by Holly Hook
And the food was amazing. Ronin pulled me over to the side of the room, not because he was trying to hide me, but because the other tables were full. Cal joined us, the golden light reflecting off his sandy hair, and Ronin explained to him the deal as the girls of Olympian Academy--all of them with golden-flecked eyes--kept staring at us. Did Ronin serve as the school eye candy all the time? Yikes. At least I could focus on the conversation while the telltale prickles of being watched crept up my back.
My phone kept buzzing with texts. I let Maria and Mikey know I was alive, and that I'd explain later. Breakfast ended, and feeling sated, I got up and put my plate on the pile of dirty ones.
"Now you have class," I said with a gulp.
"Cal and I have the first one together," Ronin said. "I don't know if Max or Ares will let you watch us train from the sidelines. Yeah, it's Warrior Training."
"Warrior Training?"
"Most god descendants have to take it. In case we meet the Lower Order," Ronin said, puffing out his chest. "Frankly, I deserve a five after last summer. And after this weekend. You might get out of it if you're descended from Iris or the Muses or something, but the rest of us? No way."
"Ares teaches Warrior Training?"
"Sometimes. Not often. Ares is pretty busy heading the Olympian Guard, but since gods need a lot less sleep than mortals, they can work on these little side projects."
My heart thumped as Ronin took my hand. At least Cal was with us, and his presence always made you feel better. It turned out we had to go to the gym where Ronin and I tried to train the night before, and we followed a parade of Olympian fourth years, an equal mix of guys and girls, all of whom were god descendants. I kept close to Ronin, wanting only to feel his energy, because I sensed if I strayed too close to the girls beside me or the guy behind me that I'd go crazy from the magic overload.
But at least Chaos stayed away. Its dark form did, anyway. As nervous as being here made me, I didn't want to leave.
"Who's this, Ronin?" the guy behind us asked.
"Giselle," he said without hesitation. "Giselle. This is Alan. He's a descendant of Hermes. A messenger, like me."
"Hey," Alan said with a wave. He seemed friendly enough and not like the people who had attacked the Cursed students on Friday night after the power plant attack. How many of them were here, walking beside us? About twenty people were headed to Warrior Training. A redhead girl sneered at me when she caught me looking, and the malice in her eyes told me that yes, at least one person here had been in the problem gang. Keeping my shoulders up, I refused to look intimidated.
I'd be going to school here. After what I'd been through, I could handle some mean girls. I'd already done that many times over. I'd come far since Ronin found me in the hallway at Colton Corners High.
Max was waiting in the Warrior Training gym. Ronin and I were the first to enter. His eyes widened for a bit when he spotted me. "Giselle," he said with a nod. This year, he must be teaching the Olympian kids in the morning and us in the afternoons. It was no wonder he needed student teachers to help out sometimes.
"Her mark is fading," Ronin said, injecting meaning into his words.
Max offered a rare smile. "It is?"
I held up my arm. Max eyed it for a second, but then the other students filed into the room, going silent in the presence of our drill instructor. It was clear he would say no more during this class period.
Back in Cursed, we'd be starting Divine History and Mrs. Allenson would be eyeing my desk with disapproval. Maria would be scribbling in her notes faster and faster. Wendy and Mikey might be doing the same. I wondered if they noticed their marks fading, too.
Max barked at the Olympian kids to stand in line. Well, he treated us all equally. I stood at the edge of the room as Ronin did the same, despite once being a tutor over at Cursed. Here, he was equal with the other kids. No one faced me, not even Max, as he ordered everyone to put on the fake Olympian Guard armor and spar with each other while holding shields. The whole gym filled with clacking and crashing sounds as people fought. I rarely got to watch Ronin fight outside of real life and death situations, but he was a pro at hitting Alan, who ran fast circles around him. Ronin was good even without his lightning powers. Max ignored me the whole time I was there, and when Warrior Training let out, he nodded to me and leaned close. "Next year, I want you fighting in this class."
I hid my gulp until Ronin led me out of the room. He needed a shower and guided me around the gym to the locker area, which was no less lavish than the rest of the school. "I have Lobbying 2 next, which is really boring, but I'll see if Mr. Langley will let you sit in the back. He's so self-absorbed that I don't think he'll notice."
"Lobbying?"
"It's a small class. Mainly for us top-tier god descendants." Ronin grinned, but no joy lived there. "Remember when I said we have to help the gods promote their interests in the world?"
The Lobbying classroom was carpeted and full of giant TV screens. And yeah, it was boring. The screens flashed with techniques for convincing lawmakers on why a company would be good for society. Another screen showed a guide for making anyone listen to you. Yet another was titled Choosing The Right Studies To Promote the Safety of Your Products to Government Committees. While Ronin talked to his teacher, an older man in a suit, I wandered over and read the first couple of tips. Choose research that supports your company's product. Look for studies sponsored by your employer. Find flaws in studies from competitors. I swallowed. The whole article felt off, and shady, to me.
In the end, Mr. Langley let me sit in the back of the room, which was fine since no one was staring at me from behind. The class was just ten people, and Cal wasn't here with them, but the magical energy in the room was palpable. Mr. Langley ignored me and lectured about conversation techniques. "When you offer lots of information at once and ask the other party to make a decision quickly," Mr. Langley drawled, "then you will dominate the conversation and be far more likely to get the answer you seek."
"It's no wonder nobody likes lobbyists," I said once we left the room.
"I really don't want to be one," Ronin said. "Come on. Lunch. I heard they're serving lobster today." He upped his pace.
But when we turned the corner to go to the dining hall, the air snapped to electricity and sunshine.
Zeus and Apollo stood in the center of the entryway, blocking our view of the skylight beyond. Zeus stood with his hands behind his back, frowning. A small crack of thunder echoed through the air, making a bunch of students in at the tables behind him turn their heads. A couple of girls hurried past us and around the two gods, gazes stuck on the floor.
Apollo stood beside his father, smiling. He was wearing khaki shorts and sandals today, showing off his perfect legs. His shirt molded to his abs. Apollo looked as if he'd wandered right off the beach, and warmth spread over me as I stared. He looked like a younger version of Zeus, only with blond hair that didn't match Hera's red shade. Wasn't he and his sister Artemis the children of Zeus and a titan woman that Hera hated? That wasn't awkward.
Either way, I could see why Apollo had so many lovers. Invisible light streamed from him, but as I stared at his perfect features, I was glad he was here, because Zeus didn't look happy.
"Giselle," Zeus said with a long sigh. "And Ronin. Follow us."
Did he sound tired? The sky god never sounded tired.
Ronin leaned close. "We'd better." Translation: something was up.
Well, I wasn't hungry anymore. We stepped back to let the gods pass. Once they had, Ronin and I followed like sheep because we had no other options. Here I was, refusing to say no again.
Zeus whispered something to Apollo and then he opened a side door to what turned out to be a conference room, probably for staff members. Coffee machines bubbled everywhere. It reminded me of the time Elliot had handed me the cappuccino to dump on that mean lady's control panel. I swallowed. Did Zeus know anything about that? The longer I went to either academy, the more I realized that my s
ecrets were not secrets.
"Giselle." Zeus cut to the chase as he circled around the table, hands behind his back. "I'm glad that you want to orient yourself to Olympian Academy and see all that it has to offer."
I could tell him about Hades right now. I should. Screw it, I would. "Hades threatened me. So I'm spending time over here."
Zeus and Apollo both snapped their gazes to me.
"He what?" Apollo asked, jaw dropping.
Ronin cleared his throat, taking charge. "Hades was in the main entry hall last night. Giselle and I were trying to get out of the cold, and after we stopped training, he was waiting for us. He even held back his trademark feeling of dread so he could get close. Then he looked at Giselle and said he expected something in return for the stunt we pulled in the Underworld." At least Ronin wasn't nervous about talking about it.
Zeus and Apollo looked at each other again. Apollo screwed up his face like he wanted to say something, but Zeus sent him a subtle no in the form of a head shake. "Did you know Hades kidnapped his wife?" Zeus asked me.
If my heart hadn't sunk before, it was now on the floor. I gasped in a breath. Mrs. Allenson said his wife was Persephone, who descended to the Underworld to be with Hades during the winter months. She hadn't spent much time on that story.
"Hades burst from the ground in his chariot and took her right from the surface world," Zeus said. "You learn in school that Persephone spends winter in the Underworld, which makes the plants all go bare and die. Her mother, Demeter, won't let anything grow while her daughter is gone."
Ronin frowned at me and worked his jaw. He must not have heard this version, either. But maybe there was hope. If anyone knew how bad Hades was, it was his close relatives. Apollo looked willing to help. His golden-flecked eyes filled with legitimate concern. Just gazing on him filled me with comfortable warmth.
"In class," I said, "Mrs. Allenson told us Persephone ran away to Hades every winter and angered her mother."
"Did she?" Zeus offered that charming smile, but there was no joy in it.
"You can't make Giselle go back to Cursed Academy," Apollo said. He sounded like a teenager protesting his punishment. Well, Zeus was his dad, too--not just Ronin's. Ronin had a god for a brother. The thought was so weird my mind couldn't wrap around it.
But Zeus frowned. "I will keep a close eye on my brother. We cannot fight. What exactly did he say to you, Giselle?" He approached, walking around the table.
A cloud of electricity wrapped around me. "That the gods always wanted something in return," I said. "I broke into the Underworld and stole his magic to escape."
Zeus nodded as a single thunderclap rolled in the distance. "Yes. Ronin told us."
"That's why she can't go back to Cursed," Apollo protested again. He waved his arms as he spoke. "She can attend classes here a little longer."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Ronin shuffled to stand just inches from me. His body heat merged with mine. "Yes. What do you mean?"
Zeus looked to Apollo with regret. "As Giselle attempts to attend classes here, we, the gods, are beginning to weaken. That's what we need to discuss."
"Huh?" I asked.
"Both of us," Zeus said. "A fatigue is coming over us that immortals only experience if a vow is on the verge of being broken. We have not technically broken the vow, but a student tipped us off this morning that you were trying to attend our school."
I jolted in place.
The redhead girl.
"Had you continued to attend in secret," Zeus continued, "this would be a non-issue. But now that we know you're here, we must uphold the Oath. If Apollo and I do not send you back, we will slip into unconsciousness and sink into the depths of Tartarus. There, we will starve for an immortal year." He stressed that last part. "By not intervening, we will break the Oath."
I swallowed.
I had to go back. Normally, the electricity in the room Zeus occupied was intense, shifting with his moods. I hadn't spent much time around Apollo, but the longer I stood here, the more his warmth and light faded.
"But my mark is fading," I said, holding up my arm. Turning it, I held it over the conference table to let the gods see.
"She's right," Apollo said with a grin. "Maybe all we have to do is wait a little while longer and she can come over and officially attend."
Zeus's eyes widened and sparkled. "Perhaps. Giselle, you must go back, at least right now. I will monitor my brother the best I can but I cannot guarantee your safety. Attacking him would be very bad for both our schools and for everyone else. It may even cause disasters like the world saw with the Awakening. And then it would send us both to Tartarus."
Dead silence fell over the room as we stared at each other.
"We don't want that," I croaked, thinking of all the slides Mrs. Allenson showed us during our first year. The wars, the earthquakes, the floods. When the gods so much as stretched wrong, bad things happened. And the Awakening disasters had been an accident. When the gods woke from that earthquake, they didn't know what they were doing and caused a bunch of people to die. When they fully came to, they had to create the Division Oath to rope in the mess they'd made, both with the disasters and with all this magic waking up in humanity. And now here we were.
"Can anything protect me at this point?" I blurted instead.
Zeus scratched his grayish beard. "Stay away from my brother. I will try to keep him busy and away from you. But as I said, there are no guarantees. Now go. I cannot protect you or anyone else if we fade. And Ronin. I would like to speak to you in private later."
Chapter Four
I waited outside while Ronin talked to the gods in private. It was late afternoon when Ronin and I trudged back over onto Cursed Academy grounds. Zeus had told us that by leaving Olympian's classes I'd do enough to stop his and Apollo's fading from the world. So we hung out on the Olympian Academy grounds, wandering around the paved trails that cut through the combat arenas while another round of snow started to fall.
We didn't want to go back until classes fully let out. And since the gods didn't come out after us, we were in no hurry.
"I was hoping this would help you," Ronin said, eyes on the ground.
"Maybe I can still sleep at your place?" I asked. "Pretty please?"
"My roommate," Ronin said. "Alan. You met him earlier. Nice guy, but I saw a cockroach running across the floor a couple weeks ago. Natalia never even had to threaten to egg my dorm."
"Never mind. Now I know one of the reasons why you sleep at my place." I breathed out, watching my breath merge with the flakes and fall.
Maria, Wendy, and Mikey were all waiting near the other side of the shared Combat Arena for us. Maria shook her head with mock disapproval.
"We need to avoid Hades at all costs," I said.
"He admitted to being a perv," Ronin said.
"That's nice," Mikey said, shuddering and rubbing his hands up and down his arms. "Let's hope that doesn't extend to guys."
"Doubt it," Ronin said, inching closer to me. "Have any of you seen him?"
"No," Maria said. "He's not really, you know, the personable type."
"Zeus said he'd keep him busy with projects," I said. "So we have that going. But from now on, we hang out in my dorm. I don't know how shielded from gods it is, but there has to be some magical protection over it, not just the security system."
Wendy glowered. "I wish you hadn't told me this. I feel bad enough about being related to this guy."
"He's thousands of years back in your family tree," Ronin reminded her.
"I still have his magic. He goes and says I should join the Lower Order, and now come to find out he has a thing for mortal girls while he's married. Having most of my memory back now is not the enjoyable thing I thought it would be."
Ronin flinched. "Zeus is married, too."
"Hugs?" Maria asked Wendy, changing the subject.
"I'm good, but thanks," Wendy said with a grin. "Still have a reputation to uphold. And I don'
t want you to yank out my hair again. You know, I'm sorry about that night."
"You've long since made up for it," Mikey said.
I didn't have the heart to tell Wendy about the kidnapping thing. So I'd save that for later. Wendy paced, digging her black, pointed boots into the sand. If anyone had her whole world collapse on her, it was Wendy.
"I have to go talk to Zeus alone," Ronin said. "His tone told me that Apollo will not be there. And Apollo's the easiest of all the gods to talk to. Well, I hear Artemis isn't too bad either, but she's usually out hunting and doesn't want to bother with all this." He gave me a quick kiss, sweeping electricity across my lips. "I'll see you tonight."
* * * * *
Even with the power restored, the main Cursed Academy building was still cold inside. Either the heat was taking forever to raise it to its normal fifty degrees or the Lord of the Underworld was putting a chill on with his presence. It was probably a combination of both. The green torches still spit as they always had, giving off zero warmth.
Turned out Hades had occupied the office and closed the door behind him, just as Prometheus had always done. We walked quickly past his office, and I saw him hunched over a laptop, brows lowered in confusion as he surveyed the screen. Maria and Mikey shoved me past the door as Wendy kept her gaze down. The air filled with tense dread, but I wasn't sure who was the source.
And the feeling had spread into the girls' dorm, too, as if the god's presence had infected the whole building. It wasn't as bad over here, but I noticed most of the other girls had stayed in their dorms. A few brave second years sat in the hall, studying some of Mrs. Allenson's notes and quizzing each other, but no one else was out. The whole atmosphere of Cursed Academy had dropped. No music played in the dorms. It was as if we were the walking dead.
"So," I said, unlocking my wooden door with the swirls carved in it. "Are your marks fading, too?" I'd asked Mikey about it over text this morning.
Wendy nodded, suddenly grinning. "A little. The titan's magic seems to be weakening."