Terena dropped her gaze, her nails scratching idly at the stone.
She would go back. She had to go back. For Sonah. And when she did, Terena wasn’t sure what she would do about Daris.
As if reading her thoughts, Hermes turned to her, his big frame blocking out the bright morning sun.
“We must get your sister back.”
“Aye.”
“We cannot continue without the Heir, but it is you?—”
Terena’s body jerked hard at his words. She looked at him, unsure of what he’d said.
“The Heir?”
Hermes turned back to the view, his eyes on the horizon.
Terena waited, a slow buzzing building beneath her skin. She itched with it but did not squirm.
“You are the key, but she is the lock,” he replied.
Terena hung her head for a moment. Frustration bit at her so hard hot tears pierced the backs of her eyes.
“Is that what godhood is?” she asked bitterly. “Just throwing us into bullshit, withholding information that could help us do better,bebetter? All in the name of whatever games the Fates decree?”
“You and your sister are different,” Hermes said. “You had no one to guide you. But you’re here now. You’ve cut it close, waiting until the eighth circle to find me.”
“You assume I know of what you speak,” Terena bit out. She stopped and took a breath, and her voice was stronger when she said, “I do not. Which is why I’m here. I need to know, Hermes. I need to know who I am and who Sonah is. I know Ares is our father, but who is our mother? Why is there a prophecy around us? How do I make sure I don’t fail in this eighth circle?”
She hated the way her voice broke. The wind at the top of the castle was much sharper and stole her breath when she opened her mouth to breathe in deep. Terena had a brief panic that it might freeze her lungs.
She stared at Hermes a long time before he cocked his head, considering. “Your mother is a complicated answer. One I cannot share, as it would have unpleasant consequences.”
At her rigid stare, Hermes sighed dramatically. “Believe me, if it would help you to know right now, I’d tell you. Besides, it would make the Fates angry and you do not want that.” He grunted and turned away. “No one likes them very much.”
“Whatcanyou tell me?”
“I can tell you that, in the prophecy the oracle gave you, you are Athena’s Weapon. She claimed you in your Naming Ceremony.”
Terena gaped. Several times she opened her mouth without saying a thing while Hermes watched her with amusement.
“I’mAthena’s Weapon? What about Daris Antonius? They call him that in Sparta!”
“It matters not what they call him,” Hermes replied and for a moment she swore something unpleasant crossed his features. “You are Athena’s Weapon.”
“And Sonah is the heir?”
He nodded.
“How?” she asked. Her throat was dry. “How is that possible? She’s seventeen!”
Hermes frowned. “Huh?”
Terena waved her hand. “How can she be the heir if I’m older?”
Hermes’s face lost some of its color. “No,” he said, bemused. “She is the elder. By mere minutes, aye, but she is the elder child.”
Terena’s eyebrows hurt from how high they climbed. “Well, does age work differently with gods? Because I promise you, she is younger than me by almost four years!”
