Chapter Twenty
We landed in the midst of the battle, springing into action.
A sword fell, clanging sharply on Ionna’s borrowed shield. Maybe it was because Vasili spent all his time training the Titans while we were stuck digging shitpits, but it wasn’t until that day I realized Ionna was a quick and agile fighter—spinning, rolling, striking, and dodging while her opponent was still scratching their head, blinking in the wrong direction and wondering where she went.
The centaurs fell into battle formation, thundering straight for Tycho.
“Come to me,” Tycho boomed—the words of power resounded. “Defend us.”
Daciana shifted—changing quicker and stronger than ever under the gift of the full moon. She launched onto the roof as the archer notched his bow, biting his arm clean off before it delivered a death sentence on my love. She tore through their defensive line—bounding from rooftop to rooftop, slaughtering them out of formation.
Their lead centaur sounded off—bellowing a series of neighs and grunts to regather and refocus his force. Then, he seized.
Rearing on their hindlegs, the half-men squad devolved, abandoning all sense of battle as they shook, threw down their weapons, clutched their heads, and screamed. I turned away as they exploded.
“Now!”
Ionna, Theron, Tycho, Nitsa, Alex, Jason and I descended on the fallen weapons, arming ourselves as the buzzing rattle reached our ears.
“Time to go.” Winking, Theron ran off, jumping over the fallen centaurs, and rounding the corner. An explosion rocked the ground. Screams, parts, and snake bits rained from the sky.
“That’s your cue, love.” Alex kissed me hard. “Good luck.”
Ionna tossed me the shield. I hopped on Cow Nitsa’s back and we took off, clomping down the barren streets. Centaurs swarmed us—coming from all sides, but we weren’t afraid.
Hanging, broken necks. Impaled chests. Missing limbs. Theron’s army of the dead would aid us.
Nothing would stand in our way of finding the key.
“Where could it be?” I called against the wind. “Is it in one of these buildings? Checking them all would take forever.”
Nitsa leaped a fallen column, soaring past a side street.
“Wait! There,” I cried. “There it is.”
Whipping around, she returned to the entrance of the street. I slid off her back, catching my breath as the centaurs fell in around me.
I was looking at what used to be a town square. The buildings all faced it, circling a large, stone fountain that was glorious in its time. A flaming chariot reached for the sky, surrounded by snapping dogs and snarling boars. A bearded, stone man covered in armor and wearing a sword on his hip, thrust a torch into the sky. Sticking out of the tip of the immortalized flame was a key.
“Let’s end this.” Booms, clangs, and shouting sounded in the distance. “Ares, this is a war you’re going to lose.”
We charged down the cobblestones, bursting into the square. Pain exploded in my shoulder and knocked me clean off Nitsa’s back.
“Agh!” I tumbled into the fountain, landing hard on the stone basin. Groaning, I peeled my eyes open—connecting with the rooftop archer just as she notched her second arrow, and released. “Noo!”
A figure rose in front of me, leaping over the rim. He caught the arrow heading for my throat in his without faltering.
I strained to get to my feet as the dead army claimed their positions. Clomping hooves beat the air. Buzzing belied the battle noise. From everywhere and anywhere, centaurs and gorgons converged on us. All of a sudden they were united in defeating a common enemy—me.
Nitsa spun around, facing her back to the petrifying gorgons.
“Little ickle demigoddesss girl.” My hairs stood on end, hearing the gorgon’s voice. “You ssshall not take our treasssure. You’re not ssstrong enough. You’re not ssssmart enough. You’re not brave enough. Aella Vanda,” she whispered, shooting my heart into my throat. “You are what you will alwaysss be.
“A failure.”
I trembled against a stone dog, clutching my shoulder. It hurt so much, it felt like someone bathed it with fire. Every nerve ending screamed its agony.
“Give up,” they hissed, gorgon after gorgon joining the chorus. “You cannot win, child of the Fates.”
I went cold. They knew. Of course, they knew.
“Thisss place. On thisss very night. You will meet your mothers. You will die.”
“Maybe I will,” I rasped, rising to my feet. “But not before you.”
I spun. Copying Ionna, I did her drop-knee, slice-high, spin-on-the-balls-of-my-foot move—my sword cutting the air, and the sneaking beast coming up on my back. The gorgons really should do something about the noisy rattlesnakes sprouting from their scalps.
A wet slick sound filled my ears, then thud.
Did it work? Did I do it right? Oh my gods, it worked! Peering through my lashes, I grabbed the medusa head, jumped on Nitsa’s back and flew—launched through the air by her powerful back jump.
The spectacle of a flying demigoddess tipped their heads up, complete with wide eyes that looked straight at the medusa.
“Arggh!” Their shouts faded to nothing as they turned to stone.
I smashed into the torch. It broke across my back, and we both fell in a crumpled heap—rolling to a hard stop against a forgotten storefront.
“Oh, gods.” My back was one massive bruise waiting to form. I pushed up and screamed through my teeth, agony bursting in my shoulder. “I’m really starting to hate this place.”
“Aella!” Rapid footfalls approached me. Alex kicked away the gorgon head. “I’m here, kara.”
My friends descended on me as he took me in his arms. Daciana jumped off the roof, shifting in midair. She hissed at my wound.
“That’s bad.”
“F-feels worse,” I replied, wincing.
“What do we do?” Nitsa dropped next to us, taking my hand. “I’m sorry, Aella. I should’ve seen the archer.”
“No, it’s not your fault.” I glanced up at Tycho. He leaned heavily against the statue. We agreed he would only command his army, and not do any fighting. Didn’t look like he kept his end of the bargain. “What happened? Is the battle over?”
He nodded. “It was weird. All of a sudden, they tossed down their weapons, said thas ous necros ses, and retreated.”
“Thas ous necros ses?” I grabbed Alex, squeezing him tight when Daciana peeled away my tunic to examine my wound. “What does that mean?” I gritted, trying to distract myself from what I knew was coming.
“It means bury your dead,” Theron replied. “It’s battlefield code of honor. Both sides cease fire, carry away their fallen soldiers, and give them a proper burial. They won’t attack us right now, and we don’t attack them.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know monsters knew about battlefield ethics, let alone respected them.”
“How long does it—?” Daciana ripped out the arrow. “Ahh, gods, fuck! Ah, that hurts!”
“Sorry,” she soothed. “It wouldn’t have been any better if I did it slowly. Trust me. I’ll bandage it best I can but you’ll need a healer.”
“She’ll get one soon because we can’t hang around,” Tycho continued. “The ceasefire could end in ten hours or ten minutes. We need to move on before it does.” He held out his uncontrollably shaking hands. Said hands took three times as long as they should have to lift his tunic.
His bandages were soaked through with blood.
“And I’m really sor— sorry, guys, but you’re... gonna have to... carry me.” His eyes rolled up in his head. Tycho passed out. It was only Theron’s quick steps that saved him from hitting the ground.
“Oh, Tycho.” Ionna cradled his head. He didn’t stir.
Behind her, the door materialized out of thin air.
“He’s right. We have to keep moving.” Alex picked me up bridal-style, ignoring my protests. Daciana bound me up the best she could, but that was my shoulder, not my legs. I could walk just fine. “The only one who can help Tycho is a healer, but we have to let him rest. Don’t wake him. We can defeat the challenges on our own. We have to. He can’t do this anymore.”
None of us could disagree. Tycho said he was holding back his death. What was he doing now that he was unconscious? He couldn’t exert himself like this anymore, or he wouldn’t make it to the end at all.
“We’ll take him.” Jason and Theron heaved Tycho up. “Let’s go.”
We trudged through the door—a weary, ragtag, battered group, and fell into the swirling gray smoke—
—and kept falling.
Night turned to day. Stunning blue skies and fluffy white clouds gazed down upon the world, and we were falling through them.
“What the fuck is going on!” Jason both spun around and tumbled head over heels. “Do something! Someone, do something!”
We were doing something—screaming.
Alex held on to me, holding me to his chest as all around us, my friends plummeted to their deaths.
“Hera,” Selene growled. “Throwing her son, Hephaestus, to the earth didn’t kill him. But it will kill all of you.”
“How is that helpful!”
“You are not allowed to die here! My freedom is nigh. Save yourself,” she said. “Do it now!”
Also unhelpful. I had no idea how to save us. Rewinding time would do jack-shit. We’d only get the privilege of falling to our deaths twice.
A green sea lay out before us, blanketing the skin of the world. Selene ordering me not to die was all well and good, but... there was no way. I couldn’t get out of this one. Of all the gods and all their clever tricks, traps, and monsters, it was Hera who figured it out.
Simple is best.
“I’m sorry,” Alex and I said, speaking at once.
We smiled into each other’s watering, red eyes.
“I love you,” we said as one.
Always. Forever. Until the end. And after.
He pressed his lips to my ear. “See you in Elysium, my love.”
I laughed. Or I sobbed. I couldn’t tell. “See you there.”
A screech shredded the sound barrier. My eyes snapped open, making out a large, feathery mass before I smashed onto its back. The creature zipped through the air, catching my friends one by one.
Alex laughed out loud. “Yes! Praise be to the gods. You’re amazing!”
“What!” Nitsa clung to the creature’s feathers—the white of her eyes rolling in their sockets. “What the fuck!”
It was safe to say the stress of the day had gotten to her, but I was next to start freaking. It was Hera’s trap, and after dropping us out of the sky and getting us lose-control-of-our-bowels terrified, she sent a giant bird monster to pick our bones clean, and then regurgitate us into her monster babies’ gullets. What in the hell was there to laugh and smile about?
The bird landed and we tumbled off its back, rolling into our fighting positions.
Setting Tycho carefully on the ground, Theron spun and tossed me my dagger.
“Sword!” I leveled it on the beast one-handed. “You’re gonna wish you left this fight to the ground!”
The monster blinked out of existence, and a whole and familiar woman took its place. She rolled her eyes. “Put that down before you hurt yourself, you useless toova.” She kicked the hilt from my grip. “Idiot.”
Sirena beamed into our incredulous faces. “Now is the time when you thank me, Sisypheans. Of course, Mother Hera was the one to defeat you. And of course, I was the only one who could save you.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Nitsa blurted. “Have you been stalking us the whole time?”
She bristled. “I wasn’t stalking! Even if I was, I damn sure wouldn’t be following in the wake of your manure droppings.”
Annoyance welled up in me fast and hot. Being saved from a forced marriage did not sweeten this woman in any way.
Selene clung to Alex’s arm. “When you jumped into the chamber, I changed into a fruit fly and followed you. I’ve been on your back this whole time, protecting it. I wasn’t about to let you throw your life away for”—she flapped a hand in my direction—“that.”
“I would give my life for Aella a million times a day,” he replied, winking at me.
I ridiculously blushed.
“But thank you, Sirena,” Alex continued. “We wouldn’t have made it without you. The queen of the skies flies among us.”
Sirena blushed too. Even though she wasn’t in love with him, it was easy to see how Alex inspired such devotion, his friends jumped into death traps to protect him.
I opened my mouth to speak when something dropped between my feet. A gold key stamped with a peacock.
“Thank goodness.” Daciana was the one to pick it up. “We need to keep going, Tycho’s breathing has changed. He’s struggling.”
“Oh no, Tycho.” I dropped down next to him, resting my head on his chest. Her wolf senses were horribly right. His breaths were slow and labored while his heart was the opposite—fluttering fast and wild.
“There’s the door,” Ionna cried, pointing over my head.
Theron and Jason lifted Tycho up, rushing right on our heels for the exit.
“Agh!” Jason ripped away, falling face-first in the dirt and dragging Tycho down with him. Muscles seizing, Jason twitched and spasmed—limbs curling in like they wanted to be close, cradling him till the last.
It was eons, but more likely seconds, till the fit passed. He pushed up on shaky arms, chest heaving. “I’m okay,” he croaked, holding up a hand to keep us back. “Let’s go on.”
“We’re almost through,” Ionna said, moving him to help lift up Tycho. “Hephaestus, Hestia, and Zeus left. We made it this far. We won’t fail now.”
Our growing group held onto those words as we passed through.
We dropped down in an enclosed room made of metal—the force jolting my shoulder. Hissing, I forced down the pain. I was too close to Mom to be slowed down by a mere arrow wound or deadly poison. Both would have to fuck off and kill me another day.
I looked around. I wished there was more to say to describe the space. Shining metal walls, metal ceiling, and a monochrome metal checkerboard floor.
Directly across from us, the ancient wooden door leading out loomed tall and proud for all to see. Hanging on a tiny hook behind it, was the key.
“The key?” Nitsa said. “The key’s right there? As in, all we have to do is walk over there, get it, and open the door?”
No one moved.
“It can’t be that simple,” Theron said slowly, scanning the space.
“Ionna, can you see anything?” Daciana knelt beside Tycho, holding his twitching hand. Or maybe it was her hand twitching. “Is it that simple?”
Ionna did a simple headshake, then lost control of it, wrenching her chin roughly to the side. “No,” she gasped, falling to her knees. “Sorry... I can’t see anything.”
Theron inhaled a deep breath. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.” He took a step.
Spikes shot out of the floor panel—merciless and lethal. Theron threw himself back, falling flat on his back with a shout. He grabbed his chin and pulled away, blinking at the blood staining his palm.
That close. The spikes were that close.
The metal chamber came to life. Floor panels disappeared in one place and appeared in another. Spikes shot out and retracted with no rhyme, reason, or pattern. The panel before me suddenly engulfed in flames, tossing me yelping back.
We weren’t in a metal chamber. We were in a death trap.
“So much for Hephaestus being one of the kind gods,” Nitsa muttered. She turned on her friends. “Ionna, I know you’re tired and the effects of the poison are getting worse, but I think if you take a breath, relax, and focus, you could see how we get through this.”
Ionna just shook her head. “I can’t.”
“But—”
“Nitsa, stop. She can’t because of me.” I heaved a sigh. “There’s no point hiding it now. I’m a child of the Fates. I’m told that makes it very hard to see any future with me in it.”
A couple knowing looks. One sweet, loving gaze of support. More wide-eyed shock. Then, her.
“No,” Sirena barked, disbelief shattering her ever-present mask of glacial beauty and disdain. “You can’t be. You’re lying.”
“Actually, I’m not.”
“No! Because if you’re a child of fate, that means you’re not a Sisyphean. You’re a— a—”
I flashed her a mirthless smile. “You don’t have to say it, Sirena. Your head might explode if you do.”
She bared her teeth. “Fuck you. I knew you weren’t a tenebrae demon, because Alex could never be fooled by such a creature. But you’re definitely a bitch.”
“I’m the bitch?” I cried, jaw dropping. “Then what the hell does that make you?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” Her nose couldn’t get any higher in the air even if she flew. “I’ve been nothing but merciful... to you traitors.”
Daciana, Theron, Nitsa, Ionna, and I stilled.
“Excuse me?” I said. “You can’t seriously think we’re traitors after everything you’ve seen and heard down here. You said yourself you know Maximos was lying about me being a demon. Why in the world would you believe anything else that came out of his mouth?”
“Oh, yes? Everything he said was a lie?” She cocked her head, folding her arms. “Did or did you not use a curse to bring down the barriers around Deucalion?”
“I— Well, yes, but—”
“Did you and your useless friends enter this godsforsaken place even though you knew there was an ancient evil down here that cannot be released under any circumstances?”
“It’s not that simple,” I cried. “I had to because—”
“And did or did you not murder Headmaster Drakos for getting in your way?”
I roared up. “Hey! I didn’t kill him. Your precious leader of the Olympian world did because Drakos refused to let him murder me and call it justice.”
She smirked. “Another way of putting that is, Drakos died because of you. Died protecting you because you literally opened up a disaster beneath his feet, and forced all of us to deal with it. And why? Because you’re a traitor!”
“No. Because she’s my mom.”
Her smirk twitched. “Your mom? What are you talking about?”
“She’s talking about the rest of the story that my father left out,” Alex said. “Her mother was abducted by the ancient evil that resides in this place to force her down here. She couldn’t abandon her mother to this wretched pit of Tartarus. I know you understand that, Sirena. I know you do.”
Cheeks reddening, she flicked between us—the line of her shoulders going taut. “Fine,” she snapped, “but that doesn’t mean this was done in the right way. She should’ve gone to the council, and they would’ve determined the best way to save her mother without putting everyone at risk.”
“Would they really have gone to the trouble?” I asked, voice hard. “For a mortal woman.”
Her eyes blew wide. Sirena opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“There are no traitors here,” Nitsa said. “We’re here to get her mother out, and only her mother. You can help us do that. You prove right here, right now, the kind of ruler you’re going to be. Because I know what kind of a goddess Hera was. She was mother to all. Mortal, demigod, weak, and powerful. Whoever served in her name was deserving of her love and protection.”
Nitsa closed the distance, gaze locked. “You stand here claiming to be the one worthy to represent her, so do it, Sirena. Do what the goddess of women and birth would’ve done to a monster who ripped a mother away from her child.”
Sirena stared at her for a long time, expression unreadable.
Giving up, I turned away from her and focused on the trap. Maybe there was some kind of order to the spikes and flames triggering. If we timed it right, we could—
“Okay.” Sirena snapped my attention back. “I’ll help you, but not because of that cerberus shit you just said, cow. I’ll do it because this creature was obviously not contained if it was able to abduct a woman. It was a danger long before she blundered in and fucked everything up.”
She being me.
“This time it abducted a mundane. Next time, it could take someone actually important, and with it living right beneath the shoes of all twelve imperial heirs, the thought undoubtedly crossed its mind.” She straightened. “Alex and I cannot let that happen. It’s our duty to protect the heirs and the Titans. He and I are now leading this mission. You all stay out of the way and try not to die.” She shrugged, smiling. “Or do, it makes no difference to me.”
Why was it that even though she was offering help I desperately needed... I wanted to punch her in the face?
Alex tossed his head, sighing. “If I can translate Sirena’s reply into the more compassionate one she meant to give, she’s saying she knows none of this was your fault, the blame lays at the monster who started this war, and she’ll do everything she can to save your mother, because she does know what Mother Hera would do in this situation, and she’d kicked that kidnapping beast’s ass.”
Rolling her eyes, Sirena sniffed. “Whatever. Let’s do this already.”
I was about to ask what this was when a dragon’s forearm and talons erupted from her shoulder. She scooped me, Alex, and Nitsa up in one swoop, carried us over the death maze, and deposited us on the platform on the other side. She did the same to the others, then turned into a dove and flew over, bypassing the flames and spikes with ease.
She touched down as herself, looking smugger than ever. She didn’t speak and she didn’t need to. Her face read loud and clear that we couldn’t do this without her. Titans reign supreme.
“We’re almost there, guys.” I reached for the key. My fingers spasmed curling around them. It was only a matter of time before the poison got to me. “Two more. We can do this.”
“N-no.” A thick, raspy whisper reached me over the crackling flames. “We can’t.”
“What?” I turned, falling on Daciana.
She cradled Tycho to her chest, crouched on her knees on the floor. Something splashed onto the metal.
“Daciana,” I said slowly. “What’s wrong?”
She looked at me, eyes red rimmed, and shook her head.
“Nooo!” Nitsa wailed.
They rushed him, but I got there first. I tore my friend from her grasp and onto the floor. “Tycho, no, don’t do this.” I clasped my fists on his chest, pumping up and down. Vicious pain tormented my shoulder, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t slow. “You can’t give up. Don’t give up!”
Daciana, Nitsa, and Ionna broke down, sobbing on their palms. Theron could only stand there—washed-out and shaking.
“We’re almost there, T-Tycho,” I cried. “We’re going to get you to Healer Helena. You’re going to be okay.”
“Aella.”
“Wake up!” I pounded his chest, sobs shredding my lungs and stopping my breath. “Please, wake up.”
Tycho jumped into the chamber because of me. He faced a riddle-obsessed monster because of me. And he was forced to delay, and delay, and delay proper treatment because of me.
“It’s my fault.” My head fell back, cries echoing off the metal. “I’m sorry, Tycho, please. Please, come back.”
“Aella...” Arms gathered me up, gently drawing me away. “It’s all right, kara. Let it go.”
I cried into his chest. I cried and cried until there was nothing left, then I cried more. I knew the son of Persephone for a short time, and in that time he’d been a better, more loyal friend to me than people I’d known my whole life. All he wanted was to be a soldier, and be with Calix Lambros. Because of me, he’d lost his opportunity at both of those dreams, and he’d never have a chance to win them back.
“This is my fault,” Daciana whispered. “If I hadn’t pushed for us to stay together, Tycho would’ve stayed in Athena’s chamber where he was safe and could rest.”
“No, it’s mine.” Nitsa’s face soaked with tears. “He was forced to expend power to save me because I flew out a fucking window.”
“No, it’s mine,” Ionna shrieked, throwing herself against the wall. “I’m the fucking seer. Me! I should’ve seen this coming. What’s the fucking point of me if I don’t see these things coming!”
“Okay, all of you, enough.”
Sirena’s bark snapped my head up. “Cirillo, if you fucking dare! Now is not the time for your venom. For once, shut the hell up!”
“Sirena,” Alex chided, disappointment etched in the lines of his face.
“No, listen.” Her voice was firm. “I’m sorry about your friend. I really am. But none of you are to blame for this, and you know that. This Tycho guy, he made a choice,” she said, hard gaze piercing us. “A choice to not lie around, moan, whine, or give up. He chose to fight to the last, and it was his choice.
“I heard him on the beach, saying he could sense his death coming. I think... he already knew he wasn’t going to make it to the end, and still he fought on. His last act in this world was to stand beside his friends and fight for what he believed was right, so don’t cheapen that sacrifice by listing all the ways he could’ve quit or let you die to save himself.
“This man was no coward or quitter. I don’t respect much, but I do respect a soldier. A hero.” She tipped her head to him. “So stop your wailing and carrying on, and give him the final send-off he deserves.”
Nobody moved or spoke. Then Theron dropped to one knee.
“Farewell, my friend, my comrade.” He gently touched two fingers to Tycho’s brow. “See you in Elysium.”
Slowly, stiffly, achingly, my friends joined him—falling to their knees to repeat a ritual I didn’t know or understand, but touched me in the deep, dark part of myself that had started to shrivel.
Falling beside him, I did the same. “Farewell, my friend,” I whispered. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stir up mischief together in this life. I promise we will in the next one.
“See you in Elysium.”
I moved back, holding my arms tightly. They were shaking from more than emotion.
Alex moved in to pay his respects, and then surprisingly, so did Sirena. When she was done, she moved back to a respectful distance—joining our small, silent circle.
“What do we do now?” Nitsa’s voice was barely more than a rasp. “We can’t leave him.”
“We can’t take him either.” Daciana roughly rubbed her eyes. “He deserves dignity in death. Not to be carted around like a knapsack. He deserves rest now. And peace.”
I nodded slow. “I know what to do.” I turned my gaze to someone I couldn’t see. “Dad, get Sebastian, please. Tell him what happened, and that we need him to return Tycho to his family. Thank you.”
“Good.” Ionna rocked back and forth, blinking rapidly to stave off tears. “That’s a good idea, thank you. Sebastian will take care of him.”
“Guys?” Jason stepped forward and his leg jerked, nearly pulling the world out from under him. “I h-hate to do this, but we can’t stop.” He breathed heavy. “Two more traps. Two more keys. No more time to beat this poison. We have to go.”
No one spoke in agreement. Quietly we shuffled out, saying goodbye to our friend for the final time.
WE DROPPED ONTO A ROCKYoutcropping and threw ourselves back, clutching the mountain face. We were on a ledge.
Carefully, I stepped forward, peering over the side. My breaths quickened.
A ledge was the only thing keeping us from a hundred-foot drop into the crashing, rolling seas below.
Moisture hung thick in the air—frizzing my hair and filling my lungs. To move was to push through soupy, swampy atmosphere that was pregnant with the promise of rain as the looming, black clouds blocked out any hope of sun.
“What now?” Ionna asked dully. She was completely pale and washed out, like all the color had gone out of her when it left the world.
“We can’t... go down... so...” Nitsa slumped forward. Getting to the end of the sentence was more energy than she could spare.
“So we have to go up,” Alex finished, towing her in. He hugged her, rubbing her shoulders. Tears sprang to her eyes. “In fact, I think I see something at the top.”
“I’ll get it,” Sirena said. “I want out of this fucking place.”
I never agreed with her more.
Sirena jumped off the ledge, but a griffin took off, blasting us back with the power of its wingspeed. She soared to the top of the mountain and hovered around a strange, silver figure that I couldn’t make out.
Light burst in my eyes, illuminating the night sky. Streaking across the clouds, lightning struck Sirena, knocking her out of the air. She plummeted into the inky dark waters below—gone.
“Sirena!” Alex bolted.
Theron and Jason tackled him, stopping him jumping over the edge.
“Oh my gods,” I breathed, frozen. What just happened? How did that happen?
“You can’t,” Theron shouted, wrestling Alex back down. “She’s gone. There’s nothing you can do. I’m sorry, but... she’s gone.”
Alex doubled over, unleashing a keening wail that tore open my heart.
“What the fuck!” Nitsa shrieked. She was unraveling before my eyes. “She’s dead. Just like that, she’s dead! Is that going to happen to any of us who climbs this mountain? Is it? Is it!”
I flinched, chin trembling. I so badly wanted to say no.
“Yes,” I whispered. “This must be Zeus’s trap so... yes.”
“Then what do we do?” Ionna asked. “What now?”
“I’ll tell you what now.” My voice was empty. Dead. “I stop getting the people I care about killed, and I scale this mountain myself.” I pasted to the rock, reaching for a handhold. “I’ll get you out of here, guys. I’m sorry that I—”
Lightning struck the outcropping, charging the air with heat and fury. The rock burst apart, ripping the world out from under us.
We fell.
I SNAPPED OUT OF THEthread space, blinking sore, heavy eyes.
“—have to go up,” Alex finished. He hugged Nitsa. “In fact, I think I see something at the top.”
“There is something at the top,” I sliced in, “and anyone who goes after it is struck down by lightning and sent to a watery grave.”
Ionna went ashen. “Who?”
I didn’t need to ask what she meant. “All of us,” I replied, dropping my head. “First Sirena when she flew up there. Then, the rest of us. Lightning struck the ledge.”
They all shot back, pressing their backs to the wall. I didn’t bother saying that wouldn’t make a difference.
“Aella?” Theron peered past Nitsa. “Exactly how many times have we died in here?”
I forced the words out. “In this trap, once. In the others... Let’s just say drowning was the kindest end.”
“Why are you asking her this?” Nitsa snapped. “How does knowing these things help us?”
“It helps because this means that of all traps, this one is the most dangerous to her. Most dangerous to all of us, and not because we’re hanging off the edge of a mountain.”
Alex nodded slow, understanding dawning. “He’s right. A lightning strike kills instantly. No chance to kick off a do-over. This place is sentient. It knows we’ve gotten this far because of Aella. It’s going to do something about that.” Gazing up the sky, he moved in front of me. “Right here. Right now.”
The hairs on the back of my head stood up. Was this what it was like when the god of the sky and the king of the gods turned his vengeful eye on you? No wonder humans turned the war back on them.
Ionna took my hand. “We can’t lose anyone else, but we definitely can’t lose you. You’re the only one who can bring us back.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I cried. “I know that. I will bring you back. I’m not going to let anything h-happen to...” I faltered, trailing off. What a stupid thing to say. I already let something terrible happen. Tycho was gone.
“What we’re saying is we have to protect you above all.” Alex motioned to Sirena. “Stay with Aella. If lightning comes your way, you’re the only one who can fly her off to safety. The rest of us will get the key.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll go first,” Daciana agreed. Claws sprouted from her fingers. “I’m the fastest climber.”
“Wait, hold on.” I tried dodging around Alex and found myself blocked by Sirena. “Don’t I get a say in this? I’m not cowering against a rock while you all risk yourself.”
Sirena stared me down. “If you really are a child of the Fates, and I doubt that, then this is how you fight this battle. When demigods go to war, they don’t run all over the damn place, throwing around their weapons and powers, and pretending that bravery makes up for stupidity. They organize by where their power and strength are needed most.
“There’s no shame in staying right here, if right here is where you need to be.”
I clenched my teeth, seeing visions of the battle from the very night before. Children of Ares prevented the monsters from advancing. Children of Demeter protected and fought alongside the dryads. Sirena was right. They positioned where their power did the most good, and they won.
“Okay,” I pushed out. “I understand.”
“Good.” She clapped. “Maybe you’re not the braindead idiot you appear to be, although I doubt that too.”
I flashed her all the obscene gestures there were. I even made a few up.
“It’s all well and good you guys have sidelined me and assigned me the world’s most annoying bodyguard, but does anyone have an idea of how to beat lightning? We’re completely exposed out here. No protection.”
They exchanged looks, no replies forthcoming.
“I’ll go first,” Alexander announced. “I’m a son of Zeus. I’ll stand a better chance.”
“But, Alex—”
Alex was done talking. He leaped up, grasped a protruding rock, and climbed.
I cracked my neck watching him scale the mountain, holding my breath in so deep and tight, I forgot how to let it out.
“It’s working,” Nitsa said. “Zeus is letting him climb. He’s going to make it—”
Lightning streaked across the sky, striking Alex off the mountain’s back. He didn’t shout on the way down. My love was already gone.
“Alex, no!”
Sirena took off to catch him, but I was already falling into the land outside of time.
“I’LL GO FIRST,” ALEXANDERannounced. “I’m a son of Zeus. I’ll stand a better chance.”
I shot around Sirena and jumped him, throwing my arms around him. “No,” I said hoarsely, eyelids heavy with unshed tears. “You won’t.”
“Did you just...?”
I nodded.
“What now then?” Nitsa slid down against the wall, legs giving up. “What do we do?”
“I’ll go.” Daciana crossed the scant distance the ledge afforded her. “There’s a full moon behind those clouds. I can sense it. I’m stronger when Luame is at her full power, shining her light to all who sing with the wind. I won’t be taken out so easily.”
Claws reappeared at the tips of her hands. They sank into the stone, scattering rock at our feet. Scaling quickly and efficiently, she was halfway up in the space it took for us to release our held breaths.
“She can do this,” Ionna whispered. “Please, gods, let her do this.”
Charged electricity cut through the heavens, illuminating the shadowed clouds, and for the barest second, on all that I held dear, I swore I saw the angry, raging face of Zeus roaring down at us.
The lightning sought its victim, eager for blood, but it wasn’t Daciana.
“Look out!”
Claws hooked me and Alex, wrenching us off our feet and into the air. The strike devastated the spot I was standing in, breaking the outcropping to pieces.
Nitsa, Jason, Theron, and Ionna fell screaming to the depths below.
My wails echoed across the sea.
I FELL OUT OF THE THREADspace.
“What now then?” Nitsa slid down against the wall, legs giving up. “What do we do?”
“Alex was right,” I cried—yes, cried. How many times was I supposed to watch my friends die to save me and my mother, and be expected to hold it together? “This place finally wised up and realized I needed to go. You all died because it struck the outcropping trying to get rid of me.
“I can’t be here! I’m putting you all in danger.”
Ionna tossed her head. “You’re also the only reason we’re not in real danger, because you undid the terrible thing that just happened to us.”
“No.” I backed away, pants coming hard. “I need to get away from you guys. You’re not safe around me. No one is safe near me!”
“Aella, it’s okay.” Alex cupped my cheeks, pressing his forehead to mine. “Breathe, kara. It’ll all be ok—”
“It’s not okay!” I screamed, popping his brows. Roughly I shoved away. “None of this is okay. Tycho is dead. Drakos is dead. Your father is up there waiting to execute me and my friends the minute we poke our heads above ground. My mom’s been a prisoner for two years, and we’re all playing right into the hands of the evil goddess who abducted her, and we still don’t know who that goddess is. So, no, Alex. It’s not going to be okay!”
My jaw clamped shut. My neck muscles spasmed wildly, tossing my head this way and that. “Fuck!”
I burst into tears. “I keep watching you die. I can’t do it,” I sobbed. “I can’t watch you die anymore.”
“Aella....” Ionna’s hand was warm on the back of my head. “We’re not dead. We’re right here. And we’re going to get through this. We’re stronger together, and we know it. That’s what makes us different.”
“I... Yes.” I raised my head, trying to breathe slow and steady through my nose. “That’s what makes us different.” It was another pause before I could speak evenly. “Sorry for freaking out. That was less than helpful.”
“It was pathetic. Stop your shouting and wailing, and get that key!” Selena blared, blowing in my eardrum. “I tire of your delays. Free me. NOW!”
I gritted my teeth, holding tight to my opposite wrist. If only I could strangle her just as easily.
“Sirena,” I began. “What’s the fastest bird in your arsenal, and can it out-fly lightning?”
She shook her head. “The drop of godly blessing in our souls manifests as one power. My power is to take the shape of every flying creature. Only their shape. Supernatural speed is a separate power.”
“Then we need to think of something else, because I can’t be this close to you. Zeus, or what’s left of him in this place, is prepping his next strike right now.”
Ionna peered up, straining to see the tip. “What if we all make the climb? Staying on this ledge isn’t any safer, so why not?” she asked. “Multiple targets. Can’t get us all before one of us hits the top.”
“Not a bad idea.” Alex kissed me. “Aella, Sirena will hover with you under the ledge. At least it’s some covering.”
That settled, Sirena’s claw grabbed me up and she flew me under the outcropping. My feet dangled over the crashing ocean, and it still didn’t fill me with as much anxiety as listening to my friends and love begin their climb.
“There’s a toehold right there.”
“You got this. Keep going.”
“Halfway there.”
Their voices faded on ascent. They were doing it. They were making it.
“Nitsa? Hey, Nitsa, what’s wrong—? Oh no, she’s seizing! Theron, do something,” Daciana cried. “Grab her— No!”
Nitsa fell past us, plunging into the depths.
“AELLA, IT’S OKAY.”Alex cupped my cheeks, pressing his forehead to mine. “Breathe, kara. It’ll all be okay.”
My eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re right. It is going to be okay.” My gaze latched onto him. “Because we’re ending this shit right now. You,” I barked. “Up the mountain.”
He looked around like I could be talking to someone else. “What? Me? Okay, but we should come up with a p— plan.” He burst into a coughing fit.
I got too much pleasure from hearing him wheeze. “Here’s the plan, Jason. Since your fuck-ass evil powers were good enough to fool every demigod present on orientation day, and stop them from seeing you dragging my mother through the gates, then they’re good enough to fool this trap. So I repeat.” I pointed. “Get up the damn mountain.”
“Aella, what’s going on?” Ionna backed away from Jason, and his growing smirk. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about him being an impostor.” It was everything in me not to punch in his grin. “This is not Jason. He’s a monster in human skin, and he’s here to make sure Selene gets free, so do it already,” I snapped. “Get the key for your mistress and goddess. I’m sure you know she’s getting quite impatient.”
Jason laughed out loud. A laugh cut short by another coughing fit, he still managed to smirk his way through it. “All right then.” Straightening, he winked. “Be right back.”
Jason disappeared.
Nitsa cried out, whipping this way and that. But the traitorous sack of shit was gone. “I don’t understand. Where did he go?”
I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t speak, I was so angry that I’d been reduced to this—asking that piece of garbage for help. Asking him to do the one thing he and Selene wanted us to do, be bound to them in this awful game of pawns.
The heavens suddenly came to life. Lightning attacked the mountain in a frenzy, striking all over and raining rocks on our heads. We threw ourselves against the face, huddling for shield.
Zeus wasn’t worried about killing me anymore. His trap was about to be defeated, and he knew it.
“I know,” I shouted into the air. “I want to kill the bastard too.”
It was centuries, millennia, eons... before we heard his cry of triumph.
All around us, the landscape melted away. One moment we were hanging off the side of a mountain, the next we were in another room much like the one from Athena’s trap. A cushioned floor pressed against my boot treads. A beautiful, self-glorifying fresco splashed Zeus all over the circular walls. He laughed, drank, wielded lightning, and ruled in painting after painting.
Jason appeared before me, holding a key stamped with lightning.
Our gaze locked across a stretching divide.
“You should get rid of that silly disguise now, don’t you think?” I returned his grin with a mirthless one of my own. “You’re not fooling anyone, Marinos.”
The tall, handsome, fun-loving son of hades disappeared, and the short, shaggy-haired, long-nosed guy I’d come to know took his place. If anything, his smirk was even smugger.
“Oh, but I d-did,” he replied, stumbling over a wheeze. “I fooled all of you, and for so much longer than today. Ha! Just think, that you ran to my rescue, saving the guy who threw your precious mommy into a pit.”
I advanced on him. “I should’ve let Sebastian kill you.”
“Ahh.” He pouted. “Yes, you should’ve, but we’ve all got regrets.”
“Why?” My voice was a thin rasp. “Why was he beating you? What did he know?”
Marinos shrugged. “A few of my playthings came to him, no doubt. Whispered in his ear. Don’t be charmed by his rebel act. He’s a total do-gooder. Taking it upon himself to avenge the dead.” He rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t know what I know. What you all will soon know. Olympia will be nothing but a smoldering crater by week’s end. Why shouldn’t I have my fun with you walking corpses while I still can?”
Alex growled, throwing his hand up.
“Don’t even think about it, son of Zeus!” He swung to Alex, grin vanishing. “As we speak, your father is spinning a tale of treachery and treason that’ll hang your worthless lover. If you want any chance of giving him another head to put in the noose, you better not explode mine.”
Alex froze, hand hovering in the air. “What do you take me for? You’ll never let us take you alive.”
“Are you willing to risk her life on it?”
Alex looked from him, to me, to him, and then to me. He lowered his hand.
“That’s what”—cough, cough—“I thought.”
Nitsa whipped between us, eyes huge. “I don’t understand this. What is going on!”
“I’ll tell you what’s going on.” I backed away from Marinos. “In the last few years, Selene slithered into the heart of the right ally. A child of Apollo with a gift no one wants—true visions. The seer saw Selene rise, and pledged her loyalty.
“She found a way to anchor Selene’s essence into items like the bracelet I wear, then she recruited more followers to achieve their goal,” I said. “A group of those followers broke into this prison, got as far as the cyclops, and died. Maybe they weren’t the only ones. Like Drakos said, there have been many disappearances here over the years.
“Anyway, I assume sometime after the students and instructor failed, Selene’s pet seer killed herself trying to find someone who would succeed, because she wasn’t jumping in herself. Finally, she spouted a prophecy naming the person they needed. A child of fate. Me.” I raised my voice to speak over Marinos’s coughing fit. “There was never a cerberus or an echidna in my house that night. It was you.”
I barked a laugh. “Isn’t that wild? I really was deluded and hallucinating. The shrinks kept asking me that question in the hospital. If a ten-foot-tall dog with three heads and his half-snake mother carried my mom away, why did no one else in the city that never sleeps see them? They didn’t, because of course, they weren’t there.” Hatred twisted my lips. “You made the world think I was crazy. You made me think I was crazy! You stole my mother and two years of my life!”
“Exactly,” he wheezed. “Two years. Get over it already.”
Oh yeah, the day wouldn’t end without me punching him in the face.
“I did... what I had to do.”
“You did have to do it the way you did,” I said, “because your boss can’t see me. A black hole where the future of Aella Vanda should be. All she could see was a son of Zeus veering off course of his destiny on the day he stepped across the barrier. She saw a werewolf looking forward to four long lonely years, suddenly have a fate switch-up and end up in her prophecy after hearing a voice on the wind during placement.
“She saw a mortal woman wasting away in the bowels of this hell alongside Selene, so she made it so. She put the pieces in place and waited... for me.”
Marinos dropped to his knees, coughing so hard he was hacking up his lung.
“One thing she and Selene couldn’t seem to see, though, is that I’m not stupid.” I towered over him, my friends falling in beside me. “I knew you weren’t Jason from the start.” I scoffed when his eyes widened. “You are a terrible fucking actor, just so you know. Yes, Jason is a sex-hound, but if you’d been paying attention, you would’ve noticed that he’s all about pleasure, happiness, and living life to the fullest.
“He wants that for everyone. That’s why when he flirts with a woman, he does it to make her feel flattered, pretty, and sexy. He does not sleaze and lech on them like you were with Nitsa and us. Nitsa blushed every time the real Jason spoke to her. She cringed every time you did. Therefore, you are not Jason. And if you’re an impostor, there was only one possible reason you’d jump into this pit of death with us. You’re working for Selene.”
Marinos’s response was an obscene gesture. Selene’s was a hearty laugh. She was loving this.
“Obviously, you already know all of this,” I breezed on. “So why am I telling you? That’s easy.” My expression changed. “It’s to give the poison time to kill you.”
“Poison?” Theron blurted. “You mean the strychnine?”
“I mean the extra dose I gave him after stealing a starfruit from Demeter’s table, and squeezing the juice on his cut while you and Nitsa were flipping out over the cyclops.” I gave him the beaming smile he dared to give me. “Forgive me for dragging the explanation out. I’m just waiting until you’re good and dead.”
“Bitch!” he screeched, eyes bulging.
“You were never going to make it to the final chamber, asshole. It’s laughable that you thought otherwise.” Dropping down next to him, I smashed the remaining starfruit in his mouth. “That’s for my mom.”
I rose to my feet, rejoining my hanging-jawed, incredulous friends.
“I can’t... I don’t...” Nitsa trailed off.
“It’s a lot. I know. The whole twisted, tangled mess is hard for me to follow too,” I said. “What matters is that their plan failed. Selene is not getting out.”
“Their plan,” Alex repeated, nodding. “Their plan to let us think we escaped with your mom, and only your mom. Son of Ate, he was going to delude us all. We weren’t going to know that the goddess got out too. It was all going to be just a hallucination. It’s genius,” he admitted. “We’re dealing with a formidable enemy.”
Alex snapped me to his chest, kissing me hard. “But not as formidable as you.”
“Well done, Aella.”
“Amazing,” Ionna agreed.
“You saw right through fake Jason.” Nitsa clapped me on the back. “You’re the genius.”
“Enough of this,” Sirena barked, destroying the victorious mood like a boot through a birthday cake. “Never celebrate before the war is won.” She snatched the key from the dying man’s fingers. “We’re not done yet.”
“Precisely.” A deep voice spun us around. “One of you was listening during training.”
I choked, air stealing from my lungs. Cloaks. That was what I noticed first. The dark, heavy, cowled cloaks on the eight figures who appeared—surrounding us. And then I saw what the final figure was carrying—Tycho.
“What are you doing with him? Who are you!”
“Come now, girl.” A feminine voice emanated from one of the hoods. “Surely you can guess. The boy’s death ended his protection, and your delusion that he would enter this place alone. Of course we followed.”
“And of course you led us through every trap,” another voice said, swinging our heads around. “Erased every death. Undid every mistake. The chosen savior. The child of the Fates.”
“And of course I healed your friend just in time, tearing him from the grips of hades,” said a voice I knew all too well. Madame Remis lowered her hood. “Young Tycho is not dead. He wasn’t allowed to die. He is still needed for the glory and rise of our true goddess.
“You all are.”
I didn’t think. “Attack,” I bellowed.
My friends shot into action, racing to—
“Sleep.”
Alex tripped over his feet, crashing head-first onto the floor.
“Sleep.”
Sirena dropped mid-change.
“Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.”
My friends fell like bowling pins, leaving me the last one standing—barely. My knees shook so hard they didn’t want to hold me while Vasili lowered his hood.
“Sir?” I whispered. “Why?”
He sniffed, hard frown lines etching his face. “I owe you no explanations, girl.
“Sleep.”