Page 2 of Artemis' Bow
“I doubt that anything will fully prepare them for what’s coming.” Jayden shakes his head.
We reach the cafeteria, and Jayden opens the door, holding it open for the rest of us. We trudge to the front of the room. I clench my hands into fists at my sides as students file in with confused frowns.
Their weighted stares pierce me as they take their seats at their godly parents’ tables. The Apollo, Athena, and Aphrodite tables are nearly empty. Even as more students arrive, the tables don’t fill up.
“It’s worse than I thought.” I sigh.
Adrian spots us and jogs over with a frown. “I didn’t realize how many had left with them always spread out, but seeing everyone in one place, it’s obvious.”
“All we can do is give them the truth and hope they make the right decision.” Jayden’s arm tightens around me.
“How are we ever going to win this thing?” I ask.
“There are more battles ahead before we have to worry about that,” Adrian says, cryptic as usual.
“Is that a prediction or have you seen something?” Thad asks with a raised brow.
“It’s a prediction. I’m not seeing as much now that I’ve chosen a side.”
“That’s not good,” I grumble. “Why do you say we have more battles before we have to face her?”
“Hera isn’t stupid. She’s going to play all of her cards before she faces Zeus.”
“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Raven says. “There are still gods on our side who she hasn’t weakened yet.”
“Who do we have left?” Thad asks.
“Artemis and Hermes for sure and probably Hephaestus,” Jayden says.
Chiron stamps a hoof to quiet the room. The students all turn to him and an eerie silence follows until the centaur scans all their faces.
“I apologize for interrupting your normal classes. I try to do that as little as possible, but in these uncertain times, we felt it necessary to open up the lines of communication and be honest with all of you.”
Chiron waves us over and we stand next to the large centaur.
“As you can tell, many students have left the academy against my advice. I want to advise you all again, you are safer behind these wards than anywhere else in the world.”
Hushed whispers fill the room as the students warily glance at each other.
I step forward. “The lines of communication go both ways. If you have questions, we’ll answer them.”
“The war is still far off by our estimation.” Raven claps me on the shoulder as she speaks up. “We have time to prepare.”
“We don’t expect anyone to go to war unprepared, but if we are going to survive this, we need you to take it seriously and train harder than ever before.”
“Will we all be expected to fight?” Kira asks from the Hephaestus table. “Some of our skill sets are better used elsewhere.”
“You, my friend, are already a warrior,” I tell her.
“Oh, I’m fighting. I was asking for some of my siblings.”
“Not everyone will be expected to fight, but the added training is still a good idea. We could be attacked right here at the academy when the time comes, so everyone should be prepared.”
The whispers grow to shouts as everyone begins talking over each other. The fear in the room is heavy, pressing down on me. This whole thing is happening because my father had an affair with my mom which resulted in my birth. Hera is crazy and is trying to end the world simply because I exist.
They’re all terrified and it’s all my fault. Jayden wraps his arm around me as I hang my head.
“Don’t,” he whispers. “This isn’t your fault, but you will get us out of this.”
