Page 74 of Crown of Olympus
He wore a bronze helmet in the same style we favoured, and matching armour on his torso. His tunic was dyed a deep red — though whether from dye or blood was anyone’s guess.
“Where… am I? Why… why have we been… sent here?” the soldier choked, blood dribbling down his chin.
“Hush now.” I grasped his hand, speaking softly. “Fear not, young soldier, for you are in the land of the gods, and I shall take you home.” I smiled softly.
My powers hovered just beneath my skin, and I knew my face would be flickering between skull and flesh.
His hazel eyes widened as he stared up at me.
“You… You are a god?”
“I am.”
“And you will… take me home?” he coughed. “Take us all… home?”
“I will.”
“Thank you, goddess,” the man gasped his final sentence, words full of thanks, despite one of my kind sending him to his death.
We could learn a lot from mortals.
I sent a tiny sliver of my darkest gift down through our connected hands and into his cold, frail body. He was a fine calibre of man — pure and brave. His soul glimmered brightly in the dimming courtyard. I wrapped the tendril of power around his shimmering ball of essence and tugged gently, coaxing it away from pain and into the light.
The soldier inhaled one last ragged breath, forever lodged in his chest. He never exhaled.
A tear escaped and ran down my cheek. My dragon licked it up, like she could — in her way — kiss away my sorrow. I leaned forward, gently closed the soldier’s eyes, and plucked a bronze coin from my pocket. An obolus. A Ferryman’s fee.
A message, decided long ago by two children who still dared to dream that they could somehow make the realms a gentler place.
I placed the coin upon the man’s lips, knowing Charon would receive it, along with the souls of every fallen warrior here. He would know they were destined for the Elysian Fields, by decree of the daughter of Hades. And he would ensure whichever god was on the Isle of Judgement knew it too.
A mournful howl and a gentle hand on my shoulder broke through my grief.
I had seen death — but not like this. Never like this.
I looked up into the equally mournful expression on Caelus’ handsome face. It hurt to see someone so beautiful look so devastated. My bottom lip quivered. He whispered, “Please don’t.”
I closed my eyes, taking a moment to wrap my anguish up into a tangled, half-folded bundle, shoving it into a box that would remain locked deep in my mind.
When I opened my eyes again, my cold mask was back in place. Somehow, Caelus looked even more sorrowful.
We were almostout of time.
Judging by the amount of light touching the fortress, we had an hour at most.
“Should we split up?” Aphrodite suggested. “Cover more ground?”
“Absolutely not. We have no idea where those two savages are,” Caelus spat, fury evident.
“I agree. I think the most logical place for the medallions would be at the heart of the castle,” I offered.
Nobody offered any other bright ideas. So, with sorrow as our unexpected ally, we silently strode up the main stairway, weapons at the ready. Aros pushed the heavy wooden doors open with a sharp shove. Thankfully, nothing jumped out at us from the other side, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Aphrodite echoed it. We grinned ruefully at each other.
In the centre of the large room was a long wooden table, and absolutely nothing else. No furniture or tapestries, no sconces or lighting.
There was no need for them.
On the table lay a line of glowing necklaces. They shonewith an unnatural blue hue, and as we got closer, I saw that two were missing.
