Chapter 44

44

SELENE

I ducked low, the moss damp against my knees. The scarred lycanthrope hurtled over us. He landed behind me, mud squelching beneath his enormous claws. Artemis was on him within an instant. With a roar, she loosed an arrow at his head. The beast snarled and sprang forward. Her arrow sank into his shoulder. Black blood splattered onto her face.

With a pain-filled howl, the beast dropped back. He huffed, staring her down, his eyes pinned.

Artemis smiled at him victoriously as Hermes and Zeus formed rank around her. She lifted her bow and shot another arrow. It ripped through his other shoulder, making him fall. Now that the vampires weren’t weakened by the blood moon, the beast stood no chance.

My heart beat painfully against my ribs. Even though he’d tried to kill me, too, I wished it didn’t have to end like this. In his human form, he was likely just a normal man. Someone who wanted to go home to his family. And yet he would never step foot in Troy again.

More howls echoed all around us, and three more wolfish forms emerged from the darkness. Athena lifted her broadsword, facing one, with Demeter by her side. Zeus and Hermes faced the second, while Apollo, Hephaestus, and Dionysos hovered in the middle of our group. They didn’t have weapons, but I knew they’d fight if they must. That left me and Ares as the only two vampires left who were armed. Together, we faced the third.

“Here.” Ares tossed me a dagger. I’d lost the steel blade inside the megaron, and I only had my wooden stake left. I gratefully took his and examined it. Twin torches lined the side, etched in brilliant gold. A skittering of magic danced along the blade.

“Where did you get this?” I asked him.

Instead of answering, he lunged toward the beast, his sword arcing through the open air. With a growl, the lycanthrope smacked Ares’s side. It nearly knocked him to the ground, and his sword launched from his hands. It fell with a spectacular thunk in the mud.

Ares curled back his lip, snarling at the beast. The beast snarled right back and inched closer. Edging in front of Ares, I raised the dagger. And when Medea’s lycanthrope looked at me, there was no sign of recognition in his yellow eyes. Only hate.

To him, I was one of them. I smelled like them and I looked like them. My name and rank were inconsequential. To this beast, all that mattered was that I was a threat.

He swung his claws at me. I ducked and flattened myself to the ground, rolling sideways in the mud until I came to a stop beside Ares’s sword. Wrapping my hand around the slippery hilt, I launched to my feet and tossed it toward him.

It soared through the air, then landed with a smack in the mud.

The lycanthrope at gone for him, snapping his jaws at Ares’s face. For a moment, my heart stopped. Fear taking hold, I rushed forward, shouting, raising my blade. I leapt, mud clinging to my boots, and landed on the beast’s back.

The beast screamed, throwing his body sideways. I clung to his fur, but my hands were drenched in mud, and they were slipping…

Ares took the opportunity to yank his sword from the ground.

Just as the beast tossed me off his back.

I tumbled through the air. My body slammed into a tree, momentarily knocking the wind from my lungs. Dazed, I blinked and tried to banish the stars in my eyes. It was difficult to see anything other than the orange glow of fire that lit the sky. Everything was a blur, screams and roars echoing all around me.

Ares appeared, kneeling before me. He reeked of rot, and black blood speckled his face. With gentle hands, he examined me, brushing his fingers across my neck, my cheek. Eventually, he seemed content I was unharmed. He pulled me against him, and the beat of his heart thundered against my ear.

I wanted to stay here forever, but I couldn’t.

“The beasts are dead,” he murmured. “But we heard some howls coming from the front of the palace. There’s more of them there.”

I sighed heavily, the weariness bearing down on me. I needed to find Orpheus and hope he and the sacrifices had made it out alive. Right now, I couldn’t stand the thought of fighting more of those lycanthropes. Not when I knew what they were. Even if they’d lost all sense of their humanity, it wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t even their choice. Medea was responsible and no one else.

If I ever got off this damn island, she would have so much to answer for.

A distant caw cut through my thoughts. As imperceptibly as possible, I cast a quick glance above. Hector perched in a tree nearby. When he saw my eyes on him, he pecked the wood. Once, twice. Three times. Then he stilled.

I sat up a little straighter.

It had to be Orpheus. Hector knew where he was.

Gingerly, I climbed to my feet. Ares held on to my elbow, looking concerned.

“You hit the tree hard. Do you need to rest for a bit?” he asked.

I started to tell him I was fine, then I swallowed down the words. If I told him I was going to find Orpheus, he’d want to come with me. And I couldn’t risk him seeing my advisor with all the mortal sacrifices. He’d realize what I’d done.

“I just need a moment,” I said, letting my tiredness seep into my voice.

In the clearing behind him, the other monarchs were taking stock and assembling a small army. Those who carried weapons quickly cleaned them against the moss while Apollo and Hephaestus took talons they’d ripped from the beasts’ paws. I winced and glanced away. I was no stranger to gruesome sights, but the brutality they showed the lycanthropes turned my stomach.

Ares followed my line of sight. “It bothers you?”

“I’m just a bit dazed, that’s all.” I motioned toward the vampires. They were inching around the side of the building now. “Go on. I’ll catch up in a minute.”

His brow furrowed. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“I’ll only be a moment behind you. Now go on. You’re one of the few with a sword.”

He cast a glance over his shoulder. The Olympians had moved beyond the corner, and soon, the fighting would begin anew. I could tell by the tension in his shoulders he wanted to be a part of it.

After a moment, he shifted his gaze to my face and began to back away. Something strange rolled across his expression. “Are you sure about this, Selene?”

“Yes,” I said. “It’s fine. You should go.”

He looked disappointed. Shaking his head, he turned away from me, jogged toward the palace wall, and vanished around the corner. He didn’t look back, not once.

I tried not to read too much into it. He had beasts to fight. Besides, Ares was the least of my worries right now. Hector cawed, demanding my attention. Orpheus was out there somewhere, and he likely needed me.

With my heart in my throat, I took off through the trees. The flaming palace soon vanished behind me.