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“Ooh, I’ll find it for you, Cal!” We scattered like bowling pins, flying aside as Tycho blew through us. “I’ll get it. I’ll find it.”
Tycho went running while Calix shrugged and dove back in the water, this time with a trailing entourage that stripped off their clothes and went chasing after him.
“What is he doing?” Daciana shook her head at Tycho. “We all know that towel’s been stolen and burned. His clothes too. No one was ever going to let that man get dressed again.”
My head bobbed hard. Truer words had never been spoken. “And then there were four.”
“Hey, you?” A short brunette with a pixie cut and wet, see-through clothes waggled her fingers at Theron. “You’re Theron Zervas, right? Your mom is the Dionysus councilwoman?”
He swiped away his fizzy ale mustache sharpish. “Uh, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, yes, she is.”
“Oh my gods, that’s so cool. Will you tell me about her? What’s she like?”
“Excuse me, ladies.” Theron was gone without a look back.
“Make that three,” Daciana muttered.
Ionna laughed. “Don’t worry, guys. I won’t abandon you. Unlike our lust-filled friends, I’m only here to drink.” She nudged my shoulder. “I’m a child of Apollo and of Athena, if you understand my meaning.”
We shook our heads.
“Athena wasn’t interested in sex, or love, or lovers,” she explained. “Neither am I.”
“Oh, you mean asexual,” Daciana said.
“Do I?”
“That’s what we say in my dominion, but I like child of Athena. So cool to think of it like you’re the reflection of a goddess.”
Ionna’s expression brightened. “There are children of Athena in your world too?”
“Absolutely. One of my packmates...”
My gaze traveled over to Alex and found him looking back at me. Grinning, he gestured with his brows, pointing out the general direction of the trees.
I was about to nod when Sirena came out of nowhere and plastered herself against him. She twisted to see what he was looking at and I quickly dropped my head, suddenly very interested in my shoes.
“Ugh, I know,” Ionna said. “Sirena has that effect on me too.”
“You don’t like her either?”
Her curled lip answered that question. “Theron, Tycho, Nitsa, and I all grew up in the Trono City palace. Theron’s mother is a councilwoman. Tycho’s dad is a palace scribe. My mom is the cartologist and census-taker, and Nitsa’s parents are nobles. Sirena’s mom is the Aphrodite councilwoman.
“All the children of people who live and work in the palace are sent to the same school. No difference for children of servants, staff, or council people,” she said. “It’s why palace work is so sought after. Your kids get to grow up in the safest place in Olympia with the best education. Unfortunately, Sirena took side lessons where they taught her she was prettier, stronger, and better than us mere peasants and shouldn’t have to breathe the same air as us.
“She was fucking relentless about us staff kids not belonging in the same school as her, even when she was seven.Whine, whine, cry, crynonstop about how we smelled bad, asked stupid questions, distracted her, and all around interfered with her precious learning. When that didn’t work to get us kicked out, she made our lives hell. Destroyed our scrolls, framed us for destruction and pranks on the instructors. I spent most of the school seasons taking on extra lessons and punishments for shit I didn’t even do.”
“What the hell?” I cried. “How could anyone be so evil?”
“The god of evil scattered into pieces—too weak to carry on.” Ionna’s eyes narrowed. “Sirena Cirillo took his place.”
Daciana snapped around, eliciting surprised yelps from behind us. “Do you need something?”
Three Titan girls had crept up behind us. My lips pressed tight together recognizing one of the girls from that morning in the cafeteria. She helpfully dumped a bowl of pumpkin soup on my head to round out my fall look.
“We just— We were wondering—” She dropped her voice. “Those dresses...?”
I braced myself for the insults.
