ENTRAPPED ₂

21

ETHAN WAS NOT IMPRESSED.

Khione had been far too obvious. Ethan's rule: to betray someone, you had to be subtle. He was subtle. When he had left Camp Half-Blood that winter, he hadn't told anyone. When he had shifted between Luke's army and camp, his hatred between his teeth, only he knew what he was doing.

She had been enough in the throne room. She had tried to destroy Festus. The snowstorm was a dramatic and unnecessary touch.

Ethan was the child of revenge, and he knew how backstabbing worked. He had known Silena was the traitor for at least a week before she was bleeding out all over Drew. He felt loyalty in his body. His hands buzzed when Madeleine touched him. For a long time, that was the only reason he had touched her at all. That fucking buzz. No one had ever wanted him like she had.

Now he stood in the ruins of someone's house, and his only allies were an amnesiac with a knife he didn't know how to use, a pretty girl with a dagger she also didn't know how to use, a scrawny boy who thought he could fight the enemy with breath mints, and a whiny goddess.

Ethan wasn't having fun.

Normally, a small team wouldn't have been a problem. Ethan had murdered more monsters with just Madeleine by his side than he ever had in a big group. But that was because they worked as a team. They knew each other's reactions. They were both deadly and resilient and careworn.

Jason, Piper, and Leo were a tentative team, born of desperation and nothing else. That was a good way to start a team, but not a good way to rely on one. They had saved each other's lives again and again on this quest, but Jason hadn't even known his last name a week ago.

Ethan and Madeleine had fought together for so many years that he knew everything about her. He knew from the way her mouth pursed that he should duck. He knew from the way her arm grabbed his shirt that he should dive. He knew from the way her shoulders tightened that he was about to be attacked.

He knew her. And it wasn't just her. Annabeth, Percy, Drew, Lee. They fought like a team, because they were a team. It had been life and death for so long that they had forgotten what it wasn't like.

Gods, Ethan never thought he would miss Percy Jackson.

But there was this, too: they were all exhausted, drained in every way. Jason was struggling with his entire history. Piper had just watched her father go through something awful. Leo didn't know who he was anymore than Jason did. And Ethan was battle-worn and tired, and when he felt like that, there was only one person in the world that he wanted. He hadn't seen her in months.

So, no, Ethan was not feeling very impressed when they faced the enemy.

Khione smiled, her dark eyes glittering, as a dagger of ice grew in her hand. Ethan had never paid any special attention to eyes until Madeleine. Before, eyes were just eyes. He knew his dark brown ones matched Khione's. He also knew that his favorite color was the color of Madeleine's eyes: brown flecked with green, hazel and warm like honey in the sunlight.

Khione had brown eyes. Ethan hated her for that.

"What've you done?" Jason demanded. Ethan's knife was gripped in his hand.

"Oh, so many things," the snow goddess purred. "Your sister's not dead, if that's what you mean. She and her Hunters will make fine toys for our wolves. I thought we'd defrost them one at a time and hunt them down for amusement. Let them be the prey for once."

The wolves snarled.

"Yes, my dears." Khione kept her eyes on Jason. "Your sister almost killed their king, you know. Lycaon's off in a cave somewhere, no doubt licking his wounds, but his minions have joined us to take revenge for their master. And soon Porphyrion will rise, and we shall rule the world."