Page 134 of The Mortal Trials

I wish Morrigan had taken them all.

Athena and Hera herd us into the portal that leads to the temple.

In that enormous hollow chamber, Veronia is the first to speak. “Does anyone have any idea what happened?”

Heads shake.

The word ‘no’ pours from mouths like water gushing from fountains.

“You felt it, though, right?” she demands.

Nods and affirmations strike the ceiling and rain back down.

The group divides itself amid friends and familiarity, everyone desperate for comfort.

“The gods don’t even seem to know. Have you ever seen them so rattled?” Elias questions.

“No,” Koda says gravely. “In all my years, no.”

Elias continues, “Which begs the question: What can scare the gods?”

Our allied team is silent as they ponder the possibilities.

Next to us, Peng describes what happened to him and his new bride. Push by push, she’d moved her boat to the opposite bank. He jumped in and swam to her and tried to drag the skiff from the mud, but he wasn’t strong enough to budge it. If she’d been able to help, using her pole, it might have worked, but she was frozen.

Clinging to the canoe’s side, he told her what stories he could, but the two were veritable strangers. Their marriage had been arranged by their parents just days before he was called to the trials, so he had little to draw upon.

He didn’t know anything about her childhood. They hadn’t even found a permanent home yet. So, he spoke of what they did have in common: their wedding day, and some of the meals they’d shared in the days that followed, as they tried to get to know one another, but it was futile.

“I thought we were dead. That we’d be left behind or eaten. We wouldn’t have completed the trial.” He braces his hands on his hips. “I’m not proud of it, but I was thinking about swimming back and abandoning her to that river, when we suddenly appeared in the arena. I didn’t know why. I still don’t.”

“What do we do now?” Sura, Pele’s mortal, asks.

“We clean up,” Torsten says, his lip curling. “We’re covered in ash and filth.”

Sura gestures to the empty hall. “Will there be a feast tonight?”

“Those two better hope so,” the Norseman answers, nodding toward me and August.

He’s right. We’re all coated in gray, but August and I are the only ones who started the trial in white. Without a celebration, how will we find champions? Ares has not allowed random gods to prowl the island seeking a mortal to champion. Deals have only been made at his feasts. This late in the trials, I doubt any of the divine will break with the rules or traditions dictating their behavior.

“Clean up and meet back at the palaestra to discuss?” Ulani suggests as he takes Vailea’s hand.

Everyone agrees.

I’m relieved to see that Koda doesn’t need help descending the staircases to the shore. I start down the steps after him, Niall, and Elias, who still flank him like they can’t believe his recovery is real. I’m not sure I believe it either, in all fairness. I certainly don’t understand it.

My fingers drift to my new necklace.

August falls into step beside me. “Where’d you get that?”

“Cillian brought it for me.”

He’s quiet for a few strides. “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the song. I should have when you said you hadn’t heard any of the music I made after Carina died.”

I flick a sideways glance at him. “You knew it was what brought you here.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you. Everything here reminded you of what you’ve lost. I didn’t want to add to it.”