Page 75 of Crown of Olympus
Each medallion had a small symbol carved into its surface. My gaze drifted over each, matching the symbols to their champions — or the gods they represented.
First, a lightning bolt.
Three guesses who that one belongs to.
My dragon friend chortled, coughing up a tiny flame that flew past my face, almost singeing my lashes.
The bolt’s edges were jagged, much like the scars that lingered on Caelus’ skin. Glancing up, I noted the tension in his shoulders, the scowl upon his face — like he resented the symbol itself.
Next was a crescent moon. Artemis, without question.
So Diana had not yet made it here either. I hoped she’d fallen off the side of the mountain.
Oh, what a shame it would be to scar up that pretty face.
Smirking, I moved onto the third medallion. Engraved on the shiny surface was a tiny sun — for Apollo. I hoped he was alright, despite his choice of ally. At least, being deaf, he wouldn’t have had to listen to Diana’s nasally whine.
The fourth symbol was a rose for Aphrodite. Its stem covered in thorns that looked sharp enough to draw blood. I smiled. An apt depiction of my friend — beautiful, but with bite.
The fifth was a sword crossed over a shield. It could only belong to the god of war and violence: Ares. Aros looked conflicted at the thought of claiming his father’s emblem. A feeling I understood all too well.
“You might practically share a name, but you’re not him, you know.” I spoke the words quietly, but they still hung in the silence. His eyes shot toward mine. A small smile tilted his lips.
Next came the symbol of a winged sandal — Hermes’talaria. I guessed Leander had left Tychon in the dust somewhere back along the cliffside.
Then, a gap where the two medallions had lain.
Leander and Archimedes had passed after all. The symbols of Poseidon and Hephaestus noticeably missing. My jaw clenched in fury. I would find out which of them had slaughtered an entire battalion without mercy — and I would hold them accountable.
I swore it on the glimmering soul of the dead soldier.
My own medallion was placed at the far end of the table, separate from the rest. I picked up the pendant with the predictable skull etched onto its surface.
My allies followed suit.
“Alright then, on the count of three?” Aros asked, visibly shaking off his unease.
“One,” Aphrodite said.
“Two,” Aros replied.
We readied to place the chains over our heads, waiting for that final count. Caelus caught my eye, his gaze narrowed in suspicion.
“Three,” he said, letting the chain drop down and disappearing in a blink. Aphrodite and Aros followed, vanishing as well — leaving just the dragon and me, my arms still raised above my head.
The doors crashed open again as Apollo and Diana raced through trying to thwart the setting sun, with Tychon nipping at their heels. All three skidded to a halt as they took in the scene before them.
Smirking, I let go of my chain. But before it had time to settle around my neck, I snatched up a second medallion — then vanished too.
Poof.Gone.
I was still laughing wickedly as I reappeared in theParthenon’s hall, a dragon on my shoulder and vengeance clasped tightly in my right fist.
CHAPTER 22
Nyssa
When I turned my head,Caelus was fighting back a grin. Somehow, he’d known exactly what I was about to do — stood back and let me do it — then watched with rapt amusement while Aros and Aphrodite wore equally perplexed expressions on their faces. Aph raised two golden brows in question.
