Cursed Academy (Year Three)

by Holly Hook

  And to avoid getting caught by the Olympian Guard and brought back, they'd have to accept their marks from Alonso or Dominique. I couldn't help but wonder if we'd ruined their lives by stepping through that door.

  And all through the weekend, Zeus didn't return to address us.

  In an attempt to cook and keep people warm, Olympian sent over a few descendants of Hephaestus, who summoned fires in the kitchen to make bacon and pancakes so we wouldn't starve. Another Olympian guy brought over an actual grill which he parked outside. It was a nice reminder that most of the Olympian kids weren't out to kill us whenever an attack happened. Magic lights danced around the dining hall so we would have something besides dull winter gray coming through the four skylights.

  Maria stayed very quiet. For a while, she'd liked Prometheus.

  And the mark on my arm remained.

  And when Monday morning arrived, it was colder than ever in our building. Almost deathly.

  "Get up," Maria shouted, knocking on my door.

  I shifted under the blankets and wrapped my arm around Ronin's bare torso. "Maria's here."

  "Then maybe you have a new principal?"

  I'd been fearing and looking forward to it. "Maybe." We got up and dressed in a hurry—it was still cold in my dorm and my secured door wasn't working to boot—and warm relief spilled over me when I put on my green uniform. When I opened the door, Maria was waiting.

  "Zeus is making an announcement. Finally," she said. "Though you can't blame him for waiting so long, as he's dealing with two problems. I guess he's having Hera and Ares oversee the repairs at the plant for this morning. And the investigation."

  "You haven't heard anything about that?"

  Maria shook her head. "Alonso could have caused the explosion with the help of someone in the plant. That's what they're thinking, since he was right there at the Underground right after. If I'd just caused an explosion, I'd want a drink, too."

  I swallowed.

  Elliot had been sitting beside Alonso. But he'd probably been fired from the power plant a year ago, right? Why go to the Lower Order? Had he had nowhere else to go?

  I kept those thoughts to myself. Nothing would disappoint Maria more.

  People were gathering down in the dining hall for the announcement. The air was electric. The big cheese was here. Many were seated inside and I spotted Mikey sitting beside Tiffany.

  "I can't go in," Ronin said. "Announcements are official."

  "But your father is here."

  Ronin bit his lip. "When he's around, I have to look professional. And that means I can't sit with the Cursed Academy kids. Remember. I have to be top of the class over at Olympian and look cool."

  Oh. That. Ronin had been around me for so long that I had forgotten he was expected to be the life of the party at Olympian, not Cursed.

  I walked into the dining hall after one last kiss, following Maria. Wendy joined us a moment later, but she said nothing. The whole dining hall was cold, shivering, and nervous.

  And Zeus stood on the small stage near the front of the room, complete with several Olympian Guards. Everyone stood at super official attention. Zeus scanned the room, gaze landing on me for a moment.

  "Attention," he said.

  He didn't need to speak loudly to silence the whole dining hall. I gripped the table as a ripple of electricity passed over me and single clap of thunder sounded.

  "Unfortunately, Prometheus can no longer serve as your principal here at Cursed Academy. I know he cared about you students, and we have been scrambling all weekend to find a temporary principal to serve you."

  Wendy searched the room beside me. Once again she shifted, her dreaded sword almost touching me. I scooted away.

  "Finding a replacement has not been an easy task, especially after the attack on the Marchamp Power Plant," Zeus continued. His eyes darkened and a hint of a frown followed. "As we have never needed to replace a principal before at any Cursed or Olympian campus, there is still some confusion as to how your marks will continue to work. I have ordered your new principal to straighten out this matter and perhaps mark you himself. He will work on this for the rest of your school year and hopefully can do so without breaking the Division Oath."

  Mutters floated through the dining hall, through the purple-robed first years, and then the blue-robed second years. A first year got up, leaned over to peek through the open kitchen doors, and sat back down again. Zeus was throwing the new principal under the bus, making him take a gigantic risk.

  Wendy swallowed.

  Zeus turned to the side, motioning for someone to emerge from the kitchen.

  The temperature dropped another ten degrees and dead silence fell as a black-robed god with dark hair and an unshaven beard emerged from the doorway, sweeping out like darkness itself. Almost as shadowy as Celestus, he stepped onto the platform to stand beside Zeus, all while the Olympian Guards slowly backed away. The god turned his golden-flecked glare out the four tables and waited.

  My heart dropped to my shoes.

  And Zeus cleared his throat. "I would like you to meet your new principal, my brother, Hades."

  END OF YEAR THREE

  Thanks for reading Cursed Academy, Year Three! I always found Greek mythology fascinating - there’s so much to work with. I’m currently working on Cursed Academy, Year Three and a Half, which I expect to come out in mid October, so stay tuned! You can follow me on Amazon to know when it releases!