Page 35 of Deadly Games
“Thor,” she choked.
Now I was the one in shock. I could feel Dionysus watching me in confusion, but I had no more of an idea ofwhat she was talking about than he did.
“Thor?” Hades echoed. “Please. You really expect me to believe he’s the one who put you up to this?”
“It’s the truth,” she cried desperately.
“Why?” he demanded.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Fenrir glared threateningly.
“You’d better give me something more than that. He’s not very patient.”
Helle’s wide eyes flitted to the beast, then back to Hades. Whatever stubbornness she’d been holding onto, I could tell it had broken in that moment. “I don’t know why he did it, but he blackmailed me.”
“Blackmailed you how?” I asked, stepping out into the simulation. Hades could ream me out later, but I wanted answers and I wanted them firsthand if my own brother was involved.
Helle looked surprised to see me for an instant, but any relief my presence might have brought quickly faded when she realized I was there for the same reason as the others. Dionysus wisely chose to remain in the shadows. No reason he needed to get dragged into all this more than he already was.
Suddenly, Helle refused to look any of us in the eye. There was no mistaking the shame that came over her, and for a moment, it seemed like she was going to be willing to die rather than come clean with whatever truth my brother had lorded over her.
“It was me,” she said hoarsely. “I’m the one who killed him.”
“Phrixus?” Hades asked. It was the first time I’d heard him sound shocked since I could remember. That made two of us. “Why? How?”
“It was an accident,” she said, hugging herself. “I caught him sneaking out, after he was withher.” She said the last bitterly, as if it was too distasteful for her to speak Kore’s name out loud. I knew she hated her, but it went a hell of a lot deeper than I’d ever imagined. “We argued by the stairs, and I pushed him. I didn’t mean to,” she added quickly, as if she was desperate for us to believe her. For what little it mattered, I did. “I tried to grab him, but it was too late.”
“So you pinned the blame on someone else,” I said coldly. “And now you’re trying to drag my brother into it.”
“I’m telling the truth!” she yelled. “Thor came to me and told me he saw what really happened that night, and that he’d tell your father and have me arrested if I didn’t frame Kore.”
“Kunzite claims she saw it happen,” Dionysus interjected, finally stepping out. Hades shotmea glare, as if I had any control over what he did. “Was she lying, too?”
Helle shook her head. “I used my powers to manipulate what she saw. I projected it into her head.”
“And Odin was eager to believe it,” Hades muttered bitterly.
He wasn’t wrong, but I was still reeling from the revelation of my brother’s role in all of this too much to think about our father’s negligence. “What did Thor say?” I demanded, stalking over to her.
“Loki,” Dionysus warned.
I ignored him, holding her gaze, daring her to lie to me. “Well?”
She gulped again. “I swear, I have no idea. I just did what he told me. Please… Please, just let me go.”
“If you say a word about any of this before we get to the bottom of it, he’ll come back for you,” Hades warned, looking back at Fenrir. The hellhound was still watching her hungrily, licking his jowls. He played the big, bad wolf like a pro. “And it’ll be the last time.”
Helle nodded tearfully and we left her to the remnants of the hijacked simulation. My thoughts were still reeling. All the answers she’d given us only raised far more disturbing questions. Questions I wasn’t sure I wanted the answers to at all.
Chapter 17
Kore
There had been plenty of low points in my time at the Academy, but sitting in a dank cell for the better part of a day and night definitely took the cake. I wasn’t even sure who knew I was here, if anyone. All I could think about was whether Dionysus and the others had gotten wrapped up in it. The fact that I was still alone was an odd relief.
With nothing but time and my own thoughts to contemplate, I kept going over that bizarre counter in Odin’s office. Helle was one convincing liar. I’d never seen her muster such convincing crocodile tears. But why would she lie about something so vulgar? Surely even she was ashamed of using her brother’s death like this.
