Balder and Brono both nodded, accepting my thanks. Balder head-butted me, wanting me to pet him some more. I laughed and happily obliged him. But Brono had his eyes on something else. Or, rather, someone else.
I had stuck Babs point-first into the ground so she could admire the view, and the sword’s eye widened as she realized that Brono was down on his haunches and slowly creeping toward her.
“Oh, no,” she muttered. “Not again. Stop right there! Don’t you even think about grabbing me—”
Brono ignored her words, bounded forward, and snatched the sword out of the ground with his beak. Then he started squeaking and shaking her back and forth.
“No!” Babs wailed. “How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a chew toy? Put me down! Put me down!”
Her chatter only made Brono more excited, and he ran around the clearing with the sword clutched in his beak. Balder shook his head, amused by his son’s antics, and started eating wildflowers.
Ian and I both laughed. We watched the gryphons for a moment, and then I turned to Ian.
“Ian, I—” But for the third time, I didn’t get the words out.
He put his hands on my waist, pulled me close, and lowered his lips to mine.
For a moment, I was so shocked that I just stood there. Part of me wondered if this was really—finally—happening. If Ian was actually kissing me or if I was just imagining it. But it wasn’t a dream.
It was so much better than that.
The kiss didn’t last long, no more than a few seconds, but I still felt so much. His strong arms wrapped around me. His clean, soapy scent tickling my nose. The rapid beat of his heart under my fingertips. And especially the warmth of his lips against mine.
That last sensation made an answering warmth explode in my own heart, like green sparks shooting everywhere. The warmth, the sparks, filled me with this dizzying sensation, like I was flying and falling at the same time.
As soon as it started, the kiss ended, and Ian dropped his arms and stepped back.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just… I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks now.”
I stared up at him, still too shocked to say anything.
He frowned and took another step back. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I know that we’re both on the Midgard and that we should probably be teammates and nothing else, but every time I look at you, I think about how amazing you are. How strong and smart, and I just sort of melt inside. And seeing you here with the gryphons, and knowing that I almost lost you today, that we both almost died, well, I wanted you to know how I felt about you…”
I smiled. He was babbling. The Viking was actually babbling, and it made him even more adorable. Ian sucked in a breath like he was going to keep going, but I’d had enough talking for right now. It was time to take Babs’s, Sigyn’s, and Zoe’s advice.
“Ian.”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
This time, he was the one who looked shocked. “Really?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come here.”
I grabbed his jacket in my hands, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his. More warmth, more sparks, more of that dizzying feeling filling every single part of me.
A minute later, I drew back, staring up into his face. His gray eyes were gleaming as brightly as polished silver, and his lips slowly curved up into this big, goofy grin. He stepped up and wrapped one arm around my waist. I lifted my hand and cupped his cheek.
Then, together, with one thought, we both leaned in. Our lips met again, and the rest of the world faded away.
Chapter Thirty
Despite everything that had happened, it was business as usual at Mythos Academy the next morning, with one small notable difference.
Ian held my hand as we walked to our first classes of the day.
Kylie Midas stared at us, pain and longing flashing in her eyes. I grimaced. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I wasn’t going to pretend that Ian and I weren’t together either. I thought Kylie might make some snarky comment, but she nodded at me instead. It seemed she was honoring this weird truce between us. I didn’t know how long it might last, but I nodded back at her.
Ian kissed me good-bye in front of the English-history building, then headed to his own class.
Zoe had been walking with us, and she rolled her eyes. “Please don’t tell me the two of you are going to be sucking face all the time now. Because that is going to get real old, real fast.”
“Maybe,” I replied. “Although you could be doing the same thing with Mateo, you know.”
Her gaze darted over to the Roman, who was once again playing football with some other guys. “Maybe.”
I laughed and headed inside the building. Professor Dalaja was already sitting at her desk when I stepped into the classroom.
“Hello, Rory.” She smiled. “I have those books you wanted. I’ll give them to you after class.”
Covington and Drake might have escaped with the red Chloris box and the narcissus seeds, but that didn’t mean we were going to sit around and wait for them to strike again. According to Dalaja, there were more Chloris boxes out there, and she had agreed to help the Midgard locate them, as well as figure out how we might counteract the seeds or, better yet, find some artifacts that were capable of destroying them—and the Narcissus Heart.
I nodded. “Thanks, Professor.”
I walked past her and took my seat. I was worried about the Reapers, but for right now, I was going to enjoy this moment of relative peace and quiet.
So I opened my myth-history book and got out my notebook and pen, ready to listen to the professor’s latest lecture.
* * *
After class, Professor Dalaja gave me those research books, and I carried them around the rest of the morning. The bell rang for lunch, but instead of meeting Ian, Zoe, and Mateo in the dining hall, I headed into the Library of Antiquities and rode the secret elevator down to the Bunker.
I needed to take care of something first.
Babs was still sleeping, as was her custom during the day, so I propped her up in her chair at the briefing table. Then I fished the research books out of my bag and laid them on my desk. Dalaja had already gone through the books and marked several passages that she thought might be useful. I would look at them later. Right now, I had something more important to do.
I made sure that Babs was still sleeping, then went over to Zoe’s desk and grabbed one of her electrodaggers, along with two clear plastic boxes. One of the boxes was empty, but the other was filled with the red heart-shaped crystals that the Valkyrie used in her weapon and clothing designs. I stared at the gems for a moment, then headed toward the shelves in the back.
I stopped in front of the black Chloris box, which was sitting on its usual shelf. The box looked the same as it had last night and all the other times I’d examined it. But today I wasn’t just going to stare at it. No, today I was going to take action to keep my friends safe.
I cut my hand with Zoe’s electrodagger and then used my blood to open the box. The top popped open, and I lifted the lid to reveal the Narcissus Heart.
Disgust rolled through me as I stared at the ruby. I had felt what a single red narcissus seed could do, and I could feel the power emanating from the much larger Narcissus Heart. No matter what Takeda and Professor Dalaja said, the artifact was far too dangerous to just leave sitting here in the Bunker. The red Chloris box and seeds were supposed to have been safe at the Idun Estate, but Covington had still gotten his hands on them. I wasn’t going to risk him stealing the Narcissus Heart too, so I had decided to do what everyone in detective stories always did with treasure.
Hide it.
I waited for the cut in my hand to heal. Then I reached into my jacket pocket, pulled out a pair of fleece gloves, and put them on. Once my hands were covered, I carefully reached out and picked up the Narcissus Heart. I held my breath, wondering if I might activate the arti
fact’s magic by touching it, but it remained still and frozen. I didn’t want to hold it a second longer than necessary, so I quickly placed it in the empty box I’d taken from Zoe’s desk. The second the artifact was inside, I closed the top on the plastic box and set it aside.
Next, I opened the box of red crystals, also from Zoe’s desk, and poured them into the empty space where the Narcissus Heart had been inside the Chloris box. Professor Dalaja had said there were more boxes and more seeds out there, so that was exactly what I was going to give whoever opened this black box.
Oh, the crystals weren’t exactly the same blood-red as the real narcissus seeds, and they were missing the black thorns on the bottoms, but they were roughly the same size and shape, and I thought they looked good enough to fool most people on first glance.
Once that was done, I closed the lid on the black Chloris box and shut the glass case over it again. Then I grabbed the plastic box with the Narcissus Heart, left the briefing room, walked to the back of the Bunker, and opened the bookcase door that led into the tunnels.
The lights clicked on overhead, and I went to the junction where the five main tunnels met. I glanced around, making sure I was alone, then crouched in front of the spot where Zoe had tripped when we were exploring here a few days ago.
I used the Valkyrie’s electrodagger to pry those loose stones out of the wall, revealing that small hiding space. Then I slid the plastic box with the Narcissus Heart into the opening. Once that was done, I stacked the stones back where they had been before, hiding the opening from sight.
I got to my feet and examined the wall, but the stones looked the same as all the others, and you would never find the hiding spot unless you knew it was there. My friends might think the black Chloris box was safe in the Bunker, but I had my doubts. Covington had proven that he could get to any artifact, anytime, anywhere, and I wasn’t going to take the chance that he could break into the Bunker and steal the Narcissus Heart too. So this was the plan I’d come up with to hide the artifact from everyone, including my friends.
Once I was satisfied with my work, I returned to the Bunker. I grabbed Babs, who was still sleeping, along with the rest of my things, and rode the elevator back up to the second floor of the library. I started to head toward the steps, but then I walked over to Sigyn’s statue instead.
I stared up at her white marble face, soaking up the calm, quiet strength I felt whenever I was in her presence. “I hope I’m doing the right thing,” I whispered. “I just want to protect everyone.”
Sigyn bowed her head, as though she was nodding her approval at my Spartan promise. I nodded back at her.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket to check the message.
It was from Ian. I’ve got three chocolate cupcakes here with your name on them.
I smiled and texted him back. On my way.
I had hidden the Narcissus Heart the best I could. My mission was complete, at least for now, so I nodded at the goddess a final time, then left the library to meet Ian and my friends for lunch.
* * *
Want to learn more about Rory Forseti?
Keep reading for a sneak peek at Spartan Destiny, the next Mythos Academy book, coming soon.
Excerpt from
Spartan Destiny
featuring Rory Forseti
by Jennifer Estep
A Mythos Academy Novel
Chapter One
“This is going to be a piece of cake.”
My friend Mateo Solis cheerfully said those horrible words. I looked at him a moment, then glanced at Zoe Wayland and Ian Hunter, two other friends. Zoe shook her head, Ian groaned, and I sighed, sharing their opinions.
“What?” Mateo asked. “What’s wrong?”
Zoe threw her hands up into the air. Pale blue sparks of magic shot out of her fingertips before winking out. Valkyries always gave off more magic whenever they were upset or emotional about something.
“Are you kidding?” she said. “You just totally jinxed us.”
“Yeah, dude,” Ian chimed in. “Never, ever say that anything is going to be a piece of cake. That’s when bad things happen.”
“Superbad things,” I agreed.
Mateo looked at all three of us in turn. “I didn’t realize you guys were so superstitious.”
“Um, hello, we go to Mythos Academy,” Zoe said. “We deal with mythological monsters, creepy artifacts, and killer Reapers all the time. Being superstitious is right in our wheelhouse. And after all the bad stuff we’ve seen over the past few months, we’d be silly not to be superstitious.”
“Totally,” Ian chimed in.
“Absolutely,” I agreed.
Mateo rolled his eyes, not sharing our dire and pessimistic opinions. “Whatever. But right now, we have a mission, so let me get to work.”
He didn’t wait for a response before opening his laptop. The screen’s soft white glow highlighted his dark brown hair and eyes and made his skin gleam like polished bronze. Mateo cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms out in front of him like a runner preparing for a race. Then he hunched over his laptop and started typing, his fingers flying over the keyboard almost too fast to follow, thanks to his amazing Roman speed.
Mateo, Zoe, Ian, and I were members of Team Midgard, a supersecret group that was trying to stop the evil Reapers of Chaos from taking over the mythological world. Tonight, Hiro Takeda, the adult leader of the Midgard, had tasked us with breaking into a building and watching over a mythological artifact that Covington, the Reaper leader, might want to steal.
Mateo was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his laptop perched on his knees, with Zoe, Ian, and me crouched down all around him. The four of us were hiding in the shadows behind a row of dense bushes, which also helped to block the gusty wind. It was just after ten o’clock, and the November night was absolutely frigid. The coldest frost I had ever seen had already coated the grass, as well as the bushes, adding a silvery sheen to the evergreen leaves.
Mateo was wearing his usual clothes—a dark blue Bigtime Barracudas long-sleeve T-shirt, along with a jacket, khakis, and blue running shoes—but Zoe, Ian, and I were dressed all in black, from our long-sleeve shirts and jackets to our jeans and boots. The three of us looked like cat burglars straight out of some heist movie. In a way, that’s exactly what we were tonight.
“And…done!” Mateo hit a final key, then looked up from his screen. “I’ve hacked into the building’s alarm system and put the security cameras on a continuous loop, so all anyone staring at the feeds will see is books, artifacts, and furniture, instead of you guys sneaking around. I also don’t see any guards or Reapers either outside or inside the building.”
I nodded at him, then glanced at Zoe and Ian. “You guys ready?”
They both nodded back.
“Then let’s go,” I said.
Mateo stayed behind in our hiding spot, so that he could monitor the alarm system and the security-camera footage, but Zoe, Ian, and I crept out from behind the bushes, which ran along the wall of a dark gray stone building.
In the distance, several hundred feet away, another, larger building, also made of dark gray stone, rose up out of the grass. That was our target. I peered into the shadows that blanketed the landscape, but everything was still and quiet. There was no sign of the Reapers or anyone else, and I didn’t even hear so much as an owl softly hooting in one of the trees. I nodded at Zoe and Ian again, and together, the three of us stepped away from the wall and headed toward the other building.
We moved quickly and quietly, keeping low and staying away from the golden glows of the streetlamps that lined the nearby walkways. I glanced around, expecting Reapers to rush out of the shadows and attack us, but everything remained still and quiet. We made it over to the target building and plastered ourselves up against the wall, hiding in the shadows again.
“Okay, guys.” Mateo’s voice crackled through my earbud, since that was how we communicated during missions. “Still no sign of any gua
rds or Reapers, so you are clear to proceed.”
“Thanks,” I whispered back to him. “Zoe, you’re up.”
She crouched down, slipped a black backpack off her shoulders, and unzipped it. Then she reached inside and pulled out a crossbow. Unlike the large, heavy wooden ones that the Mythos students trained with in gym class, this crossbow was made of lightweight black plastic and was barely bigger than my hand. Round blue crystals ran down the barrel, giving the weapon a bit of sparkly bling.
Zoe grinned and showed off the crossbow for Ian and me. “Something new that I’ve been working on. Small but mighty, just like me.”
Everyone on Team Midgard had a specific role that best suited their interests, talents, magic, and skills. Mateo was the computer guru, Ian and I were the fighters, and Zoe was our genius inventor. She struck a pose with the crossbow, showing it off a moment longer, then reached into her backpack and fished out a small silver grappling hook attached to a long length of rope. Zoe slid the barrel of the grappling hook into the end of the crossbow where the bolt would normally go and fed the attached rope through a small loop on the side of the weapon. Then she dropped the rest of the rope onto the ground.
“Mateo,” she whispered. “Are we still clear?”
His voice sounded in my ear. “All clear. Go.”
Zoe stood up. Then she raised her gadget, took aim, and squeezed the trigger. The silver grappling hook shot out of the end of the crossbow and zoomed upward, along with the attached rope.
Clang!
The grappling hook arced over a balcony on the second floor and caught on the stone railing. Zoe unhooked the remaining rope from the crossbow, slid the gadget into her backpack, and hoisted the bag onto her shoulders. She tugged on the rope to make sure that the grappling hook was securely anchored, then gestured at Ian.
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