Page 43 of Courting War
Theo didn’t bother responding. Instead, she turned fully to her task.
God-made calligraphy looped and etched itself into wooden signs, showing the sections and manner of the tomes. Quickly she found the Room of Witchcraft and started pulling books off the shelf at random, searching for the grimoire. When a book didn’t meet her qualifications, she threw it over her shoulder, heedless of its condition.
“Do you need help?” The boy asked in a tone riddled with confusion.
Theo’s first response was to curse him, but she contained herself. It wasn’t often—if ever—anyone offered to help her. So slowly, as if not knowing how to pronounce the word, Theo said, “Yes.” She inhaled sharply. “I'm looking for a book titledHecate’s Grimoire.”
He nodded and started tearing through the shelves—although much more timidly than she was—and treating the books like royalty—respect dripping from his every touch.
The way she wished he’d touch her again.
No. Stop it, Theo. Control your thoughts.
Ivy and branches were laced into the shelves, and Theo pulled them aside and searched and searched and searched. It felt like hours later, and still nothing. Searching through all the books at least twice left them nowhere . . .
Theo was forced to admit defeat.
The gods were thwarting her at every turn, knowing what she’d do before she did it. Maneuvering, posturing, manipulating, it was the gods’ way—their currency.
And she was so easily falling into their traps.
The gods loved playing with humans—dangling them from their puppet strings. They loved exerting power over lesser creatures, tricking and out-scheming them. Theo wasn’t immune to this.
She should’ve been playing these games better, but she was outmaneuvered at every turn since being turned into a human, now forced into helping her champion—at least a little because she needed to get to the Tribunal. She needed to find Destruction, her second, and get aid.
It wasinfuriating.
“We need to return to Medusa, but this time for the love of all the gods, don’t look into her eyes,” Theo said, forcing him to follow and tugging at the chain which flickered in and out of visibility, today deciding to be formed from pink-metallic glitter.
“Actually,” she stopped abruptly and ripped off one of her sleeves, “wear this.” And without waiting for a response, Theo tied the blindfold around his eyes, her fingers softly sliding down his face as she did it.
She shivered and touched her lips.Rotten memories.
Theo should just fuck him to nullify this wicked attraction, but she promised herself she wouldn’t lie with another male and she’d kept to that promise for the last 1,000 years.
With some care—although still very little—Theo guided her champion back to Medusa.
“Ah, you haven’t found what you’re looking for.” A smugexpression danced on the monster’s lips. “And you’ve come back to challenge me.”
“Yes, yes,” Theo spat out, her voice coated with derision, “tell us what we need to do to defeat the first challenge.”
“Let’s play a game, little mortal.” A thousand hisses rang through the room, and the champion tensed. The sound crawled over Theo’s pale skin. “Whichever of us places four of our stones in a row first wins.” Medusa motioned to the grid cut to the wall. “Win, and you can leave having completed your first challenge.”
“And if I lose?” Theo smiled, but the guise didn’t light her eyes. False niceties. It was always better to know all outcomes ahead of time.
“Death.”
Every snake tracked Theo and her champion’s movements as if waiting to strike—their chance to fulfill that promise.
The task was both physical and mental. The champion had to carry a stone up the wall and place it into the correct slot while keeping the patterns and strategy in mind. But it was worse than that because he’d have to do it blindfolded. It was too risky not to—life and death were on the line.
“Snakes or heads?” Medusa asked.
The mortal rubbed his chin, clearly thinking. “Snakes.”
It was a wise choice, because if he had to feel where she placed her stones by touch, the face stone would be far more distinguishable than the snakes.
“You can have the first move,” Medusa said.
