CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Kahina

My heart claws its way up my throat as I watch her. She can still win this. She’s lost time, and Hippomenes is fast, but Atalanta is faster. Always faster.

My mind swims, and my jaw drops as he pulls out another apple. The crowd erupts into laughter as he chucks it back as far as he can. This is insane. Again, I see Atalanta freeze and look for me. She runs again as soon as she sees me. I toss my hands up. “What is she doing?” I demand.

Nikoleta stares solemnly at the race, the slightest hint of fear edging into her voice. “The gods,” she whispers. Isidora nods, her eyes never leaving the track.

When he pulls out a third apple, I want to look away. This can’t be real. Atalanta stops. She looks for me, terror spelled out on all her features, then keeps running. But this time, I can see she’ll be too late. Hippomenes uses his third delay to, impossibly, pull ahead of her. There’s only mere feet left in the race.

It’s like Atalanta wakes up in one instant. Her face transforms from confusion to hyper-focus, and she runs faster than my eyes can fully process. My breath catches, and I see the whole crowd tense up. She can still win this. She can—

Hippomenes’s legs pump beneath him faster, faster, and then, he’s over the line in the dirt. Atalanta follows him within a second, complete shock registering as the crowd erupts into a deafening roar. Hippomenes grins and slows to a walk, waving at the audience, but keeping his eyes on Atalanta all the while.

His prize.

I fall to my knees.

“Kahina!” Phelix kneels down next to me. “Breathe.”

I try to. He forces me up into a sitting position, and Nikoleta and Isidora glance at each other worriedly. This isn’t happening. The crowd surges forward, and it takes both huntresses to keep them away from me and Phelix. He holds me as best he can, whispering meaningless words as the men hoist Hippomenes up, chanting his name. He’s defeated the eternal victor and won the grandest prize in all of Greece—pride, and marriage to a legend.

I look up. Iasus stands at the top bench, his eyebrows raised in surprise, but nothing more. Nora runs down to the track, and she and the other servants rush to a frozen Atalanta.

“No,” I murmur, trying to stand. I fall back, and Phelix keeps me steady. “No!”

Atalanta cranes her neck across the crowd as she’s taken away, and she looks at me with tears in her eyes. She shakes her head, mouthing I’m sorry over and over again. I finally shove myself up until I’m standing, though both girls and Phelix have to help me stay upright.

“Let me go!” I scream. “I need to see her!”

I struggle against Nikoleta’s grasp, but she holds me fast. “Don’t,” she warns.

It’s too much. Tears overtake me, and I sink into her. Isidora sighs, and grasps my shoulder. Nikoleta holds me carefully. “What happened?” I keep asking. “This is impossible.”

Phelix runs his hands through his hair, staring at the track. Hippomenes is still being fawned over by the other men. I nearly vomit.

“I need to see her,” I say again, insistently. The bright morning sun feels clammy and cold. My chest still heaves and hiccups. I didn’t realize how quickly a world could be overthrown. “Please.”

“I’m sorry,” Nikoleta says. She pulls away, and holds me at arm’s length. “But we need to talk.”

I frown, blinking through my tears. Isidora nods grimly. “Come with us.”