Page 124 of Poseidon's Trident
“She tried to take your head off, B.” Raven raises a brow.
“Shhh. We’re almost there,” Greyson says.
We pick through the rest of the forest until we come to a run-down old house. There’s no way a goddess is living in that shack. Who the fuck are we dealing with here? I step closer and find more stuffed animals and trinkets hanging from the patio in front of a busted door.
“This is some seriously creepy shit,” I whisper to Raven.
“We need to go in there, though.” Raven steps on a twig and it snaps. “Fuck.”
“Who’s there?” a woman’s voice calls from inside.
I grip my lightning bolt and call my whip to me. It unfurls in my hand as a blond woman steps out of the broken door. Power sings through her but not the same as the gods. What the fuck is she? Is she a sorceress? Could this be Medea? We never found her at the battle at Ares’ temple.
“Who are you and what have you done with our friend?” I ask.
“Ahhh, my newest guests have finally arrived. I’m so glad you’ve come. You must sit and eat with me.” She waves us forward but none of us move.
This is not Medea and I have learned enough from ancient history to know better than to take food from anyone. Nope. Too much bad shit can happen.
“We aren’t here for food. We just want our friend back and we’ll be on our way.” I shake my head.
“You can’t go. Why would you want to leave? I can sense that you’re all starving from your long journey. Sit and eat with me, and then we’ll talk about your friend.” She waves us forward.
“No, show us our friend first and we might sit and eat.” I grip my whip, hoping I don’t need to use it.
The woman seems lonely but the façade could be fake. I’m not taking any chances. The mission is too important. We need to get Thad and the trident and get back to the academy.
“You shun my hospitality when you arrived uninvited on my island?” she shrieks.
“You stole our friend and are hiding him on this island. Of course we came looking and we want him back.” I raise my sword.
“Hera told me I could keep him and you’re not taking him from me,” she yells.
“Excuse me? What does she have to do with this?” I ask, taking a threatening step forward.
The woman just laughs. She’s batshit crazy but she has some kind of magic. What does Hera have to do with this psycho taking Thad? Why would Hera even give a shit about the sea demigod? It doesn’t make any sense, unless… the crab.
“We’ve had this all wrong from the beginning, guys. It’s not some outside entity trying to destroy all the gods. It’s Hera trying to start a civil war.” I widen my eyes at Jayden.
“Fuck, how in hades did we miss that? The monsters all always seem to come after you. The Hesperides said someone wanted you dead and they are servants of Hera. Fucking Cancer.” Jayden runs a hand through his hair.
“This is fucked up, B,” Raven says.
“I know. What the fuck are we going to do in a civil war among the gods?” I ask.
“Nothing.” The woman giggles. “You will be here on the island far away from all the bloodshed.”
“Not a chance in hades of that happening,” I snarl.
“You must. Hera said she would release me from my prison if I kept you here until Poseidon lost all his power. It won’t be long now.”
“Who the fuck are you?” I ask.
White-hot electricity flows through my whip as I stare the woman down. She hasn’t threatened us, but if this is her prison from the gods, I’m guessing she’s been alone here a long fucking time. No wonder she’s fucking crazy.
“Calypso. I’m sure you heard of me. My father was a general in the Titan war. I wasn’t a part of that, but Zeus still punished me.” She pouts. “I hate Zeus.”
My shoulders stiffen. No wonder her power felt different. She’s the daughter of a Titan? Fuck. I glance at Raven with wide eyes. We need to figure out where Thad is and get off this fucking island.
