SOLEIA'S POV

"May meeting ka ngayon, Tazyn?" tanong ko sa kanya.

We were hanging out in our dorm's dining room. Since most of the others were in meetings, it was just the two of us along with Mavi and Cole.

"Mhm, pero maya-maya pa naman. Nagpapahinga pa kasi si Aelia dahil malala 'yung natamo niyang sugat nung sumalakay ang mga daemon," sagot ni Tazyn. Napakagat ako sa aking labi.

Ayokong maalala ang araw na 'yun.

"Do you want some juice?" Tazyn asked. Dahil medyo uhaw na rin naman ako, pumayag na ako. Inalok niya rin sina Mavi kaya naghanda siya ng apat na baso.

"Hey Taz, do you have any clue about what we're going to discuss today?" Mavi asked, casually sitting on the chair across me. "I heard it has something to do with Medusa. Geez, I'm really curious about what she's up to. It seems like she might be strategizing her attacks while we're busy celebrating."

Tazyn shrugged, pouring orange juice into four cups. "Wala ako masyadong alam. Oh, but I remember Kai telling me about Medusa's possible attack soon. Apparently, an oracle of my father had a vision."

"Talaga?" singit ni Cole na nakikinig din. "Honestly, that makes me a bit nervous."

The thought of another attack terrifies me. If I can't control my powers properly, how can I possibly defend the academy? Plus, I don't believe I'm skilled enough to keep them safe.

"The oracle's name is Agnes, right?" Mavi asked. "I heard she foresaw an upcoming war against Medusa."

Kinabahan ako. Should I ask Headmistress Adhira to train me again?

"Gusto niyo ba ng yelo?" tanong ni Tazyn. Umiling ako katulad nang iba. Galing naman sa ref 'yung juice, siguardong malamig na 'yun. "Ayaw niyo? Edi ako nalang." Bahagya akong natawa nang mapasimangot siya.

"How cute," Mavi muttered. I couldn't help but smirk, finding his innocence amusing. I always found it weird whenever he attempted to flirt with me or the other Elysians, especially since it was clear he had feelings for someone else.

Nabaling ang atensyon ko kay Tazyn nang dumating siya na may dalang mga baso na punong-puno ng juice. Wow.

"Thank you, Tazyn," sambit ko. Nginitian niya ako bilang tugon. Umupo siya sa tabi ni Mavi nang maibigay sa'min ang mga baso namin.

"So, ano'ng plano nina Haze?" Sa pagkakaalam ko ay nasa meeting sina Haze, Raven, at Amari kasama ang mga council elders habang sina Callie at Talia ay kasama nina Headmistress Adhira para icampus-tour ang Olympians.

Honestly, I don't get why the Olympians need a campus tour when they built the academy themselves. Imposible namang nakalimutan nila ang pasikot-sikot sa academy, 'di ba?

"Amari told me that they're investigating the recent attack. Nagtataka sila kung paano nakapasok ang mga kalaban kahit na may barrier naman."

Sandali rin akong napaisip. What if...

"What if there's a traitor within the academy?" I asked. They all looked at me with slightly widened eyes. "I mean, it's just a possibility."

Tazyn took a sip of her juice. "That's what they have in mind, pero mahirap paniwalaan dahil tanging ang mga nakatataas tulad natin at si Headmistress Adhira lamang ang may access sa barrier," paliwanag niya.

I couldn't shake off my unease. In a world like ours, traitors lurk around every corner. While I wanted to trust the headmistress and the others, I couldn't bring myself to dismiss any possibilities. After all, war is looming, and if there's indeed a traitor among us, we would be doomed.

Like... really doomed.

"Wait..." Napatingin sa'kin si Cole. "You don't think the former protectors are behind this, do you?" he asked nervously.

Agad akong umiling. "What in the realms? Of course not." Gods, he's getting the wrong idea! Wala naman akong sinasabi ah!

Though, I'm not dismissing the possibility. Masyado akong nahihirapang magtiwala sa kung sino-sino ngayon.

"Ako lang ba o parang mapait 'yung juice?" tanong ni Tazyn. Tinaas niya 'yung baso niya bago niya ito tinitigan nang mabuti. "Hala, baka expired na?"

Mavi's eyebrows furrowed. "Should I sue the academy's supermarket?"

"Baka panget 'yung brand na nabili natin," Cole commented.

Inikot ko ang mga mata ko. They're overreacting. "We purchased the same brand of juice we usually drink just a day ago, so it can't be past its expiration date," saad ko.

Napatingin ako kay Tazyn nang mapakapit siya nang mahigpit sa lamesa. Bigla akong naalarma at napatayo. "Hey, what's happening?" Nagsimula nang magpanic sina Mavi kaya nahawa ako. I was starting to panic too!

Gods, where are the others when you need them?

"Calm down, both of you! Please!" I shouted. They're even more agitated than Tazyn herself. "How do you feel, Tazyn?" I asked, patting her back.

"T-tawagan niyo a-ang iba..." she said weakly. "M-malapit na..."

She started to close her eyes and fortunately, Mavi was able to grab her before she fell down completely. "Dalhin na natin siya sa clinic. Baka may mangyari pa sa kanya," suhestiyon ni Cole. Mavi tightened his grip around Tazyn before we sprinted our way towards the clinic.

"Makikiraan po! May nahimatay lang!" sigaw ni Cole sa mga nakakalat na estudyante. It was a busy day since it was the last day of the celebration. "Sabing makikiraan eh!"

"I'm gonna kill whoever slows us down, I swear on my father's name," nakasimangot na bulong ni Mavi sa tabi ko. Napatampal ako sa aking noo.

"Please step aside," mahinanon kong sambit. "There's an emergency." I let my eyes flash with an eerie intensity. The students moved aside, quickly clearing a path. Huh, I guess they were scared.

"Huminahon ka nga," bulong ni Cole.

"I am calm," sagot ko.

He snickered. "Sure, tell that to the shadows lurking behind your back." Napatigil ako sa sinabi niya.

Kaya pala umiwas 'yung mga estudyante...

Maya-maya, nakarating na kami sa clinic at naabutan namin si Nurse Sav at ang isa pang babae na halos tulog na. "Dr. Phoebe, Nurse Sav, there's an emergency!" saad ng isang nars nang makita ang kalagayan ni Tazyn. "An Elysian has fainted."

Agad na napamulat nang mata si Dr. Phoebe, ang babaeng katabi ni Nurse Sav. "An Elysian? Who?" Napatayo siya at nang makita niya kami, nanlaki ang mga mata niya. "Tazyn?" she asked. Hinawakan niya ang kamay ni Tazyn at pagkatapos, nagsimula na siyang sumigaw ng mga utos.

"Put her on the bed immediately! She's been poisoned."

My eyes widened. Tazyn... she was poisoned? But how?

Was it the juice? But we all drank the same thing... so why was she the only one affected?

Unless she was poisoned by something else.

"I'm gonna call the others," Cole said, but he was stopped by Mavi.

"I already did," he replied. "Through telepathy." Napatango nalang kami.

We were told to stay put inside the waiting room. After a few minutes, the other Elysians started to come. Talia and Callie were the first ones to arrive, followed by the trio.

"Tazyn, my love? Where's my twin sister?!" Talia started to shout hysterically. "Is she okay? Why is no one answering for Apollo's sake!"

Haze's eyes glowed royal purple, a clear signal that he was tapping into his powers. "Breathe, daughter of Apollo. Tazyn will be fine," he commanded. Talia's trembling eased a bit under his calm presence.

Amari leaned against the wall, watching us with intensity. "What happened?" seryosong tanong niya. Mavi took the initiative of narrating the whole story, but Amari's expression was hard to read.

"It had to be the ice," she murmured, her voice just loud enough for us to catch. "Tazyn was the only one who had juice with ice, right? The poison must've been in it."

"But why poison her? She hasn't done anything wrong, Amari!" hiyaw ni Talia, nangninginig sa takot. "Where is our father? Why isn't he here?"

Raven rolled his eyes, a smirk forming on his lips. "Seriously? Did you think he would come? Face it, Talia. The gods see us as pawns in their games. They don't care about our lives or our struggles. We mean nothing to them." His words struck me deeply, a painful reminder of how small we really were.

"Look around," he continued. "They continued the celebration like nothing happened a few days ago. They don't care about what happens to us."

Sinakop kami ng katahimikan. No one dared to speak. We all knew he was right. To the gods, we were disposable pieces, but accepting that truth felt like a betrayal to my own hope.

"The only ones we can really rely on are ourselves," I muttered under my breath.

How pitiful.

If only we were just ordinary mortals... then maybe we wouldn't have to bear this burden.