The Immortal Game

by Talia Rothschild

  “Galene,” Iyana whispered.

  The Gryphiekin lifted his head as he lost his focus on her. With one sudden move, he bunched his muscles and launched himself off the ground, scattering rocks with the beat of his wings. He swept over Iyana, heading for the voice.

  Galene is defenseless. She’ll die!

  Iyana turned and ran, feet pounding on the rock ground. Ahead of her, the Gryphiekin beat his wings once more, then dove down beyond the cliff. Iyana ran straight for the jagged edge, harder and faster than she ever had in her life. Her heart leapt to her throat, but she didn’t think.

  She threw herself over the edge.

  She fell, air rushing past her. Wind streaked to her as she called it, but this time it was pushing her down, making her fall faster … below her, glossy feathers and sleek hair raced closer. Iyana stretched out her hands …

  And hit the back of the Gryphiekin.

  Her arms and legs seared with burning energy at the contact. She was electrified by the strength of his power, blinded by the piece of Zeus in him. She gasped, sinking her fingers into the Gryphiekin’s feathers. Her blood sang. The power pulsed. It felt drawn to her, as she was drawn to it.

  Distantly, she heard the Gryphiekin’s bellow. He twisted beneath her, and she got a glimpse of Galene’s pale face as they swept past.

  The Gryphiekin went berserk, swerving back and forth to get Iyana off. The beast’s back was too wide for her legs to get a good grip, so she clung all the more tightly to his feathers, pressing her forehead to him. If she fell, she would have a similar fate as Kostas and Braxtus. Her wind just wasn’t enough.

  But this power. Iyana reached out to it with her mind the way she reached out to her wind. It responded, zinging against her.

  The God of the Sky had placed a piece of his power inside the Gryphiekin. So why couldn’t she, as his daughter, take it back out?

  She pulled on it.

  The Gryphiekin yanked the power back. Another cry escaped his beak as he fought her. She lost her grip on the power and the feathers, slipping back a few feet before catching hold of the lion hair on his back. She gritted her teeth and twined her fingers through it. Then she closed her eyes and dove back after that power.

  I am Zeus’s daughter. I should have had this power. I claim it! Thunder cracked, wind screamed, and Iyana heaved, calling it to her.

  The Gryphiekin held on, the strength of Zeus remaining captive within.

  “You will give me this power!” Iyana screamed, though her words were swallowed in the wind. “I am capable of defeating you!” She pulled, pulled, pulled.

  Her body went hot. She cracked her eyes open.

  Everywhere she touched the Gryphiekin, her skin glowed a brilliant white. The power slid into her—she felt it pooling inside her, and it began to seethe, crackling into a storm. The glow spread across her body, up her arms and legs until she shone like an Olympian, like her father. Her mind seemed to expand, offering her a chasm full of new potential. She kept pulling, feeling as though she was going to burst. It was almost all there …

  The Gryphiekin spun like a corkscrew, and her fingers finally slipped. She tumbled backward through the air.

  And smiled.

  Stretching her hands to either side, she unleashed the tempest inside her.

  37

  GALENE

  Her best friend fell through the air, glowing white against the stormy sky.

  Tears of horror blurred Galene’s vision—her whole body trembled as she held herself up against the cliff, watching helplessly.

  Iyana spread her arms to either side, and wind erupted.

  Iyana swept upward, carried by the gale that whipped her hair and tunic. It lifted her higher. She passed the Gryphiekin, who was buffeted to the side. The massive, midnight shadow screeched, a sound that drowned out the thunder, ringing in Galene’s ears. He beat his wings, pumping up toward his challenger.

  Galene waited for Iyana to drop again, for the unstable wind to fail her, but it did not. Iyana swooped farther up over the sea, arms outstretched, hair whirling around her like a furious halo. She was flying.

  Galene’s heart leapt, hope and wonder coursing through her.

  Iyana was flying.

  “Get him, Iyana!”

  Wind snapped harder at Galene, and she caught her breath. The storm clouds began to retreat from the horizon line, pulling in toward Iyana. The low moon reappeared, casting an eerie light on the beast. He bellowed again, fighting the wind to climb to Iyana’s height.

  Iyana floated, holding the gaze of her opponent. The wind screamed as it rushed by the cliff. Water spat up at Galene, loose sand stinging her skin, whipped by the torrent. She had to squint through fiercely growing winds to the dim, tumultuous scene above.

  A gust hit Galene, which would have tipped her if she hadn’t been gripping the cliff. She quickly glanced at Kostas to make sure he was still safe. She had never felt Iyana create a wind so strong, let alone have the control to concentrate it like this.

  Iyana raised her hands above her head, and fear stung Galene’s chest again as the clouds above began to twist, spiraling. Iyana’s winds snapped, circling tighter and tighter until a dark funnel was pulled from the black, roiling clouds. It lowered around Iyana until her best friend was little more than a faintly glowing spot of white in the darkness.

  Galene reached down and gripped Kostas’s arm, preparing to use her last reserves of strength to keep them from being dragged into the whirlwind. The tornado touched down several feet from Galene, sucking water and sand into the base of the funnel, but its confined winds did little more than toss Galene’s hair. Above her the giant gryphon pitched and struggled.

  The Gryphiekin flung out his wings, pushing back from the cyclone and righting himself to circle upward, finally getting above Iyana.

  He dove.

  Galene screamed a warning, but air erupted in a shock wave. It caught the enormous creature, buffeting him back. His pounding wings flared and strained, but Iyana sent another massive surge, and he flipped backward, barely pulling away from the storm.

  A choked, twisted laugh escaped Galene. Iyana was doing it. She was doing it. Galene’s hair whipped against her cheeks, and she wanted to hide her face from the stinging water and sand, but couldn’t tear her eyes away.

  The tornado spiraled thicker, darker, faster. The Gryphiekin toiled against the pull inward, toward the vortex.

  Iyana floated in the middle of the growing rage. Through the wind, Galene could still make out the Gryphiekin’s trembling, straining wings a second before a powerful draft overwhelmed him, dragging him into the cyclone. His enormous body whipped around in the storm, snatched like flotsam. He screamed, still struggling, still fighting with all of his might.

  “Give up,” Galene urged through gritted teeth.

  Everywhere the creature turned he hit a wall that threw him back. He fought to break through time and time again, then cried out. He twisted his giant head, and Galene caught a flash of fear in his orange eyes as he passed.

  The tornado tore asunder, winds scattering into nothing. Water and sand dropped like rain back to the beach, drenching Galene. The storm above was no more, the stars and moon shining bright.

  The Gryphiekin was tossed, and he tumbled—straight toward her and Kostas. Panic rocked her body into motion. She shoved from the cliff, swaying dangerously as she yanked Kostas’s arm to haul him away. He was heavy, and the wet sand resisted her efforts.

  The Gryphiekin was too close and moving too fast.

  Air blasted upward. Galene fell as Iyana’s wind caught the Gryphiekin, slowing his descent and heaving him backward.

  He stretched out his back paws and landed heavily on the beach, sand cascading around him, some of it spraying Galene. Iyana floated down gently, until she stopped above the ground before his eyes.

  The Gryphiekin cocked a tired head as he observed her, then made a rumbling sound deep in his throat. Slowly, Iyana reached out and placed her hand on his beak. />
  Galene’s jaw slackened. She pushed herself back to her feet, slowly, painfully. Her best friend touched down on the sand, and with a small smile, turned away from the resting Gryphiekin. The godly light emanating from Iyana softened, then disappeared, like she’d never been glowing at all. But a new light shone in her eyes, as if she’d absorbed the storm’s lightning into them.

  Her smile faded as she saw Galene. She broke into a run.

  A sob escaped Galene, followed by a genuine smile as Iyana skidded to her side, catching her arm to keep her upright.

  “You did it! Gaia, Iyana. You can fly!”

  “I know—I can’t believe it.” She shook her head, then her eyes shifted to Kostas. “Is he…?”

  “He’s still alive, but I don’t know for how much longer.” She scrubbed her eyes with her free hand. “I should have brought in the tide to help save him. I should have stopped Poinê and Chrysander. I tried, but I’m completely useless like this.” More tears leaked from her swollen eyes.

  Iyana stepped closer. “You never have been and never will be useless, Galene. We’ve done this together, and we will finish this together.” Galene saw the brokenness in her best friend’s eyes, brokenness that fueled a fearless conviction. She marveled at the change.

  They embraced. Galene wanted to laugh, to yell, but all she seemed to be able to do was keep crying.

  Distant footsteps sounded, and they broke apart, turning. A figure was making for them, feet slapping in the rising tide. Braxtus limped heavily, stained with ichor. Iyana sucked in a breath and dashed to meet him. “Thank Gaia you’re all right! I’m sorry I left you. I—”

  “I saw you jump from the cliff.” Braxtus cut her off. Galene followed his gaze to the Gryphiekin, whose golden chest rose and fell as he lay in the shallow water. “And almost everything after.” He shook his head in amazement. “You claimed that power of his, didn’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “Unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything so brave.” He and Iyana locked eyes, and something electric passed between them. After a moment, he tore his eyes from her. “Where’s Kostas?”

  “Here.” Galene gestured. Iyana helped him over. Dropping by Galene’s side, Braxtus leaned down to assess his best friend’s condition. A sigh of relief escaped from his mouth when he found a heartbeat.

  “Has he stirred?”

  Galene shook her head, unable to verbalize an answer.

  Braxtus took Kostas’s arm and began prodding and squeezing along the limb, then continued to do so across his body. “Broken bones,” he murmured to himself. “These bruises … Kronos.” He blinked furiously.

  The golden bruises dappling Kostas’s body were dangerously prominent against his dark skin. Galene dropped her face into her hands. “What are we going to do? Kostas is on the brink of death, and Chrysander … Demitri…”

  Braxtus rubbed her back, but she could feel his hand shaking, too. “Kostas will make it, Galene. He will. He has to.”

  “We’ll all make it.” Galene looked up to see Iyana half-turned away. “We’ll fly back to Olympus.”

  Galene blinked. “Iyana, are you strong enough to carry all of us?”

  Iyana shook her head. “Not me. Him.”

  Galene’s stomach dropped as Iyana pointed to the giant gryphon. He gave an exhausted bird-cry, and sand surged around him as he shifted, fluffing his feathers.

  “The Gryphiekin can take us home. We will ride on his back as he rides on the back of my wind to get us there fast. He’ll do it. I don’t know how I know, but I do.” She looked back at them. “It’s the only way to possibly beat Poinê and Chrysander and … Demitri back to Olympus.”

  Galene swallowed. “Iyana, you’ve done so much. Are you sure you have the strength to keep the wind under the Gryphiekin’s wings the whole way back?”

  Iyana nodded. “I only have to call it once, then I can rest. It will keep driving in the right direction.”

  Galene nodded and looked to Braxtus.

  He gave them a strained smile. “Then let’s not waste another second.”

  38

  IYANA

  With a few encouraging gusts of wind, Iyana coaxed the Gryphiekin up. He lurched to his feet, suddenly towering over her, twisting his sharp head as he looked around at Iyana’s friends.

  At a mere thought, air twined around her feet and ankles, lifting her upward. It wasn’t flying, exactly. Not in the way the Gryphiekin flew. But the wind held her nonetheless, steady and sure. She rose to the Gryphiekin’s eye level, making soothing noises.

  He snapped his sharp beak a few times, but held still, and Iyana glanced down at her friends, nodding to them that it was all right. Braxtus carried Kostas, he and Galene carefully making their way to the creature’s side.

  Iyana levitated herself to his back, kneeling there. “Hold still,” she said, then closed her eyes. She focused on the air, guiding it to sweep around and under Galene and Braxtus. Galene let out a squeak of discomfort as she rose, but Iyana reached out and caught her hand, pulling her onto the Gryphiekin behind her.

  Braxtus and Kostas landed in the rear. The back was too broad to straddle, so Braxtus propped Kostas up carefully in front of him, keeping him as straight as possible. He wrapped one arm around his friend’s torso and gripped the Gryphiekin’s feathers with his free hand. His face was still covered in ichor and sweat. Iyana didn’t dare look too closely at Kostas.

  Galene entwined one hand into the creature’s feathers and wrapped her other arm around Iyana.

  She looked them over, checking to make sure they were in place, and then leaned forward. “Take us home to Olympus,” she whispered. She called to the wind, letting it swirl his feathers, urging him to fly.

  He crouched, and his wings rushed upward. They hung there for an instant, then drove down as he flung himself into the sky.

  Galene gave a shout as they shot up with a violent lurch; in only seconds they had risen high above the rocky cliffs. Turbulence buffeted them, snatching the breath from Iyana’s lungs, exhilaration racing through her veins.

  Galene’s arm tightened around her waist, and her best friend lowered her head against her shoulder. “Is this payback for keeping you under the water so long?”

  Iyana smiled despite herself, though she couldn’t blame Galene for being so nervous. Swirling gusts from the Gryphiekin’s wings battered them, and its flexing muscles rippled under their legs, making them bounce sickeningly.

  They climbed at a shallow incline for several long minutes. When they finally leveled out, Iyana brought the wind back, the power within her humming.

  She took another breath. It was not just more power than she had ever felt, but control. She closed her eyes, and the world painted itself in her head. She could see it in the wind; the way it flowed around obstacles, diverging from its path and seamlessly reconnecting with itself on the other side. She was aware of everything, from her friends behind her to the rippling waves below.

  She focused on the Gryphiekin. Air moved over and under his wings, the air underneath pushing against them, giving him lift. She pulled more air for his wings to catch. It rushed to her call, and he glided toward Olympus, only occasionally flapping.

  Between the wind roaring in their ears and their exhaustion, they traveled in silence, gliding northwest. Iyana rested her head against the Gryphiekin’s neck, but didn’t dare fall asleep. She was too worried that one of the others would become unseated, and she’d have to catch them.

  She probably couldn’t sleep if she wanted to. Try as she might to shove Demitri’s face from her mind, it appeared time and time again. Trust me. They were just dreams, Iyana. One day you’ll come running back. You need me. She gritted her teeth, seeing his burning blue eyes filled with so much derision. He hadn’t even left Olympus for her. He’d done it so she wouldn’t foil his plan.

  A hatred born from deep hurt simmered in her.

  Galene’s arm went slack, and Iyana spun just in time to steady her. Her head lolled, freckle
d face pale. Iyana looked up and met Braxtus’s eyes.

  “She’s out cold,” she called over the wind.

  He shook his head, face tight. One arm was still clamped around Kostas, the other holding the Gryphiekin’s feathers. The cut on his face had swollen his eye.

  Kronos. We’re all in bad shape.

  She held on to Galene as they flew.

  The sky slowly lightened, then the sun broke over the horizon line to their right. She blinked in the light. The sea unfurled below them like a great blue-green map. The earth looked so far away that it seemed impossible to fall that distance.

  The cold wind numbed her face from the heat of the rising sun, but she was sure she was burning anyway. She put her head back down, watching the earth race by.

  “Iyana,” Braxtus called when, hours later, her muscles cramped miserably. “Look.”

  She lifted her head. A towering silhouette, pale gray against the light blue backdrop, rose before them. Above the tree line, it was all crags and cliffs, erupting through the distant clouds to the heavens, looking like some castle floating in the sky.

  She let out a breath and squeezed Galene’s arm, glancing back at her. Galene groaned, and her eyes fluttered open.

  “We should be there in another hour or so,” Iyana told her.

  Galene swallowed, a sudden clarity entering her green eyes. “Will…” She hesitated, then voiced the question Iyana had been thinking. “Will they even let us in?”

  She didn’t answer, turning forward again.

  Iyana sat there, eyes wide, watching Olympus come ever nearer. Though there wasn’t an exact moment when things came into focus, eventually she could make out shapes among the green and gray she thought she recognized at the top of the mountain: a section of gold that could only be Zeus’s domain; a long, winding stretch of blue and yellow and white that she could’ve sworn were Persephone’s perfect flowers; a patch of circular brown that could be the hard-packed dirt in the arena, and a glint of a shimmering dome barrier …