DIVINE » l. valdez

xiii

❝like an arrow from Orion

keep on straight and keep on tryin' ❞

The air turned brittle and cold. The temperature dropped so quickly, Hina could feel her lips crack, as her breath came out in white puffs. Frost crept up the walls of the Wolf House, as Hina fought against a chill.

Storm spirits raced in- but instead of winged men they were shaped like horses, running wild. Their manes crackled with lightning. A few storm spirits had silver arrows sticking out from their bodies, although the horses seemed unfazed. Behind them came red eyed wolves and  Earthborn, their six arms all wielding weapons.

Hina's heart pounded against her chest. 

Piper moved first, pulling out her dagger. Jason followed her lead, grabbing a nearby plank of wood while Hina picked up a metal rod from the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Hina saw Leo produce a pack of breath mints from his tool belt before shoving them away.

Hina decided not to question him as Leo drew out a hammer instead.

One of the wolves padded forward, dragging an ice sculpture forward. Hina gasped as the wolf dropped the statue in front of them, allowing the demigods to see- an ice sculpture of a girl with short spiky hair and a bow, looking shocked. 

Thalia.

"Thalia!" Jason rushed forward, only to be stopped by Hina and Piper. The ground where Thalia's statue laid was already covered by a sheet of ice that inched towards them. Hina couldn't process what had happened to Thalia but she knew touching the statue would freeze them too. 

"Who did this?" Jason yelled, breaking free from the girls' grip. His body crackled with electricity. "I'll kill you myself!"

From somewhere in the crowd of monsters a cold and empty laugh echoed towards them. She stepped out of the mist in her snowy white dress, a silver crown atop her long black hair. She regarded them with dark brown eyes as if they were insects in her path.

"Bon soir, mes amis," said Khione, the goddess of snow. She gave Leo a frosty smile. "Alas, son of Hephaestus, you say you need time? I'm afraid time is one tool you do not have."

Hina never expected them to be so close to freeing Hera. But now, they had five minutes to destroy the cage, surrounded by monsters with a furious snow goddess in front of them. 

Khione smiled coldly, a dagger of ice growing in her hand. Hina was hopeless.

"What've you done?" Jason demanded.

"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 appreciatively. Hina thought back to the hunters who had saved their lives. She thought to Phoebe, who had given her shelter and comfort. 

"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 arise, and we shall rule the world."

"Traitor!" Hera shouted. "You meddlesome, D-list goddess! You aren't worthy to pour my wine, much less rule the world."

Khione sighed. "Tiresome as ever, Queen Hera. I've been wanting to shut you up for millennia."

Khione waved her hand, and ice encased the prison, sealing in the spaces between the earthen tendrils.

"That's better," the snow goddess said. "Now, demigods, about your death—"

"You're the one who tricked Hera into coming here," Jason said. "You gave Zeus the idea of closing Olympus."