Chapter 15

We arrived backon the Protectorate lawn about thirty minutes later. It'd taken me a while to recover from the electricity trick I'd pulled, and I still had no idea how I'd done it.

Finally, Maximus had had to drag me up off the ground. Even now, I leaned against his shoulder as we stumbled up the lawn. Bree and Ana walked alongside, followed by the Menacing Menagerie.

"Thanks for coming, guys," I said.

Bree grinned widely. "Wouldn't miss it."

"It was a challenge this time." Ana chuckled, as if she'd enjoyed that bit. "I thought we might be done for when the flame came, but you got us out of it."

"Barely."

"That's all you need, sometimes," Maximus said.

We stepped through the grand entry into the castle and pulled up short. Panic surged briefly in my chest.

Right there, in the middle of my home, stood the cocker spaniel from the Order of the Magica and rat man from the Intermagic Games. Harry Ward and Oliver Keates. They stood with Jude, who looked at them with serious eyes.

Shit.

They were going to want that potion that withered the vines. Just to make sure I wasn't the one with the creepy death magic. Seriously, could I not get a break for just a half second?

As if they'd heard the door open, the three of them turned to look at us.

"Ah, the woman of the hour herself." Harry Ward grinned, but it wasn't pleasant.

"Back from absconding with the Truth Teller?" Oliver Keates said.

"Absconding?" I gave him my best eat-shit expression. "I was abducted, you moron. By the same interlopers I told you about. They wanted the prize."

Oliver's eyes widened. "But we protected it!"

"Only until one of the contestants grabbed it." I couldn't help but snap. "And since you put us in that creepy Colosseum, it was open to the sky, and I was yanked out of there by a giant freaking bird."

"But…but…"

I didn't let Oliver finish. "I think you need to seriously rethink the nature of the Intermagic Games. That was just meant to be a disgusting death show."

"It raises the stakes," he said weakly.

"Screw your stakes."

Harry Ward cleared his throat. "All of those issues aside, it seems that you are fine now. Did you recover the Truth Teller?"

"I did, no thanks to you."

He nodded, clearly annoyed but putting on his best business face. "In that case, perhaps you could show us the potion that you used to steal the life from the vines back on Dartmoor? You know, just crossing our t's and dotting our i's. Can't have any Magica with unknown death powers running around."

A chill snaked through my hot anger. I was about to bluff about needing a moment to recover, but Jude cut in.

"Perhaps you should just run and get that, Rowan. Get this whole messy business over with. It's in your room, isn't it?"

My gaze darted to hers, and I couldn't read her expression. Then again, in iffy circumstances, Jude would never give away the game.

I had to trust her.

Or run for it, once I reached my room.

I nodded curtly. "Fine. I'll go do that."

Maximus helped me walk away, but I did my best to lean away from his strength. As much as I appreciated it, I was pissed. And when I was pissed, I liked to stomp off on my own. Unfortunately, my stomping was a little pathetic given that I was still shaky from turning into a human lightning bolt, but I felt better for trying.

As soon as we were up the stairs and out of earshot, Maximus leaned in. "Do you actually have this potion?"

"No. And I don't know if my friends are finished making it. Last I heard, they hadn't succeeded."

"So you could be making a run for it?"

"Could be." The idea sent a streak of fear down my spine.

Maybe I wouldn't have to run for it right away. Maybe I could buy some time. Unless Jude was sending me up here because she knew they'd never find a way to make that potion, and my chances were up.

My breathing came faster and my skin chilled at the idea. I slowed as I walked down the hall to my room, afraid of what I might find. When I turned the corner and spotted Connor laying a package down in front of my door, I stopped dead.

"Connor?" My voice wavered.

He stood, a grin on his face. His Imagine Dragons T-shirt covered in sparkly potion residue. Quickly, he thrust the box toward me. "All done."

My heart leapt. "Really? You made it?"

"We just finished."

I ran over and hugged him, so grateful I could cry. My friends had my back, thank fates. They'd worked so hard to save me. It made me just as happy as the idea of handing over the potion and getting the Order of the Magica out of my hair.

Connor pulled back. "Well? Are you going to go give it to them?"

"Right now." Relief surged through me. "This is all over. Almost."

I turned to grin at Maximus, happiness welling within me. Thank fates for friends.

Maximus and I hurried back down the hall. The cocker spaniel and the rat were waiting in the main entry hall, both of them tapping their foot impatiently. Bree and Ana stood on either side of them, watching them warily, as if they'd have to jump on them and hold them down while I ran away.

Thank fates for my sisters.

I strode up to them and handed them the potion. "Here it is."

Harry Ward gave the potion vial a skeptical look as he took it.

"It'll work," I said, totally confident in my friends' ability.

"We'll see." He tucked the vial into his pocket. "We'll get back to you soon with the results of our test."

I nodded, since there was nothing else I could say.

Oliver Keates stepped forward. "Congratulations on winning the competition. The audience enjoyed the show." I scowled at him, and he shifted uncomfortably. "Normally, there would be a ceremony at the end, but as you disappeared after collecting the Truth Teller, we won't be having one."

"Good." Because I wouldn't show up anyway. The last thing I wanted was to be under the microscope again, especially now that I'd gotten what I wanted and there was no reason.

Oliver nodded. "We'll be going, then."

We said our goodbyes and watched them leave. Thank fates that was all over.

"You look like you've been through the wringer," Jude said.

I turned to her and nodded wearily.

"Let's get some food." She gestured to the stairs leading down to the kitchen. "Then we can talk."

"Yes." The word came out of me almost as a moan. But damned if I couldn't sit down and get a bite to eat.

Jude, Maximus, my sisters, and I all trooped down to the kitchen, where Hans had a big vat of soup waiting. The steam curled up from the massive pot, smelling of vegetables and herbs. My mouth watered, distracting me from the ache in my muscles.

Hans turned to us, his mustache quivering in delight. "Guests! Sit, sit!"

I collapsed into a chair at the scarred, round table, absorbing the warmth from the fire that crackled nearby. The Menacing Menagerie sat in front of it, eating from plates that looked like they'd been filled at the compost bin. Romeo gave me a toothy smile. I smiled back, weariness stretching through me.

In moments, Hans had big steaming bowls in front of us, along with juice boxes. Always with the juice.

"Thanks, Hans. You're the best." I dug in gratefully.

After the first few bites, I leaned back and looked at Jude. She was waiting for me to speak, and I appreciated her patience.

"So, we didn't catch the witches." I pulled the Truth Teller out of my pocket and set the golden egg on the table. "But we have a clue about what they are." I recounted the battle to her, including the scene that the Truth Teller had created.

"So they're after something big," Jude said.

I nodded.

"That's what we think," Maximus said. "They've got a plan, and they're slowly putting it into place. They didn't go after Rowan or me when they had the chance. They're after something bigger."

"We need to make sure they don't get it." Jude picked up the Truth Teller. "Well done, Rowan. This will help us in our work. I can't even tell you how much. The lives we'll save with this…"

I smiled, glad to have been able to bring it back here.

She held the Truth Teller up so it glinted in the light. "For this, you'll advance to the next level at the Academy. You're moving just as quickly as your sisters. Maybe quicker."

I smiled, shocked. But it was Bree and Ana who smiled even bigger.

"According to Oliver Keates, the Truth Teller doesn't have unlimited uses," she continued. "It needs to recover after each use. But I thought you might want to use it to figure out what Dragon God you are."

I grinned, nodding. "I'd like that."

She set the egg on the table. "Well done, Rowan."

* * *

Three nights after the Order of the Magica had reported back that the potion had worked and that they deemed I didn't possess death magic—morons—I stood with my sisters in my living room.

"Are you ready?" Bree asked.

I looked down at the Truth Teller. It sat in my hand, heavy and golden. The light gleamed off the surface, and I sucked in a slow breath.

"I'm ready."

Ana nodded and stepped back from the center of the room. I laid the Truth Teller down on the floor, then stepped over to join her. She gripped my hand. Bree joined us and took my other hand.

My heart raced as I considered how to ask my question. A dozen options flashed through my mind, but I went for simple. "What kind of Dragon God am I? What pantheon is giving me their powers?"

Magic swirled up from the Truth Teller. I breathed deeply as it rolled over me, sending a shiver down my spine. A glittery cloud rose up and coalesced to form an image.

Clouds rolled in front of me, filling the room. A figure appeared, misty at first. They stepped through the clouds, approaching.

Bree and Ana squeezed my hands.

Immense magical power rolled toward me. It blasted the breath from my lungs and made me sag. I kept myself upright—barely—and blinked.

The figure wore a simple white tunic trimmed in gold that matched his shining hair. Golden sandals with wings glinted at his feet.

I gasped, my mind catching on a long-ago memory of a mythology book. Those sandals…

"Hermes?" I asked.

An enigmatic smile pulled at the edge of his mouth, and he held out a scroll. Trembling, I reached out to take it. My skin prickled as soon as I touched the heavy paper. As I unrolled it, Hermes stepped back into the clouds, disappearing.

"That was quick," Bree murmured.

My head buzzed as the scroll revealed the text within. The language was ancient, the letters foreign. But as I stared at it, they began to make sense, as if my brain were rewiring to understand the ancient language.

"I'm the Greek Dragon God." I looked up at Bree and Ana, shock nearly freezing my tongue. "Apparently, I've got the powers of Zeus."