Page 1 of Wild Hunt
Chapter 1
Kore
Evidently, a murder followed by a student freaking out and almost leveling half the school was not what qualified as justification for a break at Olympus Academy. At least I got Friday off to regroup. They offered to let me return home for the weekend, but as much as I missed my friends, that would mean coming clean to Mom about everything that had happened—and I wasn’tthatself-loathing, despite Hades’ best attempts.
My first day back, it became clear that while the Hunt was still on, the remainder of the student body now recognized me as a far more dangerous form of prey. Their attempts went from overt hazing, like tripping me in the halls, to outright shunning, but I was used to it.
Hell, after everything I’d just been through, including an unexpected and world-shaking visit from Hermes, it was a relief to be back to business as usual. Even if that business was being the school pariah.
I found myself yawning halfway through first period. I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. Nothing like finding out you might share half of your DNA with the banished god of war and strife to promote a little insomnia.
“Am I boring you, Kore?” Hephaestus asked in a wry tone.
I grimaced, sitting up sharply to face him. The remark earned snickers from around the room, but he silenced them with a single look. “No, sir. Sorry.”
Hephaestus gave me a stern frown and turned back to the board where he was laying out the various connections between human society and the gods. I was really trying to pay attention, but it was hard to attend to mortal affairs when my own parentage was evidently a hot subject among the Council.
I couldn’t get Hermes’ final words out of my head, either. What could they possibly want with me? It had to be related to my father, but he was banished and had been for as long as I was old enough to remember.
Come to think of it, I didn’t even know why he’d been banished in the first place. There were the usual rumors. Treason against the gods, inciting malice, all the typical hobbies of the shunned and reviled.
Guess that ran in the family.
When the bell rang, I didn’t even bother to get up right away. I wasn’t in the mood to be pushed and shoved aside, but by the time I finally left the classroom last, I found myself the object of Hades’ unwanted attention.
He was leaning against the wall, looking handsome and dickish as ever. The striped scarf around his neck was a fashion risk, but it paid off. He had the perfect blend of preppy and dark going on, and it worked for him somehow.
I’d sooner die than admit that, but it was true.
“What do you want?”
“You’ve been a space case lately,” he remarked. “Just making sure you’re not on the verge of another meltdown.”
I shot him a death glare. “So what, you want to make sure you can hasten it?”
He rolled his eyes. “You had your chance to play nice, but that doesn’t mean I’m entirely apathetic about what happens to you.”
“Fuck off, Hades,” I said, brushing past him.
His hand shot out and planted on the wall behind me. I braced myself for the wave of irritation that always washed over me when he talked. Odin’s words were fresh in my mind. One more strike and I was out.
“Youmay not care what people think, but I don’t want my future bride to end up in a padded cell before graduation. It’s humiliating.”
“You’re so thoughtful,” I quipped, clutching my books tighter against my chest to fight the urge to bitchslap him again.
Not my proudest moment. One of the best, sure, but not the proudest.
He clenched his jaw and his eyes flickered over me the way they did so often, like he was trying to figure out what to make of me.
Funny, because I had no such problem when it came to him.
“I know something’s going on,” he said, leaning in. “And I will find out what it is.”
I leaned in to match him, trying not to think about just how close our lips were. The kiss that never should have happened was still at the forefront of my recent memory, and as much as it pissed me off, I knew I owed him one.
Then again, considering all he’d put me through, we weren’t even close to even yet.
“You say that like I give a shit what you do or don’t know.” I shoved him just hard enough to get him out of my way but not enough to draw attention.
