by River Ramsey
“Happy to entertain, but you might want to watch yourself. I’ve got a lot more than spirit in my arsenal.”
“Oh, I’m counting on it,” he purred without missing a beat. His eyes practically glowed with excitement and I realized it wasn’t just talk. The freak was actually enjoying this twisted little game. “If I might give you a tip, though?”
“What is it?” I asked warily, mostly because I was too curious to pass up the chance to hear what he had to say.
“You can be the best chess player in the world, but none of it matters if the game you’re playing is actually poker,” he remarked, standing from my bedside. “You think you can beat us by pulling yourself up by those cute little Brooklyn bootstraps and taking everything we throw at you head on, but you can’t. We don’t need to touch you to break you, and the game has only just begun.”
There was something dangerous in his gaze, but it had nothing to do with his words. I’d heard worse threats, but this didn’t feel like one. It felt like… a warning.
The smile that touched his lips was the most cutting of all. In that moment, I knew acutely what the danger was and it had nothing to do with the Wild Hunt or the bullying or the school itself.
“I’m from Manhattan,” I muttered. “Not Brooklyn.”
He just smiled wider and flicked his hand. I jolted, ready to lash out, but he simply passed me the white rose that had materialized in his hand. This time, when I took it, its petals remained pristine.
“Get well soon, Kore. I’m looking forward to our game.”
With that, he left the room and I found myself staring down at the rose. Just like the first, it was too perfect to be real, but like all impossibly beautiful things, it had thorns.
I just had to remember that.
10
I had the next two days off from class, and Dionysus was bold enough to risk being the one who brought me my assignments so I wouldn’t fall behind. At night and over the weekend, we conspired in my dorm in whispered tones and he filled me in on more than just the week’s reading material.
Apparently, the twins had lied about their abilities. Big shocker there. Dionysus had second period with them, so he knew Phrixus' ability was changing the texture of any surface, which explained my lubed-up descent into pain town. He wasn't sure about Helle since she kept everything pretty tightly under wraps, so for all I knew, she really was a telepath, but the joke was on me.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, that bitch is dead.
The twins would have to wait, though. Getting sidetracked by a thousand little quests for vengeance was exactly what the Triad wanted. I had to stay focused, keep my eyes on the prize, and the prize in this case was nothing less than complete and utter humiliation for Hades and everyone who sought to aid and abet him.
That was going to take time and careful planning, so I focused on learning as much as I could from Dionysus and taking advantage of my recovery time to lay low and regroup.
Since the one trait I'd inherited from my mother was anal-retentive recordkeeping, I took notes in a bound book I'd had warded to appear like nothing more than a chemistry notebook. Anyone who flipped through the pages would see nothing more than formulae and absentminded notes. Jazzy had made it for me after I'd caught Mom reading my mundane diary once.
Sunday night, I sat flipping through my notes since Dionysus had some club to attend. It was only his second semester at the Academy, and while he had grown up around Loki, his knowledge of Hades was somewhat limited and his knowledge of Fenrir even moreso.
I stared down at the name I hated most and the notes that followed.
Hades
God of the Underworld, son of Cronus and Rhea (deceased)
Attended Olympus Prep prior to his transfer into the Academy two years ago. Quickly rose to the top of the social ranks thanks to Daddy's influence. Has multiple siblings, not close to any of them as far as anyone knows. Leadership track (of course), winner of the Games in his first year as part of a three-man team (no mystery there). The Triad were the second first-year group to win the Games in the history of the Academy, after Thor's group sixty years ago. Leader of the Wild Hunt.
Last victim: Marcellus
Reason of choice: Unknown
Status: Transferred
Then there was Loki, whose section was far more fleshed out. It had been a struggle to keep up with Dionysus, since his account of the trickster god was far from limited. It further cemented that whatever had happened between them, it wasn't pretty. I was also beginning to suspect there were romantic undertones, at least on Dionysus' end, and I could understand the appeal. Loki was nothing if not enigmatic. Too bad for my friend that he was every bit as rotten underneath as the rest of the Triad.
Then there was Fenrir.
Lupine demigod. His father was the Fenris wolf, slain by Odin. Has an alternate form no one's seen, and skips class often.
Why he was such good buddies with Loki when the Headmaster had slain his father was beyond my imagination, but gods and cognitive dissonance went together like bread and butter.
I'd just have to do my own recon to gather the intel I needed to take down the Big, Bad Wolf and his posse. Shouldn't be all that hard, since they were everywhere. Sooner or later, someone was bound to slip up and divulge something the Triad didn't want out, and I'd be there to tuck it away for safekeeping.
Revenge was a dish best served cold, after all. I'd already come up with a strategy and kept Dionysus on a need to know basis, both in case anyone came to harass him and because the thought of me actually fighting back against the Triad seemed to give him an ulcer.
I'd already told him that if he had to prove his loyalty to the Hunt in public, he was free to throw me under the bus, and he'd mumbled some grudging half-acknowledgment. The truth was, this was my mess and I didn't want anyone else getting wrapped up in it, but that didn't mean I was going to let Hades and his friends off easily. Or at all.
Satisfied with my long-range plans for domination, I found the most comfortable position the sling would allow and settled in to get some rest. For the first time since I'd come to the Academy, I slept like a baby.
11
Monday morning, I woke up bright and early and prepared to head to the cafeteria. I was done eating alone in my room, and the Hunt was going to continue one way or another. Might as well face it head on.
Before I made it past the lounge, I heard a familiar voice call my name and turned around to find Daphne watching me. She was still in her pajamas.
"Guess you upgraded from the towel."
She sighed, walking over to me. "I've been trying to talk to you. I knocked on your door last night."
"I know," I said, folding my arms. "I ignored you."
"Look, I know you probably hate me, but at least let me explain," she pleaded.
"Why bother explaining yourself to the Rabbit?" I challenged.
She rolled her eyes. "I hate that stupid contest. I came here to train to be a leader, not to play some bratty game."
"Well, you may not be playing, but you certainly didn't stop the twins," I shot back, not about to let her get off that easily. "They could have killed me."
"I didn't know they were going to do that, I swear!"
I hesitated. Her tone sounded genuine enough, but this place was making me doubt my own instincts for the first time in my life. After all, I'd thought Loki was cute once. "And why should I believe you?"
"Because I have no reason to lie." She shrugged. "Like you said, you're the White Rabbit. It's not exactly beneficial to be your bestie right now."
I snorted. "Fair enough."
"Look," she said, lowering her voice as she glanced around to make sure we were alone. "I've got my own reasons for being here, and I can't risk them by getting targeted by the triad, but if you're interested in getting back at the twins, I can tell you something that might help."
I raised an eyebrow. "Consider my curiosity piqued."
"Helle and Phrixus used t
o have a thing with Loki," Daphne continued in a conspiratorial whisper.
Now both eyebrows were at full attention. "A thing as in...? Both of them?"
"Yep," she answered with a malicious gleam in her green eyes. I was kind of starting to like her. A dryad after my own heart. "And the past-tense was far from mutual. Loki cuts all his lovers loose, but Helle is still heartsick. She'd do anything to get him back, which is probably why she's targeting you so aggressively."
"Huh. And you're telling me this why?"
Daphne shrugged. "I'm as competitive as the next student here, but I believe in winning with honor. What the twins did was dirty, and the information is yours to do with what you will."
I considered her words for a moment before nodding. "Thanks. So I guess this is a sort of secret truce?"
"Well, I'm not insane," she said flatly before returning to her dorm room.
I couldn't help but smile. I still wasn't sure how I was going to use that tidbit of information yet, or if I even wanted to, but at least I had something else to file under Loki's journal entry. He might run with a group of three, but it seemed like two was his favorite number.
Once I made it to the cafeteria, the room fell so silent everyone could've heard a pin drop. Guess the school wasn't used to the resident pariah showing her face to eat with the rest of the herd.
I ignored the stares and headed straight for the buffet line. If there was one benefit to being the outcast, it was that people parted like the Red Sea. I helped myself to some eggs and bacon and walked to an empty spot at the nearest table. It was a safe distance away from the cluster of girls sitting at the other end, but one of them leaned over to plant her bag right where I was about to sit.
"Seat's taken," she said icily.
I gave her my sweetest suburban-goddess-ready-to-shiv-someone-with-an-apple-peeler smile and pushed the bag off the bench. "Now it's not," I said, matching her tone as I sat down.
She scoffed and her friends whispered in irritation to each other, but they made no further move to retaliate. Instead, they picked up their trays and scuttled off.
I took a bite of my eggs and kept eating, pretending not to notice the stares I was getting. What I did notice was the fact that there were a few curious, even admiring ones thrown in with the glares.
Something told me this was the first time a Rabbit had actually stood up to the bullying everyone else seemed to view as fate, and they were in for a treat. I wasn't about to bow my head to the Triad anytime soon, and when I finally did, they were in trouble.
Nothing's as dangerous as an animal in a cage. Especially one who let herself get caught.
When I heard footsteps approaching, I braced myself for another childish prank or middle school mean girl routine, but found myself face to face with the only member of the Triad I was sorely lacking data on. And of course I had a forkful of eggs halfway to my mouth.
I took a second to collect myself as the mammoth of a man in front of me sat across from me. He made Thor look like he'd skipped a few gym sessions by comparison, and those golden eyes were even more intense up close, but I refused to give into the instinct to look away.
"Quite a display of dominance back there," he remarked. His voice took me by surprise, not because it wasn't as deep as I expected--it was--but because it had a faint English accent I hadn't anticipated at all.
I wasn't sure what I'd anticipated Fenrir would sound like, really. Maybe I was just surprised he spoke in words rather than growls and guttural sounds.
"If taking an empty seat is considered domineering here, you really are a fragile bunch," I remarked, taking a sip of my orange juice.
His response was a scoff and he leaned forward, his eyes boring into mine. "The only fragile one here is you, little Rabbit. I'd hate to see you get hurt any more than you already have," he said, casting a glance at my sling.
If I'd been back home, I would've already defied doctor's orders and taken it off, but looking wounded wasn't the worst strategy for the moment. It certainly seemed to have kept the more overt bullying tactics at bay so far. I could deal with bitchiness. Hell, I could give it, too. Another fifty-foot fall, however, would put a damper on my plans.
"Is that a threat?" I asked in my least interested tone, even though I was anything but. Fenrir wasn't like the other two, that much was clear at first glance. They were spoiled rich boys playing games because they were bored, but the god in front of me was as much man as he was wolf, and there was nothing playful in that gaze despite the easy smile on his lips.
"Quite the opposite," he answered without missing a beat. "I'm all for a bit of fun, but I prefer a more worthy adversary than some little girl who's been in the human world for too long."
"Little girl?" I laughed, tapping my nails on the table as an outlet for my irritation. Putting a fork through his giant hand would definitely land me on the Headmaster's shitlist, but I wasn't willing to take the option off the table completely. "Honey, you wouldn't last a day where I'm from. You might be the Big, Bad Wolf here amidst a bunch of school boys, but if you want a real fight, I'm game. All you have to do is say the word."
He watched me for a long while, neither blinking nor speaking. It became harder and harder to hold that gaze, but I knew that was his aim and refused to look away. I knew posturing when I saw it.
"You know, the tough girl routine might have gotten you pretty far back in Manhattan, but we play by different rules here," he finally said in a calm, almost friendly tone as he leaned back. The challenge, for the moment, was over, but I knew better than to think I'd won. It was a stalemate at best. "It's not about who's strongest or even bravest. If that was true, the Council of Gods wouldn't be headed by a withered, paranoid old man."
I raised an eyebrow. It was rare to hear anyone speak of Cronus in such diminutive terms, even if everyone thought as much. Even my mother spoke his name in reverence. "Aren't you his son's guard dog?"
He gave a lopsided smirk that would've made his handsome face charming, if I didn't already hate him so much.
Aw, who was I kidding? There was room for lust and spite where the Triad was concerned.
"We all have our roles to play," he answered casually. "The one afforded to you is cushier than most, and yet you chose to make things so difficult for yourself. And to what end?"
I shrugged. "Why don't you ask your friend? He's the one who threw the first punch."
"Hades says a lot of things to a lot of people, and the ones who take the bait never end up in a good way," Fenrir said, staring me down intently. "You, however, have a unique advantage the others lacked."
"Oh?" I asked, trying to sound disinterested. It helped that I was still tired enough to yawn organically. "And what's that?"
"You're engaged to him, which means if you apologize and let him save face, he'll have no choice but to forgive you," he answered. "You want my advice? Get down on your knees and grovel." His gaze flickered over me appreciatively and for the first time, I saw a different kind of hunger in those piercing eyes. "Even he won't be able to resist that."
I laughed a little, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “How sweet of you to offer your guidance. And don’t worry, there will be plenty of groveling, but I’m afraid the three of you are going to be the ones on your knees. I’m looking forward to it.”
He snorted, taking my glass and gulping the rest of my juice down, which pissed me off more than just about anything he and his buddies had done yet. He set the empty glass down and gave me a look of challenge as he stood. “We’ll see about that. Least you can’t say you weren’t warned.”
With that, he walked off and it wasn’t a bad view. Guy was stacked like a bodybuilder coming and going.
I’d say one thing for the Triad, at least they were all pretty in their own way. It was just going to make breaking them all the more fun.
12
Hades
It was Sunday night, so I was in the boys' dorm lounge with Loki, Fenrir and half a dozen sycophants shooting bi
lliards and getting drunk. Ariadne approached me, her dark hair framing her face in a freshly cut bob and her cheeks already flushed with booze.
"Hey," she said in a sultry little voice, her hand crawling up my arm as I leaned back in my throne. Well, luxury recliner, but same difference. It was mine and everyone else knew better than to touch it. Even Loki, who was half-conscious on the settee next to mine, staring off at whatever hallucinations the herbs he'd just smoked were conjuring on the ceiling.
"What do you want?" I asked boredly. I didn't hit on drunk girls, and Ariadne was last semester's news anyway. I registered the disappointment in her blue eyes at my chilly response, but it was kinder than leading her along. She'd known going into our brief fling last year that it could never lead to anything remotely serious, but that never stopped them from pining.
I wondered if my bride-to-be had any idea that every girl in school had already hated her before she transferred in, and well before she became the White Rabbit.
Then again, she was probably just arrogant enough to think she'd earned all that ire with her wit and charm.
"I was just wondering if you had any more of those herbs?" she asked timidly, nodding to Loki.
I snorted, reaching into my jacket for a small plastic pouch. She reached for it and I pulled it back at the last moment. "I need you to do something for me."
"Anything," she said, the word a breathy sigh on her plump pink lips.
"You sit next to Kore in second period, don't you?" I already knew the answer, but she didn't need to know how closely I'd been watching my betrothed.
The disappointment was plain in her gaze, but she nodded.
"I want you to get close to her," I said, taking another swig of honeymeade since I was already losing my buzz.
Her eyes widened. "But she's the White Rabbit. If people think we're close..."