The second time I woke up wasn’t half as peaceful. Cold water splashed at my face as I shot up spluttering. I wiped the moisture from my eyes and found Jiro, fully dressed this time, looming over me with a smile that promised pain. “Get up. It’s time to start training.”
“You’re an asshole,” I groaned, dropping my face into my hands.
“Not my fault you decided to get wasted last night. You knew I was going to start whipping you into shape today.”
I flipped him off before getting out of bed. “I had one drink. How was I supposed to know it’d be that strong? I blame the bartender.”
Jiro threw his head back and laughed, taking way too much joy from my misery. I winced at the noise, my eyes squinting even though the only light in the room was from the dull glow of the walls. My senses were overloaded as my body detoxed.
Jiro tossed a set of clothes at me, which I did not catch. “That wasn’t a bartender. Hermes is a god, and a mischievous one at that. He has a champion in the tournament as well—probably why he got you drunk. Now go shower. You have thirty minutes to wash and eat. If you aren’t finished in time, you’ll starve. We’re not wasting any time.”
I groaned and made my way to the bathroom, glad we weren’t acknowledging the fact that we had slept together. I opened the bathroom door and looked back to see a wide grin on his handsome face. “Can you at least pretend not to be so happy that I’m miserable? You look like a kid in a fucking candy store.”
His smile just grew as he said, “Twenty-nine minutes.”
28
Jiro
I was surprised to find that, while normally Yesenia was a pain in the ass, drunk Yesenia seemed to like me quite a bit. The next morning, however, I was acquainted with a third facet of her personality—hung over Yesenia—and, without a doubt, she wanted me dead.
We stood on the cloudy plain of the training platform, which was closer to the base of Mount Olympus than the city, as Yessi doubled over and vomited. The mist leapt up to cover her face a bit, but the sound of her retching made my stomach turn. “Again,” I shouted. “And pick your knees up higher this time.”
“For fuck’s sake, stop smiling,” she said, and she spit once more before standing and putting her hand to her head.
“This is only a warmup. You have a long day ahead of you.”
“Fuck you, Jiro.”
I couldn’t hide the smile that assaulted me. She was stunning when angry, and she was a beautiful girl to begin with, especially now that I finally got to see her up close in her combat suit. My thoughts moved to the night before. In the heat of the Underworld, I had felt my willpower stutter on the edge of its breaking point as Yesenia drunkenly tried to yank my clothes off. I’d found a way to resist her, but the wall I’d risen between us to keep her at an emotional distance was cracking.
As Yessi jogged around the pitch once more, only making it a half lap around before she once again spewed the contents of her stomach, fear burrowed beneath my skin. When all this began, I hadn’t really cared if she’d survive the competition or not, but things had changed. I’d unintentionally become invested and now she would pay the ultimate price.
“Again,” I barked.
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail that flared outward. She’d missed a few strands at the back that stuck to her neck with sweat. If I didn’t find a way to prepare her for this competition— I froze as I felt a flicker of my immortal energy. It was the same sensation I felt when using one of my abilities, but I hadn’t used it then.
I looked up as Yesenia ran past, her knees rising to her waist with each step. She made almost a full lap before she had to stop to catch her breath.
“No breaks! Push yourself.”
With a sigh, she pushed on and, just as before, I felt my immortality waver. I watched her carefully. Surely it was a coincidence.
“You’re going to be the slowest and weakest of all the competitors.”
“Gee, thanks,” she said as she passed.
“But you have a lot on the line. When you feel yourself wanting to quit, think of Araceli.”
She stopped, her gaze intensifying until a fire blazed behind her eyes. She sprinted much faster and further than before.
I lowered a hand to the surface of the platform and yanked the clouds up. The empty mass darkened as it got thicker, carving itself into the form I’d willed it to become. The clone of Hercules stood before me, his arms crossed over his chest, his face twisted into his usual smirk. The duplicate was convincing enough for me to want to punch.
“What’s this?” Yesenia asked as she jogged to my side. “He’s not here, right? You made this?”
I nodded. “It’s an illusion. We’re going to start combat training now.”
Yessi reached out to Hercules, her eyebrows shooting up when her hand collided with solid flesh instead of passing through. “What the fuck? So he can hurt me?”
“He can kill you, so don’t let your guard down.”
“Wow, that’s weird,” she said as the Hercules copy eyed her body and grinned.
Using the same method, I fashioned a weapon rack. “Yeah, it’s one of the perks of the training platforms.”
“Can I do it?” Yessi asked.
I crossed my arms in response. She reached down to the swaying surface and yanked up a mass that I couldn’t guess the form of until it was almost completely formed. A fluffy pillow-covered couch stood conspicuously between us.
“Thank gods,” she said, throwing herself on it, but I quickly reached out and touched its leather-like surface, willing it to vanish. She crashed down to the hard ground.
“You’re such a dick,” she said, rubbing her ass.
I sighed, biting back my smile as she got to her feet. I gestured to the weapon rack with twelve of the most suitable choices neatly displayed. “Pick a weapon, Yess. You can rest when you’re dead.”
29
Yesenia
“How about I rest when you’re dead? I’m super game to kill you right now,” I grumbled as I rubbed my sore tailbone. Between the abuse it took in the bathing chambers the night before and falling from the couch—or lack thereof—my lower back was battered, and my ass hurt.
My stomach felt like it was burning inside, and my lungs were seconds from bursting due to overexertion, but I did as I was told. Jiro was a total ass, but he was also right. I had to work hard to survive. I was smaller and weaker than every other competitor. I needed to train viciously to have any chance. I couldn’t let Araceli down. Of course all of that was fine and dandy, in theory, but my hangover was making the whole working out thing supremely difficult.
“You have thirty seconds to pick your weapon or it’ll be hand to hand combat,” Jiro’s warning rang out, eliciting a groan from me. I didn’t know a damn thing about the sort of weapons before me. There was a range of swords that looked infinitely different. There were even daggers, axes, and something that looked suspiciously like throwing stars. All super cool conceptually, but I had no idea how to use any of them.
I didn’t waste time pondering my options though. No part of me thought Jiro was bluffing about the hand to hand combat, and I so wasn’t down with getting rocked by cloud Hercules. I snatched a dagger that was similar in size to the switchblade I carried on me when walking home from work and a long sword that was thinner than the other options. I just hoped smaller meant lighter because my alcohol-battered muscles could barely keep my arms up. I’d have no shot at holding a heavy sword.
I tucked the dagger into a thigh holster built into my leather training suit, seemingly identical to the one Thea had dressed me in, and gripped my sword firmly in hand. I took a step forward into a ring formed by clouds on the ground and lifted the sword in front of me.
“Bring it, Cloudcules.”
“Cloudcules?” Jiro’s scoff sounded suspiciously similar to repressed laughter.
I pointed the sword awkwardly towards my opponent. This time Jiro actually laughed at me. “Your stance is as bad as yo
ur nicknaming skills. Lift the sword higher and adjust your grip or one blow is going to send it flying from your hand.”
Cloudcules and I circled around the ring, sizing up one another. His sword shot out at me and I ducked, avoiding the strike—barely.
“Holy shit.” Remind me again why I didn’t prefer hand to hand combat.
“Focus, Yesenia.”
I took a deep breath and moved in an attempt to avoid the cloud giant. His sword swung low this time, aiming for my knee. He was probably two feet taller than I was and had an insane reach, but his bulky muscles made him a little clumsy, and I was faster. I slid under his sword as it swung broadly at my body. It was almost like I was playing baseball with my friends again. Except instead of being out if I got tagged, I’d be dead. No pressure.
“You need to go on the offensive, Yess.” Jiro’s voice was filled with agitation that grated on my nerves.
“You need to teach me something or shut up. Trying to focus on not getting beheaded here.”
“He went for your knees. You wouldn’t have been beheaded.”
As if he were actually paying attention to our conversation, Cloudcules took that moment to swing his blade at my neck. I dropped down and rolled to get away from him in a manner that would have made any first grade fire safety instructor proud.
“Fuck.”
“Offensive, Yess. Attack him.”
My stomach was roiling from the roll and I had to fight the urge to vomit. I felt horrible, but I also didn’t feel like dying, so I had to keep my head in the game. Instead of being sassy, I took Jiro’s advice and went for an attack.
My sword work was sloppy as I swung at the cloud’s legs. As expected, he knocked the sword from my hand with little more than a flick of his wrist.
I released the sword upon contact with Cloudcules’ and launched myself at him, over the downward swinging arch of his still moving blade. I pulled the dagger from my thigh holster midair and slammed it into his jugular. The weapon slid through his fluffy makeup with little effort as it morphed in my hand, transitioning into a scythe that sent his head tumbling off, severed from his faux body.
“Take that!” I shouted in victory as I landed with a thud. The dagger changing had been unexpected, but I was too proud of myself to care. I had beat him!
I turned to Jiro, expecting praise, but I was met with a frown instead.
“What?”
“That was a smart idea when fighting a cloud... but do you really think you’d be able to stab someone in the neck and drag your blade until their throat split open? Real flesh and blood? Would you be able to do it in the tournament to the real Hercules? To your... boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend,” I responded automatically, trying to process his question. No. I didn’t think I would be able to kill someone so savagely. I wasn’t sure I had it in me. I had to win—definitely—but I didn’t want to become a monster in the process.
Taking a deep breath, I locked eyes with Jiro. “I’ll do what I have to in order to survive and win. I don’t know if I can, but what are my other options?”
He nodded like he already knew the answer. “We train so that you’re better than them and don’t have to. Pick up your sword. You need to fight someone real to take this seriously.”
“I’m not going to fight you, Jiro. What if I hurt you?”
“Yesenia, I am immortal. Maybe you should worry more about your safety. Pick up your weapon.”
He stood with a hard glint in his eye before reaching down and placing two fingers on the cloud floor. He closed his eyes for a second and then brought his thumb down as if he were pinching something between his fingers. As he lifted his arm up, I gasped. There was a beautiful sword coming up from the clouds. It was the same color as my dagger, but it was covered in intricate carvings.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, in awe of the craftsmanship.
“It’s a replica of my mother’s chosen weapon.”
I could see the emotion in his eyes and I felt for him. I wished the situation with his mother was different. It seemed so unfair. I didn’t say any of that to him though. Instead, I stiffened my chin and lifted it along with my dagger. “Well then. Ready to kick my ass?”
Humor flashed in his eyes, but there was also a glint of understanding. He knew I felt bad for him, just as I knew he pitied me, but neither of us acknowledged it. He nodded and swung his sword expertly. “I’m going to make you regret drinking last night.”
“I already do,” I groaned. Any other reply was cut off by Jiro seeming to fly toward me with a wickedly sharp blade.
30
Jiro
For the entire morning of training, I was consumed by two troubling thoughts. One was the threat of Hades coming to check on Yesenia. She’d been steadily improving, able to shift her dagger into a scythe at will but unable to use the timing to her advantage. I doubted he’d approve of her obvious hangover or lack of form either.
The second troubling thought was the bizarre flicker of my immortality that I’d felt twice that morning. I’d thought Yessi had something to do with it, and I stayed on full alert waiting to see if pushing her would trigger the feeling again. It didn’t. The only change to my immortality was me calling on it for patience so I could deal with Yesenia’s vomit breaks. I had to admit that I was impressed by how she never quit no matter how many times I knocked her down. I didn’t even explain that her wounds would be healed later that night by the bath Thea drew for her.
I already knew Yesenia was scrappy, but she hardly batted an eye when I struck her, as if… she’d been hit many times before. I should have known that a mother who would sell her daughter's soul might also be capable of inflicting other traumas.
Yessi lifted her dagger, switching it to scythe mode, but not quickly enough to cut me. I leaned back slightly, losing my balance. She smiled as she swiped at me again, and I couldn’t help but mirror her grin. She was enjoying this. I swung my blade at full speed and she sailed beneath it on her knees. I spun, but her scythe was already in position as our blades came together, sending both of us stumbling backward. We stood smiling at each other, both fueled by the thrill of the hunt. I suppose I was enjoying it a little too.
A throat cleared behind me, sending my nerves on edge, just as they had been the night Zeus caught me stealing his pegasus. But it wasn’t Zeus on the edge of the training platform. It was Thea. “You two seem to be getting along well,” Thea said. Heat burned my face, and the way she and Yessi leaned back made me think they felt it.
Thea’s body glistened with water, her form lit with the distinct glow of immortality. “I’ve been sent by Hades to begin your magic training.” She grinned at me, a twinkle of misconduct in her eyes. “Can you spare your trainee?”
No, get lost. We’re in the middle of something. “Of course,” I said.
“Magic?” Yessi asked, reverting her scythe into a dagger. “Is that something that someone can learn?”
Thea’s features smoothed. “In Olympus.” Her gaze lingered on Yesenia’s sunken cheeks. “How about we grab lunch first?”
Yesenia threw her hands into the air. “Hell yes!” she said, marching to me, grabbing my wrist, and pulling me toward Thea. “You heard her, Jiro. Lunch time. Can’t argue with a goddess.”
I wiggled my wrist free and slid my hand into hers absentmindedly. “Well, I’m a god and all you do is argue with me.”
She giggled, pulling me along behind her. “You don’t count.” I caught a glimpse of Thea’s face. Her eyes narrowed and my blood ran cold. I dropped Yessi’s hand so violently that she turned to see what was wrong.
Thea smiled brightly, drawing Yesenia’s attention. “Follow the path. We’ll catch up with you in a second. I have a few training questions to sort out with Jiro.”
I wasn’t sure if Thea’s sweet and sultry voice had convinced Yesenia that everything was fine, or if she was so hungry that she didn’t want to waste a moment getting to lunch, but with a shrug of her shoulders she took off
back the way we had come, glancing back curiously at us.
Thea waited until Yesenia was out of earshot before her pleasant disposition fell away and her icy stare bore into me.
“What’s this about?” I asked, squeezing my sword back into a cloud. It vanished between my fingers.
“Look,” she said as she rested her hand on my shoulder. “Yesenia is a good person.”
“I know,” I said, breaking her gaze.
“No, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t be holding hands like some mortal high schooler on his way to prom.”
I clenched my teeth, the levity of my morning extinguished by her harsh words.
“I don’t know what your intentions are, or if you actually care about her—”
“I do,” I said, sliding my hands into my pockets.
She nodded. “Good, so you’ll understand me when I say this. End it. Whatever this thing is that’s going on between you. Get her through this tournament alive, and then send her home.”
“That was always the plan.”
“I assumed so. It didn't take a goddess to divine that she had feelings for you, as to be expected. Human souls are drawn to immortal ones like ours. But when I arrived, you seemed taken with her as well.” I shook my head, but words didn’t come. I knew she was right. “Our world is meant for gods. She doesn’t belong here and, sooner or later, it’ll end the only way it can... with her dead because of you.”
“And what if I can’t… end it?” I held my breath.
She looked at me, her gaze which had been so intense a moment ago now seeming sad. “Then prepare yourself for the consequences.”
31
Yesenia
I knew Thea was upset when she entered the room. She thought she was schooling her face but I could see through the fake smile. She didn’t like Jiro and me being friendly—that much was obvious. Now I just needed to find out if that was because she was looking out for me or herself.
The Trials of Olympus Page 10
