If a massacre wasn’t happening before my eyes, I would have laughed at her ridiculous name for Augustus.
But it was.
Charlie and Helen were now cowering in front of me with their eyes squeezed shut and their hands covering their ears. Drex was pale, his face turning green.
I forced myself to watch as Hades’s fog retreated, and ten boys were left standing, eighty-three broken bodies splayed around them.
A familiar elderly woman with white hair and purple eyes walked out with a clipboard. She wore rainbow-covered rainboots and a ridiculous yellow hat.
Fate, they called her.
Ten Olympian men jumped down from the stadium and Zeus announced their assigned mentors.
Patro glanced over at me, his expression caught somewhere between pleading and a sneer.
I looked away.
With electricity dancing across his skin, Zeus droned on about unity in the face of darkness.
“Rest assured, Medusawillbe captured.” Zeus’s voice crackled as it broadcasted boomingly through the stands. “But until then—for everyone’s safety—the federation has made a decision to break with tradition.”
Augustus and Kharon stiffened beside me.
The stadium held its breath.
“The SGC will now start tomorrow. All Chthonics will stay at the Dolomites stadium for the twelve-day showcase. They will also be extensively questioned by the federation to make sure they have no association with Medusa’s disappearance.”
My heart stopped.
It was June.
The SGC wasn’t supposed to start until August. We were supposed to havetwomore months to prepare.
There was a roaring in my ears as Chthonics jumped to their feet around me. People were shouting. Olympians were screaming about dishonor and war.
The chant, “Kill Medusa—kill Medusa—kill Medusa,” rose throughout the stadium.
I covered my mouth to stop myself from throwing up.
Zeus continued, “Any Chthonic who leaps away, or refuses to answer questions about Medusa, will be named an enemy of the state of Sparta—punishable by imprisonment in the Underworld … or death.”
The shouts increased.
People jostled as fists were raised.
Someone was crying.
I stood up, my knee almost giving out as I struggled to straighten. Charlie and Helen turned—they were grabbing me.
“What,” Helen whispered, “are you going to do about—”
“Don’t worry,” I said, cutting her off. “I’ll … I’ll … f-figure something out.”
Helen didn’t look reassured, her eyes filling with tears. Charlie swayed like he was going to pass out, and Achilles grabbed his shoulder, signing to him, “It’s going to be okay.”
My brother nodded.
Kharon sidled closer to me. “Stay beside us. We need to stick together while we figure out what the fuck is happening.”
