“Okay, I understand. Draven had me talked out of it almost immediately anyway, and then he started insulting Aphrodite to the point that she threw Raven away and I was able to save her, but don’t you see? It may be me that’s needed to save the world this time, but I can’t do that without all of you.”
“Okay, I see what you mean,” Draven says. “I was pretty awesome back there.”
Raven shoves him in the shoulder as I laugh. “Yeah, you were pretty awesome, Draven.”
“Please don’t boost his ego any more,” Raven says. “We won’t be able to get him out the door.”
Kira points at Raven with a grin. “She’s not wrong.”
“You’re not supposed to agree with her.” Draven throws his hands up.
The ground beneath us rumbles, rolling and shaking, pitching me into the cavern wall. I hiss out a breath as the craggy rock jabs me in the back.
“The tremors are getting worse. We need to hurry before the volcanoes all erupt and destroy everything.” I grip the wall with both hands at my sides.
“Where is your dad, Kira?” Raven stumbles, but Greyson rights her before she falls.
“When I was searching for the hammer in here, I came across a locked door. There was movement on the other side. Creaking and metal against metal. I think it was the sentries.”
The ground beneath my feet cracks and I roll to the side. Steam rises from the ground where I just was, and I curse as lava bubbles from the floor.
My eyes are wide as I turn to my friends. “We need to get to Hephaestus now or we’re all going to die.”
19
Alarge metal door pulsing with fire magic looms ahead of us. “Is that the door you found before or where you located the hammer?”
“The hammer was down that hall.” Kira points at a wall to the right. “What? There was a hall there before.”
“Hmm, I wonder if she was able to get into the forge at all. Maybe she couldn’t bypass his magic even with the hammer in her possession.” I touch the cold stone wall. “It doesn’t look like anything has ever been there before. The magic she put on it must have snapped as soon as you retrieved the hammer.”
The ground rumbles again and debris and dust shake free from the ceiling of the cavern onto my head. “That’s not important right now. We need to get through that door. Do you think you can open it now that you have the hammer?”
“Maybe. It might have been a failsafe or something because the queen tried to get in before.” Kira steps closer to the door, her own palm pulsing with that same fire magic.
I hold up my hand and warn everyone to step back. We haven’t done anything like this before and I don’t know what willhappen when Kira opens that door. Will there be booby traps or lava spewing out the door?
“I think we should stay back just in case. Kira can handle the fire god’s magic. We can’t. She’s not even breaking a sweat in here and we’re a bunch of drowned rats.”
“Speak for yourself, B. I make the drowned rat aesthetic look good.” Raven flips her hair over her shoulder.
“Yeah, okay.” I swipe the sweat from my forehead, turning back to Kira.
Her palms glow white-hot against the metal door. Designs of great Greek creatures glow and pulse as she attempts to open it. The groan of metal on metal filters through the room as the ground rumbles again. I stumble into Raven just slightly before planting my feet and catching my balance.
“The ground is cracking again. They are widening,” Draven whispers.
“Don’t rush her. We don’t want her to make a mistake and end up hurt because of it,” I hiss back at him.
“We’re running out of time, though,” he says.
“I know, but she will figure it out.”
“I may be using magic, but I can still hear you.” Kira slams her hands against the metal door.
It creaks and groans as it slowly swings open into a cavernous space. Gold automatons stand sentry at the other end of what can only be a storage facility.
“What is all this?” I ask.
