Her reluctance to preen and pose for the cameras has created a cultlike following among Olympus residents. There are entire message boards devoted to people who want her to step on them or who write fanfic about all the Thirteen, but her in particular. She prefers to pretend they don’t exist, but the side effect is that her popularity is among the highest of the Thirteen.
She flicks out a hand, her expression even. Immediately, the crowd’s cheering cuts off as if something hit a dial. Impressive. She might not do the public thing often, but she’s certainly got the presence and command for it. Athena sweeps a look across the arena. “Shall we begin? Good. Our first champion is Paris Chloros.”
I flinch, my stomach twisting as I watch my ex walk out of the entrance opposite me and wave to the crowd as he heads for the short podium on the far right. Overhead, the screen flashes clips of him from various gossip sites, and I feel a little sick when I notice how many of them feature me as well. The pit in my stomach only gets worse at how happy I look in those videos. Some of it was a lie—dealing with the paparazzi means learning to project the image you want them to run with—but I really was happy with Paris…until I realized that my nice-guy boyfriend was an even bigger liar than I was.
Paris provided this video; I know because I was asked to provide the same thing for my entrance. What the fuck is he trying to prove? Surely this isn’t all a bid to get me back? I shake my head. No, with Paris, this is more likely some kind of pissing contest, reminding everyone that I was his before I was the next Ares’s wife. I shudder. There’s a reason I broke things off with him, and I’ll commit truly outstanding acts of violence before I let him near me again.
Out of everyone in Olympus, he’s the one person I thought I could trust. The one I confessed my doubts and fears to. Instead of providing a soft place to land, he sharpened those same doubts and fears and shot them right into the heart of me, all with a smile on his handsome face.
By the time I ended things with him and managed to make the breakup stick, he’d brutalized my instincts and ruined most of my close friendships. I hadn’t even realized he was isolating me until the relationship ended and I was left standing alone.
“Our second champion is Hector Chloros.”
I smile despite myself as Hector moves easily across the sand to the second platform. All the good genes in that family went to the elder brother, a fact proven by his video. Ninety percent of it is of him and his wife, Andromache, and their daughter. It would be a strange choice if he were actually here to win, but this video feels like a declaration of a different sort. He’s obviously acting as support to Paris.
That’s going to be a problem.
It stands to reason that alliances are a possibility, but I’d been so focused on getting around my family to accomplish this that I hadn’t thought much farther than getting into the tournament and competing in the trials. Now that I’m thinking about it, though… I have three sets of allies to worry about who are significantly more dangerous than the rest of the champions. Hector and Paris. The two strangers who arrived together. And Achilles and Patroclus. Ajax will likely fall in with either Hector or Achilles, based on his history with them. Possibly even Atalanta, which would make a fourth pair to deal with. Each of those champions is a challenge on their own. Together? Things just got significantly more complicated.
“Fuck,” I murmur. Maybe I can approach Atalanta before Ajax or the others get a chance and see if she’d be willing to work together to get past the first two trials. I won’t have much time to work my charm, and I don’t really know her at all, but surely the bond of sisterhood is enough to work in my favor.
I grimace. Not likely.
While I was waffling, Athena has run through a good number of the champions. They file in, one after another. Some slump alone with their shoulders bowed, obviously not here because they want to be. Others strut and wave at the crowd. I know most of them on sight, but it’s clear that after Paris and Hector, Athena is saving the true contenders for last.
Sure enough, Ajax and Atalanta were announced next. Then comes the Minotaur—seriously, what kind of name is that—and Theseus. They look even bigger when lined up with the others. Hector and Ajax are no joke, but these two have several inches and quite a few pounds of muscle on both. Which means they positively tower over everyone else. Hopefully that means they’ll be slow and we can knock them out in the first trial.