Hylla and Kinzie stared at her.
“How did you…?” The queen gasped. “Hazel, be careful!”
Hazel approached the stallion’s cage. She put her hand between the bars, and Arion gingerly ate the chunk of gold from her palm.
“Unbelievable,” Kinzie said. “The last girl who tried that—”
“Now has a metal arm,” the queen finished. She studied Hazel with new interest, as if deciding whether or not to say more. “Hazel…we spent years hunting for this horse. It was foretold that the most courageous female warrior would someday master Arion and ride him to victory, ushering in a new era of prosperity for the Amazons. Yet no Amazon can touch him, much less control him. Even Otrera tried and failed. Two others died attempting to ride him.”
That probably should’ve worried Hazel, but she couldn’t imagine this beautiful horse hurting her. She put her hand through the bars again and stroked Arion’s nose. He nuzzled her arm, murmuring contentedly, as if asking, More gold? Yum.
“I would feed you more, Arion.” Hazel glanced pointedly at the queen. “But I think I’m scheduled for an execution.”
Queen Hylla looked from Hazel to the horse and back again. “Unbelievable.”
“The prophecy,” Kinzie said. “Is it possible…?”
Hazel could almost see the gears turning inside the queen’s head, formulating a plan. “You have courage, Hazel Levesque. And it seems Arion has chosen you. Kinzie?”
“Yes, my queen?”
“You said Otrera’s followers are guarding the cells?”
Kinzie nodded. “I should have foreseen that. I’m sorry—”
“No, it’s fine.” The queen’s eyes gleamed—the way Hannibal the elephant’s did whenever he was unleashed to destroy a fortress. “It would be embarrassing for Otrera if her followers failed in their duties—if, for instance, they were overcome by an outsider and a prison break occurred.”
Kinzie began to smile. “Yes, my queen. Most embarrassing.”
“Of course,” Hylla continued, “none of my guards would know a thing about this. Kinzie would not spread the word to allow an escape.”
“Certainly not,” Kinzie agreed.
“And we couldn’t help you.” The queen raised her eyebrows at Hazel. “But if you somehow overpowered the guards and freed your friends…if, for instance, you took one of the guards’ Amazon cards—”
“With one-click purchasing enabled,” Kinzie said, “which will open the jail cells with one click.”
“If—gods forbid!—something like that were to happen,” the queen continued, “you would find your friends’ weapons and supplies in the guard station next to the cells. And who knows? If you made your way back to this throne room while I was off preparing for my duel…well, as I mentioned, Arionis a very fast horse. It would be a shame if he were stolen and used for an escape.”
Hazel felt like she’d been plugged into a wall socket. Electricity surged through her whole body. Arion…Arion could be hers. All she had to do was rescue her friends and fight her way through an entire nation of highly trained warriors. “Queen Hylla,” she said, “I—I’m not much of a fighter.”
“Oh, there are many kinds of fighting, Hazel. I have a feeling you’re quite resourceful. And if the prophecy is correct, you will help the Amazon nation achieve prosperity. If you succeed on your quest to free Thanatos, for instance—”
“—then Otrera wouldn’t come back if she were killed,”
Hazel said. “You’d only have to defeat her…um, every night until we succeed.”
The queen nodded grimly. “It seems we both have impossible tasks ahead of us.”
“But you’re trusting me,” said Hazel. “And I trust you. You will win, as many times as it takes.”
Hylla held out Percy’s necklace and poured it into Hazel’s hands.
“I hope you’re right,” the queen said. “But the sooner you succeed the better, yes?”
Hazel slipped the necklace into her pocket. She shook the queen’s hand, wondering if it was possible to make a friend so fast—especially one who was about to send her to jail.
“This conversation never happened,” Hylla told Kinzie. “Take our prisoner to the cells and hand her over to Otrera’s guards. And, Kinzie, be sure you leave before anything unfortunate happens. I don’t want my loyal followers held accountable for a prison break.”
The queen smiled mischievously, and for the first time, Hazel felt jealous of Reyna. She wished that she had a sister like this.
“Good-bye, Hazel Levesque,” the queen said. “If we both die tonight…well, I’m glad I met you.”
THE AMAZON JAIL WAS AT THE TOP OF a storage aisle, sixty feet in the air.