But Madame Remis said it wasn’t like that. When we die, the god’s essence dies with us.”
He was shaking his head before I finished. “She was talking about regular demigods. Not you and me.”
“We’re not regular?”
“No. Everyone else has a piece of their god’s soul within theirs. But you and I are links. Connections. Bridges,” he said. “Fate. The past, present, and future must exist for every living being. Just like Elysian Fields, Tartarus, and Asphodel Meadows, and the means to get to them have to exist for the dead. When the gods scattered, they lost their ability to control and maintain those links. That’s why they were put inside of us.”
I nodded slowly. “That place,” I whispered. “That dark, empty place outside of time. I’m the key that opens its door.”
“That’s how my mother described it,” Sebastian said, snapping my head up. “An empty abyss outside of time.”
“Is it... okay for me to ask what her power is?”
His gaze drifted to the fire. For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t answer. “She had power over the present. Both a strange and miraculous gift, when it came over her, she’d suddenly see a clear vision of the lines of her thread, and the different actions that’d weaved them.
“For example, on the day they found out I was the gate to hell and came for me, she was in the kitchen making tea when a knock sounded at the door. The bridge to the present suddenly opened, and she saw that if she opened the door, the guards would throw her aside and snatch me. If she fought back, they kill her and take me anyway. But if she put down the kettle, grabbed me, and jumped out the window that instant—we’d escape.”
Fire danced in his fathomless eyes. “I didn’t even get a chance to put my shoes on. No clothes, no coin, no food. We just ran.”
“Oh my gods,” I breathed, covering my mouth. “That’s awful.”
“That’s Maximos Damien.”
“But why? All of that because you were a son of Hades? Or was it because we’re not... regular?”
“Both,” he confessed. “Children of Hades are given immense power, and bridges to hades have access to immense power. More power than children of Zeus in many cases. Maximos can’t have that. No one can be a challenge to his power. Not even a seven-year-old.”
I swallowed hard, uneasiness burrowing into my gut. Why did the more I heard of this man make me feel like he was someone I should never meet?
“But you got away, right? You and your mother were okay. You made it somewhere safe?”
Sebastian didn’t reply.
“What’s your power? How many times have you used it?” he asked. The subject change wasn’t lost on me.
It also wasn’t lost on me that I was having a civil conversation with Sebastian Barba. A few hours ago, after catching him beating the shit out of a crying Sisyphean, I wouldn’t have said that was possible.
“I can go back in time. I’ve done it twice,” I replied. “By accident. I’ve tried accessing it on purpose, but nothing happens. Honestly, I don’t even know how I do it on accident. One minute, I’m in reality, then the next, I’m in the dark place surrounded by threads.”
“That’s normal. I couldn’t figure out how to open the gates at first too. Imagine what that was like for a little kid? All the dead of the world surrounding me—screaming and begging me to allow them to pass to their final resting place.” He cringed remembering. “It takes time to learn how to open the connection when we decide to, but you can and will learn.”
I cracked the barest smile. “That makes me feel a bit better. Once I figure out how to control it and travel when and where I want to—”
“No, Aella. That’s not what I said.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I didn’t say control. I deliberately didn’t say control.” He leaned forward in his seat, pinning me with his stare. “We weren’t given these powers to have control over the afterlife or time. Time will not be controlled. You are only a bridge to the past. You’re not its master.”
“All right, fine,” I cried, throwing up my hands, “but I can still learn how to travel back to where I want to go.”
“What you can do is drive yourself insane trying. I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You think you can go back to the night your mother was taken and make it so it never happened.”
“Is that what you’re thinking?” Selene laughed, making my lips curl. “Silly, stupid girl.”
“So what if I am?” My voice shook. “I can do it. I can try.”
“You can’t, Aella.” Sebastian’s reply was soft. Gentle. Pitying.
It made me feel worse.
“A person’s thread is already determined. Some things can be changed, yes. Different roads can be taken. But something like that...” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but no.”
“You don’t know. How the hell would you know? You don’t get to decide!”
Sebastian’s expression didn’t break in face of my anger. “I do know, and so do you. If you think about it. Really think, you’ll see that it’s not possible because you don’t have control over the past. You have the ability to manipulate your past. How can that be enough when it’s not just you involved?
“Okay, maybe you could go back to that night. Even more, you could go back far enough, warn your mother they’re coming, and clear out before those monsters ever burst through your door—making it so that night never happens—”
“Exactly, yes. I—”
“But then they track you down the next night in your new home and hiding place, and grab her then. So you go back and make a different choice, and hide in a different place, so they track you down there. Then again, and again. Running and running. Never stopping. Never having a home. Never safe because he always finds you.”
He?
“That’s the thing, Aella. Some things aren’t predetermined because fate’s a bitch. They’re predetermined because our enemies are. When there’s someone on your thread who won’t stop until your life is ruined, hiding in the past won’t protect you. They’ll keep coming until your thread unravels, or is cut short.”
His words were so similar to what Loukia said in her book it made a shiver go up my spine.
“You tell me,” he said, voice low. “This Selene. Does she seem like the type to give up?”
Slowly, achingly, I shook my head no while Selene laughed in my ear.
“Then you know a happy future with you and your mother safe and free, doesn’t lie in the past.”
“Okay,” I rasped. “Okay, I get it.”
“I am sorry, you know.” He sounded it. “You should’ve been safe outside the barrier. Free from war, death, and pain. Free to live your life by your own choices. It’s what your father wanted for you.”
Tears filled heavy on my lids.
“No matter what we do, a demigod is never free. How can you be when the shackles are clamped around your soul?”
It was hard not to agree with him. My life with Mom wouldn’t have been destroyed if eighteen years ago, some damn goddess of fate had fucked off and kept her links and bridges out of my soul.
“Everything my mother sacrificed,” he hissed, fists balling. “And I still ended up right here. Doing my duty whether I like it or not.”
Sebastian got to his feet. “Let’s go.”
“Go?” I swiped at my eyes, banishing the tears. “Go where?”
“You held up your end of the deal. I’ll hold up mine. I’ll show you what the dryads told me.”
I collected myself, rising up. “Let’s go.”
Several minutes later, I stood under a grand, domed ceiling. More confused than ever.
“I don’t understand. What am I looking at?”
“You’re looking at the statues. The dryads say they’ve been here as long as the trees. Longer even. Before the academy, before the castle, before Olympia.”
“The statues?” I spun on my heels, twirling under the unseeing eyes of Hera, Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Demeter, Hephaestus, Ares, and Hestia. The very statues I passed under on my first day. “No wonder the demigods chose this spot to build on.”
“The coincidence was unbearable,” Sebastian said. “Lost demigods searching for a home. The Olympian gods marked the spot.”
“Genius. It was all as you said, girl. The events that brought us all here today were never an accident. It was divine. It was fate.”
Sebastian turned to me. “You said this was an entrance to a prison. You believe your mother is inside of it?”
“I—”
“Enough. You speak to this boy no more. I allowed this interaction because my ally said I had to. While your future is still shrouded in darkness, the Barba boy’s isn’t. He was meant to have an important conversation with someone this night. The future where he didn’t result in my freedom being delayed by months, even years.
“I do thank him for discovering what you couldn’t and ridding you of any silly notions of going back in time and undoing our meeting. But your contact with him is now at an end. Walk away, and never speak to him again.”
“But I—”
“Do it now! Or the next ally I speak to will be told to drive a dagger through his eye.”
“I have to go,” I rushed, making for the door.
“It’ll always be like this with you and Alex.”
I tripped over myself. One foot planted, and the other running for the door. “What?”
“He’ll always hide you.” Sebastian trapped my gaze. “He’ll be sorry about it. He’ll spin sweet, pretty words in your ear and wish that things could be different, but at the end of the day, he’ll always choose his duty to Olympia over his love for you.”
Scoffing, I folded my arms. “I was finally beginning to see another side of you and think that maybe you’re not a massive, rotted asshole of a douche. Don’t ruin that now by sticking your nose in my relationship. You don’t know Alex. You don’t know anything.”
That smirk returned. “I know a few things. I know you’re soon going to realize I am the massive, rotted asshole you know and love, because you’re going to need help getting into this prison, and when you finally come begging, my price will be this: you use your power for me.”
“Excuse me?” I couldn’t have heard that right. “Use it for you?”
“That’s right,” he hissed, eating the distance. “Your power and mine together. We’d be unstoppable. No one could stand against us. And you’ve got to admit, swearing undying fealty to me is a small price to pay to save your own mother’s life. It’s not even a competition.”
“Fuck you!”
“You can’t expect me to do something for nothing. When you need my help to get into a prison fashioned by the very gods of all, and you will need my help, I will settle for nothing less than your eternal servitude.” He winked. “You really shouldn’t have told me your power. What were you thinking?”
I gaped at him. “You’ve lost your mind. It’s nothing but monkeys throwing their feces in that skull of yours.”
Sebastian laughed out loud. “That’s a good one. That’s what I like about you, Vanda. You’re quick. Clever. I’m always slightly off-balance when I’m around you. No one dare get too comfortable in your presence.”
I had no idea what to say to that.
Sidestepping me, he made for the door. “I know one other thing,” he tossed over his shoulder. “If you were mine, I’d never hide you.”
I stood in the place I’d been searching for for years, and instead of figuring out the prophecy, the words rattling around my skull were his.