Page 69 of Blood of Olympus

Nightshade? I sent along our mental tether.

Golden? What’s wrong? Her answer was faint; distant.

I need you to go to Ithacene and warn the others. The Dayspire is under attack.

What about you? she asked, somewhat louder.

I’ll meet you there.

Caelus?! she yelled, her fear sending icy spikes through my chest.

I willed the shadows to form a doorway and they obeyed almost instantly.

“Go to Ithacene, or go home — the choice is yours,” I told the messenger. “Your job here is done. We will answer the call.”

Caelus! Nyssa called just as I stepped through.

Distance severed the connection immediately.

CHAPTER 18

Nyssa

Keep flying straight, Vel! I yelled internally, negating the roar of the wind.

Aegis is westward⁠—

We’re not flying the whole way. Aim straight and prepare yourself for a quick landing.

I relinquished my hold around her thick, scaled neck, remaining seated with only sheer grit and the strength of my thighs.

Inhaling, I raised both hands outward. Exhaling, I thrust my power out into the open sky. A large, abyss-dark circle appeared in the air a hundred metres ahead. It took Vel all of two seconds to breach it, catapulting us through a dark void for the span of a blink, then out into the airspace directly above Aegis Academy.

She banked hard to the left — a move that would have thrown me off a week ago — tucked her wings in tight, and angled down.

The ground approached rapidly, blurring in a wash of green and grey. If I didn’t trust her completely, I’d have been terrified, but Vel’s wings snapped open with a resounding crack, extending in plenty of time. They flapped a few more times while she circled the spired buildings to land in the open training field.

Soldiers scattered with shouts of alarm, though thankfully, none were harmed in her haste.

I dismounted in one jarring leap, shouting as I hit the ground.

“Aros! Athena! Fucking anyone!”

My gaze snagged on a frozen mortal, his hands raised in surrender despite knowing I was no enemy laying siege.

“You! Gather the gods — NOW!” I shouted, terrifying him into action.

“Nyssa? What’s wrong?” A familiar husky voice called from the opposite end of the field.

“Aros?” I darted around Velira’s large frame searching for the fiery red hair belonging to the warrior god. He sprinted towards me from the treeline, with Evie and Erato just behind him.

“Kronos has launched a second attack,” I recounted, unable to keep the worry from affecting my voice. “The Dayspire in Meloidia is currently under siege.”

“What’s attacking them?” he asked, his tone as sharp as a blade’s edge.

“Unknown.”

“Where’s Caelus?”