Beneath the photo is a caption colored in neon yellow:Tenarus Cave, leading to the pits of Tartarus within. Death’s Teeth sightings abound—photo taken by [redacted] just days after last known Ceremony of Life. Not pictured: missing student pulled from Lake Lerna, thought to be involved in secret.
I blink down at the page. There’s no date, so it could have beenanytime.
Crimson drips onto the page, blotting out the photo before I can get a closer look to confirm my suspicions.
I know that cave. That symbol, some sort of three-headed beast, painted above theentrance.
Those eyes—even if they’re missing. I’ve been seeing them every night for the last eight years.
Dread settles deep in my gut; I barely notice when Lexington touches the top of my head, drawing my attention to him.
He stares down at me, pressing a finger to my hairline. “Fuck, you’re bleeding, Elle.”
Aurora comes over, shoving him out of the way as she hauls me to my feet. “This is why you shouldn’t prank people.”
He rubs the back of his neck, giving me a sheepish look. “My bad. I thought she realized what I was doing.”
“Ew, she got blood on the encyclopedia!” Percy moans, appearing in a crouching position beside me. “They’re gonna have to burn this now.”
I touch the cut on my head, instantly nauseous from the red staining my fingers. “S-sorry.”
“Are you going to pass out?” Aurora asks, grabbing my hand so I can no longer see the blood.
My head swims, the image—now painted in crimson—making me dizzy. I don’t answer.
“Is she okay?” Lexington leans in, tilting his head at me. “Should we have her lie down?”
“No, she just needs some air and to be cleaned up. I’ll take care of it,” Aurora says.
Percy frowns. “But the book?—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Lexington cuts in. “I’ll take the heat for destruction of campus property. You go get fixed up.”
“They have handwritten accounts of this stuff anyway,” Percy adds after a moment, though still a bit horrified. “If you ever want a primary source, just ask the librarians downstairs for ahistorical journal. There are a ton. Although I think they might have moved some of them to another library.”
I nod, letting Aurora lead me to the stairwell. Once we’re outside, she has me lean against the wall until I can see straight again.
But even then, my mind keeps spinning on an endless loop, stuck on the picture of that cave.
Quincy told me to stay out of the woods, but… It wouldn’t hurt to go look during the day, right? Ghosts only come out at night or in creepy old buildings.
“We should go to health services,” Aurora says, looping her arm through mine. “You’re probably fine, but no way am I telling Uncle Kal if you have a concussion and don’t get it checked out.”
Silently, I roll my eyes. Everyone acts like my father—a former physician for the Mafia—is this big, terrifying man just because he has an undetermined body count. Most of the adults we were raised with have violent, bloody histories that no one talks about, though, so I’ve never understood why my dad was considered the scariest of them all.
Though given what lengths I’ve gone to to avoid disappointing him over the years, I can’t really judgethatmuch.
Either way, I’m barely listening as she drags me from the Obeliskos, too busy thinking about getting to that cave.
16
ELLE
Tighteningthe drawstrings on my hoodie, I close the fabric around my face as I slip through the broken gate of the wrought iron fence surrounding campus.
Mortui Vivos Docentis inscribed at the top, which makes my stomach drop. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this—or should have made Asher at least tag along.
But that thought doesn’t stop my feet from moving.
