Chapter 13
I find Hades Hall more easily than I’ve found any other destination, partly because Max gave me helpful directions and partly because it’s kind of hard to miss the ornate, three-stories-tall, carved wooden doors just beyond the main staircase.
I reach for the round handle on the left-hand door, steeling myself to pull with all my might. But the door glides open as soon as my hand touches the metal. I step inside, hoping to take a seat in the back of the room, unnoticed, when a deep voice, laced with darkness fills the entire chamber.
“We’re delighted you decided to grace us with your presence, Hearthtender.”
I glance up to see Hades’s dark eyes, alight and glinting, staring down at me from what appears to be a throne made of wet black stone.
Perfect.
I mentally smack myself as my body does a weird half-curtsy, half-bow, all-wobble thing. “My apologies, my lord.”
“Take a seat, Ms. Hearthtender,” Professor Monstrat says quietly from his place just behind and to the right of Hades. He marks something down on the notebook he’s holding. At Hades’s other side, Nereus Knightfall does everything but roll his eyes at me.
I sit down in the farthest row from the dais and glance around the room as the attention of the other descendants slowly returns to the front. Haven’s hateful glare is the last to leave my face and I can’t help making a rude gesture at him just before he turns away. I swear I see the corner of his mouth twist up in an amused smile before it settles back into his usual grimace.
“Let’s begin.” Hades voice fills the space again and my eyes strain, trying to adjust as the room dims, the torches on the wall beside Hades burning brighter with the blue flame of the Underworld.
“Pearce Atos,” Professor Monstrat announces. “Your tests revealed your primary birth-gift to be extraordinary strength.”
The red-haired boy who stood by while Haven taunted me in the bathroom stands shakily. He crosses the room and stops at the bottom of the three steps up to the dais.
“Have you any other gifts to disclose that would rival this test?” Nereus asks.
“No, sir.” Pearce stands his stocky body up a little straighter.
Hades looks almost bored as he waves his hand and a boulder appears next to Pearce. It’s almost as tall as he is and at least three times as wide. I lean forward in my seat, peering around the descendants in front of me. All of us are quiet and waiting.
“Lift it,” Hades says, gesturing at the boulder as though it’s no more than an apple.
Pearce eyes the boulder in front of him warily, glancing between it and Lord Hades. His fear is visible. If he fails, what will Hades do? Crush him beneath the boulder? I don’t know what’s at stake here. I’ve never had to play court games. I’ve never had to prove myself to a god.
But if Pearce fails, surely I will too.
Pearce squares his shoulders and bends down, his hands sliding under the boulder. When he begins to lift the impossibly large rock, his face and neck turn almost as red as his hair. He manages to lift it only a few inches before he drops it back to the floor. It slams onto the tiles with a deafening crack.
“Physical strength,” Hades begins, emphasizing the word physical as though it’s an insult, “is one of the most basic gifts a descendant can have. It takes neither the intelligence of mental strength nor the adaptability of emotional strength.”
My heart pounds in my chest as I consider what Hades will think about my absolute lack of anything, if he’s this unimpressed with Pearce’s gift.
“But strength has its uses, I suppose,” Hades says. “For this first round, I will grant you a gift as basic as your talent—additional physical strength. Use it well and wisely until the end of your days.” Hades waves his hand and a flash of blue fire leaps from his fingers and slams into Pearce. Pearce drops to his knees as the veins in his arms swell beneath his flesh. The bigger boy doesn’t scream, but a growl rumbles in his chest.
In a snap, the blue flame disappears and Pearce stands. He’s smoking slightly, but otherwise looks unchanged.
“Lift it,” Hades commands, the same dark demand in his tone.
Pearce looks at his hands and then back at his god. He steps forward and winds his arms around the boulder. When he lifts it this time, it’s as if it weighs nothing at all.
Hades waves his hand again and the boulder disappears. Pearce staggers forward with the sudden loss of his burden, but he makes a smooth recovery and bends into a deep bow. “I thank you, my lord, for your gift. I’ll use it in your service.”
Hades barley acknowledges him and gestures for Monstrat to call the next.
I wipe my hands on my dress. I’m sweating all over. What’ll Hades do when he realizes I have no gifts to command?
In my frantic state I glance up and find Haven staring right at me. There’s no expression on his face, but he must be thinking the same thing I am. Likely he’s internally enjoying watching me squirm.
Even though I’ll surely fail this, I can’t let Haven get to me.
I take a deep breath as Professor Monstrat calls the next descendant.
I’ll not give Haven Knightfall the satisfaction of knowing just how terrified I am.
The gifting continues on. Each descendant is called up, their gift confirmed and then elevated by whatever Hades gives them.
Ely smiles widely at me as he heads back to his seat. His flame ability is now able to generate wider and further than before—a demonstration which required Hades to quickly put out the many benches Ely accidentally set aflame trying out his new gift.
My anxiety is growing with each name called.
Probably my punishment for arriving last will be that I’m gifted last, but since I have no gift to demonstrate, the time before my eventual dismissal and dishonor is the real gift. I rack my brain, trying to remember all of the times I killed things without meaning to and wondering if the absolute panic crushing my heart to my ribs at this moment will be enough to bring my gift out of hiding.
I’m distracted from my thoughts when the blue flame bursts again and the twins, Kal and Orrin, who each have the ability to create light and darkness are gifted with the ability to extend that power beyond anything they could have imagined previously.
How will they fare if one is eliminated before the other?
Not my problem.
My floundering attention is pulled yet again when Professor Monstrat calls Haven’s name. Monstrat doesn’t bother to consult his notes this time. “Your tests revealed your primary gift to be mental visual manipulation.”
“Correct,” Haven replies, leaving off the politeness and use of “sir” the other descendants employed. Nereus glares at him warningly from behind Hades.
“And have you any other gifts that would rival the results of this test?” Monstrat asks.
Nereus is glaring daggers at his brother, both daring him to be insolent and promising retribution if he is.
“No,” Haven says simply. “Sir.”
“Knightfalls have served me well for generations,” Hades begins. “Some with gifts more useful to my service than others.” He doesn’t give away if he thinks Haven’s gift is the one that’s more or less useful.