Percy’s eyes slammed shut.
A roaring tempest struck the square. Buffeting winds crashed into me, pushing me forward. Shielding my eyes, I stared into the eye of the cyclone and froze.
Ghostly figures spun into the storm, like a cauldron of whirling death. Their wails joined with the song of dread. Ghastly. Otherworldly.
I recognized their faces, those ghosts. They were the nobles from the ballroom. The Hades Knights, whose faces we’d glimpsed. Eris. Icelus. Euthymia.
Lowering his sword, Icelus staggered back, staring at the sky in disbelief. The soldiers guarding Cerys lost their grips on their weapons as their own ghosts descended from the ether and rushed past.
The song of dread expanded beyond Icelus’ reach; it belonged to Percy now.
Rising, Percy marched to the stage. “I already bested you once before,” he shouted, stepping up onto the platform. “Clearly, I’m the better bard.”
Icelus shook himself out of his fear and lifted his sword, but Percy wasn’t deterred.
“You’re a sad, pathetic little man,” Percy spat. “Clinging to the heels of your ‘gods’ in hopes they will save you from that which you fear most.” He lowered his voice, but I could still hear it above the song. “Dying.”
Icelus lunged for Percy, but the bard sidestepped him, grabbing his wrist and bending it. The sword clattered out of Icelus’ grip. Percy slammed his knee into Icelus’ gut and tossed him, sending the noble sprawling across the stage.
Releasing my control of the people, I focused on the pair of knights, seizing them in their fear. Bending their minds to my will, I instructed them to lower their spears and step away, giving Percy a free path to Cerys.
He grabbed Icelus’ sword and sawed through her bonds.
Blood streamed from my nose as I limped to the stage. Icelus sat up, crawling away from Percy. His pale eyes flicked to me as I descended upon him.
I released my hold on the knights. They joined the people in their terror, running from the dirge and churning ghosts. But sodeep ran their frozen horror that most fell to their knees and cowered.
Cerys wrapped her arms around Percy the moment her bonds fell free, and he pulled her into an embrace. Seeing she was alright, I turned back to the lord.
Only profound trauma brought forth magic. Icelus had tortured Aethra to its brink.
Kneeling beside him, I grasped hold of his weak mind. I said nothing as I commanded his limbs, ordering him to take the dagger from his belt and press it to his neck.
I smiled, seeing the terror in his eyes as the steel touched his throat. This death was exactly what he deserved.
The knife raked across his throat, spilling blood down his toga. A matching crimson tear streamed from my eye and fell to the ground.
44
Aethra
Athena soared through the air, still a little unsteady on her new wings. Everywhere I looked, the city was in chaos.
A tornado consumed the east, and fire raged in the west. Crowds of people congested the center, fleeing from both.
Eris would be in Apet square—waiting for news of Seth’s death, so she could claim her victory.
The great statue of Ma’at and the surrounding pillars pierced the heavens like guiding beacons. Leaning forward, I drove Athena toward them.
A protective circle of ebony-clad knights guarded the square, watching every exit. Eris sat alone on the edge of the statue’s base. Unguarded.
They did not expect an attack from above.
One of the Hades Knights pointed toward me and shouted. The rest leaped to attention, pulling out javelins or knocking their bows.
Arrows whirled through the air, but Athena weaved between them. Pulling her wings in, she dove toward the statue.
Eris’ head snapped up, and our eyes locked. Clutching her skirt, she backed into the statue.
