I sighed. “Look, if you don’t want to go with me tomorrow, I understand. I don’t want you falling into Reaper hands any more than you do. So it’s okay if you want to stay here.”
Vic rolled his eye. “I said it was a crazy plan. That’s all. I didn’t say anything about not going with you, Gwen. C’mon. At the very least, there will be dozens of Reapers there—Reapers that I can kill. You know I would never pass up a chance to do that.”
This time, I rolled my eyes at his bloodthirsty words. Sometimes, I thought the only reason Vic hung around me was so that he could kill Reapers, since I was like a magnet, always attracting them whether I wanted to or not.
“Besides,” he continued. “I was your grandmother’s sword long before I was yours, Gwen. I want to save Geraldine as much as you do.”
I nodded. Sometimes, I forgot that Vic had had all of these other lives before me—that he’d been the weapon for all the women, all the Champions, of the Frost family over the years. And that he’d seen a lot of them die too, in the same sort of battle I would be facing tomorrow.
Still, his devotion to my grandma and me too touched me more than anything he’d ever said or done before.
“Thank you,” I rasped out through the emotion that clogged my throat.
“For what?”
“For always being there for me when I need you. For being something and someone I can always depend on, no matter what. You’ve never let me down, and I know you never will. You don’t know how much that means to me. Especially right now.”
Vic sniffed, as if he was dismissing my words, but I could see the gleam of a tear in his eye before he managed to blink it away.
“Oh, come on now,” he said, his voice as gruff as mine was. “There’s no need to get all bloody maudlin about things. We’ll go, we’ll kick some Reaper ass, and we’ll be home in time for dinner.”
I had to smile at his snarky confidence. Vic could always make me feel better about things, no matter how hopeless they looked.
“So when are you going to get the candle?” he asked. “Tomorrow morning,” I said. “That’s when I’m going to steal it.”
Chapter 15
The next morning, I went about my routines as if everything was normal. As if I wasn’t planning to steal perhaps the most important artifact known to the Pantheon. As if I wasn’t going to turn said artifact over to the Reapers. As if I wasn’t going to make Loki stronger.
As if I might not be dead by noon.
But there was nothing I could do but face things head-on and hope everything worked out like I wanted it to. Still, more than once, I found myself on the verge of hyperventilating, and I had to force myself to breathe in and out, in and out, like my mom had always taught me to do whenever I was nervous, scared, worried, or upset. Those words didn’t even begin to describe my emotions right now. But the breathing helped, so I kept doing it, over and over again, until I felt like I could actually go through with this.
“Are you okay?” Logan asked me more than once during weapons training. “Do you need to take a break?” “Nah,” I said. “I’m just a little tired today. I didn’t get
much sleep last night.”
It was true. I’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, going over and over everything that could go wrong with my plan, and all of the ways my grandma could die, even though I knew I would need all of my sleep and energy for what was to come today.
“Oh. I’m sorry,” he said.
I shrugged, just trying to get through the rest of the training time. I didn’t want Logan’s sympathy, and I certainly didn’t deserve it. Not given what I was planning.
We kept sparring, and, finally, weapons training came to an end. My friends and I left the gym and headed over to the dining hall to get some breakfast. After that, I went back to my dorm room to take a shower and get ready for the day. I dressed carefully, putting on a sturdy pair of boots, my favorite jeans, and the warmest T-shirt and sweater I had, along with my purple plaid jacket. If things went according to plan, then my trip back to the academy would be a short, cold one. I also grabbed a few more items I would need and stuffed them into my pockets as well.
Finally, it was time for my first class of the day. Alexei walked me over to the English-history building.
“I have a meeting with Linus and the other Protectorate guards,” he said. “I’ll come back when the bell rings to walk you to your next class.”
“Sure,” I said, my voice far happier than it should have been. “Sounds great.”
I’d been wondering how I was going to get away from Alexei long enough to go steal the candle, but he’d given me the perfect opening without even realizing it.
Alexei looked at me, suspicion filling his hazel eyes, but he didn’t say anything else. Neither did I. After a moment, he nodded his head, then turned and walked away. I thought about slipping away right then and there, but I headed into the building like I really was going to class after all. I stopped at the first window I came to and peeked out through the glass. Alexei was standing at the opposite end of the quad, staring back in my direction.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat, but he couldn’t see me through the glass at this distance. After a moment, he nodded, as if satisfied that I was where I was supposed to be. Then, he hurried on and headed into the gym. That must be where the meeting was.
As soon as I was sure that he wasn’t going to double back to check on me, I went against the flow of students streaming inside and stepped out of one of the side doors. Kids were now racing across the quad, trying to get into the buildings, their classes, and their seats before the first bell of the day rang. I put my head down, burying my face in the scarf wrapped around my neck, and scurried along with them, heading straight for the Library of Antiquities. A few kids ran out of the building, having gone into the library during breakfast in a last, desperate attempt to get their homework done for the day. I stepped to one side so they could pass me, then approached the gryphons that sat on either side of the main steps. Yeah, I could have gone in through a side entrance, but that would have made me seem even more suspicious than I already was. Besides, I wanted to see the statues.
Because this might be the last time I ever saw them. Eagle heads, lion bodies, wings, tails. The statues looked
the same as always, if a bit fiercer today, with all the bits of snow clinging to them, as though they’d been rolling around in the fine white powder.
“Well, guys, this is it. For better or worse.” Silence.
By this point, all of the other kids had disappeared into the buildings, and I was the only one on the quad. My stomach clenched at the thought of what I was about to do, but I knew there was no going back.
“Wish me luck,” I whispered.
The gryphons didn’t respond, not really, although it seemed like they dipped their heads to me the slightest bit. That, at least, made me feel a little better about things. Like I could actually pull this off. Like I could steal the candle and use it to rescue Grandma Frost.
Like I might not doom us all in the process.
I nodded back at the gryphons. Then, I sucked in a breath, went up the stairs, and stepped into the library.
Instead of going in through the main double doors, I stayed in the hallway that ran around the building and went over to one of the side entrances. The door was open, and I slipped through to the other side. I could have strolled down the center aisle, but that was a sure way to let everyone know what I was up to. So instead, I slid into the stacks and eased up so that I could peer out into the main part of the library.