Haven’s skin had a similar decaying blackness to it.
I find my clean clothes strewn over the wet floor outside the shower stall. I scoop them up and quickly slip into them, cursing the whole way. Wet clothes are about as fun as a sliver in the ass.
Finding the hallway to the dorms empty, I make my way quickly to the stairs and then down to my dorm.
Ten minutes later, door locked, I change into a fresh set of pajamas and climb into bed. The mattress molds to my body and the black down-filled comforter is breathable and warm all at the same time.
At least I (sorta) survived my first day at Hades’s House.
Chapter 11
After sleeping restlessly for most of the day, I wake mid-afternoon to find a letter folded on my nightstand.
I lurch upright, blinking into the afternoon’s murky light pouring through my half open shutters.
I locked the door before I went to bed. I know I did.
My name is written on the front of the letter in an elegant, looping cursive. I unfurl the paper and scan the short note.
You’re due at your first trial meeting today at 4:00 P.M. OST in the library. Those who are late will be given a disadvantage at their first trial.
Sincerely,
Professor Monstrat
The clock above my fireplace says it’s just after three.
Great.
At least I took a shower last night.
I slip into another Hades “uniform” and then lace up a pair of black leather boots I find in the back of my wardrobe. They fit perfectly. Everything left for me in the wardrobe fits like it was sewn by Sura’s very hand.
I leave my room with a half hour to spare and look left, then right. I’m pretty sure the library isn’t left, because that hallway opens into another hallway that leads to the conservatory and then the back garden. I think anyway.
So, right it is.
I pass a work room and then another and then a closed and locked door.
Down another hallway, I pass the kitchen and scullery where steam wafts into the air smelling of fresh baked bread and other delectable things.
My stomach growls.
I keep looking.
I really should have been paying attention yesterday when Max gave me the tour.
In all honesty, I half expected to be gone by now and so memorizing the house’s layout seemed pointless. I’m regretting that decision. Amongst many others.
Finally, when I’ve been wandering around for what feels like forever, I pass another of the descendants.
I can’t remember his name, but so far he hasn’t abused, harassed, or sneered at me so I’m hopeful he’s not a giant asshole.
“Which way is the library?” I ask and fall into pace with him.
“This way.” He points down the hallway. “Then we’ll take a couple of turns. I’m headed there now if you want to walk with me.”
“Oh, thank the gods. Yes, I’d love that.”
“I’m Elyius by the way. Ely for short.” He smiles over at me. “And you’re The Girl.”
“Ana. Is it that obvious?” I joke.
“Wandering the halls gave it away.”
“Well, I really appreciate you being nice to me. I can’t say that’s a common attribute around here.”
He shrugs and a lock of his blond hair falls over his eyes. “This particular class isn’t known for its mercy.”
“And by class you mean Haven and his cronies.”
He smiles again and the light catches his eyes and I find I really, really like it.
Could I actually be making my second friend here?
Of course, Ely is technically my competition so I shouldn’t be getting too involved. But a girl can have fun, right? While Hades’s house is mostly boys, Hestia’s House has always been primarily girls. There was an orphan male from a few years back, but he was quickly claimed by his godparent Poseidon when he started commanding fish with his mind.
I’m not quite sure what to do with myself in a house full of boys.
Retreat to a hole? Throw a party? Revel in my female power?
I’d always expected to live out my life at Hestia’s House and die a virginal orphan.
“Here we are,” Ely says and holds the door open for me.
We’re the last to arrive, but the clock says we still have six minutes to spare. Cutting it a little close though.
As I enter the library, I catch Haven’s eye. He gives me a contemptuous smile, but when he sees who I’m with, his expression hardens.
What’s the saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Or something like that.
If Haven hates Ely as much as he hates me then I’m even more grateful for Ely.
The chosen are sitting at the worktables set up in a grid in the center of the library. Ely and I take the table near the back. I don’t see the professor yet so I take the free moment to check out the library. Yesterday, Max and I only popped our heads in. I didn’t get a chance to explore.
The library is twice the size of the library at Hestia’s House with upper shelving that can only be reached by a sliding ladder. Behind us, in front of the bank of windows, a spiral staircase leads up to a lofted second floor where one could literally get lost in the stacks.
The floor is hardwood but beneath the tables are layered Olympian rugs woven with intricate floral patterns. I’m sure that if I removed my shoes, my toes would sink into the thick looped threads.
A man enters the library and says, “Great, you all made it on time.”
I can’t decide if the man is supposed to be an assassin or our professor.
He’s wearing a white linen shirt buttoned up to the neck, gray tweed trousers and a matching vest. A gold chain loops through one of the buttonholes on his vest. The arm of a pair of round, tortoiseshell glasses are hooked over his shirt collar.
His dark hair is close cropped to his scalp revealing two thin black lines tattooed around his scalp from temple to temple. Though his clothes seem tailor-made for him with sharp, clean lines, his biceps still strain against the white linen as if no cloth, mortal or immortal spun, could contain him.
There is a hardness to him that can’t be ignored. Like he’s only playing at being our professor until a foe needs killing.
“That’s Professor Monstrat,” Ely whispers in my ear.
Monstrat leans his weight onto the edge of the head table and crosses his arms over his chest. I wonder if his biceps might just burst from his shirt.
He looks over us in the room, as if sizing us up, but when he reaches me, he lingers and my face heats up beneath his stare.
Does he think me a joke like everyone else here?
Probably.
Finally, his gaze darts away and I expel a breath of relief.
“As you all know, chosen ones receive a gift from their god upon their arrival at the house. Hades will bestow those gifts tonight after dinner in preparation for your first trial tomorrow, but first we must assess the gifts you were born with so that we, and your fellow chosen ones, have full understanding of the competition. We don’t like surprises here at Hade’s House.”
Hearing this, that I might have to show what power I was born with in front of the entire class, makes me burn with embarrassment already.
I don’t control the power. I never have.
Last night with Haven was just a fluke.
Thank the gods it came to my hands when I needed it most, but will it now too?