by Laynie Bynum
“Then don’t come here every other week,” Ava advised him after she had finished.
She stepped back and looked at both of us. “Rest for a while, then you can go back to your cells. Curfew is in half an hour.”
She walked away and started chatting to the MMCA nurse who had remained stationed at the opposite side of the room.
The other healer moved away from Amphion and had a brief chat with the nurse as well before he left the infirmary, probably having ended his shift for the day.
In a way, it was such a waste, to have healing powers and having to use them to heal stupid demi-gods who liked to waste their time battling each other, rather than doing something good for the world.
Amphion got up from his chair and shuffled toward us. “So….” He drew out the word, looking curiously from me to Dryas and back. “What’s the verdict?”
“The verdict is that Aiden is joining our team.” Dryas’ voice had regained its threatening edge. I was reminded of what he had told me in the Arena: better to fight than lose. He was already expecting blows way before they happened.
“You won?” Amphion gasped. “Well, color me surprised. I didn’t see that one coming.”
“It was a break-even,” Dryas said. He put his hands on his knees and got up. “Well, I’m going. See you tomorrow at seven sharp.” He glanced at me over his shoulder. “You don’t want to miss your first practice.”
“Aye aye,” I said, leaning on my elbows. I still didn’t feel comfortable getting up, despite the pain lessening, and my ribs having been pushed back into place. I didn’t want to try and stand up just yet.
“I guess that means you’re joining our team?” Amphion took the empty seat Dryas had just gotten up from and sat down next to me, while Dryas disappeared into the hallway.
“I am.” I smiled at Amphion. “What brings you here, by the way?”
“Oh, Eris and I got into a little argument. Nothing serious.”
“She’s the daughter of Hera, right?” I frowned at him. “Are you two… together?”
“We’re a couple. It’s not strange, if that’s what you’re thinking. I mean, Zeus and Hera are supposedly married, but they’re also created from stardust, so they’re not blood-related. And while I’m the son of Zeus and a human, Eris is the daughter of Hera and a human. There’s no blood relationship at all.”
“Uhu.” I nodded, although the whole family dynamics still seemed pretty strange to me. “Did she hurt you?” I couldn’t imagine that a demi-god descending from the king of the gods himself would let anyone hurt him, but on the other hand, if Eris was his girlfriend, he probably didn’t want to defend himself either, lest he hurt her instead.
“No, not like that.” Amphion smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “She just likes to get on my nerves sometimes. Irritates me to the point that I want to lash out.” He held out his wrists which were decorated in burn marks. “They’ll vanish in a few hours, thanks to the healers, but when I’m upset and I can’t unleash my powers, the lightning… It starts to hurt me from the inside out.”
“Yikes.” I grimaced just looking at the wounds and imagining how horrible it must’ve looked at first. If Ava was capable of setting broken ribs without touching them, I figured she could perform miracles on burn marks as well. The fact that Amphion’s still looked rather bad, made me cringe at the thought of how much pain he must’ve gone through.
“I don’t want to put my nose where it doesn’t belong, but… If this happens often, have you ever considered…” I hesitated, afraid to finish the sentence.
“Breaking up with her?” Amphion barked out a laugh. “Sure, numerous times. At least once a day. But Eris has her good sides too, and I’m just short-tempered by nature. I would probably be that way with anyone. It’s not her fault, but she does like to get my blood boiling.”
“Again, I don’t mean to pry, but… What is it she does that pushes you to this point? It doesn’t seem healthy to me.” My gaze darted to the burn marks again, raw, blistered flesh that made me quiver.
“It could be a lot of things, but her preferred object of complaint is that I don’t assert enough dominance towards Dryas. She thinks Dryas acts like he’s god almighty, the general of our team, and she thinks it’s not right, and that I should take up that role.”
“Because you’re the son of Zeus?” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, closing my eyes when the world started spinning.
“Oh, are you okay?” Amphion put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.
“Yes, sure.” I slowly opened my eyes again, waiting until the world stopped moving. “I guess I tried to get up too fast.”
“Just stay still for a while.” Amphion’s eyes filled with concern, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. “It’s not like we have anywhere else to be.”
“Guess not. Anyway, you haven’t answered me yet. Is it because you’re the son of Zeus that she wants you to take the lead?”
“I suppose. She thinks we should be in charge of everyone, but I tried to explain to her that this isn’t Mount Olympus, and even back there, Zeus’ powers were always being challenged by his brother Hades.”
“Why have anyone be in charge in the first place?” I grimaced when another jolt of pain racked through me. “Why not all work together? A democracy of sorts?”
“You think we’ll build a campfire and sing Kumbaya?” Amphion sniggered. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but most of us can barely tolerate one another. The Trials started out as a means to an end devised by the guards, to make it less common that the outside area turned into a brawling arena. But that we keep our frustrations to ourselves until the Trials start, doesn’t mean that we aren’t frustrated.”
“But why?” I tried to ask what I wanted to know without stepping on Amphion’s toes. The more I learned from him, the more I could use this knowledge in my plan to get the various groups to work together.
“Old feuds that started long before you got here,” was Amphion’s cryptic response. “Gods are nothing if not hot-headed. Eris and I used to be in the same team as Lycus and his squad. Lycus is the son of Poseidon, and Poseidon and Zeus got along most of the time, similarly Lycus and I get along most of the time. But then Eris and Lycus got into an argument, and well… We switched teams. Lycus isn’t bound to forgive that anytime soon.”
I dipped my head to the left. “Sounds to me like Eris was the one who had the issues with Lycus then, not you.”
Amphion grinned. “Maybe. Lycus certainly didn’t take it well that I ditched him for a girl—his words, not mine. We were friends before then, but now we’re not anymore. And that’s just one example. Dryas and Keres can drink each other’s blood, Charon wants to destroy everyone he meets, and you probably can’t name one person here who doesn’t hate at least one other person here.”
“Me,” I said, raising my hand. “I don’t hate anyone here.”
“Just because you haven’t been around long enough to start hating someone.” Amphion shook his head. “It’s not that easy to get everyone working together. Why would we even consider it?”
I lowered my voice, glaring at the MMCA nurse sitting on the opposite end of the room. She was still talking to Ava, finding her apparently a million times more interesting than Amphion and I, but still, I didn’t want to take any chances.
“To get out of here,” I whispered. “To be free.”
Amphion mulled over my words for a bit, and then completely changed the subject. “You think you’re ready to get back to your cell?”
“I guess.” I couldn’t hide my disappointment; I thought he would’ve at least considered it. If Amphion wasn’t even willing to consider working together, then Hades would take over Mount Olympus before I could convince any of the others.
“Good. Let me help you back to your room.”
Amphion offered me an arm, which I gladly took. We said our goodbyes to Ava and the nurse—followed by a thousand ‘thank you’s’ from me at Ava’s address, and then Amphion he
lped me back to my cell.
The hallways were deserted, the others already having returned to their cells for the night. “Is there a curfew?” I asked. “Mica didn’t tell me about that yet, but I think Ava mentioned it?”
“Yes, nine is our curfew,” Amphion said. “Then the cells get locked for the night, and if you’re not in the cell, you get hunted down by the guards and as a reward for finding you, they put you in solitary for a day or three. Been there, done that, no desire to do it again.” He checked the clock hanging on the wall—then minutes to nine.
“Either way, they’re going to cut us some slack because we just came from the infirmary,” he continued. “Pretty sure the nurse already informed them. The guards aren’t too bad. They’re just doing their jobs.”
I raised my eyebrows, surprised to hear him say that. “I’m not particularly fond of the MMCA, to be honest. Before I got caught… Well, let’s say my track records wasn’t perfect, but I got the impression they were hunting down every magic user who refused to join the MMCA, regardless of whether they actually did anything illegal with their magic or not.”
Amphion nodded. “Simply possessing magic while not being an employee of the MMCA—which means, not being under the control of the MMCA—is a crime. I’m curious, though, since you mentioned your track record wasn’t perfect… What kind of trouble were you up to before you ended up here, Aiden?”
I blushed, slightly taken aback by the teasing tone of his voice. There was something about Amphion that made him stand out from the others. A kindness, but not in the way Orpheus was kind: with Orpheus, I had the impression he was the type of person who would be kind to anyone, who would forgive his enemies and rise above them. With Amphion, I felt as if his kindness was only reserved for a select few and somehow, although I had no idea how, I had earned myself a spot on that list.
“I was an art thief,” I admitted while my cheeks burned like hot coals. “I was actually in the middle of a burglary in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to steal one of Rembrandt’s works when I got caught. ‘The Night Watch’, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”
Amphion whistled. “You keep on surprising me. I never figured you for an art thief.”
“What were you up to before you were locked up in here?” I asked.
“Believe it or not, but I was in college. Didn’t do much on the wrong side of the law, either. One night, though…” He shook his head. “The night they caught me wasn’t pleasant.”
“Oh.” I tried to figure out what to say next, when pain stabbed through me. I had made the wrong move, put too much pressure on my still sore ribs.
Amphion took my elbows to steady me. “Are you okay?”
“Just pain.” I flinched again when pain jolted me again. “Is this normal?”
“It is. Your body just went through a procedure that would otherwise require surgery. It healed in minutes what would otherwise take hours. It’s bound to have some repercussions. When my ribs got broken during the Trials a few weeks ago, I had pain stabs for the better part of three days after it.”
“Ugh.” I grimaced at the thought of being plagued by this anguish for the next few days.
“Will you be okay to walk?” Amphion said. “If not, I can carry you.”
“Don’t be silly.” I waved his offer away; the thought of him carrying me all the way to my cell was ridiculous. “I’ll be fine.”
The words had barely left my mouth when I convulsed again, tears springing in my eyes.
“Okay, that’s it. I’m carrying you to your room.” Before I could protest, Amphion had wrapped his left arm around his waist, and lifted my legs with his right arm.
Nobody had ever carried me like that. No one. The blush on my cheeks intensified.
“Put me down! You don’t have to do this. You’ll strain your back.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Amphion laughed at me. “You’re light as a feather.”
“This is stupid,” I countered. “I’m perfectly able to walk.”
“And have you faint halfway to your cell? No, I rather do the chivalrous thing and carry you around, milady. Think of me as a prince charming coming to your rescue.”
He was joking, but his words made me look at him in a different way. A prince charming? Maybe. He certainly was handsome enough for it, and he seemed thoughtful too, caring…
But he has a girlfriend, Aiden! I scolded myself. He’s off-limits, unless you feel like sharing with a woman who sounds like a serpent.
Well, if I could get a guy like Amphion, I probably wouldn’t mind sharing. But Eris probably wouldn’t want to share her guy with anyone, and the wrath of the daughter of Hera didn’t sound like something I wanted to add to my ever-growing pile of items I had to face.
“Do you always do this for damsels in distress?” I asked, deciding that the only way to feel less uncomfortable, and think less about how muscled Amphion’s chest looked from up close, was if I returned his joke with one of my own.
“No, not all of them,” Amphion said. “Only the ones that are slightly mysterious, kicked Dryas’ butt in the Arena, which in itself, is a feat worth celebrating, and therefore deserve the highest honors.”
“Why thank you, milord,” I continued on the same joking tone. “If you keep on treating me like this, I will one day feel inclined to accidentally lose a handkerchief and have you pick it up.”
“That was a strange habit, wasn’t it?” Amphion said, breaking character. “I mean, why would anyone drop a handkerchief on the floor, hoping that the man they were interested in would pick it up?”
“Don’t mock the ways of old. Men were real gentlemen back then,” I said. “Now, chivalry is dead.”
“Hey,” Amphion protested. “I thought I was being chivalrous.”
I looked around, surprised we had already reached the common room and nearly made it toward my cell. Part of me felt sad at the prospect that soon, I would no longer be in Amphion’s arms, tucked against his chest…
Get it together, Aiden. What about ‘he has a girlfriend’ don’t you understand?
“You’re the exception that confirms the rule,” I told him. “Anyway, you can put me down now.” Even though I didn’t want him to… “I’m pretty sure Mica would separate my head from my neck if you barged into our cell, carrying me. Besides, it’s nearing curfew.”
“All right.” I thought I saw a hint of reluctance in Amphion’s gaze, but I could’ve imagined that. He carefully set me down, and while I flinched when I first touched the ground, it didn’t hurt as much as it had before. A few meters to the right was the entrance to the cell I shared with Mica.
“Thanks for that,” I said seriously. “Without your help, I would’ve probably ended up crawling the last few meters to my cell.”
“It’s all right. I’m glad I could be of assistance,” Amphion said.
A slightly awkward silence lingered between us for a while. I scratched the back of my neck. “Anyway, I’ll see you?”
“Yes,” Amphion kept on staring at me, as if he was only now seeing me for the first time. Did he feel the same tingle I did when he had held me close just seconds ago?
Or was it all in my imagination? It probably was. After all, he did have a girlfriend…
Amphion glanced left and right, probably to check if there were no guards in the vicinity. I heard some footsteps from the hallway to the right, which was also lined by cells, but this area was devoid of MMCA agents.
As fast as lightning, Amphion leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. “Good night, Aiden.”
He vanished before I could say anything, as sudden as a specter in the night.
I stared after him, raising my hand to my cheek. I had never been kissed by a guy, not even like this, an innocent peck on the cheek.
A swarm of bees nested in my stomach, buzzing around, making me nauseous and beaming with energy at the same time.
Slowly, I dragged myself toward my cell, my hand still glued to my cheek, and a wide smile on my face.
/>
Chapter Nine
My good mood vaporized in seconds at the sight of the sour expression on Mica’s face.
“What’s wrong?” I closed the cell door behind me. The door system clicked shut, and the light on the button Mica had pressed to open the door this morning turned from green to red, which probably meant we wouldn’t be able to open the door until tomorrow. Curfew had begun.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” With every repetition, Mica’s tone became more hysterical and louder. “First, you vanish into the Arena for hours. Hours! Those fights are usually over in ten minutes tops. I thought Dryas was skinning you alive.”
I dragged myself to my bed and slumped down on it. I struggled to take off my boots. “You shouldn’t have underestimated me.”
“This is not a joke, Aiden! I was worried sick.” Mica crossed her arms. “Then you come on stomping out, and you’re all bloodied up. You looked like you’d just escaped a freaking warzone.”
“Well, to be fair, we had been fighting the entire time,” I said while I kicked off my second boot. “I felt exactly as you described I looked.”
“Then you tell me to just get back to our room while you let Dryas—freaking Dryas—bring you to the infirmary.”
“What’s wrong with that? He needed the infirmary as much as I did. By the way, I totally accept your congratulations for me kicking his butt. You’re welcome.” I couldn’t help the sarcasm that had sneaked into my voice. I think I deserved some praise for what I had gone through, especially from my best friend.
“Fine, yes, congrats on that,” Mica grudgingly admitted. “I still don’t understand why that should mean you’d suddenly become besties.”
I sat up straight, realizing I had to tell Mica about the offer Dryas had given me, about joining their team.
“Listen, Mica.” I licked my lips nervously. “I tried with the children of Apollo, and it turns out I’m not a good match for them. This one girl Agnes, who is related to the muses, checked and found no connection with me at all. I’m not the daughter of Clio. I… To be honest, I’m still no step further to uncovering who I am.”