Page 42 of The Wild Zone

“Then it’s a good thing we’re wearing these protective suits,” Zuri said.

I gave her a withering look. “That’s not helping.”

Benny gripped my shoulder. “What if that ring has the power to help you find Grant? Maybe the two of you were led to it because you’re children of Ares.”

“Led to it?” I repeated.

He shrugged. “I mean…we’re living in a world full of gods and prophecies and magic, so maybe.”

I ran my fingers along the edge of the ring again. Magic could be good or bad. It just depended on the user, right? And if this ring was dangerous, it probably would have been locked away somewhere more secure than a fissure in the forest, right?

“Come on, do it. Do it! Do it!” Harper chanted and looked to Zuri and Benny, who joined in. “Do it! Do it!”

“This is literally peer pressure,” I informed them.

“No, it’s peer encouragement to embrace your demigod power and see what happens,” Zuri said while Harper and Benny continued to chant.

“Right. I’m part god.” My breathing came hard and fast as I lifted the ring level with my right index finger. “Okay, Dad, if you ever cared anything about me or Mom, don’t let me die.”

I jammed my eyes shut and turned my head away. Then I slid the ring onto my finger.

Everyone fell silent.

Nothing happened.

I cautiously peeked at my finger. It was still intact, with the ring on it.

Harper, Zuri, and Benny all dropped their shoulders.

“Well, that was a big letdown,” Harper said.

“Right?” I agreed, but secretly I was relieved. “I guess it’s just a pretty ring.”

Zuri crossed her arms. “So that’s not why Grant got abducted.”

“Maybe not,” I said. “But the monster took him for a reason. And I’m going back to the Wild Zone to investigate.”

“What?!” Benny lifted both eyebrows. “When?”

“Tomorrow night.” I hoped saying it out loud would give me the courage to go through with it. “During the baton race, it’ll be chaos. Kids running everywhere. Nobody will even notice I’m missing.”

Zuri squinted thoughtfully. “That’s a good point.”

“And you’re doing this by yourself?” Benny shook his head. “Bad idea.”

“You think Clarisse or anyone else from my cabin’s going to help?”

“No,” he said. “But we could.” Benny glanced at Harper and Zuri. “Right?”

I never thought it was possible for a child of Aphrodite to have a bad smile, but at that moment, Harper’s was so forced I couldn’t look directly at it. “Oh. Suuure?”

I threw my hands up. “What happened to ‘We’ve got your back’?”

“We do!” Harper protested. “It’s just…during the race, I’m supposed to run the anchor leg for my cabin.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d seen how fast Harper could run. But if he was running the last portion of the race, he’d be stuck at his position waiting for the baton and couldn’t possibly sneak away. That was a huge bummer.

Benny nudged Zuri, who was staring just past him into space.