“Please, I’m only a mother,” Georgie stepped forward and plunged to her knees. “What strength could I have against your trials?”
The god tilted his head, observing the fresh waves of responses.
“Why us? What made us so special that you chose us?” Yvonne asked, no ounce of fear showing as she placed a supporting hand on Georgie’s shoulder.
I waited, wanting to hear that reply myself, but the short-haired man interrupted him before he could speak. Something told me he was a fire sign. “What if we don’t want to do it?”
My hands twitched beside my body. Even though I was determined to find a way back home, learning about the stakes changed things. I had to be careful if I wanted to make it out alive.
Zeus’s eyes narrowed, a storm brewing within them. “Kneel ordie. You shall not attempt to escape. You shall not disobey the rules. You shall bow tome.” His voice grew more harsh, a vein on the side of his forehead pulsing rapidly, threatening to explode. With a powerful snap of his fingers, everyone dropped to their knees.
A frown settled on my forehead. He somehow got into their heads, forcing them to yield. I glanced to either side of me, where eleven people bowed with straight stares ahead.
The only person left standing was…me.
Zeus’s and the fairies’ eyes bore into me, and I lay down next to the blue-haired woman, a nervous flutter in my chest. Itwas my best attempt at not raising any suspicions, though I’d consider myself lucky if he didn’t already notice.
“It almost slipped my mind that you must now use your mouth to utter something intelligent.” Zeus directed the words toward the woman next to me before returning her lips. She inhaled deeply and held herself rigid, too afraid to feel them settling back into place.
“We will not attempt to escape. We will obey the rules. We will bow to Zeus,” they spoke in unison, and I joined in, doing my utmost to blend in and not give him any reason to question the effect of his magic on me.
This could be my advantage. Though I was bewildered as to why I was immune to whatever had befallen them; it was leverage.
After we finished saying the words Zeus forced down their throats, every fairy in the room stared at me with tilted heads.
I looked around, trying to figure out if I had done something different that gave me away, but we were all in the same position, not moving.
Between the wings of the fairies, I made out Zeus’s squint.
Shit.
He knew.
Chapter 3
Charisma
Sweat fell over my eyelashes, but I didn’t dare wipe the bead away as Zeus’s fierce scrutiny kept me locked in my place. A chill snaked up my spine as the white in his eyes turned blinding, his knuckles paling as if clutching at invisible restraints. I almost flinched away, bracing myself for when he would strike me down.
In the final, ephemeral moment, his expression underwent a subtle but significant change—his fists loosened and a subtle smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“Interesting,” he jeered.
The world twisted and warped around me, cold perspiration plastering my skin.
A heartbeat swept, then he spoke. “You shall all proceed to your chambers. And remember, donotdisobey the rules.” Zeus’s voice soared over the crowd, singling out each of us. “You have two days to prepare for the first trial, and I expect it to be what you mortals call ‘fun’ to watch you fall into despair.”
I waited, rooted to the spot, and prepared for a lecture or punishment. If Zeus was anything like the god described in the books I’ve read, he wouldn’t let me go without reminding me of who was in charge. Since he discovered his powers had no effecton me, I expected nothing less than him interpreting it as an insult to his magic.
“Come on,” the fairy prodded.
When my eyes met Zeus again, he gave no indication that he would stop the fairy fromrescuingme. He just stood there, his pupils dilating with a glint.
Perhaps I was wrong. He could take it as a challenge instead of an insult. Or, he had another idea to make me obey. The mere notion of it sent a shiver down my spine, my skin crawling as if tiny insects were swarming all over it.
The god’s desperation of compelling us spoke of fear. Fear that we’d try to escape, and that meant only one thing: therewasa way out. I just had to find it.
My throat jolted as I swallowed the thought away and shifted my gaze to the same fairy who told us not to be afraid earlier. As if sensing my thoughts, he tipped his head, an innocent look on his face.
