The purple owl of the House of Athena.
The green fish of the House of Hermes.
The blue dolphin of the House of Poseidon.
The brown pig of the House of Demeter.
The yellow eagle of the House of Apollo.
The purple-and-green goat of the House of Dionysus.
In contrast, the Chthonic Houses stood out among the Olympians like a sore thumb. Half the coliseum had empty seats, which separated them from the rest of the colorful crowd.
There were only ten Spartans in that section.
Total.
A handful of terrifying creatures in long black robes stood among them.
Four black flags waved, and their symbols were all equally spine-chilling, each covered in blood with gruesome red eyes.
The charging Minotaur of the House of Ares.
The skeleton hellhound of the House of Hades.
The rabid horse of the House of Artemis.
The black swan of the House of Aphrodite.
Even from afar, the Chthonic Spartans looked menacing. The men and women were taller and stronger (more attractive, the teenage pervert inside me noted unhelpfully).
Dressed in black three-piece suits and dresses, they stood with their arms crossed in various poses of boredom.
They were the only section not cheering.
However, it was their animals thatreallyset them apart.
Most of the Olympian section was filled with colorful bird protectors: crows and ravens with flaming wings, lion tails, and strange beaks. There were also a few gargoyles, pink monkeys, and other strange-looking creatures among them, but the vast majority were birds.
But underneath the black banners of the Chthonic Houses, the animals were... different.
They were land predators.
Big junglecats.
A brown dog with three heads towered.
A shaggy wolf stood next to a sleek jaguar, and a tan man with a muzzle leaned against a stunning black man with short wavy hair.
Holy crud, it’s the Crimson Duo.
Memories of a Titan screaming as he was tortured played in my mind.
Shaking with fear, I ripped my gaze away from them and looked around the arena. There were barely any women in Sparta.
It was even worse in the arena.
About fifty boys stood with me on the sand, and they were all staring at me.
