“But y-you’re an Olympian,” I sputtered.
The entirepointof the Assembly of Death was to oppress and punish Chthonics after they lost the Great War.
Drex stepped closer. “The Olympians exiled me because Theroswas my mentor.” His voice cracked. “I had no choice—at least here I can fight Titans … with you.”
Sparta was still reeling over Theros’s betrayal and subsequent disappearance.The Falcon Chroniclesreported that Ceres, a muse from the crucible’s library, had helped Theros kidnap me and other House of Zeus heirs. She’d planted the warning notes in my textbooks.
After the article dropped, Ceres had also disappeared without a trace.
“I’ll be fine,” Drex whispered. “Maybe.” He narrowed his eyes. “Hopefully?”
We’re both dead.
“We’re here,” Artemis announced, “because we have two new recruits to welcome—a fellow Chthonic daughter, and the first …idiot… to ever volunteer for induction.”
She bared her teeth, eyes manic, as she cocked a bloodstained bow and raised it to the full moon.
Yep, that’s definitely Kharon’s (Karen’s) mother.
“At the Spartan Gladiator Competition this August, we will showcase our powers and strike fear into the hearts of the Olympians.”
She shot an arrow into the sky.
Please let it hit me.
A squirrel fell from the top branch with a loud thud.
Okay, Arthritis (Artemis) needs to be stopped.
Artemis turned her horse to face us. “Per tradition, in honor of Pheidippides of the House of Ares—you will be hunted by our youngest members, twenty-five miles through the woods.”
Was that blood on her teeth?
“They will give you anentirehour’s head start before they come after you.” Artemis scoffed, like she thought that was too much time. “While you’re in the forest, leaping and fighting back isforbidden. It doesn’t matter how many bullets you take.”
She smiled.
“If you fail to make it out of the woods and are captured, youwillbe killed.”
Drex whimpered.
Oh nice, Arthritis looks genuinely excited.
Hades shot me a reassuring smile.
He’d explained all this before and said everyone always survived, but Artemis made it sound like our demise was averyreal possibility, and she was personally going to make it happen.
“After the woods, you can leap,” Artemis said flippantly, like she didn’t need to explain it because we’d already be dead by then.
“If you’re uncaptured by the first morning light, you’ll be in the Assembly of Death, and can choose who you want to partner with for your first mission. If you’re caught, the two Spartans who capture you will fill that role.”
Kharon bared his teeth and Augustus smirked, his eyes still dripping crimson.
Achilles cracked his neck back and forth, muzzle concealing his expression. Patro winked, looking smug.
Artemis raised her bloody bow.
“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”
