“Now that’s just not nice,” I say.
Everyone on the dais gasps. It’s so in sync that it’s almost harmonious. Galen shoots his family a black look, but the glare he turns back on me is positively murderous.
“There’s been a change of plans,” Griffin says coolly.
Alpha Tarva’s reddish eyebrows slam together. His hair veers toward orange, but it’s lackluster and graying in places. It’s nothing like the blazing fireball all around his sister Bellanca’s head. With hair like that, I’d bet my knife collection her magic is of the flaming sort.
The marble statues lining the walls start to rattle. Galen’s temper shakes the ground, and unease unfurls in my middle. No one has heard of him using his Elemental Magic in years. That’s why everyone assumes…
The stones under our feet rumble and quake, and I widen my stance to keep my balance as a crack streaks up the wall behind Galen’s throne.
My unease turns into ice-cold dread.Son of a Cyclops! I should know better than to assume!
“A change?” Disbelief colors Galen’s furious tone even darker.
My heart starts to race. I can’t believe we’re going through with this. We’re weak, weaponless. This is madness. But it’s such an opportunity.
Trust in the Gods, Cat.Griffin’s words come back to me with startling force. The Gods have always,always, been there for me. When the swimming really gets rough, Poseidon throws me a hand. Or gills. Or his trident!
I send a quick but fervent prayer to Olympus and then give Galen my sharpest, most chilling smile. “We’ve decided you should bow beforeus. And just so we’re all clear, it’s either that, or die.”
Everyone on the dais stares at me, clearly shocked to their bones. If I had a knife, I’d use the moment of surprise to prove we’re serious. I’m sure Galen doesn’t need his kneecap. Or that extra roll around his middle.
Acantha is the first to react. Swiveling her head with the quick, sliding grace of a snake, she turns to look first at her brother and then back at me. The Drakon charmer hisses when she speaks. “The Cyclops slayer. Courageous, but stupid.”
I put the weight of a thousand terrible moments fought and lived through into my heavy stare. “The last person to call me stupid didn’t live long.”
Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem cowed. A small snake appears from somewhere behind her head and slithers down her arm. Its sinewy body hits the marble floor with a slap and then grows as it advances. The serpent keeps getting bigger. It looks mean. And fast.
I swallow. There’s no way that’s not venomous.
Next to me, there’s a pop, a flash of light, and then a growl. Something shaggy and huge materializes at my side.
My eyes widen. “Cerberus!”Hades must have sent him to us!
The Hound of the Underworld leaps forward and snaps up the snake. His three fang-filled mouths tear it apart. Within seconds, there’s nothing left.
I grin like I’m not shocked out of my mind. “And here you thought you took all our weapons.” I take a chance and, for the first time ever, reach up and lay my hand on Cerberus’s back. His coarse fur twitches under my fingers, and I can’t believe my hand doesn’t melt—or fall off—or spontaneously combust.
“My boy’s hungry,” I tell Acantha. “Got any more?”
Acantha goes from blank-faced surprise to full-on rage. Her hair morphs into a headful of snakes, which is truly disturbing. They detach, leaving her bald, which is pretty disturbing as well, and then every last serpent slithers straight for me, growing exponentially as they converge.
Cerberus’s lethal claws scrabble on the marble floor as he bays. The terrible sound of primal, excited violence scrapes down my spine and makes me want to cringe in mortal fear. Poisonous canine saliva hisses against rock and scales, and then the hound pounces, devouring the snakes as they come.
Galen’s face turns ruddy with fury. His chin jerks up, and he flicks his hand. The armed guards that took us from the arena march down the long throne room.
Everyone here knows we killed a Cyclops and won the Agon Games. I wonder what they think they can do. Then again, we have no blades, no offensive magic, and some of us are severely injured. Everyone here knowsthat, too.
Ianthe leaps off the dais, fearlessly skirting snakes and Cerberus to get behind us. She places herself in front of the oncoming guards, and I turn to her, my heart hitting a wild, panicked beat.
“What are you—” My protest dies on my lips when the air suddenly turns so dry it hurts my eyes. Ianthe sweeps her hands in front of her, and a violent surge of water pours from her palms. The torrent washes the guards from the room in a tumbling, head-over-legs mess. The brutal spray keeps them back while Flynn and Kato race down the sides of the room. The moment our men are behind the high, double doors, Ianthe cuts off the magic so they can shoulder the heavy panels closed.
Kato slumps against the wall, clearly spent after the sprint, while Flynn drops the heavy crosspiece into the iron cradles, locking the guards out. Locking us in.
I gape at Ianthe.My little sister is a Water Mage!“That’s unheard of in the Fisan line.”
She cocks a dark eyebrow at me, smirking a little, andmy Gods, it’s like looking in a mirror. “Well, we all know Mother slept around.”
