ENTRAPPED ₂

28

AS SOON AS EVERYONE WAS DISMISSED, MADELEINE STORMED TO TEMPLE HILL.

She did not tell anyone where she was going. After practically shoving Gwen into Hazel's arms and telling her to keep an eye on the formerly dead girl, Madeleine fucked off. She didn't want anyone to be involved. Not Frank, not Hazel, not Reyna. They all had enough on their plates. Even Percy. She didn't need him to fight her battles for her, and this was very clearly her fight.

Octavian had made himself scarce right after Mars had disappeared, probably anticipating some kind of disruption. After all, he would have to find a new pilum. His old one had been broken in two.

Sure enough, he was at his altar, holding a teddy bear and muttering under his breath. The paper from Mars was tucked between his belt and his waist.

"Octavian!" Madeleine shouted.

He turned, his eyes wide with surprise. Of course, he hadn't expected her to hunt him down in his temple. Madeleine was sick and tired of being underestimated.

She hit him so hard that her hand stung. He dropped his teddy bear, slack-jawed.

"Where's your weapon?" Madeleine snarled. "Oh, I forgot." She hit him again, smearing the blood from the pilum all over his face. "There it is."

Octavian just looked at her. His expression was cold and unnerving and unfeeling, all traits that Madeleine was less than fond of.

"What?" she snarled. "Say something. Tell me you didn't kill Gwen on purpose."

"And what if I did?" Octavian asked coolly. "What if I told you that I saw you talking to her before the battle, and I knew that in order to get to you, I killed her?"

"You have a problem, you take it up with me. Not those involved with me. Not my friends."

"But that's the best way to do something, sweetheart. I'm keeping you in line. Besides, I was doing you a favor, Madeleine. Your cohort is bound to love you. Centurion! We'll need you to be one if you're going to lead your quest."

Madeleine went to smack him again, but this time, he ducked out of her way. His voice was icy when he spoke. "I may not have a pilum, but I do have a knife."

He did, indeed, have his sacrificial knife. He stabbed at Madeleine, but she drew one of her own knives and disarmed him with a twist of her wrist. The move felt sentimental and self-sacrificial, but there was no time for Madeleine to worry about her shitty memory and her cloudy past.

Madeleine slammed Octavian into the temple wall, her knife at his throat. For his credit, he looked unphased.

"Here we are again, hm?" he asked. "If you wanted to pin me to a wall, you could've done it without the knife."

Madeleine pressed the blade against his throat, choking him. "Don't ever hurt someone in my name. That's a sure way to put yourself in danger."

"Oh, yes? What are you going to do?" Octavian's voice was raspy, his eyes red, but he managed to keep talking. "Are you going to tell Reyna on me? I can just tell her about that little photo in your pocket."

Madeleine slashed him across the throat. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to scare him. She knew her limits. She grabbed a fistful of his pale hair and threw him to the ground.

"I'm going to tell Reyna regardless," Madeleine snarled. "If you want to make this personal, then let's make it personal. The Greeks don't have a problem with justice."

For a long, tense moment, Octavian just stared at her from his place on the floor, his eyes perfectly round. Blood dribbled from his throat.

Madeleine kicked his knife towards him. "Next time, fight me, or I'll kill you."