One of the golden guards stepped forward, retrieving a key from his belt. Heavy bolts clicked as he unlocked the door and pulled it open. The guard behind me shoved me hard, and I tumbled through the door.
I expected a room on the other side. Instead, myfeet tried to find purchase on air, and I plummeted down a hole, landing hard on my side in a pile of dirt.
Groaning, I looked up in time to see the door, several paces above my head, slam closed, sealing the sheer wall shut again.
“El!” Percy ran over and knelt by my side. “You weren’t expecting the fall either, I see?”
Sitting up, I quickly examined him. Ragged tears ripped holes in his clothes, and thin lacerations covered the skin beneath them.
Minimal damage. Seraphim must have protected him well.
Looking past the bard, I studied our surroundings. We were confined to a small chamber, pressed in by stone walls, save for a heavy gate to our north. A man with flaming red hair walked its length, searching for weaknesses in its construction.
My eyes flicked to the dark blue toga he wore. House Cynthus’ colors. What might have beenmyhouse, in a different life.
I trusted Lady Aethra. She would not speak such grave words without affirming their validity. To think, this man was my father . . .
Phaedrus looked me up and down—with eyes that matched mine. “I think they intend to put us back together for this trial. A mistake, if you ask me.”
“Shame,” I said. “I was hoping the trial would prove too much for you.”
Percy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe we misjudged the fellow. He saved my life.”
“Yes, you’re welcome,” Phaedrus said.
Rubbing my aching side, I kept my eyes on the nobleman. “What happened to you?”
“You know me.” Percy rubbed his eyes. “I sing better than I speak. And it deserves a ballad.”
Poor Perse looked exhausted. Aethra and Seth were probably worn out, too, after flailing around in the frigid lake.
“We faced a flaming lake,” Phaedrus explained for him. “Home to a chimera. You can imagine the rest.”
“They threw Aethra into a lake with a hydra,” I said, raising an eyebrow at Percy.
“Hydra,” he echoed. “Seas. Seth wasn’t lying about having fought one.” He blinked a couple of times. “They didn’t throw me in the flaming lake, El. I was tied to a tree.”
Phaedrus hummed. “Whoever tied the knots did a fine job, too.”
The door scraped open above our heads as the guards shoved someone through. Seth anticipated the abrupt fall, to my dismay. He caught himself, rolling past me before springing back to his feet. A bloody dagger appeared in his hands, ready to flick up at his escort, but the door slammed behind us, sealing us back into our prison.
“Nice landing,” Percy commended.
“Perse.” Seth grimaced, eyeing Percy’s bloodstained shirt. “You were the sacrifice, weren’t you?”
“Of course I was. Can you imaginemerescuing Seraphim?” He blew through his lips. “Though I rather wish she’d picked Phaedrus. We could have just left him.”
“My sister is bright,” Phaedrus interjected. “She knows you need my help.”
Seth’s red eyes darted to me. A nasty bruise darkened his cheek, where I’d taken out my petty anger on him. “Where’s Aethra?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
I hated that I didn’t know.
Phaedrus leaned against the gate. “You’re the native. What trials await us?”
Seth glanced around the chamber. “I only know what they were like before. When they were sport for champions, not death sentences.”
