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  She slowed to a walk once she could no longer hear anyone calling after her, weaving her way deeper into the palace. This is bad. Really bad! Everyone at the Academy probably knew who she was by now, and, if they didn’t, they soon would. She’d never be able to enter a room again without someone demanding she use her powers.

  The sky had stripped away her freedom, and she doubted even the Uniques could outshine her enough that people ignored her.

  ‘I think she went down here.’

  Medusa, they’re following me. Hailey glanced around for somewhere to hide. Poseidon’s stable was a few feet away. Technically, students weren’t allowed inside without a teacher, but she’d happily accept a detention if it meant escaping the craziness for a little while.

  She slipped through the stable’s doors, the salty air engulfing her.

  The horses nickered.

  ‘Hello,’ Hailey said, quietly closing the doors behind her. ‘Can I hide here for a little while?’ she whispered, petting each horse before slumping against the double doors at the end of the stable. ‘So my life is over,’ she said, speaking quiet enough that anyone hunting her outside wouldn’t hear. ‘Amathia decided to raise the palace. And it’s pretty obvious she did it because of me. But I never asked her to. I even told her that I came here to escape my powers. And it was working. Everyone was leaving me alone. But now… I’ll never escape again. And it’s Amathia’s fault.’ The realisation seared her heart and tears leaked down her cheeks.

  She’d told Amathia what she’d never told anyone before, and she’d ignored Hailey’s feelings. ‘Why’d she do it? Why is she putting me through this? This will be my life for the next five years. It’ll be worse than my life before I came here because at the end of the day, I can’t escape back home. I have to stay here with all the students. With their stares. Their whispering. I don’t want any of this!’

  Sobs tore through her, and she clasped a hand over her mouth in case anyone lurked outside.

  Hailey had no idea how long she sat there crying, but it felt like hours. Eventually, the tears stopped and she gasped in shaky breaths. ‘I know I’m being ridiculous.’ She sniffed, swiping tears from her puffy eyes and realising just how much she was overreacting. ‘It’s not Amathia’s fault. She did it because she doesn’t want me to suffer from not using my powers,’ she said. ‘And it’s only three days a week. I’ll have freedom on the other four—that’s better than nothing.’

  The horses nickered again, as if agreeing.

  ‘Thanks for listening.’ She lurched to her feet and scratched each horse behind the ears before heading to the doors, where she glanced back at the horses. ‘Please don’t tell Kendra about this if you see her again.’ She didn’t want anyone knowing about her meltdown.

  The horses whinnied; Hailey hoped that meant they’d keep their muzzles shut.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said and slipped into the hallway.

  She weaved her way back to the entryway, which was no longer bursting with people, and peered into the grounds. Students were scattered everywhere—a lot of them wearing bathing suits and lying on cushions they’d stolen from the common rooms, acting as if they were enjoying a day at the beach.

  ‘Hey, you’re the Zeus.’

  Hailey whirled around. Three students lingered behind her.

  ‘Come show us your powers,’ one said and reached for Hailey’s wrist.

  Hailey tore her arm from their grasp. ‘No!’ She bolted up the stairs, only stopping when she reached the off-shoot staircase that led to her common room. You can do this, she told herself, and took a breath before climbing up the staircase.

  About thirty students sat in the common room; their reaction was instant. Their eyes locked on to Hailey and the students leapt up, launching towards her.

  Hailey staggered back a step.

  ‘There you are,’ a girl Hailey didn’t know said. ‘We’ve been waiting for you to demonstrate your powers.’

  ‘I’m not going to,’ Hailey said, and considered retreating back to the stable.

  ‘Did you lie about being a Zeus?’ someone asked. ‘Because that’s pretty low.’

  ‘I’m a Zeus,’ Hailey snapped, surprised by the defensiveness in her tone. Why should she care if they believed her?

  The girl planted her hands on her hips. ‘Then prove it.’

  ‘I don’t have to prove anything.’ Hailey shoved through the crowd.

  She made it to her dorm, where she collapsed on her bed with a sigh. ‘Just three days,’ she reminded herself. ‘Everything will go back to normal in three days.’

  * * *

  Hailey gazed out her window, smiling at the stars, feeling as though they were twinkling just for her. She reached a hand up to them, a cool breeze brushing against her skin, bringing the smell of the sea with it. With a flick of her hand, the breeze evaporated, leaving everything still.

  It was the first time she’d used her powers since coming here. She figured it was safe since it was almost midnight and everyone was in bed—including Demi, who was buried under her duvet, her breathing slow and deep.

  A dim glow filtered into the room, making the window’s crystal doors sparkle. Hailey spun around in time to see the light creeping under the door vanish. Guess not everyone’s in bed after all. Hailey had been cooped up in her dorm since this afternoon—when Amathia had ruined everything by raising the palace—and a little spy work seemed like a good way to stretch her legs.

  She slipped out of her dorm and spotted two girls creeping into the common room. Hailey tiptoed after them but stopped when they headed for the staircase. Did she really want to risk a detention to stalk after some girls who might only be going for a walk? ‘Hey,’ she called softly.

  Both girls jumped, whirling around with wide eyes. ‘We’re stretching our legs,’ the girl holding a torch said quickly.

  ‘Yeah, we’re going back to bed now,’ the other one squeaked.

  ‘I wasn’t…’ Hailey’s words fell away when she realised the light the girl held wasn’t a torch. It was a glowing orb that burned like a fireball. Hailey had never seen anything like it before.

  The light-holding girl inched forward. ‘Hailey?’

  Hailey shifted her gaze to the girl’s amber eyes, which seemed to burn with the same brightness as the light she was holding. ‘Yes,’ she said hesitantly, ready to dart back to her dorm if the girl mentioned her powers.

  ‘I’m Elora,’ the light-holding girl said. ‘This is Kallie.’ She pointed a thumb at the plumpish girl standing a step behind her, who smiled nervously, revealing dusky pink braces.

  Hailey’s legs un-tensed and she stared back at the light in Elora’s hand. ‘Are you a fireball thrower?’ Wielding fireballs was a power all the gods had possessed, like conjuring and telekinesis, and was known as an Inbetweener power.

  Elora shook her head. ‘No. This isn’t a fireball. It’s a mini sun. I’m an Apollo.’

  ‘I’ve never met an Apollo who could conjure a sun in their hand,’ Hailey said, awestruck. All the Apollos she’d met could only predict the future or play musical instruments, like the violin and guitar, really well.

  ‘Um, if you’re not planning to turn us in, we should probably get moving before someone hears us,’ Kallie interrupted, gazing uneasily at the door to the girls’ dormitories.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Hailey asked.

  ‘For a midnight snack,’ Elora said. ‘Wanna come?’

  ‘Okay.’ Hailey had skipped dinner, so a snack sounded pretty tempting right now. And she figured all the teachers would be in bed, so the chances of someone catching them after curfew were minimal.

  She tailed the two girls down to the main hall, where the floating orbs flared to life the second they passed through the archway. Hailey squinted against the brightness and sat down at the nearest table, where Kallie conjured an assortment of chocolates and lollies on her plate.

  ‘How often do you sneak down here?’ Hailey asked.

  Elora shrugged. ‘When
ever we’re hungry or can’t sleep,’ she answered, opening a packet of chocolate pearls, its sweet scent making Hailey’s mouth water.

  Kallie popped a minthe into her mouth. ‘Yum. I love mint things,’ she said and pushed the plate towards Hailey. ‘Help yourself.’

  Hailey couldn’t believe she’d never thought of using the plates to conjure her own personal sweet shop before. She grabbed an oracle bar and tore open its shiny gold wrapper before reading the message inscribed on top of the chocolate: Your strength is about to be tested.

  ‘What’s this?’

  Hailey knew who it was before she turned around. Venus lurked in the archway with the twins, the three of them wearing matching chiffon nightdresses that could have been mistaken for evening gowns. Venus’s lips curved into a dark smile. ‘Hailey, you should know better than to sneak out after curfew.’

  ‘I could say the same about you,’ Hailey replied, her voice clipped.

  Venus tossed her pristine curls behind her shoulder. ‘Poor Cleo suffers from low blood sugar. She has permission to come to the main hall after curfew. I’m merely being a good friend by keeping her company.’

  Hailey clenched a fist around the oracle bar wrapper. ‘I doubt that.’

  ‘We were hungry,’ Kallie blurted nervously.

  Venus regarded her with repulsion. ‘If I were you, I’d give up eating all together.’

  Nerissa and Cleo snickered.

  Hailey shot up, her scallop-shell chair clattering to the ground. ‘Apologise!’

  Kallie’s face burned red. ‘It’s okay, Hailey,’ she said, pushing away the chocolates.

  ‘No, it’s not.’ Hailey glared back at Venus, who smiled amusedly, making it clear there’d be no apology. ‘Why do you have to be such a harpy?’

  The insult rolled right off of Venus, who shrugged nonchalantly. ‘It’s my nature. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to inform Madam Grayson about you sneaking out. It’s for your own good.’ She strutted off with the cackling twins.

  Elora threw herself into the back of her chair. ‘Great. We’re going to get detention.’

  No way would Hailey let Venus win. She considered beating the evil trio back to the girls’ dormitories—after pushing them down the stairs—but Venus already had a head start, and was no doubt running, not wanting to delay getting Hailey into trouble by a single second. The only other option was to hide somewhere until Madam Grayson concluded Venus was a liar and, if the Tyches were on Hailey’s side, issued Venus a detention for wasting her time.

  Kallie pushed away from the table. ‘I can use my powers to get us outta here.’

  Elora smacked herself on the head. ‘Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?’

  Hailey cocked an eyebrow. ‘Are you an Inbetweener who can dematerialise?’ It was the only power she could think of that could get them back to their dorms.

  Kallie shook her head. ‘I can open portals to parallel worlds.’

  Hailey didn’t know what to say. She just stood there, staring at Kallie like she’d grown an extra head.

  Kallie shrank away from her gaze. ‘It’s not that great… I mean, you’re a Zeus.’

  That snapped Hailey out of her shock. She was doing the same thing people did when they found out about her powers, and she highly doubted Kallie liked being gawked at any more than she did. ‘Sorry. Your powers took me by surprise.’

  ‘I hate to interrupt,’ Elora said, picking up the chair Hailey had knocked over, ‘but if we don’t hurry, we’ll get busted.’

  Kallie jumped into action. ‘Right.’ She pressed her palms together, blowing out a long breath as she drew them apart. A white sphere of glowing light formed between her hands. She threw it forward, grinning when it morphed into a vortex of swirling lights the colour of a rainbow.

  Hailey couldn’t help it, she was gaping again.

  Elora ran into the portal and vanished.

  ‘Go, Hailey,’ Kallie prompted.

  Hailey gulped, feeling as though she were back on Poseidon’s Island having a panic attack about leaping into the whirlpool. But unlike on the island, she didn’t have time to work through her fears, because she could hear footsteps on the stairs.

  Clinging to her necklace, Hailey scurried into the portal. Wisps of red, green, yellow, and blue swirled around her. She reached out to touch the lights but they disappeared.

  Hailey was back in the main hall, which now smelled musty and unused, and looked nothing like the main hall she’d just been in. There weren’t rows and rows of tables. Instead, a long object draped in a white sea-silk sheet stretched down the room.

  ‘Watch out.’

  Something rammed into Hailey from behind and sent her toppling forward; her knees and hands smashed against the hard ground.

  ‘I’m sorry, Hailey,’ Kallie said, helping her back up.

  ‘I should have moved when…’ Hailey froze. ‘The portal… it’s gone!’

  ‘Keep your voice down.’ Kallie shot the empty archway into the main hall an apprehensive look. ‘I had to close the portal so Madam Grayson didn’t see it. I’ll reopen it in a few minutes.’

  ‘Oh,’ Hailey said, feeling like an idiot for overreacting. But in her defence, travelling to parallel worlds was new to her. And she couldn’t believe she was actually in one.

  What’s the version of me like here? she wondered. Was her dad still alive here? Was she actually worthy of being a Zeus in this world?

  Elora wandered over to the sheet-covered object, which Hailey guessed was a really long table. ‘What world is this?’

  ‘One where Poseidon’s Academy was never created,’ Kallie answered.

  ‘Nemertes would be happy,’ Hailey muttered to herself. ‘So what’s the weirdest world you’ve been to so far?’

  ‘Um, there’s this one world where humans think the gods are myths and no one has any powers. I think the gods must have been killed off really early in that world—they don’t even have monsters or anything.’

  Sounds like Elysium, Hailey thought, wondering if her doppelganger in that world knew how lucky she was that she didn’t have to worry about prophesies or psycho nereids trying to resurrect the gods.

  Voices drifted from the entryway.

  ‘Someone’s coming,’ Kallie hissed. ‘We need to hide.’

  They darted under the table just as the quarrelling voices reached the hall. Hailey peeked under the small gap between the sheet and pearl floor to see who she was hiding from. Amathia stood in front of the archway.

  ‘The palace has fallen into disuse since Poseidon left,’ Amathia said. ‘There is no reason for it not to become a learning centre.’

  ‘Humans aren’t worthy of our knowledge.’ Hailey cringed when Nemertes came into view. ‘And Poseidon will return.’

  ‘I don’t believe that.’

  Nemertes looked ready to explode. She opened her mouth to snap something back, but seemed to reconsider and shook her head instead. ‘Why Poseidon chose you as a follower, I do not know.’ She stalked away, leaving Amathia looking utterly defeated. She sighed before leaving too.

  ‘Poor Amathia,’ Elora said as the three of them climbed out from under the table.

  ‘We should tell her about our world,’ Hailey suggested. If they let this Amathia know about their Amathia going behind her sisters’ backs and creating Poseidon’s Academy, then maybe she’d decide to stand up to her sisters too.

  Kallie shook her head. ‘We can’t interfere.’ She touched her palms together. ‘I think it’s safe to go back now.’

  ‘No,’ Hailey said.

  Kallie shot her a hard look. ‘I said we can’t interfere. This world needs to play out the way it’s supposed to.’

  ‘That wasn’t what I was saying no to,’ Hailey said—although she wanted to. But as Kallie’s powers had brought her here, she would adhere to her rules. ‘I’d bet my powers Venus is waiting for us in the common room. Is it possible for you to open the portal in the girls’ dormitories?’

  Kallie nod
ded. ‘I can open the portal anywhere inside.’

  ‘Humans!’ the word was a poisonous hiss, giving it away as Nemertes’s voice.

  She loomed in the archway; her green eyes snapped to Hailey and morphed into a deadly glare, sending her a clear message the nereid wouldn’t like her any more here than in her own world.

  ‘Get us out of here, Kallie!’ Elora shouted.

  Kallie drew her hands apart, reopening the vortex of swirling lights.

  Nemertes stumbled back a step with a gasp.

  But her astonishment didn’t last.

  The second Elora bolted through the portal, Nemertes snapped back to evil-nymph mode and lunged for Hailey. Hailey dodged her, leaping into the portal.

  A few seconds later, she was back in the familiar hallway of the girls’ dormitories. She jumped to the side and spun around, her heart hammering while she waited to see if Nemertes would make it through.

  A second passed, and then Kallie appeared, the vortex closing behind her. Hailey exhaled. The Nemertes in her world scared her enough; the last thing she needed was a second one.

  ‘That was close,’ Kallie said, looking as pale as a Thanatos’s victim. ‘We should get back to our dorms.’

  ‘Not yet,’ Hailey whispered. She wanted to know if she’d been right about Venus and the twins organising a stakeout. She edged down the hallway and cracked open the door to the common room.

  Venus sat in a chair directly in front of the staircase, with a dopey-eyed Nerissa and Cleo on chairs next to her.

  With a snicker, Hailey closed the door. Venus: 1; Me: 2.

  10

  The Sirens’ Song

  Hailey stood in the grounds, just in front of the palace’s entrance, forcing her gaze down to the rainbow reefs growing below the diamond floor. She refused to look at the sky. She wanted nothing to do with it right now. Not when her entire Powers class was standing around her. She could feel their eyes boring into her, waiting for her to give them a show.

  Hailey had managed to avoid using her powers in front of anyone since the palace rose two days ago. But there’d be no avoiding it today. Not when Madam Norwood had decided to have Powers class outside.