‘You killed Poseidon too …’ he breathed.
Her mouth tightened. ‘I will ask once more. Why did you come alone?’
Hermes’ stomach plummeted through the ground.
‘I …’ He bit the insides of his cheeks. Surely his siblings would be looking for him by now …
Then cold realization trickled down his spine. He’d confided in no one, not even Hephaestus, about the vision he’d seen in the shard of omphalos stone, or his plan to fly to Troy. The rest of the divine children were far away, searching across Greece for the Titan girl, all unaware that she was here.
If both Hades and Poseidon had fallen against her, what hope did he have?
‘Did it have something to do with this?’ From behind her back, the Titan produced a small cloth-wrapped object. She laid it on her palm and peeled away the fabric to reveal the omphalos shard.
Hermes drew a sharp breath. She’d been through his belongings.
‘Enough,’ hissed the woman in the silver breastplate. ‘Kill him.’
Hermes’ heart lurched into his throat. ‘No, please …’
The Titan ignored the other woman. ‘Why did you come alone? Where are your siblings? Your father?’
Tears burned rivers of salt down his cheeks. He was a fool. He was such a fool.
‘They will come … they will come for me …’
‘Pathetic,’ spat the flame-haired man.
Suddenly, the other woman drew a blade from her thigh and lunged towards him.
‘Atalanta,’ barked the Titan.
The woman paused, her knife dangerously close to Hermes’ jugular.
‘He is one of them. He killed countless soldiers. He tried to kill me and you,’ she snarled.
‘Step outside.’
Hermes cringed back, the hatred radiating from Atalanta’s face scalding like a burning hearth.
‘I said, outside.’
With a grunt, the woman withdrew her blade from his neck and paced from the tent.
The Titan’s eyes raked over him before turning to the flame-haired man.
‘Watch him.’
Then she too swept through the entrance.
Atalanta rounded on Danae as soon as she stepped into the daylight.
‘Why the fuck is that thing still alive?’
‘We need him.’
‘The plan was to kill the false gods who came to the battlefield, not keep them as hostages.’
‘There’s been enough death for one day. Besides, he’s more valuable to us alive. We still don’t know why the other Olympians did not come. And with that collar on he’s no threat.’
