I stood up straight, trying in vain to make myself taller.
He glared down at me. “Hades may have convinced me to allow you to train your champion, but if I catch wind of you stepping a touch out of line, I’ll disqualify your champion and imprison you both with the titans for the next thousand years.”
I shuddered but put on a bright smile and wrapped my arm around him. “Come on, Zeus. It’s a party. Relax. Can I grab you a drink?”
The severity of his face melted away, and he motioned to a server who carried over two jeweled goblets. Without a word, he handed me one, knocked his against mine, and disappeared into the crowd.
I faced the room, and there was a slew of goddesses eyeing me, no doubt impressed that I’d once again avoided a potentially damning situation. Or maybe it was because I was one of the few immortals not to frequent Olympus. Either way, I’d become almost numb to it, but I knew I might be able to use their interest to vet out Yesenia’s competition. I winced. Here I was among the most beautiful goddesses the world had to offer and I was worried about Yessi. Maybe Hermes had a point about me liking her, which made the way he laughed at the possibility all the more scathing.
My gaze caught on Aphrodite as she pouted her glossy lips, her charcoal skin shining enticingly. Her eyes seemed lit with a seductive whisper that beckoned anyone who met her gaze into some secluded place where she might have her way. Her glossy brown hair waved down to the back of her knees, her tight, floor-length gown glittering in the sunlight. There was a horde of open-mouthed gods encircling her, all vying for her attention. The corners of her mouth turned up, her gaze lingering on my face. How long has it been since I last spoke to her? Not since I’d fully understood her uncanny ability to sway one's will. I needed to find out who her champion was immediately, and any other vital information, before she lured me into something I’d regret.
Almost two hours later, I sat at the center of the stadium, the roar of the crowd rattling my bones. It was a structure that a surviving champion and mortal named Vaspacian tried to recreate in Rome not so long ago. The arched columns encircled golden stadium seating and filled with thousands of gods and goddesses, as well as lower tier demigods and nymphs who’d bartered services for an invitation. Dionysus, the god of theater, stood at the stage to our backs, hyping the crowd as I mentally ran through the list of champions I’d sussed out from Hero’s Hall.
From what I gathered, the champion pool was mostly what I was expecting. I was right about Zeus choosing Herc, and Hermes said he’d chosen the stable boy, Pitt. But I was surprised to learn that Aphrodite chose Lyrica, especially with so many of her daughters eligible for the tournament. I wondered if Lyrica had leveraged our… friendship... to get that spot. But by far the biggest shock was that Athena had also chosen a mortal to compete on her behalf. What was that about?
The thrones for the Immortal Patrons faced the crowd in every direction, but I could only see Hades and a bit of Athena and Hermes from where I sat. All of us gods were back to back in a circle, our champions ready to rise on platforms in front of us the moment they were announced. As her trainer, I wasn’t technically allowed a throne, but Zeus made an exception considering Olympus had eleven champions and Hades and I only had one.
“And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for!” Dionysus said, his voice booming through the stadium with his godly ability. “The first champion is the half-mortal demigod—the savior of mortals. The child of Zeus himself, Hercules!”
Applause thundered through the arena, shaking the cloud-like surface below. Through the orbed spheres that floated around the stadium projecting the event like great floating jumbotrons, I could see Herc’s well-rehearsed grin. His wide jaw and Zeus-like features sent the goddesses into a frenzy, like fan girls at a pop concert. I rolled my eyes.
I sized up the champions but none received quite the crowd reaction that Herc did. Pitt had a likeable and energetic demeanor as he flapped his white-feathered wings playfully to the crowd and kissed his scrawny muscle. I chuckled, noting to have a chat with him at the ball later. Next was Lyrica, representing Aphrodite, who somehow looked strange to me with clothes on.
But, more than anything, I wanted to see Athena’s mortal champion. There had to be something special about him, like there had been with Yesenia… Before I could finish my thought, Dionysus’ voice shot through my head, setting my hair on end. “And, representing Hades, a mortal from Chicago... Yesenia Rodriguez.”
My throat tightened with anticipation as Yesenia rose on the platform in front of Hades and me. I gripped my throne’s armrest, as the girl in front of me hardly resembled the Yessi I thought I knew. She wore a tight red suit that clung to her skin. She looked like a virago as, inch by inch, she rose from the ground, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd. My heart raced as my gaze dragged over every sexy curve, now on full display. She spun toward me and waved to me and Hades, like we were old friends, sending a wave of charmed laughter through the arena that no doubt stirred envy in Hercules. Fucking gorgeous. Even her hellish red costume screamed that she was a force to be reckoned with. When her gaze met mine, I felt my lips part, and heat seared my face and my body pulsed beneath her gaze. Whether the attention she was drawing would make her the one to beat, or the one to get, either way Hermes was right, Hercules was coming for her.
23
Yesenia
The platform rose from the ground and I tossed a look over my shoulder at Jiro and Hades. Wiggling my fingers in a friendly wave, I greeted them like they were my besties and grinned as the crowd laughed. I made eye contact with Jiro for all of two seconds, but it was long enough to see the heat in his eyes. Apparently, he liked the leather. I broke my gaze, fighting the blush his obvious desire caused high in my cheeks, and walked to the center of the platform to own it.
I wasn’t sure if winning favor with the spectators would benefit me in the tournament at all but, on the off chance that it did, I was going to make them love me. I sashayed to the center of the platform, making sure my hips swayed enticingly, before spinning in a slow circle with my hand raised high above my head as I waved. I hadn’t gotten a chance to see the makeup magic Thea had worked, but I knew my body looked damn good in the fitted red outfit, and it filled me with a confidence I wasn’t accustomed to.
I held the crowd captive until my focus broke as the announcer’s next words echoed through the stadium. “Yet another mortal from Chicago, representing Athena, Manuel Alvarez.” My heart stopped at the familiar name and my head snapped to my left to see the platform rising directly in front of me. It’s not him. It can’t be him. My smile dropped from my face as I took in the newest competitor. He shouldn’t be here—couldn’t be here.
Manny looked straight up at me, holding my gaze as the crowd roared. It felt like every eye in the room flitted between the two of us. If the fact that the announcer told everyone we were from the same city hadn’t clued them in that we knew each other, the way we gaped at one another did. His eyes held me captive as a slow, sexy smile spread across his face. My heart skipped a beat.
Manuel had been my first kiss, first boyfriend, first everything. I’d loved that boy more than anything, but sometimes things don’t work out—we didn’t. The fact that we were no longer together did nothing to calm my racing heart. My lips parted, letting out a shaky breath as his eyes released me long enough to take in my leather form. Holy shit.
I felt my cheeks flare with heat as I tore my gaze away from him to note that the speaker had announced the rest of the contenders. I was so wrapped up in Manny’s intense stare that I hadn’t even noticed the passage of time. I turned around and looked down at Jiro as the platforms descended in unison, hoping he hadn’t noticed the visual exchange.
I should have known my luck wasn’t good enough for that. He glared at me, clearly realizing I had a history with Athena’s contestant. A small, selfish part of me was glad he looked jealous after having to see Lyrica all but beg to join him in bed the night before, but mostly I was j
ust afraid I had isolated my biggest ally in the tournament by openly gawking at the competition.
As the platform reached the ground, Jiro strode over to me and placed his palm on my lower back as he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “What the hell was that? You can’t eyefuck other contestants. They’re going to think you’re soft.”
It was so unfair that he snapped at me for looking at Manny. If he knew our history, he would understand. He may not get what was between Manny and me, but I still couldn’t condone the way he spoke to me and so I whipped my head up, causing our faces to be less than an inch apart as I glared up at him. “I wasn’t eyefucking Manny. I was just shocked to see my ex-boyfriend was a contestant. Sorry if that pisses you off.”
His face registered in shock as he murmured, seemingly to himself, “So that’s Athena’s angle.”
I wanted to question him, but the palm on my lower back pushed as he started walking, leading me through the doorway I had used to enter the stadium. I turned my head, looking for Manuel with the hope of speaking to him and found my prior flame being led through a different door.
I looked away from his broad back as I followed Jiro’s unspoken directive and exited the highly populated area. Once I was back in the hall, I was transferred to Thea, and Jiro turned to leave.
I was still pissed at him for snapping at me, but I just walked away. I had enough battles to fight in the upcoming days and I didn’t want to add an argument with Jiro to the mix. Instead, I stormed after Thea with the hope that my silence had spoken volumes to the Prince of Hell. The way he spoke to me made me feel oddly defensive and, at the same time, hurt my feelings. I just saw my ex-boyfriend on a platform in Olympus. Staring at him had been a knee-jerk reaction that I found myself wishing I had the foresight to repress.
I forced all thoughts of the two men from my head as Thea led the way to the bathing chambers we had left just an hour before. Once we entered the room, she burst into giggles and I glared at her as she spoke. “Oh, Jiro is going to have his hands full with you. I’ve never seen him so pissed or so turned on. He wants to do naughty things to you, Yessi.”
My cheeks flushed as I gave my new friend the evil eye. “No he doesn’t. He’s just an asshole. Why are we in here again? I didn’t get dirty. All I did was stand there.”
Thea tried, and failed, to control her laughter as she responded, “Sure he doesn’t.” She continued to laugh as she caused my outfit to burst into water again. I yelped and shouted at her. “Give a girl a warning!”
She just continued to laugh as she moved the water around my body. Like before, they began to glow, growing brighter until I was forced to close my eyes. When I opened them, my body was clad in a beautiful princess-style blood red ballgown. Crystals lined the bodice and were sprinkled through the poofy lower half, sparkling in the light as I moved. The bodice cinched my waist, like a corset yet comfortable, and pushed my chest up. The result was killer cleavage, yet the soft off-the-shoulder sleeves gave a look of innocence. I didn’t even know it was possible to look pure yet slutty all at once. Thea had skill.
My hands ran over the soft fabric as I tried to take in every detail. I’d never worn something so unbelievably stunning. I had always assumed I just wasn’t a dress kind of girl, but apparently I just hadn’t been wearing the right kind of dresses because I was fairly certain I had fallen in love with Thea’s creation.
“It’s a beautiful dress but, uhm, why am I wearing it?”
“For the Champions’ Ball. We feast and party the night away before the Trials. I’m pretty sure it’s to give the contestants one last hurrah since most of you will die.”
“You need to work on your bedside manner, Thea.”
She laughed and opened the door. “Let’s go. Something tells me this is going to be just as challenging as the Trials for you. You don’t strike me as the frilly type.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. I’d rather start the Trials than spend the night schmoozing gods, but at least I’d get the opportunity to speak with Manuel. I found myself consumed with thoughts of my ex as I followed Thea to the ballroom. How has he been? Why was he here? How did he become Athena’s champion? So many questions but, somehow, I found myself excited to hear his voice.
24
Jiro
I paced nervously through the hall, eyeing the champions as they entered. The room was similar to the one I’d arrived in before the ceremony, only this space refreshingly didn’t have a hint of gold anywhere. Instead, every solid surface was a clear crystal-like glass that refracted bits of multicolored light across the cloud-like dance floor. The sun neared the horizon, shining over the open platform as it gave hints of pink to the air around me. The music swelled as it sank through the orange-haloed clouds.
My muscles tensed as Athena’s champion strode in. His gaze shifted over the crowd, no doubt searching for Yesenia. I don’t like this one bit. He was good-looking enough as far as mortals went. Tall, broad-shouldered with tanned skin and a confident gait. Normally, I wouldn’t be fazed, but the way Yessi looked when his name was announced threw me. He stood beside Hercules, who already had a nymph on each arm, near the entrance. It was like the entire room was waiting to get another glimpse of Yessi.
Agitation sent my fingers running through my hair as I realized just how much attention Yesenia had drawn. I thought jealousy was just a human trait, but I was dead fucking wrong. The fact that Manuel held his breath as more champions filed in irked me. I had to keep reminding myself that whatever torture I felt in this bizarre situation, it must’ve been a thousand times worse for Yessi.
When Lyrica entered, I noticed that they’d changed her purple battle suit to a long flowing gown of the same color. The gauzy material trailed behind her as she walked toward the far end of the hall, ogling me as she passed with a sway of her hips. I felt a sharp pang of disappointment with the realization that I wasn’t going to see Yesenia in her red suit up close, but my fears were instantly doused when she stepped into the room. I gulped as she strode toward me in a red gown that seemed to draw all the light in the room as well as all the attention.
I raised my hand to wave her over but, as if there was no one else in the room, her gaze locked on Manny, her body moving instinctively toward him. Heat flooded my body and I only noticed when several of the gods nearby inched away.
“Ouch,” Hermes said, lowering to my shoulder. “And I thought Hercules was going to be your biggest competition. Who is that guy?”
I swallowed a mouthful of jealousy and strolled over to Yessi and her ex, hoping to listen in on their conversation without letting on just how much it bothered me. Exes were exes for a reason, right? If she broke it off with him, there was no way she still had feelings for him, was there?
I watched as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiled up at Manuel.
“Hello,” I blurted to them both.
“Hey, Jiro,” Yesenia said as she awkwardly looked between her ex and me. “This is Manny. Manny, this is Jiro. He’s my trainer.”
I choked on my tongue. Her trainer?
Between her introducing me as her trainer and using a nickname for the guy, my body temperature increased alongside my jealousy.
Manny smiled at me and held out his hand. I stared blankly at him before my wits jolted back and I shook his hand.
Manny’s grin was genuine as we shook, and he said, “So you’re the famous Prince of the Underworld, huh? Be gentle with my girl here. Ouch!” He yanked his hand back, shaking the excess heat off of it.
“Sorry,” I said. “I can’t always help it.”
“No problem, man,” he said. His gaze dragged between Yessi and me. “I, uh… I think I’ll give you two a minute.” His gaze landed heavily on Yesenia. “Yessi, save me a dance?”
I waited for Yessi’s sassy comeback to put this guy in his place.
“Okay. Me voy a hablar con él. I’ll come find you after,” she said, her eyes cutting to me as she flipped languages.
Dumbfounde
d, I held my tongue until Manny was out of earshot. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice in a sharp yell-whisper.
She challenged me with her gaze. “Did you burn him on purpose?”
“Of course not,” I spat.
My gaze moved to her red lips.
She lifted my chin with a soft touch. “Are you jealous?”
“Stop being ridiculous.”
She nodded, keeping her expression neutral. “Because if you were, maybe I’d admit that I was a little jealous of you and Lyrica last night. And then we could admit that there’s… something here.” She searched my eyes for answers but I didn’t have them.
I swallowed hard as reality set in, knowing full well that I would never be what she needed. It was a crush, that was it. It would pass. After all, her whole reason to risk her life in this tournament was to avoid the Underworld, which was my prison. She belonged on Earth with her sister and other mortal men… Just not Manny. I sighed. There was no scenario where we could be together. “Like you said, I’m just your trainer.”
She dropped her hand from my face and it took all of my will not to reach out to her. I’m sorry, Yessi. Don’t go. Don’t give up on me.
A flicker of sadness crossed her face, sending ice through my veins. I hurt her. I stood there frozen as she walked away, telling myself that I did the right thing, but I wasn’t so sure. Forgive me.
25
Yesenia
“Like you said, I’m just your trainer.”
His words echoed through my head as I pivoted and strode away. Maybe I had read the situation wrong. I thought he’d been jealous when I walked up to Manny immediately after entering the ballroom. I hadn’t thought twice about it. I had to talk to my ex, my only connection to home in this messed-up situation, as soon as I could. I had a burning need to know how and why he had ended up as an Olympic champion. When Jiro interrupted the conversation before it began, I assumed it was out of jealousy. Hell, I had wanted him to be jealous. The desire to know if the feelings that bubbled inside of me at his very presence were reciprocated drove me insane. I’m such an idiot.
The Trials of Olympus Page 8
