Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy #4)(66)
Author: Jennifer Estep

When I looked up, the silvery glow was gone-and so was the goddess.

Chapter 30

My eyes snapped open once again.

For a moment, I thought I was still dreaming, still in that weird not-quite-a-world with Nike. But the ceiling here wasn’t domed, and I wasn’t looking at the mysterious fresco inside the Library of Antiquities. No, the ceiling here was covered with plain old white paint, and I realized I was in my bedroom at my Grandma Frost’s house.

Something tickled my nose, and I sneezed. A second later, a warm, wet tongue licked my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Nyx standing beside me on my bed. The wolf pup let out a happy yip and licked my cheek again, her tail thumping against my ribs.

And Nyx wasn’t the only one here. A shower of pink sparks dripped onto me, and a familiar face loomed into view over mine.

"Gwen!" Daphne shrieked. "You’re awake!"

The Valkyrie leaned down, pulled me up, and hugged me tight, cracking my back like she always did. Nyx growled and tried to wiggle in between us.

"It’s about bloody time," another voice chimed in.

I looked over at Vic, who was propped up on my nightstand. His voice might have been harsh, but his eye was bright, and he was smiling.

"What do you mean by that?" I mumbled, my mouth as dry as paper.

Daphne drew back and loosened her grip. "He means that you’ve been unconscious for more than a day now."

"I told you she’d wake up this afternoon, didn’t I?" Grandma Frost breezed into the room, the coins on her scarves jingling together in a sweet, soft symphony.

She sat on the other side of the bed and smoothed down my frizzy hair. "How are you feeling, pumpkin?"

"Fine," I said. "A little thirsty and wondering what happened, but other than that, fine."

She nodded. "Good. I’ll bring you some water and tell the others you’re awake."

Nyx settled herself in my lap so I could pet her. Carson came up to my bedroom next, along with Oliver and Coach Ajax. Metis and Nickamedes squeezed into the room as well. One after another, they all told me how glad they were that I was okay, but something seemed . . . off. None of them would look me in the eye for more than a second, and I wondered why.

"What happened after I . . . did what I did?" I asked when I had gulped down the water Grandma brought me.

Daphne snorted. "You mean after you let Logan stab you in the chest like a complete idiot?"

Carson winced. "Daphne . . ."

"What?" she snapped, sparks of magic crackling in the air around her. "We were all there. We all saw her do it, and we all saw Logan run her through with that sword like she was just another enemy he needed to kill."

Metis put a hand on the volatile Valkyrie’s shoulder. After a moment, Daphne sighed.

"Fine," the Valkyrie muttered. "You tell her the rest of it."

Metis nodded. "Thanks to Morgan, Alexei, and Geraldine, Ajax and I got free, along with Sergei and Inari. While we battled the Reapers, Daphne and Carson got the students off the stage, while Oliver and Kenzie protected them. Eventually, the members of the Protectorate took control of the fight. We killed several Reapers and managed to capture several more."

I could hear the disappointed tone in her voice, and I was pretty sure I knew what she was going to say next.

"Unfortunately, we were not able to capture Agrona and Vivian," Metis said, confirming my suspicions.

I sighed. "What happened?"

"We chased them outside, but the two of them got on to Vivian’s roc. Even though the creature was injured, it still managed to fly away with them," Metis said. "We don’t know where they are now, but the members of the Pantheon are out looking for them."

"And we will find them," Ajax said. "Sooner or later, we’ll find them, and they’ll pay for what they’ve done."

Everyone nodded in grim agreement.

After that, the mood lightened a little, and the others took turns telling me everything that had been going on while I’d been unconscious. How Metis and Daphne had used their magic to heal me on the stage, rounding up the Reapers, taking the students back to the academy, announcing what had happened at the auditorium.

"I’m sorry I ruined the concert," I told Carson.

He shrugged. "It’s okay, Gwen. It wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault."

His voice was kind, but once again, he wouldn’t quite look at me, and I couldn’t figure out why.

My friends came and went in and out of my bedroom, but there was no sign of the person I wanted to see the most-Logan. I assumed he was back at the academy or maybe on his way over here, now that I was awake. But the weird thing was that no one said anything about the Spartan-not a single word-even though they must have known I was dying to see him and make sure he was okay.

"Where’s Logan?" I finally asked when I realized that no one was going to mention him unless I did.

Nyx had gone to sleep on the bed beside me, and Vic was snoring as well on the nightstand. Only Metis and Nickamedes were in my room at that point. The two of them exchanged a sharp look.

"Logan is gone, Gwen," Metis said in a low voice. "I’m sorry."

A cold fist of fear squeezed my heart tight. "Gone? What do you mean gone? He’s not . . . dead? Is he?"

My voice dropped to a raspy whisper, and I could barely get out the horrible words.

Nickamedes shook his head. "No, physically, he’s just fine. He became himself again when you used your touch magic on him, and he didn’t seem to suffer any lasting effects from the ritual. And of course, he didn’t even get a scratch during the fight itself."

"Then why isn’t he here?" I asked. "What’s wrong? What aren’t you telling me?"

Metis and Nickamedes exchanged another look, and my worry and dread increased.

"You have to understand that what Logan went through was very, very traumatic," Metis said, her soft green eyes finally meeting mine. "We were helping the band members set up when Agrona asked Logan to follow her over to one side of the stage. She used her Amazon speed to snap that gold collar around his neck before any of us realized what was happening. Logan immediately . . . changed. Even as we tried to help him, more and more Reapers streamed into the concert hall, and we’d lost the fight before it had even really started."

Metis paused a moment. "But it wasn’t just what the Reapers did to Logan that hurt him, but what he did to you."

"But he didn’t mean to hurt me," I said. "Not really. He just did what he did because Agrona was controlling him with the Apate jewels. She’s the one who made him go all Reaper and try to kill me. You know that, right? He’s not in the academy prison, is he? Because he doesn’t belong there."