Pegasus and the New Olympians Read Online Free

and whispered, ‘Ask her now.’
    Diana’s keen hearing hadn’t missed the comment. She turned back and looked suspiciously at Joel. ‘Ask me what?’
    Emily inhaled deeply. ‘Diana, we need to speak with you about something important, but I don’t want my dad to know yet.’
    Diana frowned. ‘This is about that racehorse, is it not?’
    Emily nodded. ‘It may be nothing. But we need to go back to our world to see if Tornado Warning is something more than a horse. We must get away without anyone knowing …’
    Her father was walking back to the group carrying a tray of ambrosia cakes and goblets of nectar.
    Diana leaned closer to Emily. ‘After the party, meet me at the base of the Temple of the Flame. We will speak then.’

    The party continued well into the night. When it was over, Emily said goodnight to her father and waited for him to return to his room. When she was sure he’d gone to bed, she left her quarters and headed into the garden to meet her friends.
    Pegasus and Chrysaor were already there. After a short time Paelen and Joel arrived. For speed, they agreed to fly to the Temple. As Emily climbed on to Pegasus, Joel settled himself on the back of Chrysaor. Paelen looked down at his winged sandals and ordered them to carry him to the Temple. With a quick flap of their tiny wings, they obeyed and lifted him lightly into the air.
    Of all the things Emily loved about living in Olympus, the very best was flying on the back of Pegasus. Flying at night was even better. Many times, when her father thought she was in bed, she and Pegasus would sneak out of the palace and spend a long night soaring in the skies over Olympus. Each time they went out, the bright canopy of stars never failed to take Emily’s breath away. They always filled her with profound excitement, as though the stars themselves called to her and beckoned her to join them in the sky.
    It was these stars that reminded her they were no longer on her world. None of the constellations she knew appeared in an Olympian’s night sky. There was no moon, and the stars seemed brighter and much closer.
    But this night, there was none of the usual excitement. They launched silently into the air and flew over the dark palace. On the ground below, strange-looking Olympians moved around. These were the citizens who lived their lives only by night.
    Emily learned very quickly not to fear the night dwellers. Though they looked different with their pale skin and huge dark eyes, they spoke very softly and posed no danger to her or Pegasus. She discovered that Olympus was like two worlds in one. A day world filled with sunshine and bright colours and ruled by Jupiter; and then a night world that existed only by starlight, filled with strange, silent beings overseen by Jupiter’s brother, Pluto. Olympus at night was the underworld the myths so often spoke of.
    Emily looked over to Joel and realized this was the first time he’d ever seen this Olympus. At any other time, he would have asked her lots of questions and insisted on flying down to meet them. Not tonight. He looked at the night dwellers with curiosity, but remained silent.
    Up ahead they saw a bright glow shining in the dark night’s sky. It was coming from the top of the Temple of the Flame. This was the Flame that gave the Olympians their powers and strength. Without it, Olympus would fall. It was the same Flame that Emily’s power fed. She was born with the living heart of the Flame deep within her. When she sacrificed herself in the temple, her powers were released and renewed the Flame in the Temple. It was her connection to the Flame that made Jupiter and all the Olympians so protective of her. Though she still didn’t understand how it worked, she did know the survival of the Olympians depended on that Flame continuing to burn. And the survival of the Flame depended on her.
    As Pegasus glided lower, Emily was surprised to see three dark figures standing at the base of the Temple. Drawing