She just had to use my full name. “Mom, let go of me.” I planted my feet firmly on the ground. “I was just joking.”

Noticing how many people’s investigative stares were now glued to us, she folded her arms over her striped white-and-blue sweater.

“There you are, Avery.” My dad handed me a piece of paper and a folded map. “That’s the password for the suite’s keypad and the emergency code. Save it on your phone just in case. And that’s a map. You’re going to need it if you don’t want to get lost.”

He exchanged a quick look with my mom, and for the briefest moment, it felt more loaded than their usual mind communication. Something was off and I couldn’t figure out what it was. All I knew was that they were way too stressed out about me being at Court. Like if they let me out of their sight I might burn the place down or find the secret stairway to the Underworld or something.

With Mom and Dad leading the way, I entered the Hyped and suddenly understood how it had earned its nickname. I had expected the lobby to be ornate, but it was pretty sparse, more geometrical than classical. The floor was tiled in fine marble, making every step echo and reminding me that it was a privilege for a Regular like me to be allowed to stay here for the Gathering. The light hitting the chandelier made rainbows dance across the floor, while Hellenicus lounged on luxuriant silk couches scattered around the room. There were stunning floral arrangements in the queen’s signature shade of pink complementing the rest of the interior design.

But it was the massive mural on the far wall that made my jaw drop. It must’ve been two stories high and just as wide, and it depicted the origin of the Hellenicus, when our ancestors had stormed Mount Olympus on the Day of Prideful Folly, with Zeus revealing his plan to his fellow Olympians, then the grisly bit—the hideous creatures being split in half—and finally, the soul mates being reunited. I blushed at the rather detailed depiction of this steamy piece of our history. Our schoolbooks had not been so . . . visual.

As I moved toward the elevators, a prickling feeling of someone staring at me caught me off guard. Three stern-looking women sitting behind the Hyped’s mahogany desk had their eyes transfixed on the papers on their desk. Were they the ones who had been staring at me? After another minute of observing them and deciding that they weren’t anything out of the ordinary, I quickly fled to the set of elevators where my mom was waiting, no doubt ready to give me a piece of her mind.