Page 17 of Wild Hunt
We had an audience. The bleachers were far from packed, but there were enough students and staff members gathered to observe the preliminary performances to make me feel jittery. I figured I’d better get used to it. It was nothing compared to the audience I was counting on having at the official Games.
Odin was there, too, and I looked away so I wouldn’t mean mug him. After what he’d said to me, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the same room with him again.
Especially not if he was telling the truth.
I could see Hades and Loki sitting in the bleachers toward the back, looking perfectly poised and relaxed, as usual. Hades’ pale eyes met mine and he smirked. Rage streamed through my veins and I had to fight the vines from emerging. One look was all it took to get under my skin, and he knew it.
“What the hell are they doing up there?” I asked. “They’re competing in the Games, too.”
“They have elite status based on their performance the last couple of years and back in prep school,” Dionysus explained, rolling his eyes. “They don’t have to compete in preliminaries like us plebs.”
“Of course not,” I muttered. “Hades always gets to play by his own rules.”
Daphne gave me a look like I was crazy for talking about him like that out in the open. “Why do you hate him so much, anyway?”
The truth was that I’d hated him ever since I found out about his existence. At least, as far as it pertained to mine. But I wasn’t about to admit that. Arranged marriages were nothing new in the world of the gods, and Daphne would probably think I was just being a spoiled brat by being opposed to such a prestigious setup.
“Let’s just say it’s a family thing,” I said, deciding that was the safest answer.
She didn’t look convinced, but she shrugged it off as Artemis came out onto the field. She blew her shrill whistle and we all winced. It was hardly necessary, considering that voice carried, but she seemed to enjoy it. “All right, everyone, listen up. Just because this isn’t the Games doesn’t mean I don’t expect to see your best performance out there. And remember, this will determine the starting lineup for first years. Less than half of you will actually make it through.”
I gulped. I knew they’d be cutting off the stragglers, but I hadn’t realized there would be that many people. Oh, well. If we couldn’t at least pull out a victory over half the class, we stood no chance in the actual Games. It was all or nothing, considering only the winner got the platform.
I still couldn’t believe I actually cared about this, even if it was partially about comeuppance. I couldn’t help but wonder what my mom would think when I finally told her I was participating. We’d talked a few times since I’d found out the truth about my parentage, or at least Hermes’ version of it, but I was still avoiding any in-depth conversation, and I was sure she could tell something was going on. Growing up, I’d always joked that she had eyes in the back of her head. Given the array of gifts at the Academy, I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a goddess out there who literally did.
At Artemis’s demand, we all lined up, and of course our group ended up right next to the Valkyries. They were one of the only quads on the field, but I’d seen them enough at practice to know they all moved in perfect unison. Whether they were sisters or just came from the same gene pool, I didn’t know, but they were practically clones of each other, nastiness included. I knew right away they’d be the toughest competitors, at least among the first years.
“The first challenge will be the thousand yard dash,” Artemis announced, her eyes glimmering with sadism. “And you will all be able to use your powers as you see fit, barring lethal moves, of course.”
A hush fell over the contestants. Powers? Why would we need our powers to get to the end of a marker?
Before I could figure out the answer to that question, Thor cried out, “On your marks, get set, go!”
I took off alongside Daphne and Dionysus, and the Valkyries took the lead immediately, I didn’t have time to look back and see how far the others were. As far as I knew, any one person in the team getting to the finish line qualified as a victory, but it was impossible to be sure considering how secretive the teachers had been about the content of the preliminary challenges.
I didn’t get far before I realized how the powers came into play. I heard a shriek from behind and looked over to realize the back half of the track was covered in solid ice. At least eight other contestants were rooted into it with their sneakers.
The girl who’d shrieked wasn’t far from Dionysus, and I realize his right foot was caught in the ice. His eyes widened as he looked at me, but Daphne had already caught up with me.
“Move!” she cried, breezing past me.
I realized the ice was spreading across the ground rapidly, and took off as fast as I could, even though the idea leaving a teammate behind made me grimace. Especially Dionysus.
It didn’t take long to figure out who was responsible for the attack. So far, the Valkyries had kept their individual powers close to the vest, but Ingrid was grinning from year to year as she outstripped us. I assumed she didn’t have that much precision control if she wasn’t trying to take out the competitors beside and in front of her, but before long, I had other issues to worry about.
An explosion stopped me in my tracks, and I barely managed to put the brakes on in time to avoid barreling right into it. “Holy shit,” one of the Valkyries cried.
Not good iftheywere flustered. Explosions started going off all around the track, and I darted for the clearest path up ahead. To my relief, I caught a glimpse of Daphne’s red hair beside me.
So we were both still in the race. I bobbed and weaved through the explosions, no time to catch my breath in between. I had no way of knowing if we were in first or last place, but the herd had definitely thinned out.
Up ahead, I saw the truth. Maya was far ahead of us, and mere feet away from the finish line.
I felt defeat wash over me, until I remembered. I could use my powers, too. I reached out my hand and sent a vine surging toward the finish line, hoping to catch her. Sure enough, it wrapped around her ankle just in time and I gave a hard yank back.
She let out a startled cry as she went flying away from the finish line, and I winced when she landed.
“Sorry!” I called. And I sort of was. It was definitely a cheap trick, but the world of gods was full of them, so why should the Academy be any different?
