Danae’s heart thundered against her ribs. Jason might be young and inexperienced, but he’d slain Hypsipyle on Lemnos as easily as drawing breath.
“One, two...”
Telamon glanced at Atalanta. The warrior’s jaw was set, her eyes two burning coals beneath her scowl.
“...three.”
Telamon’s blade clattered to the floor. Castor immediately grasped his arms, twisting them behind his back and brought Telamon thudding to the deck.
Danae’s chest twinged at the betrayal etched on Atalanta’s face.
“Coward,” she spat.
“He’s my brother,” Telamon said pleadingly.
Atalanta turned her acid stare on Danae. She who had stood there and done nothing. She was not as brave as Telamon and looked away, not daring to meet the disappointment she knew waited for her in those dark eyes.
“Four,” said Jason.
“Atalanta,” Telamon begged.
“Five.”
The warrior’s blade fell to the deck.
The crew released a collective breath as Atalanta was forced to her knees and a bloody-faced Pollux retied her restraints.
As the twins worked, Jason let go of Peleus and straightened up. The blade in his hand was trembling.
“Pollux, Castor, you stay on board with Tiphys. If the traitors even think about trying to break free, you have my permission to kill them.”
Danae’s stomach lurched as the twins grinned at each other.
It was a subdued crew that fetched empty barrels and skins from the store cabin and clambered over the side of theArgoonto the rocks. They made their way up the boulders to the ground beyond, carrying the barrels between them. As they climbed, the stone underfoot gave way to tufted earth, littered with lichen-stained rocks. When they reached the stream, Danae made sure to walk further ahead than the others. She squelched down into the mud, cupped the water in her hands and drank. Whether because of the strict rationing aboard theArgoor because she’d been drinking stale water for weeks, the stream tasted deliciously sweet. She splashed her face, washing away the salt and grime, then retrieved the skins she’d stowed in her bag and filled them with fresh water.
She glanced behind her, making sure the rest of the crew were occupied, then backed away from the stream and scurried toward the crest of the hill.
She’d been waiting for an opportunity like this, time away from the others to explore her powers. She desperately needed to learn how to harness them properly, especially if another of the Twelve came after her. Whatever Athena’s reason was for fleeing, she doubted it would happen again.
She could feel how raw her energy was when she channeled it. When she manipulated her life-threads it was as though she was riding an untamed stallion. The line between control and losing herself was hair thin. On Lemnos, the power had taken her, not the other way around. She had summoned it on the Doliones’ beach, but conjuring the wind had left her drained and defenseless. Rest and food had restored her a little, but her strength was not fully recovered. It was imperative she learn her limits. That, however, would be a challenge without a full reservoir of life-threads to draw upon.
But she had an idea.
From her encounter with the panther, she’d learned that she couldn’t generate more life-threads herself, but she could take them from animals. It wasn’t a solution she liked, but she saw no other option. She needed to take on more life-threads before she could use her powers again.
As she walked, she scoured the ground for droppings or prints.
“Where’s a lame mountain goat when you need one?” she muttered.
It was unlikely she’d find a creature at the end of its life, like the panther. But if she could catch one, she had her knife to do the deed.
Up on her right, a clutch of boulders had tumbled in on each other, creating a haven of nooks and crannies, perfect for small creatures to nest in. She crept toward it.
Then she slipped on a loose rock and landed heavily on her back, crying out as she fell. So much for a stealthy approach.
“Who goes there?”
She froze. The voice was thin and crackled like sun-baked leaves. It was followed by a clacking sound. Then the end of a spindly piece of driftwood appeared around the edge of the rocks. A moment later, a man came tapping his way toward her.
