Page 98 of Flame and Fury

“What did you see?” I take a step toward him, ready to fist his stupid fucking shirt with a cartoon character on it, and throw him onto the third rail. I’ll use his body to take out the bougie woman. It won't kill him, but it'll hurt.

Instead, I crack my knuckles one by one, inhaling a deep breath of stale air and wonder when I lost all ability to hide my emotions and stay calm.

Hermes cringes, baring his teeth. “Looks like Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Poseidon, and Nathaniel are having a public shaming.”

I momentarily lose my hearing, the buzzing growing so loud in my ears that I sway. Greer punches my arm, hard enough to fucking hurt.

“Get it together.” She whips her head around and pokes Hermes in the chest with a bloody finger. She's not much cleaner than me. “And you, spit it out. What the fuck is happening with Wren.”

Hermes's eyebrows lift and a small smile tips up one corner of his mouth. “I think I like you.”

“I don't give a shit. Spill.”

Hermes sighs, as though he's being put out. “They took her to the Shrine of Olympus. Your father is beating her with her own whip while the bloodthirsty crowd is also being whipped...into a frenzy. See what I did there?”

“Good gods, you're an idiot,” Greer says, exasperated.

“Take us there. Now,”I command in a low growl.

“Fine. Grab hold then.” Hermes waves us all forward, but I turn toward the others before Hermes can get us out of here.

“You still have a chance to get out of this alive. This is your opportunity to get the hell out of here and run. If you show up with me, and we save Wren, we'll have a target on our backs. I understand if you don't want to get embroiled in all of this.”

“Shut up. We're already knee-deep in the shit,” Greer says, slapping a hand on Hermes's arm. He looks at her bloody arm with distaste and she gives him a feral smile.

“I'm in,” Lark says, dropping her hand on Hermes's other arm.

“You know I don't walk away from a good fight.” Nico shrugs.

Drake grins. “I can’t leave you to your own devices. Who knows what kind of trouble you’ll get into.”

We're all insane. Damn if I don't feel a pang of gratitude toward these people. Except Hermes. Fuck him.

“Do you want to hug it out while I transport you?” Hermes laughs.

“If you try to put your arm around me, I will rip it off,” Greer says without any inflection.

“Noted.” Hermes doesn't sound deterred at all.

“Um…I don’t want to be involved in whatever it is you’re plotting,” the socialite says in her nasal drawl.

Greer snags her arm and pulls her in close. “Tough shit. You’re coming with.”

In the next moment, we're right in the middle of a surging crowd. They're screaming and shoving at each other.

“You couldn't have dropped us off closer?” I have to yell at Hermes to be heard over the shouts of the crowd. Elbows thrust into my back, and someone tries to push my side. I glare down at the fool. The sneer on his face morphs into a scared shitless pale face. I swat him away and turn back to the others. Nico and Drake form a wall around Lark, so she doesn’t get carried away by the crowd, but Greer has managed to form a circle around her and the socialite with only a glare.

“Can't let the others know I'm helping you. Just in case this whole shitshow doesn't work out. Best of luck.” Hermes winks and then blinks out of sight.

I spin in a circle, trying to get my bearings. Most of the crowd is facing the same direction and I follow their gazes. There, at the top of the steps of the Shrine of Olympus, is Wren. The woman I love, being beaten by my father. Hera and Nathaniel look on, pleased by the public flogging. Aphrodite is ignoring the scene, surrounded by admirers in red robes. Poseidon is there as well, glaring at his phone. The minotaur was his creature. The Hydra were his as well. He's probably pissed that another one of his beasts was killed in the games.

No other gods are here. Do they know what's happening? Are they choosing to turn a blind eye? Wren thought for sure that some of the gods were decent and should be spared, but I'm not sure. If they can turn a blind eye to this, why should we bother giving them another chance? I get that Athena is probably with Jasper, wherever he's been taken, but what about Ares? All that bullshit about Wren being his champion, and when it comes down to it, he leaves her to fend for herself.

My father snaps the whip, and it lashes Wren's back. She's bent in half, holding onto her stomach where the fucking minotaur stabbed his horn right through her insides. She hasn’t had any time to heal.

“We have to get her out of here,” I shout at the others. I don't wait for a response. I plow through the crowd, throwing the spectators aside like sacks of flour. Soon they're scrambling out of my way, forming a path as they stare at the crew of failed champions.

Zeus lifts his hand to deliver another blow.

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