Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy #4)(23)
Author: Jennifer Estep

Just as many students were here as had been in the dining hall this morning, and with me sitting behind the checkout counter, it was almost like I was on display for everyone to glare at. More than a few kids walked by the counter and muttered curses at me under their breath. Some were bolder and spoke loudly enough for everyone at the study tables to hear.

Apparently, it became some sort of game because after the kids passed by me, they went back to their seats, high-fiving and fist-bumping with their friends, before they all dissolved into fits of laughter. My cheeks burned, but I ignored them as best I could. Behind me, Alexei stood against the wall, his face as expressionless as ever. He could give Coach Ajax a run for his money in the stoic department.

Since no one was going to come over to the counter to ask me for help, I decided to shelve books. That way, I wouldn’t be a sitting duck, and the other kids would actually have to get up and make an effort in order to glare at me. So I grabbed one of the metal carts and pushed it back into the stacks. The wheels squeak-squeak-squeaked the whole time, but I didn’t care. All I wanted to do right now was get away from the other kids and their anger. At least for a few minutes.

But there was no escaping Alexei. He followed me into the stacks and stayed right behind me, just like always.

"Geez," I muttered. "Don’t you ever take a break?"

Alexei arched an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. Of course he didn’t. I was a dangerous Reaper criminal. His job was to watch me, not talk to me.

I ignored Alexei as best I could as I pushed the cart through the stacks. I actually didn’t mind shelving books because it gave me an opportunity to look at all the artifacts on display.

The Library of Antiquities was full of, well, antiquities. Armor, weapons, jewelry, clothes, and more that gods, goddesses, warriors, and mythological creatures had used over the centuries they’d been battling each other. Hundreds of glass cases stood inside the library, each one containing something different. Like a pair of talon-tipped gloves that had been worn by Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess. Or a gold coin that had come from the treasure trove of Andvari, a dwarf in Norse mythology.

When I’d first come to Mythos, I thought all the artifacts and the plaques and cards that told about their histories, users, and supposed magic had been kind of lame, but now I thought they were some of the most interesting things on campus. Besides, tonight, reading about other warriors and their possessions gave me a much-needed escape from my own problems.

It only took me twenty minutes to shelve all the books, but I stayed back in the stacks for two hours, just wandering from one bookshelf, one row, one display case, to the next. Alexei trailed along behind me the whole time. The good thing about him being so quiet was that he didn’t complain when I finally parked the empty cart in an aisle next to the office complex, sat down on the floor, and pulled my knees up to my chest. I stayed like that for a long time, staring off into space and worrying about the Protectorate and what the rest of the Powers That Were planned to do to me tomorrow during my trial-

A sharp bang snapped me out of my thoughts. A second later, a voice drifted over to me-a loud, angry voice.

"This is unacceptable, Nickamedes. Completely unacceptable."

I looked over at Alexei. He’d heard the noises too because he’d turned in the direction of the sound and was peering through a gap in the bookshelf at something. I scrambled to my feet and hurried over to stand beside him.

Nickamedes stood on the back side of the glass office complex, away from the students and study tables-along with Linus Quinn. The two men had their arms crossed over their chests, glaring at each other.

"No, Linus," Nickamedes snapped. "What is unacceptable is the way you are persecuting Gwendolyn for something she didn’t do. You read my report. And Aurora’s and Ajax’s and even Raven’s. You know what happened that night and how Loki really got free. But yet, here you are, putting an innocent girl on trial."

Alexei pointed at the far end of the bookshelf, silently telling me that we should walk away from the adults. I shook my head and stayed where I was. Yeah, maybe it was wrong, but I was totally eavesdropping on this conversation. Maybe if I knew why Linus disliked me so much, I could figure out a way to fix things-or at least get him to quit being so frigid toward me.

Linus’s face hardened. "Oh yes. I’ve read the reports on Gwen Frost. That girl has been nothing trouble since she came to Mythos. Sneaking off campus, using her magic to extort money out of the other students, claiming that she’s some sort of Champion. And now, when I actually come to the academy to conduct a proper investigation into her actions, I find her out on a date with my son. My son, Nickamedes. Your nephew. The one you vowed to protect. Or have you forgotten that promise?"

Nickamedes stiffened. "Logan doesn’t need protecting from Gwendolyn. The two of them are . . . friends."

"Friends." Linus let out a bitter laugh. "Like you and Grace Frost were friends?"

A muscle twitched in the librarian’s jaw, but he didn’t respond. A couple of weeks ago, Nickamedes had told me that he’d known my mom back when they’d attended the academy and that the two of them had once been a couple-in love. But over the years, my mom had grown tired of being Nike’s Champion so she’d left Mythos and everything it represented behind when she’d finally graduated from the academy-including Nickamedes.

"It’s because she’s Grace’s daughter, isn’t it?" Linus said. "That’s the reason you’re protecting the girl instead of having her expelled like you should have months ago." He shook his head. "I see she has you wrapped around her little finger just like Grace did."

Nickamedes uncrossed his arms. His hands lowered to his sides, and his fingers slowly balled into fists. "You never liked Grace because she was chosen to be a Champion, and you weren’t. And not just any Champion, but Nike’s Champion, the best of the best. You were always jealous of her for that-and because she didn’t want to join the Protectorate after graduation like you did. You knew what a coup it would be to get Nike’s Champion to enter the Protectorate, and you wanted to use her to further your own career. Grace was always better than you, and you resented her for it. I never understood the obsessive need you had to compete with her in the classroom, in the gym, and everywhere else."

"And I never understood why you always leaped to her defense," Linus snapped back. "We’re Spartans, Nickamedes. We’re the best of the best. And yet, someone else was chosen to be Nike’s Champion instead of one of us. It doesn’t make any sense. It didn’t back then, and it certainly doesn’t now. Logan should be a Champion, Nike’s Champion, not this-this foolish girl. From what I see, she’s even worse than her mother was, and Grace was by no means Champion material. Nike should have done us all a favor and cut ties with the Frost family years ago. I thought perhaps it had finally ended when Grace was killed by Reapers. I’d certainly hoped so anyway."