²Olden Crown.

009.

OLDEN CROWN
━━ chapter nine

━━ DELANEY KNEW ELISA didn't trust her. And the daughter of Erebus didn't blame the girl too much. Delaney looked like Claret Ulmer, a girl who was supposed to be dead, and now Delaney was lying to Elisa's face saying she knew nothing of a Claret Ulmer.

The point was, Delaney noticed Elisa giving her a suspicious look as she trekked off with Jason, Piper, and the pale girl. She tried not to glare back as she tried not to slip on the ice.

As much tension as there was between Elisa and Delaney, Delaney didn't want to leave the daughter of Dionysus and Leo behind with Cal the hockey jock. But somewhere in the back of her mind she knew hanging out with Cal ( could she call it hanging out if Cal wanted to destroy them? ) would be one of the least dangerous options in the palace.

Delaney and Elisa might've strangled each other, but Delaney would've taken her chances instead of being marched off with Zethes the Creep behind her. As they climbed the icy staircase, Zethes stayed behind them, his blade drawn. The guy might've looked like a disco-era reject, but there was nothing funny about his sword. Delaney figured one hit from that weapon would probably turn her into a Delaney-Popsicle.

Then there was the ice princess. Every once in a while she'd turn and give them—only Jason, really—a smile, but there was no warmth in her expression. She regarded the son of Zeus like he was an especially interesting science specimen—one she couldn't wait to dissect.

Delaney nudged Jason in the back, and he turned to look at her. She nodded to the girl, hoping her expression read her question well; What do you think she wants?

Jason shrugged. Dunno, he mouthed to her.

Delaney just hoped it wasn't anything too horrible.

If these were Boreas's kids, Delaney didn't really want to meet their father. Jason and Elisa said that Boreas was the friendliest of the wind gods, but that kind didn't seem to stretch to his kids. Or—maybe his kindness was just not killing heroes as fast as the others.

The further they walked, the worse Delaney felt. She worried that she, Jason, and Piper were walking straight into a trap. If things went bad, she wasn't sure how she was going to fight. Sure, there was some darkness here and there, but nothing substantial that she could rely on. And with ice princess and Zethes guarding the front and back, she knew it would be nearly impossible to do any sneak attacks. And, having to protect Jason and Piper. Jason may have been able to protect himself, especially with lightning ( Delaney just hoped he had enough control not to electrocute her ), but Piper was so new with zero training.

She jumped, feeling a hand clamp around her wrist. Delaney looked over to find Jason shoulder-to-shoulder with her, watching ice princess carefully.

"What are you doing?" she hissed to him.

"My hands are cold."

"Well, now my wrist is cold." Delaney tugged her wrist away, but Jason didn't let go. "Let go, Blondie."

At the top of the stairs, the ice princess looked back and noticed them holding hands. Her smile faded. Suddenly Jason's fingers were ten times colder than before—they were burning cold. Delaney ripped her wrist away, seeing red splotches appear on her skin. She saw Jason's fingers smoking with frost.