Page 64 of Crown of Olympus
My left arm still hung useless at my side while my lungs heaved. I was weakening with every dodge, though Charon would at least be proud that my footwork remained smooth and silent. Every parry, however, left me shaking. My vision grew hazier with each breath, and the room had begun towhirl. Something was wrong — something more than a simple arrow wound.
Unease uncoiled in my stomach as I struggled to fend off Diana’s attacks. She was relentless, and I was fading fast.
I glanced at the shaft still embedded in my skin, noticing for the first time a greenish sheen clinging to the silver. The sweet scent of berries drifted past again as fresh blood poured from the wound.
My mind snagged on a scent-induced memory:
I was six years old, roaming the palace gardens, avoiding my studies — and that gargoyle of a tutor. Charon ran beside me, laughing, flashing his dimpled grin. It made my world seem lighter somehow. Less heavy. Less dark.
His grin morphed into something more mischievous.
“Bet I can catch you within a minute, even if I give you a ten-second head start!” Charon dared. “Ten, nine…”
With a squeal, I launched myself forwards into a sprint. Heart racing but unburdened, I ran until the sound of his countdown faded behind me. Hiding behind a huge ebonwood tree, I gasped, trying to stifle my heaving breaths.
“Got you!” Charon roared, jumping around the tree and slapping the trunk beside my head.
I squealed again, as little girls do, and took off running. But instead of the nimble escape I had planned, I tripped on the stone edging of a garden bed.
I landed face-first in the blackened soil, crushing a bed of purple flowers. The sickly-sweet scent of honey and berries filled the air as my cheeks began to itch and redden.
I’d fallen right into a patch of belladonna flowers.
Suddenly, my mind cut through the haze, and I recognised the smell for what it was. The berry-like scent lingering around my wound wasn’t my blood at all.
It was belladonna. Nightshade.Poison.
And I had mere minutes before I succumbed to its paralysis.
With a final burst of energy, I pitched forward, raising the hilt of my dagger high and bringing it down on the skull of an unsuspecting Diana. She crumpled. And then I, too, collapsed in a heap beside her.
My breathing was ragged. Heartbeat erratic. Eyes unfocused. I had no choice but to hope my body could work the poison out of its system before Diana woke — before another opportunistic champion found me — or before I was disqualified.
The poison was winning. Darkness crept in from the edges of my vision. Just before I yielded entirely, the searing gaze of Apollo hovered over me.
His expression burned with intensity, imploring me to understand something I had no hope of grasping in my current state. I glanced down at his nimble hands, signing a message far too quickly for my addled mind to decipher.
Then the darkness won.
I fell headfirst into its peaceful hold, and for one long moment, I relished in the stillness.
CHAPTER 20
Caelus
I hadthe indescribable misfortune of coming around that corner just in time to watch her fall — unable to do so much as cushion her landing. Like a puppet with its strings severed, Nyssa collapsed onto the filthy floor, limbs askew.
Ignoring the god beside me and his own strangely visceral reaction, I ran. I felt, more than saw, the fiery son of war running alongside me.
I was still too far away. Sprinting noiselessly towards her, arms pumping, chest heaving, I tore through piles of old junk — until Aros abruptly wrenched my arm, jarring me to a standstill.
“What the fuck—” I started, but he clamped his hand over my mouth, cutting off my vicious tirade, and raised a single finger to his lips.
The universal gesture to shut the fuck up.
He pointed to where Nyssa lay, the message in his eyes clear:Shut up and look, you fool.
Nyssa was not alone. The god of sun and healing had emerged from a nearby stack, moving soundlessly towards her.He lowered himself beside her rasping form, fingers spelling out a message too quick for me to read.
