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I couldn’t see my friends in the crush. Had Jason helped and gotten them out? I couldn’t see Alex, let alone tell if he got to Sirena and helped her.
“What do we do!” I spun on Sebastian, Dimitri, and Castor.
They were gone.
“Bastards!”
I had to do something. I had to help.
My power.
If I can go back to when Sirena went off, I can stop Kosma from letting loose on her. Even more, if I got back far enough, I could warn Alex that Sirena searched his room, and he needed to confront her somewhere private.
“It takes time to learn how to open the connection when we decide to, but you can and will learn.”
I hated that his voice out of all came into my head, but I needed someone’s assurance that I could do this. The two times I did this, I was panicked, in pain, and afraid for my life. I had plenty of all three going right now.
A hellstone whizzed past my head. Darting through the fighting, I plastered against the wall and tried to focus—imagining that space beyond time and reality.Today, I am your master, bitch. Open. Let me in. Open!
“Novices!” Kazran leaped on the platform. “Put them down. Drop them!” Making fists, he flexed them toward the heavens as if raising a heavy burden. Snakes slithered out of the black, terrifying hellstones.
I screamed.
Raising a smooth, diamond-stamped head, a snake tangled me in its gaze—tongue scenting the air. I froze. Not breathing, not moving, not thinking.
It lunged.
“Ahh—!” The snake snatched a hellstone out of the air, catching it inches from my temple. I didn’t know what my sins were, but it saved me being punished by them in the worst way.
Scrambling over the bodies and snakes, I tore for the exit. There was no concentrating while dodging death and torture. The entire stadium was pandemonium. Fighting, screaming, and powers flying. Calix’s defenders were vicious in their protection of him, turning on their own friends. I hissed, seeing Liza jump on Kosma’s back and clamp her teeth on the screaming girl’s ear.
Theron gasped against the platform, covered in writhing snakes. My stomach heaved even though I knew they were under Kazran’s control. I skidded to a stop. He was my friend, I couldn’t leave him.
“Theron?” I approached him, scream leaking through my teeth. I was not fond of snakes. “Come with me. Please, I’ll get you out of here.”
“—help me,” he gasped, eyes so wide they were almost all white. “Aella, help me— Get them off— Can’t— Can’t—”
“Oh no, are you having a panic attack?” Fighting back against my fear, I tugged and unwound the beasts, trying to get them off. They held fast—snapping and throwing me back for the trouble. “They’re trying to protect you,” I cried.
Looking around, I saw more students stumbling and freaking out to find themselves covered head to toe in snakes. “So the hellstones and Lethe water can’t touch you.”
“Can’t... control. Aella!” he burst out, startling me. “I h-hate them. Hate snakes. I can’t control it. You have to get me out of here!”
Realization dawned like a punch to the face. Son of Ares, full of fear and hatred. He was about to blow.
“Get off him!” I screeched at the snakes. An entirely appropriate response considering I was kneeling next to an actually ticking bomb. “You’re making it worse! People are going to die unless you let him go! Please, understand me!”
“Aella!” Someone skidded to a stop next to me.
Alex.
I didn’t give a shit who saw, I threw my arms around him. “Alex, you’re okay.”
“I am, thanks to Sebastian.”
“Sebastian?”
“He took a hellstone to the face that was meant for me. When he went down, Dimitri and Castor grabbed Sirena out of here to get help. Jason’s going around throwing paradise flowers at everyone—out-blissing their hatred.”
