Killer Frost (Mythos Academy #6)(64)

She shrugged. “Because you’re their hero, and that’s what heroes do.”

I shook my head. “I’m nobody’s hero. Trust me on that. I’m just a girl who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Or maybe it’s the right place at the right time,” Rachel suggested. “You’ve come this far, Gwen. I didn’t know your mom, and I only met your dad a few times, but I think they’d both be very proud of you, for fighting against the Reapers the way you have.”

I shifted in my chair, uncomfortable with her words. I’d never really known my dad, Tyr, so I had no idea what he would or wouldn’t think, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether or not my mom would be proud of me. She’d been Nike’s Champion before me, and she’d done a lot of good, including keeping the Helheim Dagger hidden from the Reapers for years. But she’d also stopped being Nike’s Champion, and she’d withdrawn from the mythological world. My mom hadn’t wanted me to be a part of it, but I’d been sucked into it anyway. “Rachel’s right,” Grandma Frost chimed in. “Grace would be so proud of you, pumpkin. And Rory’s right too. You should go talk to your friends. Let them know that you’re going to do the best you can for them. It’ll

help. I know it will.”

I looked at her, wondering if she was getting another vision of the future, maybe even of my future, but her violet eyes were clear and firmly focused on me. So I nodded, got up, and did what she and Rory had suggested.

I went from one table to the next, talking to all of the kids in turn, and even a few of the adults, asking how they were, joking about how we were all getting out of classes and homework assignments today, and making other small talk. Just trying to lighten the mood and get everyone to take a collective breath before the Reapers arrived. I didn’t know that it helped, but at least it took everyone’s minds off the coming battle for a few minutes, including mine.

But all too soon, I’d made my rounds, and I found myself standing behind the checkout counter, looking out over the library. In some ways, it seemed like a typical evening. Students sitting at the study tables or clustered around the coffee cart. The soft murmurs of conversations. The constant squeak-squeak-squeak of sneakers on the marble floor. The faint, musty smell of the books permeating everything.

But in so many other ways, it was completely different. All of the kids with their weapons, fingering the sharp edges of the blades. Everyone glancing nervously toward the closed doors, as if they expected the Reapers to storm inside at any second. Everyone flinching, jumping, and jerking at every little sound, no matter how small or innocent it was.

There was nothing we could do but wait. So I went over to another table, where Daphne was sitting with Carson. They’d been my very first friends at Mythos, and it felt right, sitting with them here, now, at what could be the end—of everything.

Daphne was plucking the golden strings on her onyx bow over and over again, listening to the faint, thwangy chimes they made, almost as if they were some sort of harp that she was playing. Meanwhile, Carson was studying his own artifact, the Horn of Roland, which looked like a small, handheld tuba. He kept turning it over and over in his hands, peering at the ivory surface, and studying the onyx keys, as though he was using his Celt warrior bard instincts to try to figure out how to get it to work.

I sat down with them, but none of us spoke. There was nothing left to say.

Logan, Oliver, and Alexei had been practicing with their weapons, but they came over to the table too. Logan sat down beside me and threaded his fingers through mine. He put his arm around me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

We’d only been sitting like that for about five minutes when Metis stepped out of the office complex and walked over to us, her phone in her hand. Nickamedes appeared in the door of the office complex, cradling Nyx in the crook of his arm. Everyone slowly hushed as Metis approached me.

She stopped and touched my shoulder. “I just got off the phone with Linus. The guards down by the main gate have spotted the Reapers. They’re here, and Loki is leading them, along with Agrona and Vivian.”

I nodded and got to my feet. Everyone turned to stare at me. I stared out over the faces, so many of them strangers to me, kids and professors and staff members I’d only seen from a distance. One by one, I looked at them, then focused my attention on the people who were so very familiar—my friends, my family, all the people I loved.

Logan. Daphne. Carson. Oliver. Alexei. Metis. Nickamedes. Grandma Frost. Rory. Rachel. Nyx. Vic.

I wondered if this would be the last time I ever saw them, but I couldn’t let myself think about that right now. For a moment, I focused on my breathing—in and out, in and out—letting each inhalation and exhalation ground me and prepare me for what was to come.

“It’s time,” I finally said.





Chapter 23


Everyone grabbed their weapons and started trickling outside, except for a few folks like Grandma Frost, who were staying here to protect the library from any Reapers who might try to sneak inside. Those armed with bows and arrows, including Rory and Rachel, climbed to the upper levels of the library to head out onto the balconies and serve as archers from those vantage points.

I also stayed behind to talk with Nickamedes. He put Nyx down on a nearby table and leaned on his cane. The battle hadn’t even begun yet, but he already looked tired, which told me how much he needed what I was about to give him.