19 #2
I’m sure she intends her comment to be offensive, but I can’t help but laugh. The goddesses don’t know how to respond.
Just then, August returns with his dinner. As Aphrodite’s attention fixes on him, my grip on the stem of my glass tightens.
“Hello,” August greets, dipping his head politely.
“August Aymes,” Aphrodite purrs. “I quite enjoy your singing.”
August offers a quick smile. “Thank you.” He clears his throat, takes his knife, and smears butter over his bread.
“Athena was just saying how she thinks Elias should choose better allies,” I chirp.
August’s hands freeze, a torn piece of bread halfway to his lips. He stares at Elias and frowns. “Is that right?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“What will happen to Elias if he moves forward with our group?” Koda asks, folding his hands in his lap.
Athena turns to him, but her sharpness softens when he offers a curious, charming smile, disarming her in an instant.
Koda’s impossible not to love. “If Elias wants to win, he’ll find another alliance before irreparably damaging his reputation.
I think I’ve managed to salvage it by making excuses on his behalf. ”
Koda chuckles like we’re having a polite dinner conversation. He gestures to the circlet on my head. “The group we’ve formed is a winning one. That laurel is the proof.”
Bracing her hands against the table’s edge, she leans in to address me directly. “No one who aligns with you will win this and you know it. He will make sure of it.” Her steely gaze is fixed on me. “If you care about any of them, you’ll consider my advice before you get them all killed.”
Pressure builds in my chest as her words grip my heart and squeeze. Because she’s right. The divine want their games. And while several of us will move on to compete in them, only one mortal will win their prize. Ares will ensure it’s not me, or anyone who fights alongside me.
August slaps the table so hard, I jump. Everyone’s attention snaps to him.
“Callalie didn’t bring us here, and she’s not the one who keeps us here, away from our families. She doesn’t conjure trolls or turn innocent men into monsters. And every mortal in this room knows who did,” August seethes at the goddesses. “We know who holds the blades to our throats.”
Aphrodite’s expression brightens at his outburst. She laughs in delight.
“I’ve never seen you so angry! You’re willing to sacrifice everything for her, aren’t you?
Are you hoping she’ll inspire another heartrending song?
Do you think you’ll have time to sing it before the blade you feel at your throat cuts those beautiful vocal cords? ”
A muscle feathers in August’s jaw as he stares at the goddess of love with unadulterated hatred.
She shakes her head, amazed. “How have none of the divine snatched you up yet?” She studies her cuticles. “If it weren’t for Ares, I’d reward all that pent-up passion by offering to champion you. But alas, he’s holding out for a different mortal.”
Her sultry gaze oozes to me.
“I’d rather die,” I breathe. August tenses beside me.
August isn’t finished. He addresses Athena directly. “Prove to Elias I’m wrong. Tell him what he’ll gain from your championship if he turns his back on Callalie and the rest of us,” he presses. “How will you personally shield him from Ares?”
Elias waits for her response.
August doesn’t wait for her reply, or her excuses.
He goes for her jugular. “Will you heal him if he’s cut down like Akira was today?
Or better yet, tell him if he survives the trials and games, you will publicly call him a hero and take him safely home?
Tell him you’ll make sure he’s able to live out the remainder of his mortal life in peace, if he wins. ”
Athena leans back in her chair.
“Tell him,” August dares her, staring the goddess down in her temple.
Silence is a loud, cruel thing.
Elias bristles as his champion excuses herself.
August gestures to her back. “Nothing. That’s what she offers you, Elias. She only serves as a gate to games that’ll kill all but one of us. I’m not even convinced there’ll be a winner.”
Aphrodite, who was temporarily rendered speechless by the exchange, stands and grabs her cup of ambrosia and Athena’s. “You’re all here because you’ve made an enemy of Ares. If you become Athena’s, she won’t waste her energy with fanfare. She’ll eviscerate you and you’ll never see her coming.”
“I’d welcome her fury. It would be a mercy compared to what her brother has planned,” I numbly reply as she turns to leave.
The goddess doesn’t look back as she crosses the room.
Koda lets out a long, tense breath.
Elias doesn’t look sick anymore. He’s pissed. He angrily shrugs out of his jacket. The buttons pop off his shirt when he tears it open and shucks it off, too. My eyes find the scar I gave him.
His dark eyes flick to the laurel on my head. “I want to stay in the group. Please.”
Koda calms him with an “Of course,” then leans in to offer some words of encouragement.
I take the opportunity to speak with August. “Brigid is interested in championing you. If you are unsure about Ogun, you should accept her the second she offers. She won’t wait and she won’t offer twice.” I don’t tell him everything Morrigan said, but enough that he understands the urgency.
“How well do you know her?”
I nod. “Well enough. And I trust Morrigan.”
He finds Niall and Morrigan seated at a table across the room. Brigid is with them with her wild, fiery hair. Her features are delicate, feminine. They’re the kind bards have long written ballads about. But she’s a warrior at heart and she’ll wisely guide August through the games.
Koda gets his attention by gently patting the table, “Ogun is also still open to championing you, I think.”
“Would he champion Callalie instead?” August asks. “Brigid can’t because of Niall and the blood rule, but Ogun could.”
Koda shakes his head, opening his palms. “I can’t think of a reason he wouldn’t, but I can’t say for sure.”
“You can’t worry about me or whether or not someone champions me,” I tell August. “You need a champion, and you have two good options. Time’s running out.”
His lips thin like they do when he’s about to argue, but he doesn’t get the chance before Hermes calls for everyone’s attention.
The messenger god strolls through the tables, stopping in the center of them and waiting until all eyes fall on him. “Congratulations on surviving your second trial. Your third will take place tomorrow at midday.”
Koda, Elias, and August remain quiet.
Many of the others are caught off guard with the news. I’m grateful Ulani and Vailea shared it with us beforehand.