“I don’t have power,” I blurted. “Your threats and torture chambers cannot change that. Call a child of Hecate. Call a child of the goddess of truth. I’m not a demigod.”
“Then how did a soldier die in your locked cell? How did the demon?”
I said the truest thing I ever would. “They were killed by a monster. That monster wasn’t me.” Laughter rang in my ears. “Give me any amount of truth serum you desire. My answer will not change.”
“Hmm. I can see we’re hitting a wall, Miss Galanis. One you’ve dug yourself under quite nicely,” Drakos clipped. “You’ve made your bluff. Now it’s up to me to call it or give proof you’re still lying.”
“Of course she’s lying.” Purplish veins shone stark on Vasili’s forehead. “If this was happening, we would know. If he was taken or killed, I would know!”
Remis cupped his cheek. My brows popped at such an intimate gesture. “Maybe not, Leonidas. The lamia attacked your home while you were miles away across the sea. If it took Philo, you weren’t there to see—”
“Stavra!”
“—and doesn’t that give us hope,” she continued, raising her voice. “Hope when we had none at all. There’s a chance he’s out there somewhere. If it takes rooting out every lamia nest in Olympia, we won’t stop until we’ve found Philo, or destroyed the monster who took him.”
He shook off her grasp, lines hardening around his weary, grizzled jaw. “She has not given me hope. I can swear to you that of all the things this girl did here today, giving hope to those grieving families was not one of them.”
Vasili slammed out the door. The force rattled books off Drakos’s shelves.
“I know I haven’t given hope,” I said softly. “When the truth comes out, parents will drive themselves mad wondering if their children were spared. They’ll risk life and limb to bring them home. That’s if it’s not already too late. Anyone who remains of Iris’s, Chloe’s and Evangeline’s families can now suffer the guilt of knowing they were waiting for them to save us... and they never came.”
Remis made for the door. “I need to speak to him.”
“One moment, Stavra.” Drakos halted her in her tracks. “Miss Galanis has missed a week of training. I’m certain she’s eager to return to her classmates—whole and ready to do her duty.”
Hold on. Was he saying that I could...?
I didn’t have to voice the question. Madame Remis laid her hand across my forehead again. A cool trickle spread through my body, taking the pain with it. I blinked and the endless stab wounds were gone.
“I don’t understand,” I said as Stavra shut the door behind her. “That’s it? You’re done questioning me?”
“I am.”
I remained seated. “What about Galen? What about training? I’m not lying,” I repeated. “I don’t have powers and I won’t live as a fraud, pretending I do. What am I to do for the next four years?”
“Galen Teresi was a tragic death that could’ve been avoided. One of the most powerful demigods to step through these doors—snuffed out for no reason at all.”
“Not no reason,” I said, dropping my gaze. “He didn’t know it was a trick when he risked his life for me. Galen died a hero.”
“Galen died for a no-nothing coward and traitor.”
I blinked. What did he say?
“There was a question I didn’t ask you, Miss Galanis, because now I know.” Drakos rose to his full, imposing height. “You were out there alone in the forest because you were looking for a way over the fence. Don’t deny it,” he hissed, snapping my opening mouth closed. “You are a child, Aella Galanis. Running from the devastation in your wake instead of standing your ground.
“I was wrong about your strength, but not about your character. A promising future soldier was snuffed out for nothing... because he died protecting you.”
I sank lower and lower in my chair. As low as my sinking heart.
“I do not want you in my academy. If I had my way, I’d execute you on the spot and save Trono the trial. You’re not worthy to walk these hallowed halls among true warriors—each of them ready to fight to the end.”
I shot out of my seat. “I am willing to fight. All I’ve been doing is fighting! What don’t you understand? If I don’t get out of here, I’ll be the death of you all!”
The goddess chuckled. “And I’ll have you start with this interesting fellow. Such a nasty power he has. That’ll make it so much more fun when it fails him against my pet. The best soldiers of the Olympian gods all falling at the feet of my little beastie.
“So much fun.”
“Nonsense.” Drakos waved a hand as if swatting my fears from the air. “We are not a school full of children. No lamia could make it past the barrier spells, and if it did, it’d be killed before it reached the steps. You’d have known that if you’d spared a second from yournobleflight to trust the comrades you claim you’re protecting.”
Frustration exploded from my chest. “You have no idea,” I shrieked. “No idea what I’ve gone through to protect Olympia. No idea of the sacrifices I’m still willing to make. I won’t be judged by a pompous, soft-bottomed schoolteacher who speaks of battle while he sits safe behind his barrier spells!”
I knew it was the wrong thing to say the second it was out of my mouth. I’d seen very few emotions on the headmaster’s face in the short time I knew the awful man, but as long as I lived, I prayed to the gods that I’d never again see that look.
“This pompous, soft-bottomed schoolteacher knows more of battle than you learned while sucking at your mama’s teat, then whining for more as you cowered at the back of the cave.” Drakos moved around the desk—a slow, deliberate movement that sent me running to the door—scrabbling at the knob. My talons dug deep grooves in the wood.
“Go ahead and run, little Aella. There are worse things within these walls.”
I threw it open, tearing out.
“One way or another, my judgment is delivered.”