Page 13 of Flame and Fury

Greer flops down into the seat next to me. Jasper and Nico take the closest couch, spreading out their legs like they need to fill up the space. Jade paces back and forth. Drake takes a spot in a chair directly across from Greer, and Preston stays by the door with his arms crossed. He’s glaring at me, but I ignore him. I haven’t even spoken since we got into the room. What could he possibly be objecting to?

Jasper and Nico are chatting quietly, looking for all the world like they’re just hanging out. No one else is talking. The time crawls by, Rupert coming and grabbing the other champions one by one. I get sick of sitting and drift around the room, looking for something to drink or eat. No such luck.

“Apollo’s champion.” Rupert is back again, drawing another of us away.

Drake gets out of his seat and walks toward the door, tipping an imaginary hat at me, Greer, and Jasper. We’re the only ones left in the room. “Ladies. Gentleman. Best of luck.”

Greer snorts and then sits back in her chair with her arms crossed, looking unhappy that she made that sound. Once the door closes behind Drake, I flop down on the couch next to Jasper. He smiles at me, and it’s genuine. I’m so curious about his life, being raised by a god. It's an insight I don’t have.

“You look like you want to ask me something.” Jasper settles back into the corner of the couch, angling his body to face me. Greer watches us with her eagle eyes.

I suppose there’s no time like the present to figure out if all the gods are the same. “What’s your mom like?”

Jasper’s eyebrows lift in surprise. “Um…” he laughs and rubs his hand over his jaw. “I’m probably biased, since you know, she’s my mother.”

Jasper looks around the room like he’s searching for eavesdroppers. Are there cameras in here? Nothing interesting has been happening, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t being recorded.

Greer waves her hand around the room, joining in our conversation. “I already checked. No cameras.”

“My mom’s great. She kept me away from certain territories where the gods aren’t so kind to demi-gods.” Jasper’s eyes flit to the corners like he’s still not sure we aren’t being recorded. He shifts in his seat, leaning forward. Greer and I do the same. “She doesn’t rule her territory like Zeus and Hera. There are free elections. Clerics aren’t welcome. Nothing’s perfect, because she allows the humans to rule, but they aren’t subject to the whims of power-hungry fools.”

The door swings open and the three of us fall back into more casual positions. Rupert sticks his head through the opening and calls out for Athena’s champion. Jasper leaves me and Greer behind with a gentle smile.

I’ve never considered myself worldly. Before these games I’d barely left my neighborhood in Chicago, except for one time my father took me to meet my grandmother in the middle of nowhere, Iowa. Still, I thought I had a better handle on what happened outside of Zeus and Hera’s territory. I thought what I knew about the gods was ironclad. That they were all a bunch of bastards. I’ve been getting an education about just how wrong I was ever since the games started. Jasper’s words are just another indication that I’ve made a lot of assumptions.

As soon as Jasper’s out of the room, Greer sits up straighter, shifting to the edge of her seat. I widen my eyes in question but lean forward so I’m closer to her.

Greer does the same, her voice low enough that I have to angle my head to catch her words. “Are you going to tell me what happened yesterday afternoon at the parade?”

“Well.” I lick my lips, then press my mouth into a flat line. “I…” Shit. Do I trust Greer enough to tell her about meeting Kat? What if that puts everything in jeopardy? What if she’s playing a long game and will use this information to take out her opponents? If I tell her that Atlas and I are aligned with the Underground, she could get us both killed.

Greer sits up straighter, her jaw tightening. Her auburn hair has been styled in a series of ponytails that create a mohawk. Her makeup is minimal. Almost everything is nude, making her skin appear washed-out. She's still beautiful, but there’s a lethal quality to her look.

“Listen, Wren, I know we don’t know each other very well. And if you’re anything like me, you have a lot of trust issues.”

I lift a shoulder in agreement because all of that is accurate. It’s also true that Greer shared her past with me. How her mom told her stories about the Furies. That she wants the gods to be put back to sleep. She’s been honest with me, so maybe I should be open with her.

I hesitate because it’s not just me, though. I could get Atlas into serious trouble. Although, he didn’t particularly care if I got swept up into a war between the clerics and the Underground. Maybe I shouldn’t be so precious with his safety since he doesn’t appear to care for mine.

“I was taken to meet with someone yesterday,” I whisper.

“Who?”

I make a split-second decision to trust my gut. To trust Greer. “To meet Katherine Nova.”

Greer opens her mouth, ready to hurl a hundred questions at me. The door opens and Rupert pokes his annoying head back into the room.

“Artemis’s champion. You’re up.”

Greer’s jaw ticks in annoyance. She shoots me a look that tells me we’re not done with this conversation and follows Rupert out of the room.

Where are they taking everyone? For all I know, they could be walking them out onto that stage and chopping their heads off. I bounce my leg and peel the black nail polish off my fingernails that Estella insisted on. I finally give up on sitting and stand up so I can resume pacing back and forth.

By the time the door opens and Rupert steps inside, I’m almost glad for the distraction, even if I’m about to get decapitated.

“Ares’s champion, if you’ll follow me.”

As if I have a choice. I swipe my ridiculous coat from the seat and shrug it on. I’m going to be sweating in no time. My curly hair gets tangled in the wooly fur. I chuck it away as I follow Rupert out into the wings of the theater.

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