“If it is, we need to be cautious,” Declan mutters, his eyes scanning the sky as the others scan our surroundings. I walk closer to the columns.
“Careful, Serena,” Dane calls.
I wave my hand back without turning and pause just before the path. All is quiet, and I’m just about to step forward when I spot a stone on the ground. I stoop to pick it up.
Rory appears next to me as I stand with the thing in my hand. “What’s that for?”
I shrug, “No idea,” then bring my hand back and throw it toward the temple.
Nothing happens.
The stone doesn’t make a sound as it lands on the path. In fact, it doesn’t land at all. It just disappears at the point it should have impacted the white bricks.
Declan, Dane, and Paxton join us now. Rory crouches to pick up a slightly larger rock, then does the same. The rock disappears upon touching the brick path—but a moment later, a distant clatter echoes up to us.
I frown. “It sounds like…”
“A hole,” Rory says.
Dane nods. “There must be a glamor covering the pit.”
Declan’s heavy hand lands on my shoulder. “Good thinking, Serena.”
I dip my head. “I just got lucky. So how do we get to the temple?” I ask, squinting down the long path to the open archway leading inside.
“Well, we can’t go through it, around it, or under it,” says Rory. “That only leaves over.”
The other three nod, but I frown back at them.
“Okay? That’s all well and good, but how do you expect us to do that?”
Declan stares at me as if I’m the daftest person alive. “We’ll just fly in,” he declares, his eyes falling to Rory who nods in response. He lifts his hand and quirks an eyebrow at me as he wiggles his index finger in a circle.
Air swirls around us, gently at first, but eventually, the speed and intensity pick up until dust and leaves are whizzing around us. It becomes difficult to stand, and I grasp on to Dane’s arm when the winds threaten to pull me from my feet.
My shoes leave the ground.
I shriek and kick my legs frantically to regain my footing, but upon looking around, I notice the guys are cool as punch. We all hover for a moment, and Rory says, “Ready?”
Declan nods, and so do Paxton and Dane. I don’t, but apparently my opinion doesn’t matter because Rory pushes his palms forward. Before I can catch my breath, we shoot down the path, still surrounded by flying bracken and stones until arrows and blades join the mix.
I scream and cover my face with my arms when I see a bejeweled dagger flying through the air, right for me, its point of origin unseen. But the winds carrying us forward catch it before it can reach me, and it joins the leaves and dust flying circles around us. I draw in a shaky breath and then cough, choking on what I hope is air and not a damn bug.
“Keep your arms in, everyone!” Declan warns, eyeing the dagger as it whooshes past Dane’s neck at high speed.
Rory’s face grows serious as he concentrates, pushing us toward the entrance faster and faster. I spot a shadow descending from above and look up to see a deadly sharp guillotine about to drop right into our path.
“Rory! You may want to pick it up—I like being alive!” I shout.
We’re underneath it. Closing my eyes, I pray to the gods, and my throat constricts as the slice of a knife fills my ears.
But nothing happens, and the freight-train-like whooshing begins to quieten as we slow, the air no longer whipping around us. Drawing in a breath so deep it burns my lungs, I open my eyes, expecting to see the gates of the Underworld, but instead, I’m greeted by marble statues of the gods forming a circle around the center of the room, their arms stretched up high to hold up the ceiling of the temple.
Slaps echo around the walls, and I turn to see the guys high-fiving each other with wide grins on their faces.
“Children…” I mutter as I run my hands over my jeans, checking to make sure all of my body parts are safe and attached, but I tut when I find a long slash across the red leather of my jacket.
The beat of wings precedes Lore’s entry to the temple. She glides in from the sunlight and lands gracefully on my shoulder.
“Got through okay, then?” I ask her.
“Do you doubt my agility?”
“Not at all!” I smirk.
The clacking of heels bounces around the room as the prim-and-proper woman from earlier walks toward us. Her brow creases into a frown as her eyes fall on me. “You must be Serena Stollmeyer. Our… transfer student.”
Lore bristles on my shoulder, her eyes narrowing on the woman. But the woman dismisses me in a moment, and her face brightens as she turns to the guys. “It’s no surprise that you four finished first. I’m sure your families will be proud.” She gestures for them to move to the center of the temple, under the gaze of the gods, not bothering to include me in her speech.
I follow after the guys, equally not bothering to listen to the woman’s words as I take in the temple. “You’d think that it would be bigger,” I snort.
The woman cuts me a glare before turning her attention back to the guys and the rows of tables positioned throughout the center circle. Piles of suitcase sit by each table, and on top are the group designations, ours being the easiest to find, as it glows bright green.
Five packets lay on top, our names scrawled on the fronts, and I spot my bag at the very top of the pile. The woman draws our attention back to her by clapping her hands. “As you were the first to complete your trials, you will be awarded the right to choose your team,” she begins, her eyes falling to me. “However,
