Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy #4)(59)
Author: Jennifer Estep

"It won’t be long now before your son is ready for the next step in the transformation," Agrona said. "Killing everyone on this stage as a blood sacrifice to Loki."

The students gasped and whimpered, and a few started crying again. Metis and the other adults were equally horrified, although they tried to keep their faces calm so they wouldn’t scare the kids any more than they already were. Still, I could feel the fear blasting off the kids and adults in icy waves, even way up here in the shadows.

Agrona sliced her sword through the air, causing some of the students to scream. She laughed with delight, and I noticed a ruby ring on her right hand. The gem matched the ones she wore around her throat. I remembered thinking how pretty her necklace was the first time I’d seen it. I should have known there was more to it than met the eye, especially after the Apate jewels had been stolen from the library. But the eerie thing was that all the gems she wore, rubies and emeralds alike, seemed to be glowing-glowing with Reaper-red fire.

I thought of the ID card I’d found in the library, the one I still had in my jeans pocket that talked about the jewels. Whatever power they had, it was obvious that Agrona was tapping in to that magic. I wondered if that was how she was controlling Logan, if that was why he wasn’t fighting back.

"A few more minutes, and Logan will be completely ours-just as he was intended to be all along," Agrona said in a satisfied voice.

Linus frowned. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering him, Agrona looked over at Nickamedes. "You were right to be suspicious of me all these years. This moment has been a long time in the making. In fact, it started when Logan was just a boy-and I led a team of Reapers to capture him. Of course, things didn’t quite work out as I’d planned then, but no matter. I got what I wanted in the end. I always do."

Nickamedes sucked in a breath, and so did I. I knew what Agrona was saying as well as he did-that she’d been behind the Reaper attack on Logan’s family all those years ago. That she was the one who’d murdered his mom and older sister.

Linus’s face paled. "You-you killed my wife and daughter? Larenta and Larissa? Why? For what purpose?"

Agrona stared at him. "Because even back then, we knew that Loki would need a new body after being trapped in Helheim for so long. So we started searching for the perfect candidate, knowing it would take years to find just the right one. And who better than a Spartan? They’re the fiercest, the bravest, the best warriors. We knew that if we combined a Spartan’s natural killer instinct with Loki’s soul and power, our lord would be unstoppable. But none of the Spartans were quite right-until Logan was born."

Agrona’s gaze dropped to the ruby on her hand, and I realized the gem was shaped like a large heart-just like the main ruby in Apate’s necklace. Agrona must have taken the ruby out of its original setting and had it fashioned into that ring. She glanced over her shoulder at Logan, but he still didn’t move. She turned back to Linus.

"Our goal that day was to capture the boy and kill everyone else in the house, including you," she said. "But of course, you were called away on Protectorate business, and the boy saw us coming and warned his mother and sister. Your lovely wife screamed at the children to hide, but we’d already cut off your daughter’s escape. It was too late for them and they knew it, but they fought us and held us back while they yelled at the boy to run, which he did. After we killed the women, we searched the house from top to bottom, but we couldn’t find him."

All this time, Logan had felt so horribly guilty that he hadn’t fought alongside his mom and sister. But if he had, he would have been captured by the Reapers. Who knows what they would have done to the Spartan- beaten him, tortured him, maybe even brainwashed him into becoming one of them. He would have been just as lost as his mom and sister had been. The terrible thoughts made me want to vomit, but I forced myself to focus on what was happening below, even as I tried to think of a way to save everyone.

"Since we couldn’t find the boy that day, we had to come up with a new plan," Agrona continued.

"So you married Linus in order to keep an eye on Logan," Nickamedes said in a disgusted voice. "I always thought that you did something to Linus to get him to marry you so quickly after my sister died, that you bewitched him in some way."

"And you were right." Agrona reached up and tapped one of the rubies on her gold necklace. "You don’t need Great Artifacts like the Bowl of Tears to bend people to your will. A few pieces of power here and there are more than enough to subtly push people in the right direction, if you know what you’re doing-and I certainly do when it comes to magic. Years ago, I discovered a pair of ruby-and-emerald earrings that belonged to Apate. I had the gems reset so no one would recognize them, and I used their power to infiltrate the Protectorate and then convince dear, sweet Linus that I was just what he needed after I murdered his wife."

"So our whole marriage, everything we’ve been through, all the battles we’ve fought against the Reapers . . . it was all a lie?" Linus asked.

She leaned down and stared into his eyes. "Every single second of it."

Linus’s face was cold and calm, but rage and hurt flashed in his gaze.

She laughed at his fury. "I can’t tell you how many times I’ve longed to see that look on your face, Linus. Why, it’s even more wonderful than I’d thought it would be-"

A door banged open. All the Reapers tensed and whirled around, but they relaxed when they realized it was Vivian. The Reaper girl climbed the stairs, stepped up onto the stage, and hurried over to Agrona.

"What took you so long? Did you take care of things at the coliseum?" Agrona asked.

Vivian shook her head. "Not exactly. My roc was injured breaking through some glass, and Gwen . . . got away."

One second, Agrona was staring at Vivian. The next, she’d slapped the girl across the face as hard as she could. The crack of the blow echoed through the whole concert hall. I blinked. I hadn’t even seen her raise her hand to Vivian. Agrona had to be an Amazon to move that fast.

"Stupid girl!" Agrona snarled. "Do I have to do everything myself?"

Vivian stumbled back, clutching her red cheek, her golden eyes bright with surprise-and fury. "It wasn’t my fault. Gwen had the Bogatyr with her and a Valkyrie too. They killed the others. I barely got away on my roc."

Agrona drew her hand back for another slap, but Vivian held up Lucretia, putting the sword between the two of them.

"You might be head of the Reapers, but I’m Loki’s Champion," Vivian hissed. "You would be wise to remember that, unless you’d like to see exactly what I’m capable of."