Page 220 of The Games Gods Play
Samuel nods. “Got it.”
They work fast, Samuel carrying the others, one by one, over to the window, and Jackie lining them up with hands held. They’ve got Dae and Trinica in place when a ruckus breaks out inside the theater, the sirens’ argument gaining steam. A few shoot up into the skies, their shadows passing over me. Then two sirens come running around the corner, out a side door from the amphitheater, and Jackie and I freeze.
Only…they don’t seem to notice me.
My heart is in my throat, trying to choke me, but that’s okay, since I’m holding my breath anyway…as they walk right past where I’m squatted, hand stuck through the window. Never even glance in my direction.
Somewhere, the goddess of irony has to be laughing her ass off.
Once they’re out of earshot, Jackie mutters, “What in the name of Hades just happened?”
“More like in the name of Zeus.” I hope that asshole is choking on frustration right about now. “Hurry.”
Samuel gets Amir in place at the end of the line, and Jackie checks all their handholds one last time, then comes to the window, taking Dae’s hand and mine, gripping tight.
Please, for the love of Hades, let me be able to take them all with me.
I set one pearl on my tongue and get two more ready in my hand, then swallow.
The weight of so many people with me pulls at my bad arm—the one the dragon burned—and even in the void of sound, a shout is pulled from my throat, cutting off jarringly when we land directly outside the final gate in a heap.
“Where am I?” I hear Dae groan.
Sharp relief hits me with an added burst of adrenaline. “Get across the finish line before the sirens can come for you again,” I tell them.
Then gulp down another pearl.
I materialize exactly where I pictured—right behind my kneeling friends in the center of the amphitheater.
It was a risk, but I figured it’s faster than sneaking in.
I hold very still and wait for the sirens to scream or attack or have any kind of reaction.
Nothing.
They are still arguing among themselves, and it’s like I’m not even here.
I lean over to Zai and whisper in his ear, “Take Diego and Rima’s hands.”
He sways away from me, frowning a little. “Lyra?” he asks. Not whispers. Says it right out loud.
One of the sirens in the throne-like seats up front focuses in on him, frowning a little.
“Did you hear Lyra?” he leans over to ask Rima.
“Who?” She’s even louder.
The siren watching sits a tad straighter.
Shit.
Think, Lyra, think.
The sirens have already shown how fast they are, but I can’t hold on to all three, and I don’t have enough pearls for an extra trip. I need a way to make my friends hold hands without making a scene.
Wait. Poison.
Didn’t Zai get a stone that’s an antidote to poison as his prize for Hera’s Labor? Please, please, please let siren song be included in that. Pickpocketing skills have never come in handier in my entire fucking life. I find the tiny, lime green, pea-shaped stone in one of his pockets.
