“Why are you cutting her neck?” Medusa asked.

  “Hush, child.” Phorcydes wiggled bloody fingers. “Pass the vial.”

  Medusa’s body moved without thought, eagerly acting on her aunt's bidding.

  Wait. Aunt? What was she doing in the bogs with Phorcydes? Medusa frowned or attempted to. Her face would not obey. It remained relaxed as she ‘happily’ passed a vial holding clear liquid to Phorcydes.

  Medusa looked at her hands; they were small. The sun was low in the sky and pleasantly warm against her skin. So, it was evening. She tested her sense of smell. Cut grass and river willow flowers. But her body didn't obey when she attempted to pinch herself.

  This can’t be real. I just took a nap. I was at Tartarus mere moments ago.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  A different question passed through her lips. “Does it hurt?”

  The girl receiving the nape incision was seated on the grass, legs folded and pin-straight white hair framing her face as she bowed forward. She had the dark grey complexion of the Opsianos people, but Medusa couldn’t properly see her face.

  “It does.”

  “Quiet,” Phorcydes chided. “And brace yourself. This will hurt.” She scarcely gave the girl a moment before she poured the liquid into the cut.

  Her scream spooked a nearby flock of birds, the cacophony of their beating wings matching her harsh cries.

  “Lela,” her duplicate extended a comforting hand towards the sobbing girl, “don’t cry.”

  An irritating desire to pray to Athena to ease Lela’s suffering buzzed in her head, and the child obeyed the urge, already clasping her hands in readiness to mutter memorised prayers.

  The soft-hearted pathetic weakling. Rage was rising and Medusa could only watch her duplicate tearfully say useless prayers.

  What am I doing here?

  Clotho!

  There was no answer.

  A terrible possibility teased Medusa’s mind but she rejected the thought. This was merely a dream—a nightmare. There was no way her consciousness entered her duplicate.

  Hey, Clotho. If this is a joke, I'm not amused.

  Even more silence.

  “You're distressing my niece with your weeping.” Phorcydes lifted the duplicate and hugged her. “Don’t cry for Lela. Look, she’s happy. Those are happy tears.”

  “Happy tears?” The duplicate looked at Lela.

  True to Phorcydes’ words, Lela was no longer writhing in pain. Now she massaged the back of her scarred neck with a look of awe on her face. “I… I truly cannot feel the link. I can’t believe it.”

  “Of course, the link is gone,” Phorcydes said with an exasperated huff. “You're now free to be my representative at the—”

  Phorcydes stiffened at the same moment Medusa sensed a sharpness in the air.

  A plain-faced woman holding a smiling blond boy of about ten emerged from the border of trees ahead. Lela whimpered before scurrying behind Phorcydes.

  And to Medusa’s horror, she recognised the woman.

  Athena. But the boy she held—

  No, It can’t be. Medusa willed her duplicate to wiggle free and flee, but her urging was useless. Instead, the child stared with open interest as both deities drew nearer.

  “Who are they?” She asked in a low shy voice.

  “They are none of your concern,” Aunt Phorcydes muttered bitterly.

  Breathing felt hard despite the duplicate’s nostrils drawing air just fine. Perhaps Medusa’s main body was choking.

  I shouldn’t be here. Why am I witnessing this? Get me out of here. Someone, please.

  The boy beamed at the duplicate and in response she peeked at him, clearly curious.

  ‘What are you doing? Don’t grab the attention of that monster.’ Against Medusa’s will, her duplicate shyly returned Poseidon's smile.

  What was this horror before her eyes? It’s my fault. Deviating from how she acted in the past must have caused a ripple effect and now her enemies had found her.

  “Phorcydes!” Athena offered a thoroughly insincere stiff bow. “I greet the old one.” She grabbed Poseidon at the back of the head and forced him to bow. “Give your greetings.”

  A smirk slowly curved his lips as he bowed too. “I greet the old one.”

  “Do not pretend respect for the child’s sake.” Phorcydes openly glared at them. “Why are you here? Try any tricks and I’ll expose your loving nature to this child.”

  Athena straightened and returned Phorcydes’ glare. “Do not give empty threats. I plead with you to expose my loving nature, if you hate Phorcys.”

  “You bitch.” The curse was said with such venom that her duplicate flinched.

  Athena covered Poseidon’s ears. “Now-now, hag. There are children here.”

  Poseidon chuckled but said nothing. His eyes… the way they shone with dark enjoyment. He was living for Phorcydes’ emotional reaction.

  “And what is this I see?” Athena smiled at Lela. “My Owl, what has happened to you?”

  “Lela is not an owl,” her duplicate announced boldly.

  Medusa shivered at her effrontery. Her duplicate, the naive idiot child she was, continued, “Lela is a person. It’s not polite to call a person a bird.”

  Athena smiled warmly. I know that smile. If anything, the goddess was infuriated that a mere mortal dared challenge her words.

  “Is that so?” Athena asked.

  The duplicate nodded all the while still stealing glances at the boy. Her curiosity was understandable. Growing up, she was never exposed to children her age, but that boy was Poseidon. Medusa couldn’t tell how she knew, she just did. Even now, despite wearing the face of a child she saw through his sham innocence.

  “You are so pretty, Medusa,” Athena said in a voice so genuine it made the child blush and bury her face in Phorcydes’ neck. “And you look so much like your father.”

  Her duplicate perked up. “I do?”

  “Of course. Phorcys is—”

  “What do you want?” Phorcydes’ wooden cane appeared in her grip as she spat the question. “If you have nothing meaningful to say, get out of my bogs.”

  Ignoring Phorcydes, Poseidon stepped forward and waved. “Greetings, Medusa. I'm Theologos, an orphan from Aitos.” Even though he smiled warmly, Medusa recognised the glint of lethal curiosity in his eyes. “Can I come visit—”

  “Stop!” Phorcydes held Medusa tighter. “You must be mad to think I’ll let you near this child.”

  Athena chuffed and rolled her eyes. “Even her thinking is retrogressive.”

  “Phorcys would have to come here before I let Medusa go.” Phorcydes’ knuckles turned white from how hard she gripped her staff. “That oath forced on my brother, I swear on the Monolith, by Nyx—” her voice broke. “I swear on everything that ever existed, I will break it.”

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  Something wet touched Medusa's face. Was Aunt Phorcydes crying?

  “Get out of my bogs while I am still civil.” Phorcydes swung her staff and the sharpness in the air cleared. “And go tell your cronies that the only deity allowed on these grounds is my brother. Any other cretin becomes fair game.” With that, she whirled and headed to her house with Lela at her tail.

  Athena's cold mocking laughter followed them. “You have been weeping for centuries, and for centuries to come your tears will not cease. That child is mine,” she spat. “Come four years, I will take her either in peace or bound in chains.”

  “... not normal.”

  Medusa’s fingers twitched.

  “She was gasping and trembling.”

  That voice. Medusa had heard it before. Akrivi?

  “Her eyes are moving behind her lids. Perhaps a nightmare.”

  “Asleep for almost ten horai? Not normal.”

  Now fully awake, Medusa remained still. She was only able to wake up after her duplicate was forced to go to bed. The child had chatted excitedly about the blond boy, even asking her aunt if they could invite him to worship Athena in the backyard. All Medusa could do was witness her aunt’s broken expression as she watched her clueless niece. Just what was the oath they talked about?

  And in four years, whether Medusa liked it or not, she must go to Athena’s temple. This was bad. She had grabbed her enemies’ attention too early and was woefully unprepared.

  “I think she’s awake. Look, she’s clenching her fist.”

  Slowly opening her eyes, Medusa stared at the ceiling. Wooden beams with potted plants swung from each row and there were at least three luminescent orbs. She wiggled her fingers to test her mobility before turning to her left.

  Akrivi cocked his head when their eyes met. “Your sleep did not seem restful.”

  “If you chew on saltpine tree bark, you will sleep soundly. No dreams. I’m Lonian.” He was a large boy with a top knot and a happy face. “I also use this room. That’s Myrion and Chilion,” he nodded at two slender boys who looked in her direction in sync. Twins. But their faces were heavily bruised.

  “They did that to themselves,” Akrivi quickly offered. “And Chilion is a girl. Shocking, I know.” His attention returned to Medusa. “Has anyone ever told you you have a peculiar appearance?”

  Medusa pushed herself to an upright position and looked around some more. It was a decent space, but it also didn’t escape the vines.

  “Ignore him. You’re lucky not to have these.” Chilion cupped her hands in front of her chest as she strolled over. “He’s a shameless womaniser.”

  Akrivi snorted. “You’re just mad I’ve never made a move on you.”

  “You—” She took a step in Akrivi’s direction only to pause at the sound of her twin’s chuckle. Soon they were at each other’s throats, with Myrion laughing about Chilion having a stupid crush.

  Medusa looked away. “I need… I need to take a bath.” She stumbled out of bed and swayed on her feet.

  “Woah!” Akrivi caught her arm, saving her from faceplanting just in time. “Shouldn’t you be refreshed after sleeping that long?”

  It wasn’t that Medusa was feeling physical fatigue; this had more to do with the mental exhaustion that came from what she witnessed in her sleep.

  “Hey, Chilion,” Akrivi called out, forcing the twins to stop their brawl. “Take our latest recruit to the baths.”

  Turns out Akrivi was the best decision Medusa’s fogged-out mind made. Not only was their spacious dorm housing only five as against ten in others, the beds weren't bad either, and the door could be locked. She also learned from Chilion why there were so many vines.

  “We call them the goddess’ hands. Demeter is touchy about sexual violence.” Chilion lowered her voice. “You heard of the great humiliation?”

  Who hasn’t? “Yes,” Medusa answered.

  “Anyway, those things are very capable of painfully incapacitating unruly students, but they allow an extent of violence. Ironic, huh? Last month, one of the greens was beaten to death’s door. The vines only interfered when he had…”

  Medusa tuned her out as she went about her bath. It was almost midnight from what she observed so that meant she slept for nearly ten hours. At most, her consciousness had spent two hours in the duplicate, and from what she noticed, the Greecian continent was a few hours behind.

  If I sleep, I wake up in the body of a naive idiot, and if I’m near death, I face an enraged goddess. Such rotten luck.

  After her bath, Chilion escorted Medusa back to their dorm. And it seemed she wouldn’t be needing the services of the midget because Chilion was very forthcoming with details about Dog House.

  The dogs had three princes, one of which was Eristes the terrier, five princesses, and children of wealthy merchants and powerful houses. Other houses also had such students but not as much as the dogs; and the dogs were known to shamelessly pull ranks.

  How do I tame this house of chaos?

  Akrivi, Lonian and Myrion were waiting when they returned. It seemed they had something to tell her judging from their serious expression.

  “First, eat.”

  Medusa eyed the bowl of peaches Lonian offered.

  “Even if we suddenly decided to poison you, that should neutralise it.” Akrivi nodded at her wristband.

  Medusa settled across them and retrieved a peach. She took a bite and frowned. “This tastes too good.”

  “It does, and we take insane risks to get them.” Akrivi’s gaze remained serious. “Knowing Vyron, he must have advised you to choose Black. Why did you choose Red?”

  Medusa removed the seed and took another bite. “I like the forest.”

  First, there was silence then raucous laughter, even the quiet twin joined in.

  “Did you hear that?” Akrivi asked the rest as he wheezed with more laughter. “She likes the forest.”

  Medusa reached for a second fruit. It felt like she could eat an entire basket of these.

  “You would be a burden,” Akrivi said.

  “And you think so because?” Vyron said Agria’s Nest was a deadly forest. It would be foolish to take such a place lightly. Still…

  “The forest is unpredictable. Taking an unawakened would be unwise.”

  “Do we use weapons?” Damn, the peaches were refreshing.

  “We take from the supply post then return them after each run,” Lonian answered.

  “Good.” Medusa nodded. “All I need is a bow and arrow and I’ll be fine.”

  Akrivi facepalmed, muttering something about naive spoiled brats. “Look, the bow and arrow are the worst weapons to use out there.”

  Medusa stopped mid-chew. “Why?” It's common knowledge that archers were the best at hunting.

  “Just how many arrows can you take with you? How fast is your reaction time in chaos? That aside, applying aether to an object that has already left your touch is impossible. Mere arrows are useless against beasts of the Nest.”

  “Hmm…I see.” What he said made sense. During the trial, she had been holding on to the strip of cloth when she manipulated the air. Clotho said nothing about the possibility of manipulating aether or air without direct contact.

  “We’ve agreed that until you’re awakened, you’ll remain in the green zone.”

  Medusa instantly hated the idea. “And how will you protect me in this so-called green zone?”

  “One of us will be with you.”

  “I don’t like—”

  Medusa.

  Clotho! Medusa sprung to her feet, causing the rest to jolt in surprise.

  I had to attend to something important. Did you miss me? Clotho asked with a chuckle. Come to the front of your dorm. There’s someone I need you to meet.

  Listen, I—

  You wouldn’t believe who it is. I made an honour oath with him so he can’t—

  I saw Athena and Poseidon through the duplicate you made!

  “What's wrong with her?” Myrion asked. “She’s clenching her fists and staring at nothing.”

  “Very strange,” Akrivi said. “You think she’s one of those broken ones?”

  “Maybe,” Chilion answered. “Sad. She seemed so smart.”

  They were watching her as if she were crazy. Not that Medusa cared. When Clotho remained silent, she continued. And during the trial, I met an angry goddess when I collapsed. She tried to kill me with these… these large snippers.

  Oh no.

  That bad?

  Clotho remained quiet for even longer before muttering. It’s fine. It’s… with my help and his help and your help, we can… we can find her.

  What are you saying?

  Meet the person I mentioned. I swear on my name that he cannot harm you, Clotho said in a subdued voice. Just… wait for me. I need to think.

  Medusa turned to Akrivi when the link vanished. “Escort me to the front of the dorm. There’s someone I need to meet.”

  “Someone to meet?” He raised a brow. “You know it’s almost midnight.”

  “I know.”

  “You know there’s a curfew?”

  “I don't care.”

  Akrivi laughed. “A bad girl that’s also crazy. I like.” He grinned as he rose to his feet. “Fine. I’ll come with you.”

  The walk to the tall dorm door was quiet and Medusa appreciated it. She could sense Akrivi’s questioning gaze, but he did well to keep his curiosity in check. A single nod from him was all it took for the doorkeeper to obediently open it.

  Even larger luminescent orbs balanced on poles lit the dorm’s exterior. ‘Keeps beasts away’, was all Akrivi gave as an explanation.

  When they stopped beside the dead fountain, Akrivi wove his fingers behind his head and sighed at the night sky. “Lovely night. So who are we meeting? A love interest? You seem too intense and crazy for that kind of…” his voice faded at the same time Medusa noticed a hooded figure ahead.

  Medusa flinched when Akrivi roughly pulled her behind him. “That person is dangerous.”

  And Akrivi was correct. Even from a distance, there was an air of danger about him.

  “Let's go back.” Akrivi tugged at her arm.

  “No, I—”

  The hooded man appeared before Akrivi and grabbed his face. “Sleep.”

  Akrivis crumbled in a dead faint. It happened so fast that Medusa could only stand and stare, unable to react.

  This person… now that he was close, she recognised his presence. He was the same person who approached her at the auction house. When he pushed away his hood, she sucked in a breath. Red hair, glowing amber eyes. This appearance.

  Heart wildly thumping, Medusa was unaware she had fallen to her knees. “P-please, spare me.”

  “Your fear is needless, Medusa.” He offered a hand and she saw the mark—a tiny rune in the shape of an inverted V with a dot at its zenith. “The Moirai sent me. I'm Ares.”

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  Oh well. A win is a win.

  Until next Saturday.