Dion slipped through, barely passing the written examination. Triton as well, although he is skilled academically as well as physically. He’s just quiet about it. Those of us in his year are well aware of the double threat of his mind and body in any sort of testing environment. Adonis and Eros each took a slot, along with the Norse god Skoll. It’s interesting that lines are forming already. Adonis will be a physical threat for sure. And I’ll have to watch both Eros and Skoll. Eros is a bully and a brute, but Skoll is just an asshole. He’ll cheat to win, especially over a Greek.
The first challenge should take place in a week. Just before, the judges will send us details and clues how to prepare. I’m nervous, but excited. I see where my victory can lead. Zeus is tied to the old ways and is unable to show weakness on the gender policy. But we’re younger and the next generation can change this. But I have to win to ensure this. If someone else takes the spot? Things may not just stay the same, they could get worse.
AUGUST
Weird encounter today. Cassandra cornered me in the dining hall. I’m struck by her beauty. Something about her is different than before; a confidence I don’t remember. Regardless, she approached me by the fireplace just after dinner.
“Can we talk?” she asks.
“Me and you? That would be something new. I thought you didn’t like me or my group?” When I’m nervous, I act like a jerk.
Her eyes are crystal blue, there’s an urgency behind them. Something I can’t place. “I don’t, but…can you stop being an ass for just one minute?”
I look over at my mates, all ready to leave the dining hall. Dion is having a gathering in his lounge tonight. I wrinkle my nose but concede. “Go ahead. Quick.”
“I had a dream about you.”
“Did you?” I’m surprised by this admission. I let my eyes sweep over her and amp up my swagger. “A good one?”
“Actually, no.” Her eyes dart behind me. I notice she’s not speaking loudly. “It was pretty awful.”
“Unfortunate,” I reply. “I could make it up to you—after curfew? I can meet you by the fountain. Give you some nicer memories to hold on to in your dreams.”
I reach out to touch her face. She snatches my hand out of the air. “Stop being a dick,” she hisses. “My dream was not kind and I think you’re in danger. Serious danger. Watch your step in the Trials.”
I jerk free of her. “Stop playing games, Cassie. I know you’re not into me but you don’t have to be like this.”
Needless to say, the conversation went downhill from there. My cheek still smarts from the slap she leveled across my cheek. I don’t believe that Cassandra is a witch, if anything this is probably a set-up from Loki or maybe one of my competitors. They know they can’t beat me on the playing field, so they want to get in my head.
Too bad for them, sending a crazy female to rattle me isn’t going to work. She’s feisty and a little wild. I don’t find her a threat but I’ve never been one to step away from a challenge.
ARTEMIS
A knock on my door startles me and I shove the book under my seat cushion. My cheeks feel red, like I’ve been caught doing something wrong. Maybe I have; reading his thoughts on this girl, Cassandra is unnerving. He likes her. He’s crude. It’s a lot to take in.
“Ready?” Fulla asks, glancing down at my bare feet. “Sorry, yes, just catching up on my reading.” I glance at the stack of books on the bedside table. If she looks closely, she’ll see dust. I grab my shoes and rush her from the room.
“How well did you know my brother?” I ask.
“A little.” Her cheeks blush, implying it was probably more than she admits. From his journals, it seems no female was off limits to Apollo’s appetite.
“Do you think he knew he was in danger?”
“If he did, he never said anything.” She stops and grips my arm. “Artemis, your brother was very talented and well respected, but he was involved with ideas that were not popular with many of the students here. Particularly the gods.”
I feign surprise. “How so?”
She looks me up and down. “He was a good bit like you. Open-minded. Inclusive. Not afraid to rock the boat. Why do you ask?”
“I’m just curious. If someone hated or feared him enough to kill him, I may need to watch my back.”
Students pass us. A lanky man stands down the hall speaking to a professor. It’s Hati. “If you need to watch anyone,” she says. “It would be him and his brother.”
“Hati?” He’s been nothing but helpful and my father trusts him, so why? I don’t say anything, in case it stops her telling me more.
“He was quiet when he was a student. Sort of boring and invisible. They gave him a shot at a job with the administration, but his brother and mother are notorious for their dislike for society policy.”
I laugh. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“It is.” She holds my eye. “People who challenge the system aren’t very popular. Look at Apollo. At Hati. Sometimes playing the game is the only way to survive.”
She walks toward the dining hall and I follow, thinking how right she may be. Playing this game may be the only way to survive. But I hope to have dramatically different results.
14
ARTEMIS
Fulla means well with her friendliness, but her constant attempts to shape me into how she thinks a goddess should behave will irritate if she keeps this up. I agree with her teaching me social norms that apply to both sexes—such as not eating with my hands, apparently—but I’m wary whenever a sentence begins ’a goddess should’.
I half-listen to the goddess at breakfast when she insists I sit alone with her, but I switch off and watch the people I would rather sit with. The table full of shining gods. Thor looks hungover and scowls into his breakfast. I smile to myself when I think of him losing his competition. I get the impression he’s not beaten a lot.
Despite the drinking competition with Thor, the funniest part about last night was the reaction to my drunk confession I’d consider sex with more than one of them. I enjoyed Loki’s amusement at the situation and loved Dion’s shock. This god of parties needn’t think he’s adding me to his list of easy conquests.
I can match him. All of them. Including the gods Eros and Adonis, who think they can look down on me. Last night I showed them how much they may have underestimated me.
I’m curious by how the men interact. I saw it last night, in the way they battled to show me who was the superior one. Underneath their banter was a way of behaving I never experienced around my life with females. They’re filled with fire and bravado. Pride dictates their actions. Of course, I was the only goddess, perhaps that’s why.
And look where it got Thor.
They’re very different men too, and I’m intrigued to learn more about them. I’ve formed my opinions—will they be correct? Dion the lover. Loki the mystery. Thor, stubborn and prideful. The one I’m struggling to figure out is Triton; he barely spoke to me. His physical presence matches Thor in the overwhelming way I imagined men to look. I admit I’m distracted by just how muscular he and Thor are, and not only because this looks so strange after being surrounded by women my entire life.
When I was with them yesterday, I caught myself staring; I’m sure Triton did too, judging by his intent look. I wasn’t the only one inspecting how his chest muscles were defined by his shirt, or how large his biceps are. I bet I’m not the only girl who’s pictured what the muscles look like without his shirt or wanted to touch. Yes, I can tell myself this is a natural reaction, and not a true need.
“You’re distracted. Listen to me.” Fulla nudges me. “Are you ready for your meeting with the judging committee? They’re going to want you to prove you deserve to be in the Trials. And even then, some will not like it.”
“Who won’t like it?” I ask. It’s not surprising there will be pushback on my participation in the Trials. A woman has never entered—well, at least not since the gender laws were enacted.
“I would suspect almost everyone will publicly oppose you, other than your father.”