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Sirena lazily glanced at her claws. “Is that supposed to scare me, mutt?” Dragon’s paws erupted from her elbows, shoving us back with their mere enormity.
I swallowed hard, standing between claws bigger than me. In a blink, they were gone, and Sirena’s smile remained.
“You just don’t get who you’re dealing with,” Sirena said. “Since the peasant here doesn’t know what gives me the right”—she flapped a hand at me—“I’ll tell you. I’m Sirena Cirillo. Daughter of the Aphrodite councilwoman. Chosen for the Hera council seat. My chosen husband is Alexander Damien, heir to the Zeus council seat.
“This is Hyacinth, heir to the Demeter seat.” She pointed to the tall, red-haired beauty on her right. “One touch and a creature will die of starvation in seconds. Simply wither into an emaciated husk and die.
“Cora.” The brunette on her left was next to go. She had pouty lips and an imperious air like I wasn’t worthy to even know her name. “Heir to the Apollo seat. She speaks words of persuasion. If she tells you there’s a snake living in your gut and you need to cut it out, you’ll stab yourself till you keel over.”
It was everything in me not to put a thousand feet between me and powers like that. I suddenly understood why Vasili made us all stand up and announce our abilities in front of each other. We needed to know who to fear and who to run from.
“Penelope, heir to the Athena seat. She turns her enemies into olive trees.
“Charity, heir to the Hephaestus seat. She creates living statue warriors.
“Elisavet, heir to the Dionysus seat, can strike madness in the soul of those who look in her eyes,” Sirena whispered, moving close to me. “And Sara, heir to the Artemis seat, can find an enemy’s weak spots in her mind’s eye and release arrows that all fly true.
“You’re looking at some of the most powerful beings in this, or any, dominion,” she hissed. “So what gives me the right to order little toovas like you around? The fact that I have the power to make you do what I want, and you don’t have the power to stop me.” She leaned back, smirking. “Clear enough for you?”
I nodded.
“Good.” She stepped back. “Now, get out of our party and take all your Sisyphean friends with—”
“Pbtfffffffffffff!”
Sirena ground to a stop. “Excuse me? What did you just—?”
“Pbtfffffffffffff!” I sounded off another raspberry. “That’s what you sound like. Clearly your mouth’s an asshole because nothing but bullshit comes out.”
Sirena flushed a concerning, mottled purple as raucous laughs broke out. “How dare you—?”
“Pbtffffff.”
“You little—”
“Pbtfffff.”
The laughs got louder, and Sirena’s expression more hilariously angry. I was being a bit childish, but it wasn’t my fault. I stole it from another patient in the psych ward. Whenever a conversation went on longer than his interests, he blew raspberries until they stormed off or shut up. Who was I to argue with what worked?
“Unless you want me to hold your severed head above your gutted body, you’ll stop—!”
“Pbtfffff.”
“Hey!” Feathery, taloned claws ensnared my throat. “What the fuck is wrong with you, bitch? Do you want to die?”
I rolled my eyes. “In my experience, people who intend to kill you don’t go around shouting about it. They just do it.”
This was my experience because my former roommate certainly never gave me any warning the times she jumped me with a shiv.
“Sorry, Sirena, but you don’t impress me, and you definitely don’t intimidate me.”
“Is that right?” Her voice was a low, dangerous hiss.
“Yes.” Daciana fell in beside me.
“That’s right,” Ionna said, standing tall on my other side.
“Mmm. What am I to make of this pointless, suicidal show of toughness?” She released my neck—hand returning to normal. “Am I supposed to quake in my boots? Or back down in shock and awe that you dared to stand up to me?”
