“Yes, though I speak for all of us,” she said, her voice again carrying the muffled whispers of others—some male, some female.
Dread flickering in his eyes, Theseus raised his hands. “We mean no disrespect by coming here. Not to you. The Sovereigns have lost their way. They no longer lead, they only dominate. They do not deserve seats of power.”
“And you do?” She challenged.
He lowered his arms to his sides. “If we were to take the thrones at Deimos, we would rule fairly.”
“Deimos is not yours to claim. It was never yours.” Hellyne slowly turned her head to sweep her gaze over the Sovereigns. “Or yours. You rule in our steed; no more. And I would have to agree that you have lost your way.”
“We merely ensure that the half-bloods ruling the dominions get no grand ideas to overthrow us,” said Minos.
She flicked up a brow. “And the humans? What grand ideas could they possibly have? What makes you believe you have the right to treat them as you do?”
Minos visibly fought a snarl. “If it bothers you so much, why have you not interfered? You care nothing for what goes on in this realm, in truth. You care nothing for us.”
“You care nothing for yourselves. None of you do,” Hellyne accused, addressing the Sovereigns and robed figures below. “You only seek to destroy and fight and conquer. Your hunger for power has eaten away at your honor, mercy, and sense of loyalty.”
Just then, I sensed the laelaps creeping along the battlement to gather around me. No, aroundher.
“It isn’t power we seek, it’s an end to the current way of things,” Daedalus swore.
Hellyne shot him a dismissive glance even as she absently petted the dogs. “What you seek is war. Always war. You have fought among yourselves since you were children.”
“If that was all we wanted,” Scylla timidly argued, “we would have come here with an intent to attack. We didn’t.”
“But you plan to do so in the near future,” Hellyne pointed out. “You would ruin this city and kill its people in your bid to acquire it.”
Her cheeks crimson, Medea flapped a hand toward the Sovereigns. “You would leave them on the throne? They do not honor any of you.”
Hellyne granted her an arch look. “Nor do you. Only the humans have continued to honor us and pass on our teachings. Even though our children mistreat them, they have still not forsaken us.”
“And so you chose one for a Sayer,” Rhad remarked, a bite to his tone.
Hellyne pinned him with a somber glare. “Weallchose Anara. It is a pity I cannot trust that any of the half-bloods here will respect that. Heed me when I say it would be a mistake to harm her. She belongs to us.” Again, several voices were mixed with hers.
“Why assume we would be a threat to her?” asked Eacus. “We have not harmed her.”
“You put her life at risk when you forced her to endure Xalbia,” Hellyne pointed out, her tone clipped. “Her death would mean nothing to you, despite that we anointed her. And if you won’t protect her, they will.”
Uh, they?
I heard a rumbling sound. Stone grating stone. Stonecracking.
Something exploded on the battlement a few feet away as bits of stone and debris went flying. A loud roar split the air and,oh hell, a damn dragon hadbroken out of thestatue. It stretched out its wings and snarled down at the demigods there.
Three other explosions sounded, swiftly followed by more roars. And I knew without looking that the other dragons were now no longer statues.
Well, fuck.
Shock had me in a tight grip. Apparently, the entire racehadn’tdied out during the Uprising. Four had in fact been encased in stone by the gods, just as some had believed.
Talon approached the winged beast a few feet away. It was a sight to behold. Fierce, majestic, andhugewith serpentine gold eyes, shiny dark scales, a barbed tail, and wicked talons.Typhaos, I thought, recalling the drawing I’d seen of him.
He stared at Talon, his large nostrils flaring. The Cardinal held out his arm, and Typhaos nuzzled his palm. Something passed between them. A heart-squeezing moment of recognition and familiarity.
Hellyne again peered down at the newcomers. “Leave here. Do not return unless it is under a flag of peace. In exchange, there will be no retaliation for your actions here today.” She again looked at the Sovereigns. “That will gall you, yes, but you will let this go so long as they obey me.”
Minos ground his teeth. “What kind of rulers would ignore an attempt to overthrow them?”
