Raven brandishes her swords at Pandora, not allowing her too close to me or the plinth. Pandora stops dead, her eyes wide and innocent, but the act doesn’t work on me. She’s up to something.
“How did the queen get the plinth in the first place?” I ask.
“I don’t know. It was there one second and gone the next.” She scans the group for any sign of a friendly face but finds none.“She can god travel like Prometheus. Maybe she traveled to my cave got it and transported out.”
“Why would she offer it as a prize in the Olympian games if she wanted it? Wouldn’t she just open it herself?” I tap my foot.
“Only a human can open it,” she says.
“None of the warriors in that race were considered human anymore,” I counter. “Try again.”
“What? That’s not right,” she says. “I’m sure she had a human champion there to win it for her.”
Her story is full of holes and she just keeps digging them deeper. Should I tell her that actually Apollo stole it and either the queen lied to her or that we know she’s working with the queen to open the damn thing? Nah, I’m gonna let her sweat more.
“Nope,” I say, popping theP. “It was all the best warriors of centuries past.” I wince as my rib shifts back into place.
Healing wounds suck. Especially fast healing ones that snap and crackle as they mend together. The elixir. Damn it. It’s gone. What in Hades are we going to do if someone is seriously injured? We still have a ton more battles to face. Hermes is out of commission so even if we got a message to the academy, there’s no way to get us a new bottle.
“No, no, no, the spirits of men can’t open it. I told her that. Only a human.” She grips her hair on both sides and tugs like she’s having a mental breakdown.
She probably is, but it’s enough to give me everything I need.
A grin spreads across my lips. “Told who? Who’d you tell that to, Pandora? The queen?”
Her hands drop from her hair and she covers her mouth, horror in her wide eyes. “I-I I didn’t tell anyone that.”
“You just said it. Am I wrong?” I glance around at my friends who all have weapons drawn.
“Nope, you’re not wrong. I don’t think the queen had the plinth at all. I think it was all a trick to get it back because you sided with her in this war, didn’t you?” Raven asks with a glare.
“Give me my plinth,” Pandora screams.
She lunges forward again but Raven once again blocks the clumsy human woman.
“How dare you fight against me? I’m the only reason our sex exists,” Pandora screeches.
“You see? That’s where you’re wrong. The only reason women exist was to punish him for his gift to mankind. They put all kinds of nasty traits into you that we have had to battle against the stigma of for centuries. It’s a wonder we didn’t trust you even before we received the warning,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Don’t bring me into this.” Prometheus raises his hands. “My only worry was for the plinth and that the hope of mankind remains inside after this foolish woman let everything else out.”
“Foolish woman, see what I mean? We have been fighting against the stigmas you gave us for millennia.” I shake my head.
Jayden’s shoulder brushes against mine. “Our deal is done, Pandora. You asked us to compete in the games and win the plinth to keep it safe. It’s not our fault you suck at manipulating people and can’t even come up with a plausible story.”
“Then give me the plinth and you can be on your way,” she growls, reaching for it again.
The final broken rib snaps back into place and I whimper in pain, but the pain quickly fades and all I feel is rage at the first woman of humankind.
“You have been guarding the hope of humanity for millennia. It’s probably the only reason you haven’t crumbled to dust already. Why now? Why give up hope now?” I ask with a growl in my tone.
“Do you think hope will matter when Hera wins?” she asks.
I lunge for her, passing the plinth to Jayden and calling on my whip. I want to strangle the woman with it.
“I gave you a warning about speaking that name around me.”
“You think it matters?” She cackles. “You really think she doesn’t already know where you are and what you’re doing? She knows all and she sees all.”
