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"The Celt will knohat to do with the horn when the time comes, and so will the Valkyrie with the bow," Nike said "Just as you will knohat to do with the artifacts you find, who to give them to and when"

"And what about Loki?" I asked "I’ I’m still supposed to find some way to kill him Is there an artifact for that too?"

I’d meant aze steady and serious

"There is," I whispered "There’s an artifact that can actually kill Loki What? What is it? Where is it? How can I use it to kill him? Please, you have to tell me-"

Nike arched her eyebrows and tipped up her head I followed her gaze and realized that I could see the fresco again A shie of, well,inthat looked like an arrow, or maybe a s once more "But what is it? You have to tellme off, and cocked her head to one side, as if she was listening to sooddess slid off the counter and turned so that she was standing in front of o," she said "And for you to return to your friends Can’t you feel it? They’ve done an excellent job of healing you"

I pressed my hand to my chest That thin line still slashed over er felt cold I looked down and realizedthe saolden tinge of Metis’s healing power

"So I’ to make it after all?"

Nike smiled "There was never any doubt of that, Gwendolyn Self-sacrifice is a very powerful thing, especially if you do it of your own free will Reoddess leaned over and kissed ood-bye to me As always, a wave of her power blasted over er than before, one so cold and fierce it made my breath frost in the air between us

"Good-bye, Gwendolyn," Nike said, stepping back, her body ht "Be well and brave until we ht, but the light was too intense, and I had to turn away froone-and so was the goddess

Chapter 30

My eyes snapped open once again

For a , still in that weird not-quite-a-world with Nike But the ceiling here wasn’t do 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 intickled ue lickedbeside me on my bed The wolf pup let out a happy yip and licked ainst 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, pulledle in between us

"It’s about bloody time," another voice chihtstand His voice ht, and he was s

"What do you mean by that?" I mumbled, my rip "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?" Grandling together in a sweet, soft symphony

She sat on the other side of the bed and s, pu 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 ca with Oliver and Coach Ajax Metis and Nickamedes squeezed into the roolad they were that I was okay, but so seemedoff None of them would look me in the eye for more than a second, and I wondered why

"What happened after Idid what I did?" I asked when I had gulped down the water Grandan stab you in the chest like a complete idiot?"

Carson winced "Daphne"

"What?" she snapped, sparks ofin 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 hed

"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 ht We killed several Reapers and ed to capture several more"

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

"Unfortunately, ere not able to capture Agrona and Vivian," Metis said, confirhed "What happened?"

"We chased theot on to Vivian’s roc Even though the creature was injured, it still ed to fly aith them," Metis said "We don’t knohere they are now, but thefor them"

"And ill find them," Ajax said "Sooner or later, we’ll find them, and they’ll pay for what they’ve done"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>