Athena's Ashes Read Free

putting her plan in place.
    Quickly, Renna brushed her hair and tied the dark length back into a neat ponytail. She used the ultraviolet cleaner on her teeth, grinning at her reflection in the mirror to make sure they were clean. She’d like to chug down a cup of coffee before having to face the firing squad, but at least she felt halfway human.
    The guard opened her door, gesturing with his gun. “Time’s up. Come along, Miss Carrizal.”
    She bit back a smirk. He was lucky she felt generous this morning. The kid’s grip on the blaster was all wrong. What exactly was MYTH teaching their recruits? It would only take her two moves to disarm him. Finn would have read him the riot act if he’d been under his command. He’d been so tough on the new recruits. More than a few of them had burst into tears during his training sessions.
    Renna fell into step with the private as they started down the long, brightly lit hallway. Another guard joined them from a nearby room as they passed. The two men flanked her, walking close enough that the scent of starch on their stiff gray uniforms tickled her nose.
    “Where we headed?” she asked as they turned right down another corridor. The plain white walls and metal floors were standard pre-fab bunker materials used in most buildings on the Outer Rim. Her surroundings didn’t lend much help in figuring out exactly what planet she was on, but maybe she could get one of these rookies to slip up.
    The younger guard walked like a marionette beside her, pretending not to hear her question. He wouldn’t last long with that stick up his ass. She’d be more than happy to knock him down a peg or two. “Come on. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
    “The admiral and her staff are waiting in the large conference room.” He snapped out the words with his jaw clenched. “There will also be six MYTH agents and four guards stationed outside. I suggest you stay on your best behavior if you ever want to see the outside of this facility again.”
    “You sound like you’re scared of me, private.” Renna smiled slyly. “I’m so honored. But didn’t you hear that I’ve turned over a new leaf? Respectable, that’s me.”
    His whole body was one stiff mass of muscles, and Renna chuckled. Baiting him was too much fun. He was just so…earnest.
    They reached the end of the hallway and turned left. Four guards in their gray-and-gold uniforms stood at attention beside a thick glass door, each carrying a modified sonic rifle.
    Renna let out a low whistle. “What exactly do you think I’m going to do to the admiral? I don’t even have a weapon.”
    He blinked slowly once, and then his flinty eyes settled on her face. Without moving his stone-hard facial muscles, he pressed his thumb to the scanner on the wall and the door slid open, revealing a large conference room with a round, white table and eight chairs.
    “Sit down. The admiral and her staff will join you momentarily.”
    “Whatever you say, sweetheart.” She flashed him an unrepentant grin and threw herself into one of the chairs. A low buffet table sat along the far wall with a pitcher of water and eight glasses, while a giant holoscreen took up the opposite wall. Just another non-descript room, in a non-descript building, on a non-descript planet. Pretty much exactly what she’d expected from MYTH leadership. Everything was neat, orderly, and by the book.
    No wonder they had no idea Pallas was running circles around them.
    The door opened, and six MYTH special agents marched into the room, taking up stations in each corner, with two on either side of the door. They wore the shiny, black, full-body suits she’d first seen on Finn back on Hesperia.
    Another twinge of longing shot through her. Dammit. Why did everything remind her of Finn?
    Stop it, Renna . Staying on her game was the only thing that mattered right now because, if she failed, she’d never get the chance to see Finn again.
    She crossed her arms and pretended to