Taking her by the arms, I checked her over. “Are you injured?”
“Only a little,” she said. “Icelus couldn’t resist kicking me a few times, but your heroic friends saved the day.”
I raised an eyebrow at Percy. He grinned, and I could already hear the boast on his lips.
But then his face fell. “Eleos, he . . .”
Aethra grabbed my arm, “He what?”
“He stayed behind.” Percy abruptly changed his tune, speaking with a smile. He pointed over his shoulder. “Seth, would you go tell him we’re alright?”
Percy met my eye. His white eyes flicked back and forth, trying to send me a quiet message.
It was not death I’d find beyond.
Noticing how he jerked his head toward Aethra, I peeled her hands off my arm. “Stay here, princess.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
Percy grabbed her shoulders. “Yes, stay here. You’ve done enough. Let’s not open those wounds any further.”
Squeezing her hand, I sprinted around them, holding tight to my spear. The road ahead was empty. Quiet. My footsteps echoed on the cobbled road.
Cerys’ pyramid rose ahead, but even its courtyard was empty. Two corpses decorated my path forward: ebony-armored Hades Knights. Both were impaled on their own spears.
Something told me they hadn’t killed themselves. Not willingly.
Leaping over them, I slowed to a stop at the foot of a blood-soaked platform.
Eleos knelt at its center, clutching his arm, head hung low. A corpse lay beside him, its throat slit open. Icelus.
My eyes traced from the wound on his neck to the dagger beside his hand.
A laugh broke the silence. Hushed and manic.
The sound was so unlike Eleos, I first looked around for its source. Only when I saw an empty square filled with corpses did Irealize the laugh had come from him.
“El?” I asked, worriedly reaching out.
His bangs hung over his face. “Is it over? Did you win?”
“Yes.” Stepping forward, I glanced around the vacated square. “What happened here?”
“What happened?” Eleos repeated. “For ten years, I fooled myself and the world. And now—” He finally lifted his head. Streams of blood ran down his face, like morbid tears. “I’ve finally accepted who I really am.”
46
Aethra
Percy had been fawning over Athena for the better part of an hour. He cupped her snout between his hands, rubbing her happily.
“Who’s a beautiful beast of legend?” He cooed.
Neighing, Athena bounced on her hooves. Stepping back, Percy beamed at me and adjusted his feathered hat. “Can I borrow her? Cerys still needs an escort, you know.”
“If you take good care of her,” I said.
“Only the best!” He insisted, placing a hand on her neck. “She’s a member of the team, you know.”
