Chapter 70

CLAUDIA. When I wake up, I find myself in the infirmary in the palace, the very same room Hyperion was in. The last thing I remember is the loud explosion in the warehouse, the burst of yellow and orange flames swallowing the building, leaking out of the windows and doors like hungry hands clamoring for food. I remember screaming, because I didn’t see Achilles get out in time. Did he get out in time? My heart starts to beat fast, and the machine next to me beeps louder in response. I pull the cord that is attaching me to it, annoyed by the noise and perhaps pressured by it. I notice that my knuckles have been scratches open, the skin on my palms nearly all burned off. It’s covered by a thick green salve that cuts off the pain entirely, but it’s nothing compared to the numbness building in my chest. I sit up, about to swing my legs off the bed and leave, but then I notice someone sitting on a chair beside my bed, reading a book. My mood lifts when I thought that it’s Achilles, but