I actually knew Talia since we had gym class together and often ended up as sparring partners. Sometimes she dropped by when I was doing my early morning weapons training with the Spartans since she was dating Kenzie. Talia was tall and lithe with ebony skin and black hair that was cropped into a cute pixie cut. She was talking and gesturing about something, but Savannah wasn't paying attention to her. Neither was Vivian, who had her head bent down over a thick book and was fiddling with a piece of her frizzy auburn hair. The first day back at school, and she was doing homework already? Even I wasn't that dedicated-or geeky.
Savannah must have felt me staring because the Amazon turned her head and looked in my direction. Our gazes locked across the dining hall.
Once again, I thought I saw a burning flash of red in her eyes-Reaper red, as I'd come to think of it.
An uneasy feeling slithered up my spine. I'd only seen that crimson spark a few times before and always in the eyes of Reapers or the creatures they trained. Could Savannah-was it possible-could Savannah be a Reaper?
Maybe even the Reaper girl? Loki's Champion?
I don't know where the strange thoughts came from, but they popped into my head, and I couldn't push them away. It was like someone was pounding the ideas into my skull with a hammer. My head started to ache, and my heart began to burn with anger at the thought of the Reaper girl and how she'd killed my mom. My hand tightened around my fork again, and I pictured myself shoving it into Savannah's chest. I didn't really consider myself to be a violent person, but that thought made me happy in a way that nothing else had in a long, long time-
"Gwen?" Carson asked. "Are you okay? You have this really angry look on your face right now. Did I do something to upset you?"
His soft, worried voice penetrated my anger. I dropped my eyes from Savannah and shook my head. Almost immediately, the rage I'd been feeling vanished, although my head kept aching, like I was getting a migraine. Great. Just what I needed.
I suppose it served me right for freaking out and being totally paranoid. Savannah wasn't a Reaper. No way. She'd been there at the coliseum with Vivian yesterday, and she'd been attacked just like all the other kids. Savannah was a victim, just like everyone else.
Savannah's mouth flattened out into a hard, thin line, and she said something to Talia. Soon, the other Amazon was glaring at me, too. Even Vivian shot me dark looks every time she flipped a page in her book, although her golden gaze was a little less hostile than the others' were.
I sighed and turned away from them. Yeah, I knew Savannah blamed me for Logan's breaking up with her, and I had plenty of guilt over that, but the other Amazon really needed to give it a rest with the dirty looks. It wasn't like I'd done it on purpose. Besides, I didn't even know what was going on with Logan and me, if we were a couple or just friends or something in between. The uncertainty was making me crazy-so crazy that I was imagining that Savannah was a Reaper. Geez. Get a grip, Gwen.
Suddenly tired of well, everything, especially the weird way I was feeling, I got to my feet and grabbed my gray messenger bag.
"Where are you going?" Carson asked.
Another giggle echoed through the dining hall as yet another girl fawned over Logan. The sound made my headache that much worse. "Someplace quiet where you can't get autographs."
Chapter 8
The rest of the day dragged by, but finally, it was time for my sixth period myth-history class. I slid into my seat behind Carson just as the bell rang.
A minute later, Professor Metis stepped into the classroom and closed the door behind her. Bronze skin, stocky body, silver glasses, black hair pulled back into a tight bun. Metis looked the same as she always did, although today, her eyes seemed dull and weary, and her shoulders drooped in exhaustion. Daphne might have healed Carson yesterday, but Metis had been responsible for patching up all the other students who'd been injured. It looked like the professor was still feeling the aftereffects of the attack, just like the rest of us were.
Metis shuffled over and arranged some papers on a podium that was almost as tall as she was. Then, she turned her attention to the students.
"I'm sure you've all heard by now about the Reaper attack," she said. "About the students who were killed, the ones who were injured, and the others who fought back against the Reapers."
Metis's eyes focused first on Carson, then me, and all the other students turned to look in our direction, too. Carson sighed, while I sank a little lower into my seat. I didn't know why Metis was making me out to be some kind of hero, when I knew that I wasn't-and would never be.
"The students at the coliseum were all very brave," Metis said. "And we can all learn something from what happened. As horrible as the attack was, it's reminded me and the other professors what we are here to do. To teach you-all of you-how to best use your magic and skills to protect yourselves and your loved ones, and to fight against the Reapers should you ever be unlucky enough to encounter them like your classmates did."
The professor looked from one kid to the next, until finally, her green eyes met mine. After a moment, I dropped my gaze. All I wanted to do was forget about what I'd seen yesterday, even though I knew I never would.
"I was going to quiz you today about the artifacts you were supposed to have gone to the coliseum to view over the winter break," Metis said. "But that doesn't seem fair, considering the circumstances."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Metis's quizzes were always tricky, no matter how much you studied.
"Instead, I'd like you to turn your books to page 269," Metis said. "Today, we're going to discuss some of the unique architecture that can be found on the academy grounds."
Architecture? That sounded totally boring, but I flipped over to the appropriate page and found myself looking at the Library of Antiquities. The black-and-white photograph made the building look darker and even more ominous than it usually did.
"We'll start with the library, since it's the largest building on campus," Metis began. "As you can see, the library has a number of balconies, not to mention the towers on the roof... ."
For the next thirty minutes, Metis talked about everything from the library's many features to the architectural styles that had influenced them to the net worth of the gold and gems that made up the frescoes covering the building's interior dome. Answer: Close to five million big ones. Except for that fun, larcenous fact, the information was all seriously, seriously eye-glazing, and I had to pinch myself a few times just to stay awake. I was about to zone out again when Metis finally moved on to a slightly more interesting topic.