Page 104 of Zeus' Spark
I scan the room, trying to find Raven and Greyson and coming up short.
“I am the muse of dance, and these mortals, with their swaying hips andtwerking,boast about being the best, so they can dance in this room for eternity.” She pulls a disgusted face when she says twerking, and I nearly giggle.
“Look, what can we do to get you to release the humans and our friends? I’m not a great dancer, so I don’t think that will help.” I chew my lip, hoping she doesn’t ask for anything too serious.
She glares down at us. “I can’t let the humans go. They must suffer their punishments.”
Well, shit. This isn’t good. What the fuck are we going to do?
The humans around us are all in a trance and don’t seem to hear anything that’s going on. That’s a relief.
“These humans didn’t mean to slight you.” I raise my hands in surrender. “They likely don’t believe you exist. Can you punish them for ignorance?”
“Yes,” she growls, taking an angry step forward.
Her eyes glow with blue flames. Fucking Ares. Why did he want us to come here and stop this?
Another woman dressed similarly to the muse of dance pops in out of nowhere, making me jump. “Sister, we can make use of these heroes.”
“What do you propose?” she asks, seeming intrigued.
“In exchange for us releasing the humans and your friends, and promising not to take any more of them unless they directly challenge us, you will find our crowns,” the other woman says to us.
Her gaze locks with mine.
“Where are these crowns?” Jayden asks.
“We are aware of your quest. The crowns are at the base of the mountains you are going to. Bring them to us, and we will release everyone,” the muse of dance says grudgingly.
“No.” I shake my head.
That will take way too long, and the academy only has days left for the wards.
The second woman’s face reddens with rage until its nearly an ugly shade of eggplant.
“What do you mean no?” the second woman shrieks.
“That’s going to take too long,” Jayden speaks up. “The academy only has days until the wards collapse completely. If we go to the base of the mountains and back, then we will waste an entire day.”
“If you want us to do this,” I say, “you will release everyone in good faith, knowing that we will get your crowns and return them to you, but our original mission has to come first. We don’t have time to waste.”
The women look at each other, seeming to silently communicate.
Well, hell. Can goddesses communicate telepathically?
That’s terrifying to think they can just pop into my head any time they want. I shiver.
“Swear it on the River Styx,” the muse of dance demands.
My eyes widen. I have only heard of people using the unbreakable vow.
I glance at Jayden who shrugs. As a son of Hades, he probably doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal.
“I swear on the River Styx that we will retrieve your crowns and get them to you, provided you release our friends and the humans,” Jayden says.
I hold my breath, thinking there should be some kind of magic involved, but nothing happens.
That was anticlimactic. After everything I’ve heard about the seriousness of that oath, I expected more.
