Read Online The Unclaimed (University of the Gods Trilogy Book 1) by Alexandra Stephens - Free Book Online

don´t you go to your room if you don’t like it?” Pandora said but Charlie had already covered his ears with a pillow and seemed to want to go back to sleep.
    They quickly finished their breakfast and then left towards the general direction of the Colosseum. Cassandra was feeling edgy and nervous while Hector seemed relaxed enough. His obsidian skin shimmered in the early autumn sun and Cassandra smiled up at her brother, telling him about Arissa and the necklace, her run-in with Wolf and Bear and the other demigods, especially about Alexander and Ben. When she spoke about Ben and how fast he was, Hector started looking at her strangely but she was relieved of any further explanation when they finally arrived at their destination together with ten other Unclaimed and about fifty Claimed.
    The latter were dressed in full-battle gear while the Unclaimed had nothing much but a fierce look of determination in their faces and Cassandra, who didn’t fare much better in the outfit department, wondered how long that would sustain them all.
    It got a little better when they entered the training arena and saw that there were weapons and equipment waiting for them. The arena was bigger than anything Cassandra had ever seen and bustling with activity. There were servants hurrying around putting up armor into weapons’ stands, preparing the training machinery, raking the sand and sweeping away the gold, red and brown leaves from the huge trees at the side of the arena. Some stood simply at the ready to take care of the arriving Claimed and helped them adjust their protective gear. The Unclaimed stood at the side, waiting for their teachers to arrive. Cassandra and Hector joined them. The demigods had already arrived and Cassandra indicated to Hector who was who.
    Wolf and Bear, not hard to recognize because they were wearing their animal hides again, were checking out their weapons and raised them in mock greeting towards Cassandra. They saw Hector standing beside her and hesitated, then seemingly decided to leave her alone for the moment. The demigods called River and Sol were engaging in a playful scuffle, their energy palpable through the arena. Sol, the son of Apollo, had a fierce intensity to his moves while River, who seemed to be gliding rather than walking, evaded most of his friend’s strikes with an ease that seemed in direct contradiction to his languid manner.
    Hector didn’t need her to tell him who Ben was. He was standing with his back turned to them, polishing his silver sword and seemingly uninterested in what was going on around him. When River called out to him, he turned around, a smile playing on his lips, but didn’t approach his friends. It was as if there was an invisible line that no one dared overstep and the son of Hades made no attempt to close the gap either. He was wearing black again and looked entirely at ease by the way he moved and relaxed his shoulders. Then he swung his sword to test its flexibility and Cassandra found it hard not to stare at him. As if feeling her look at him, Ben stopped. He frowned when he saw Hector and her standing so close together, then he turned away again. Then he joined his friends who were getting jittery with suppressed energy.
    Finally, their teachers came in but there was no introduction, no explanation, no motivating speech. Ajax shouted at them to lose the weapons and start running twenty laps while Hippolyta went to inspect the general set-up, making suggestions for improvement along the way. Some of the servants were putting up a ramp towards a row of spectator seats and Cassandra wondered whether they were expecting Alexander but was immediately distracted by the task set for them. Cassandra, feeling the sweet release of getting her body to exert itself, found her spirits lift with every lap they ran while Hector, who didn’t like running, obediently trudged along, indicated to Cassandra to go ahead. Cassandra didn’t need to be told twice.
    The demigods had