idea how much time had already passed. The heat from the next plank on my left roared up, and I could smell the fine hairs on my arms burning. I closed my eyes, unable to watch as my mind begged me to quit, the fear bordering on winning over my willpower.
Just hold on, just hold on.
As if mocking my silent chant, heat suddenly exploded under my fingertips and I opened my eyes with a shout as I pulled my hands to my body. The handrail was ablaze, and within a second the rope had disintegrated. My legs shook under me as the second plank on my right burned out. The heat was making my body weaken, all liquid inside me seeming to have turned to sweat. I felt the fire leap on my left as the last plank caught.
They won't kill you, hold your nerve. This is the only way to win.
It had to be the only way to win. They wouldn't make an unbeatable test, would they?
The skin on my face seemed to tighten as heat scorched up to my right, and I turned my face, closing my eyes again. This was it. If the next time I opened my eyes I wasn't back in the hall, I'd be dropping to a fiery death.
Twenty-Nine
Persephone
A gong sounded, and relief smacked into me so strong I actually felt my legs give out as the world around me shimmered. My knees banged against the cold marble of the hall and a desperate urge to lay down on the cool stone swamped me. I took a huge gulp of cool air as a satyr trotted up to my kneeling form and handed me a large mug of water. I gulped it down gratefully, and wiped the sweat from my forehead on my arm, only to find my arm wasn't much drier. It briefly crossed my mind that I must look a hot mess, literally, with my hair plastered down with sweat and my dress torn to shreds, but the sheer fact that I wasn't burning alive dispelled my concerns quickly.
'My realm, Capricorn, is known for seasonal extremes, and I'm known for heat,' Apollo said, a rich seductive tone to his voice. I looked up at him from where I knelt, my body still burning hot and skin stinging and singed. I summoned up my healing power, but instead of concentrating on a wound, I tried to focus on my skin as a whole. A pleasurable tingle danced over me, followed by the feeling of cool water lapping gently at me, first over my face, then my arms and chest and back. It felt so good a long sigh escaped my lips. Apollo's eyes darkened. 'I could do that for you,' he said quietly. I pushed myself to my feet quickly, the predatory look in his eyes feeling nothing like when Hades looked at me that way.
'Thank you, but I'm fine. Just thirsty.' I felt a touch on my leg through my shredded skirt, and looked down to see the satyr holding up a refilled mug. 'You're an angel,' I told him as I took it and drained it.
Two tests down, two seeds safe. Two more to go.
'Where to next, Persephone?' boomed the commentator. I looked wearily down the line, then back. Between Poseidon and Apollo sat Apollo's twin, Artemis, her young and eager face infinitely appealing.
'Artemis,' I said, stepping towards her. A bow as large as she was lay tucked into the side of her throne, and her hair was as gold as her brother’s skin. She was wearing leather fighting garb similar to what I had back in my wardrobe, and I felt a pang of jealousy. A ballgown and sandals had to be the least practical thing in the world to perform these sadistic damned tests in.
Artemis was short, and she had to lean quite far forward to offer me her goblet.
'Drink from the cup of the hunt and see if you shall be tested.' She sounded no older than a teenager. I took the cup from her, and took a sip, the word 'hunt' wafting through my mind and setting alarm bells ringing. The liquid tasted earthy, like beetroot, and as I lowered the cup my limbs shivered involuntarily. Was this a delayed reaction to the heat? I looked up at Artemis, her innocent eyes now glowing with a wicked gleam. Shit. This was another test.
The world around me flickered once more, and an endless, hilly moor materialized under my