Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy #4)

His body tensed, his hands clenched into fists, and he eyed Inari like he was thinking about tackling the other man and yanking the cuffs away from him.

"It's okay, Logan," I said, not wanting him to get into trouble.

"No, it's not okay. Nothing about this is okay."

Linus opened his mouth, probably to order Inari to slap the handcuffs on me anyway, but the anger still burning in Logan's face made him reconsider. He stared at his son, then back at me.

"Fine," he snapped. "No handcuffs. I assume you won't be so stupid as to try to escape."

I shook my head. No, I wasn't that stupid. I knew there was no way I could get away from them. Maybe if I'd had a Valkyrie's strength or an Amazon's quickness, I might have had a chance, but not with just my psychometry magic.

"Good. Then let's go," Linus said.

And with those words, the three members of the Protectorate made me step away from the fireplace and forced me to march out of the coffee shop.

Linus and Logan walked ahead of me, while I was flanked on the other three sides by Sergei, Inari, and Alexei. Together, the six of us left Kaldi's.

As soon as the door shut behind Inari, I could hear the sharp screech-screech-screech of chairs being pushed back, along with the thump-thump-thump of footsteps. I looked over my shoulder. Everyone inside the shop had their faces and phones pressed up against the windows, trying to see what was going to happen next. I could have told them it wasn't going to be anything good.

I shivered again, but not entirely from dread this time. It was mid-January, and the air was bitterly cold. Hard pellets of snow gusted on the fierce winter wind, battering against our bodies, and the sky above was dark and gray, as though all the blue had bled out of it, even though it wasn't even four o'clock yet.

"Ah," Sergei said in a fond voice, turning his face to the howling wind. "It reminds me of Russia in the winter."

We set off down the sidewalk. Kaldi Coffee was located on the main street that ran through Cypress Mountain, and more and more people stuck their heads outside to stare at us as we passed. The ritzy suburb and all its high-end shops were here to see to the needs of everyone at Mythos Academy, so all the business owners and workers knew the score when it came to the mythological world. Most of them were former Mythos students themselves, who'd decided to settle down near the academy. The only folks who didn't realize what was going on were the few tourists who'd braved the cold to come shopping. They glanced out the windows at me for a moment before going back to their browsing.

"You're making a big mistake," Logan repeated. "Gwen didn't free Loki-she tried to stop it from happening. We all did."

"All? By that, I assume you mean you and your new group of friends," Linus said. "Something else we need to discuss. I thought you were finally calming down and learning how to be a real fighter, but it seems like you've gotten yourself into even more trouble than usual. Starting with this girl."

I didn't care if he was Logan's dad and apparently some big shot within the Pantheon. The way he kept saying this girl like I was the worst of the worst grated on my last nerve.

"I have a name," I snapped. "It's Gwen, Gwen Frost. Obviously, you know it since you announced it to the whole coffee shop."

Linus looked over his shoulder at me. "Do not test me, girl."

My hands clenched into fists, but there was nothing I could do about his cold words-or the fact that he seemed to hate me on sight. Not exactly how I'd pictured things going if I ever met Logan's dad. Still, I drew in a breath, trying to push past my anger and fear and get to the bottom of things.

"Well, can you at least tell me where we're going?" I asked.

"You'll see," Linus said in a cryptic tone. "It's not far."

We reached the last shop at the end of the street. I'd thought the Protectorate might shove me into a black SUV, since that's how these things always seemed to go in the movies, but instead Linus crossed the street, and the other members of the Protectorate forced me to follow him. So they were taking me back to the academy. Good. At least I had friends there, folks like Professor Metis. She'd know what was going on and figure out how to make the Protectorate realize this was all just a big misunderstanding. That I hadn't freed Loki on purpose, that I'd done everything I could to keep the evil god locked away, even if I'd completely failed at it.

The main, black iron gate to the academy stood open, since the students had been given the afternoon off. No one looked up as we passed the two stone sphinxes perched on the twelve-foot-high walls on either side of the gate-except me.

Like all the statues at the academy, the sphinxes always seemed to be watching me with their open, lidless eyes, like they were just waiting for me to do something stupid so they could come to life, break free of their stone shells, leap down, and rip me to pieces. I wasn't quite as creeped out by the statues as I used to be, but their fierce expressions still made me pause and glance up at them whenever I walked through the gates.

But today, the sphinxes' heads were bowed, and their eyes were fixed on their feet, almost as if they were afraid to look up as the members of the Protectorate marched me past them. Weird. Even for Mythos. If there was one thing I could always count on, it was for the statues to be watching me. Now that they weren't, it almost felt like a pair of friends turning their backs to me in a deliberate snub.

"Keep moving," Inari said.

I dropped my gaze from the sphinxes and stepped forward.

As we walked, Logan kept arguing with his dad, while Sergei and Inari remained silent. Alexei was on my right, and he kept staring at me, curiosity shining in his hazel eyes. Once again, I wondered what kind of warrior he was. I didn't get the same I-can-kill-you-with-a-stick-of-gum vibe off him that I did from Logan, but I could tell that he was dangerous just like the Spartan was.

We wound our way along the ash-gray cobblestone paths that crisscrossed campus, eventually passing by my dorm, Styx Hall. I looked up at the turret where my room was. I wondered if the Protectorate knew about Nyx, the Fenrir wolf pup that I was taking care of. Worry tightened my stomach. If they knew about Nyx, they would probably take her away from me. Most members of the Pantheon didn't trust creatures like Fenrir wolves because the Reapers enslaved, poisoned, and trained so many of them to kill warriors.

But I'd promised Nott, Nyx's mom, that I'd look after the wolf pup, and that's exactly what I was going to do. I wouldn't tell Linus and the others about Nyx, I vowed. No matter what they did to me. My mom had been a police detective, so I knew all about having your rights read to you, keeping your mouth shut, and asking for a lawyer. Sure, the Protectorate had said that I was under arrest, that I was going to be put on trial, but I had no illusions that meant the same thing at Mythos as it did in the regular mortal realm. In fact, I was willing to bet that it was going to be a lot, lot worse.

Normally, I would have enjoyed the walk across campus, but the rolling green hills that made up the lush grounds seemed to be deserted, adding to the doom-and-gloom atmosphere. I glanced at my silver watch. Almost four o'clock, which meant that it was time for the mysterious assembly. Most of the students were probably already gathered in the outdoor amphitheater. Well, at least no one was around to witness my walk of shame, even if Helena and the other students in the coffee shop would have texted the juicy details to all their friends by now.

I'd thought that we would start up the hill to the main quad so that the Protectorate could march me over to the math-science building and then down to the academy prison located there. But instead we veered left onto another path, heading toward the amphitheater that lay at the bottom of the hill next to the Library of Antiquities. I frowned. Why would we be going there? Surely, they weren't going to make me sit through some stupid assembly before they locked me away. Then again, maybe this was just another part of my impending punishment.

We stopped at the edge of the path, where it opened up into the amphitheater. Unlike the dark gray of the other buildings, the open-air theater was made out of bone-white stone that contained a rainbow of colors-sky blue, pearl pink, soft lilac. Those shades and more shimmered throughout the structure, as though a thousand Valkyries had given off sparks of magic that had somehow seeped into the stone.

The amphitheater was made out of a series of long, flat shallow steps that had been stacked on top of each other. The steps, which also served as seats, formed an enormous semicircle as they spiraled up the hill, and they all faced a stage that had been erected at the very bottom of the amphitheater. Four columns loomed over the stage, but my gaze flicked up to the tops of the columns, where stone chimeras crouched on round globes. Instead of glaring out at the crowd like usual, the chimeras' heads were lowered, and they were staring down at their curved claws, just like the sphinxes had. My unease cranked up another notch.

I dragged my gaze away from the chimeras and stared out into the amphitheater. Students, professors, and staff members had already gathered on the stone steps, all bundled up in heavy coats and gloves, their breath steaming in the sharp winter air until it looked like a thick fog had blanketed the whole area. No matter how cold it got, all the assemblies took place out here, instead of in the warmer, more comfortable gym. I wasn't sure why. The Powers That Were probably thought the amphitheater was more official or something.

Despite the fact that we were on the edge of the area, worried murmurs still drifted over to me, as the students wondered what was going on.

"What do you think the assembly is about?"

"Maybe the Pantheon's managed to imprison Loki again."

"Maybe not. Maybe Reapers are on their way here right now to kill us all."

And on and on the rumors went, leaping from one mouth and one phone to another. Mutters, whispers, chirps, and beeps floated through the air, creating a strange symphony of sound.

I spotted Daphne Cruz, my best friend, and Carson Callahan, her band geek boyfriend, sitting on the steps about halfway up the hill. They had their heads close together, looking at something on Daphne's phone-probably my arrest at the coffee shop, judging from the shocked expression on the Valkyrie's face and the pink sparks of magic that were streaking out of her fingertips like lightning. Daphne always gave off more magic whenever she was surprised, worried, or upset. I was willing to bet she was all those things right now-and so was I.

I'd thought that we would stay on the edge of the amphitheater until the assembly was over, but instead Linus jerked his head at Sergei and Inari, who stepped even closer to me. My dread ballooned up in my stomach and rose into my throat, threatening to choke me from the inside out.

Logan noticed the men's movements, and he quit arguing with his dad long enough to turn around. Alexei stepped in front of the Spartan, holding up his hands.

"I don't want to fight you, Logan," Alexei said. "But you know I will."

Logan looked at me, panic flaring in his blue eyes. Apparently, he knew what was about to happen-and that it wasn't anything good.

"Dad," he said. "Gwen hasn't done anything wrong. You have to believe me. Don't do this. Please."

Linus stared at his son, his face expressionless. Then, he turned away from Logan.

"Make sure that she stays still and quiet through this," Linus said. "I don't want any interruptions."

Inari and Sergei clamped their hands on my arms and dragged me forward, heading toward the steps that led up onto the stage. And I suddenly realized what the mysterious assembly was about-me and my supposed crimes against the Pantheon.

Chapter 3

Inari and Sergei marched me across the amphitheater, up the steps, and onto the stage, with Linus following along behind us. The three men's heavy boots slapped against the wooden boards, and the dull sounds almost seemed to chant to me. Doom, doom, doom . . .

We stopped in the middle of the stage, and I stared out at everyone who made up Mythos Academy-students, professors, staff members. I looked at Daphne, who had her hands up over her mouth in horror. Carson had a similar stunned expression on his face. Oliver Hector, Morgan McDougall, Savannah Warren. My gaze went from one familiar face to another. All the kids in my second-year class were here, along with the ones who'd apparently rushed back from the coffee shop for the assembly. Kenzie Tanaka, Talia Pizarro, Helena Paxton and her mean-girl friends. They must have raced up to the library, then hurried down the hill so they could get the last remaining seats at the very top of the amphitheater.

"Those guys have on Protectorate robes!"

"Hey, isn't that Gwen Frost? That weird Gypsy girl?"

"What's she doing on stage? What's going on? Why are they guarding her like that?"

More murmurs and questions rippled through the crowd, louder and sharper than before, but I shut them out of my mind and kept scanning the faces. Finally, I spotted Professor Aurora Metis standing off to the left side of the stage, along with Nickamedes, Coach Ajax, and Raven. The four of them made up the academy's security council and were responsible for keeping students safe at Mythos. I thought that had included me too, but it didn't look like that was the case-at least not anymore.

I stared at Metis, wondering if she'd known this was going to happen, if she'd tried to stop it. Worry filled her green eyes behind her silver glasses. Her face was tight with tension, and the tendons in her neck stood out against her bronze skin, like bowstrings about to snap. Beside her, Nickamedes was frowning, his black eyebrows furrowed together in thought. Ajax had his arms crossed over his big, burly chest. Only Raven seemed unconcerned, letting out a wide yawn and fiddling with her white hair, as though she was bored by the whole spectacle.