Page 25 of Poseidon's Trident
Jayden opens his mouth to speak, but Raven cuts him off. “Not going into the creepy skull-infested common room.”
“We can go to the common room on my floor,” Thad says. “I need to send my father a message anyway.”
I turn to Jayden but he’s staring Thad down like he wants to use his hellfire on the demigod. I reach out for his hand, but he pulls away from me. Hurt fills me and I turn away from him. What the hell is his problem?
“Let’s go talk there.” I stand from my seat at the table and grab my tray and take it to the bin.
I don’t make eye contact with anyone as I dump my tray and head out into the freezing rain. I pull my hood up over my head and wrap my arms around my waist. I thought Jayden and I were past all this hot and cold.
Raven rushes to me and loops her arm around mine as we head across the empty quad. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I mumble.
“You’re a liar. A really bad liar.” Raven glares at me.
“Can we just focus on the task at hand, please?”
“You’re gonna tell me later.” She bumps my shoulder.
Jayden steps in front of us and pulls the door open. I refuse to meet his eyes even though he’s trying to get my attention. He hurt me when I was trying to comfort him and let him know we’re in this together. Why can’t he see past his own jealousy?
We trudge up the stairs behind Thad, still wet and cold, but Thad seems to be depleted after he worked with the volcano. His shoulders are slumped as he stomps up the stairs.
We pass whispering students on every floor and I cringe. Even though we’ve tried to keep things quiet, they still know something is happening. The crazy storms and freak earthquake have given it away.
Thad places his hand on the door on the tenth floor and the briny scent of the ocean fills my lungs. The entire common area has a large fountain in the middle. I take a step back, not trusting it. Raven giggles at my reaction.
“That crazy fountain is gone, B. It went back to Delphi, remember?” Raven pats my shoulder.
“What fountain?” Thad asks.
“The fountain of Apollo. It makes anyone who gets close to it a rhyming weirdo,” Raven says.
“That’s not what it’s supposed to do,” Adrian cuts in. “It’s supposed to make you a poet, but something went terribly wrong with you guys and the wolves.”
“I’ll say. It definitely made me think twice before getting too close to a fountain.” I shudder.
“No crazy rhyming here.” Thad chuckles.
I take another step into the room. It’s like a beach paradise. Everything is done in light blues and sea green.
There are cushions on the floor like in a cabana and Raven plops down on one close to the fountain. Kira steps up next to her but doesn’t sit. She’s wringing her hands together, clearly agitated by whatever they found out with the volcano.
Once everyone’s inside, I turn to Kira. “What’s wrong?”
“The cracks are deeper than we originally thought. There’s so much pressure on the volcano it keeps releasing pockets of steam like it’s going to blow any minute. Even with whatever Thad did to it. I don’t know if we can stop an eruption.”
“How long?” I ask.
Dread pools in my gut as I stare at her. We need a win here. We can’t lose the academy. It’s the only safe place in the world for demigods, though it hasn’t exactly been safe since I arrived.
“We’re not sure. Maybe a week but it could be less if the earthquakes keep happening.” Kira runs a hand down her face.
“I’ll be back. I need to send a message to my father.” Thad rushes out of the common room.
“We need to tell Rebecca all of this. We need to come up with a plan. We don’t even know which ocean to go to.” I clench my fists at my sides.
“Will Rebecca have any more information than we do?” Jayden asks. “She said the oracle has been dodging her.”
