Page 6 of Wild Hunt
“Yeah, prof?” I asked, turning to face the goddess.
“You’ve come a long way,” she remarked in her usual stern fashion. “I expect to see good things from you in the Games. Just try to keep your nose clean so you don’t get expelled before they’re here.”
I sighed. “I’ll try.”
Once Dionysus and I were out of earshot, he leaned over and whispered, “What the hell was that about?”
“Who knows?” I snorted. “I think she’s taken me on as a project.”
“You do seem like a truant risk,” he mused.
I gave him a playful shove. “Shut up.”
“Come on,” he said happily, draping an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s get cleaned up and hit the cafe. I could use some bubble tea.”
“Sounds good to me.”
It was kind of nice to have someone willing to be seen out with me, even if we were probably going to be shunned by everyone else in the cafe. For the first time since I’d come to the Academy, I was actually starting to feel normal.
Sort of.
Once we made it to the cafe, Dionysus urged me to get a seat while he ordered. A few minutes later, he brought our drinks over to the booth I’d chosen by the corner window since it was furthest away from the few other students who’d gathered to study and snack.
“You’re really taking this undercover thing to heart.”
I gave him a look, sipping a few rainbow bobas through my straw. “So, I was thinking. We need a game plan for Operation Sabotage.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?” he grimaced.
“It’s a work in progress,” I told him. “It would probably help if we outlined our goals.”
“I thought our goals were to humiliate Odin at the Games so someone out there finally pays attention?”
“Well, yeah,” I conceded. “But that’s not until the end of the semester. I’m talking about short-term goals for long-term success.”
“What did you have in mind?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Now that we’re both persona non grata, it’s not like our social standing can get worse,” I mused.
“Not really good at this pep talk thing, are you?”
I gave him an apologetic look. “I’m just saying, maybe we can use it to our advantage. Band together with the other outcasts.”
“It’s an interesting thought,” he said, tapping his nails on the table. “Who did you have in mind?”
“There’s a girl in one of my classes. Ariadne. She seems nice,” I admitted.
“I don’t know… she hangs around the Triad a lot.”
“Really?” I asked doubtfully. Shy little Ariadne didn’t seem like the type to be Hades’ groupie.
“She’s one of their regular customers, I think.”
“Customers?” I echoed. “What’s the Triad selling, besides their usual condescension and bullshit?”
He snorted a laugh into his tea. “Drugs, mostly.”
“Drugs?” Surely I’d heard him wrong.
