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Aella
“This isn’t so bad.”Theron tossed his stuff on a bed and then himself after it. “If I can’t have my own room, at least I’m sharing with you guys.”
If his wish was to share a dorm with his friends, fate smiled on him like it never did for me. Ionna, Tycho, and Theron were all placed in Sisyphean.
“Might just be the six of us too,” Ionna spoke up. “This year’s novice class is a bit... thin. I bet there are more beds than bodies.”
“Fine with me.” Nitsa was already set to work making her alcove cozy. Drawings of her family filled her shelves where the books were supposed to go. Drawing out a knit blanket, she set the starry night sky over our plain white sheets.
Daciana stretched on the couch, looking wholly relaxed and at home with this close-knit group. “Is it rude to ask people what their powers are?”
“No,” Tycho said. “Not rude at all. It’s the first thing strangers ask after ‘what’s your name?’”
“Then, what are your powers?”
My ears quirked up. I stopped fussing with the clothes Jason packed me and stuck my head out of my alcove.
“I’m a son of Persephone,” Tycho said. “Children of Hades are rare. Children of Persephone aren’t. She was the queen of the underworld and had real authority—unlike Hera who had to give in to Zeus’s whims.” He sucked in a breath. “Basically, I can speak words of power. Whatever I say must be obeyed.”
“Are you serious?” I gave up on hiding my eavesdropping. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?”
He shared a look with his friends. “Everyone’s impressed when I tell them, until I remind that Persephone was queen of Hades. My words of power only work... on the dead.”
“Ahh,” I drew out. “I see.”
“Thought you might. It’s not a fun power. Seven years old and making my dead dog sit, stay, and follow me scared my parents. They banned me from using it for years.” He lifted his shoulders. “I continued the ban on my own. I have no use for a power like that. The dead should be allowed to rest.”
“Goodness. Now I do feel it was rude to ask,” Daciana said.
He chuckled. “Honestly, it’s cool. There is shame in misusing a power, not in having it. I didn’t choose it, but I’ll choose what I’ll do with it. Thankfully, Commander Vasili agrees that I won’t do anything with it.”
Ionna squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll say it so you don’t have to ask. I’m a daughter of Apollo. He granted me the gift of prophetic visions.” She raised a hand, stopping me as I opened my mouth. “Don’t be impressed with me either. My visions are confusing, dipped in double meanings, and often downright wrong. I can’t trust a single thing I see.”
“I’m sorry,” Daciana said. “That must be really hard.”
Ionna looked away, jaw stiffening. “Yes, it is,” she whispered. With that, she ducked into her alcove. We left her in peace.
“Guess that leaves me,” Theron said. “I won’t be coy about it. I’m a son of Ares.”
And now I was fully out of the alcove, erasing the distance between us.
“Ares?” Daciana repeated. “But I heard it said children of Ares can only use their power when they feel intense hatred.”
He nodded, expression blank. “That’s correct. Which means every other day of the week, I’m as mundane as our counterparts in the neighboring dominion.”
“I can’t believe a power could be so specific.”
“Ares was the god of violence and brutality. He represents no more than the horror of war. A piece of that god’s essence wasn’t going to result in bunny shape-shifters or flower conjurers.”
“Do you know what your power actually is?” I asked. “When... you can summon it.”
“I’d know even if I couldn’t. All of his children have the same power,” he replied. “We can summon the destructive force of an explosion. The intensity of the explosion matches the intensity of the hatred.” Theron gave me a funny look. “Why don’t you know this?”
“Where I lived was isolated. Remember?”
“Right. Sorry. You remind me the world doesn’t revolve around Trono and its shallow problems.”
“Hey, we’ve all got stuff.”
