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Hera matched her smile, her teeth bared. "I'll be there. And I'll be taking the boys."
Aphrodite shrugged. She didn't care about us now; she'd got a far bigger prize than us.
This whole thing had gone completely to shit. I glared at Hera as she guided us out the door of the king's room. We were no closer to saving our family than before.
CHAPTER25
HALWEN
Something was happening, and something big. The air sizzled with magic I sensed even locked into this room, with solid walls on most sides of us. I approached the window, my heart fluttering in dread and anticipation. Wane had been staring out the solid glass pane for hours, reassuring himself that he wasn't back in Cronus's captivity. I suspected the window was the only thing keeping him from going mad.
"What's out there?" I asked, brushing his shoulder with my wing, a subtle reminder that he wasn't locked up alone this time.
Wane's scarred throat bobbed, a few of his shadows thinning so I could see more of him. He had his arms wrapped around himself, and my heartachedat the sight of him trying so hard to hold himself together.
"Nothing," he sighed. "It's the same mountains and buildings it's been all night."
But something had shifted, and it was powerful enough to wake us all up simultaneously. I eyed the picturesque city with suspicion.1The clouds were too perfect out there, too pearly and perfectly pastel. The buildings were all delicate columns and pretty domes, the windows all arches cut into the ivory stone, stained peach by the dawn light. Even the trees and greenery that speckled the landscape were impeccably preened, not a leaf out of place. And still something made my skin crawl.
"What if—he's here?" Emlyn asked quietly, filling the space on Wane's other side and settling a hand on his hunched shoulder.
"Then we kill the bastard," Wane hissed, his jaw clenching with rage but panic slashing through his soul, spilling over until he shook.
I wrapped my arm around him, pulling him into my side and sending a rush of support through our bond. I wouldn't let Cronus anywhere near him, and deep down he knew that. But fear was a manipulative bitch, and she tricked us into forgetting truth and trusting lies.
I scanned the mount again,2searching the wide parks and clean streets and the spires and arches of the castle I could just about make out to our left.
"There are no people," I realised with a gasp. That was what unsettled me, what sent a rush of cold down my spine. "Where are the people?"
The streets were empty. Silent.
"Shit," Em breathed, pressing closer to the window. "You're right; this is Olympus, it should be crawling with offspring of the gods."
Wane's throat bobbed. "What if—he ate them?"
It sounded insane hearing it out loud, but that was a legitimate worry, wasn't it? Cronuseatingthem like people were just different flavoured Skittles. "But where are the other gods?"
"In hiding?" Em suggested.
"Or devoured, too," Wane muttered, pressing closer to me.
I shuddered, a definite wave of power going through me this time, and Wane and Em reacted like they felt it, too.
"Aphrodite or Cronus?" I asked, chewing my bottom lip and trying so hard to stay calm. But being locked up in the home of the gods wasn't exactly conducive to keeping my cool.
I was literally imprisoned in Mount Olympus while Aphrodite waited to execute me at her leisure. Or … while she waited for Cronus to arrive to devour me. Was that what had happened to the residents of Olympus, too?
And how long had it been since we met Verena? How long did she have left until her execution? My chest cinched tight.
"Both?" Wane replied, grabbing my hand and squeezing tight. I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles, at a loss for how to soothe him. My power did nothing on the door—or the wallsorwindow. I tried. Hours of all three of us trying to make any sort of dent in it had failed, too. I was starting to believe Verena was right, and there really was no way out of this prison.
I double and triple checked I still had my weapons. For whatever reason, Aphrodite wasn't intimidated by them. I guess she hadn't heard they were now god-killers.Shewas right at the top of my list of gods to murder as soon as I got free. If I ever got free.
"Hales," Em began, but he froze when a low, piercing horn came from outside—loud enough to reach through the thick window, loud enough to make my breathing hitch and my magic erupt with warning.
"What the fuck was that?" I shrieked, squeezing Wane's hand harder.
Emlyn had gone still, his blue eyes fixed on the city outside but his gaze distant, like he wasn't really seeing it. "It's a summons," he said, swallowing hard and glancing reluctantly at me and Wane. "It means there's either a trial or a challenge."
