Cassandra shook like a leaf in a gust of wind as she dropped her bow and watched with wide eyes as the wolf stood upright on its human-skull-sized back paws. Its fur rippled like water in a stream, and the outline of the beast pulsed with white light.

Cassandra realized what transpired and, just in time, looked away to avoid blindness.

An unnatural warm air slammed into her as the god took a new form. The surrounding area grew quiet as a high-pitched hiss erupted from the god.

Cassandra hugged herself and rocked on her heels. In her heart, she feared she wouldn't leave the forest except to take residence in the Underworld.

The heat faded an instant later. The hiss disappeared, and the sounds of the forest crept back.

Cassandra dropped to her knees before the god. "Please, I beg of you, do nothing to harm my family. I deserve your wrath, not them. Please! Please grant me that mercy."

"Rise, mortal," the god said, his voice soft, though it seemed to come from all directions.

Cassandra kept her trembling to a minimum as she rose to her feet.

"Look at me and tell me the truth. Did you try to hurt me with some twisted idea you could turn a god into your puppet?"

For the first time in her life, Cassandra gazed at a god.

He dressed simply, his monochiton as red as a rose. The gold sunburst-patterned pins holding the delicate material in place matched the belt around his waist.

The god had a square jaw and a large, straight nose framed by high and pronounced cheekbones. His wide hazel eyes softened his otherwise harsh features and had such depth Cassandra wanted to fall into them.

The god had chosen a young, fit appearance.

Cassandra knew it well, though she'd never met him.

In his temple, his statue stood as a replica. She'd spent countless hours talking to the stone figure in the belief her prayers and appreciation were heard.

"Answer me," the sun god Apollo said when the silence had dragged on too long.

Cassandra swallowed hard. "N-No, my Lord. I would never do that. I lacked righteous judgment. I'm so sorry, and I beg you again, please don't—"

"Be quiet. Your family is safe."

The tightness in Cassandra's chest lessened. Tears stung her eyes. "Oh, thank you, my Lord!"

"There's still you to deal with."

His words acted like a cold splash on Cassandra's brief happiness. With mounting dread, she watched as he ran nimble fingers through his shoulder-length golden hair.

She gathered her courage and stated, "As long as my family is safe, do whatever you wish."

"Hmm..."

Apollo's fingers moved over his neck and paused at the spot where Cassandra had struck him; the wound had vanished. His eyes brightened to the point they glowed. "From your aim, I gather you're well experienced with the hunt."

Cassandra nodded, and her stomach churned.

What terrible things would she endure before he claimed her life?

She knew she deserved whatever punishment he dreamt up, but she hoped he'd strike her with a single, deadening blow and be done with it.

Apollo's mouth opened, and Cassandra braced herself for her death sentence, but the god shocked her by saying, "It's been a good day for me, so I'm willing to offer you a chance at redemption. If you're brave enough to take it."

"Yes, anything."

If it didn't involve melting the flesh from her bones.

"We'll compete to see who has the greater skill with the bow. The first to kill game of moderate value or the one to have the best after a set time is the winner.

"If I win, you die. If you win, you may leave this forest without fear of my vengeance."

"That is beyond generous of you. You're too kind, my Lord. But—"

"But?"

Cassandra feared the words she wanted to speak would enrage the sun god, yet she couldn't stop them from tumbling out of her mouth. "Yes, well... That is—I'd like to suggest a possible... rule."

Apollo shrugged. "I'm listening."

Cassandra licked her lips as her courage built. When she felt sure of herself, she asked, "Do you believe it would be a fair testimony to your greatness if you matched your godliness to my mortal limitations? Wouldn't it seem more of an affront to you?"

"It may..."

An edge had crept into Apollo's melodious tone.

Cassandra dropped her eyes to his chest. "I think the competition would be better if you pretended to be mortal. Didn't use any of your powers."

Suspicion twisted Apollo's features. "What sort of trickery is this?"

"I swear, it's not."

Apollo glared at her, but she stood firm and non-threatening.

His face softened into a neutral expression as his attention turned inward.

Cassandra waited as patiently as possible as the sun god thought over her proposal.

As time ticked away, Cassandra grew worried she'd gone too far, had insulted the god by trying to alter his rather gracious offer, and he now plotted the most dreadful way to kill her.

It terrified her, her inevitable end, but at least her siblings and parents wouldn't suffer because of her. Cassandra could die with her conscience free of that.

"Your request is acceptable," Apollo said, and Cassandra expelled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I'll be as mortal as a man for our competition."

"Swear on the River Styx."

Something glinted in Apollo's eyes, maybe amusement, maybe infuriation. "I swear on the River Styx that for the duration of our test any powers I possess that make me more than a man will be nonexistent."

Cassandra bowed. "Thank you, my Lord."

Apollo smirked and tied back his hair with a piece of cloth he hadn't had before. Then he held out his hand.

A bright flash came from his palm and when it dissipated, the god held a bow that looked crafted of pure gold; slick and unmarked. A full quiver appeared, and he slung it over his shoulder.

"Ready yourself," he told Cassandra.

Cassandra's heartbeat's pace increased. The god seemed so confident Cassandra considered not trying.

How could she believe she could hold her own against one of the Twin Archers?

Apollo had started using a bow the moment he'd been born.

But the thought of giving up settled like a sick fog on Cassandra's soul. What would Hector and Helenus think if they knew she'd gone out a coward?

No, Cassandra would give it her all, and die with pride.

She steadied her nerves. When she felt better, she retrieved her bow and met Apollo's intense stare.

"I'm ready."

From his pocket, the god produced two palm-sized hourglasses. He threw one toward Cassandra, and she reached for it.

The hourglass stopped just beyond her fingertips; hovered at chest level.

Apollo released the other one and it hung in the air near his head.

"Once the sand runs out, the game is over."

Cassandra nodded.

"We begin... Now!"

The hourglasses turned over, and Apollo took off into the woods as quick as a startled deer; his hourglass remained by his head.

Cassandra watched the god, impressed. Even without his powers, his speed made Polites, one of the fastest runners to grace Troy, look as slow as a mongrel on its last leg.

Cassandra followed him (her hourglass kept pace). She figured she wouldn't find anything in the immediate area they'd been in. Apollo's loud transformation had scared away all game.

She tried to step carefully as she ran, but her focus waned.

What if she couldn't find anything? What if—?

Cassandra caught sight of her hourglass. Half the sand had already reached the bottom. Cold reality washed over her, and her steps slowed; her thoughts swirled. Nothing in all her hunting experience could have prepared her for an event like this, and time was running out.

How could she win this contest?

As she tried to craft a plan, Cassandra continued to head in the direction Apollo had gone. She searched for an animal as she went along, but nothing caught her attention.

Cassandra spotted Apollo in the distance, poised with his bow as he watched a gigantic bird in the tree close to him. Where she stood, Cassandra couldn't shoot the bird before Apollo.

But she couldn't let him get it.

She saw a rock beside her foot, and inspiration struck her. She picked it up and crept toward the god.

Cassandra was far from quiet, but Apollo seemed too consumed with the task at hand to pay any mind to her approach.

She paused just behind him, ignored the voice in her head screaming about her stupidity, and launched the rock at the bird. She missed her target, but the rock hit the branch it stood on.

The bird squawked and flew away.

Apollo cursed, threw her a look that might have turned her to ash if he'd had his god powers, and hurried deeper into the woods.

Cassandra followed on his heels. If she couldn't get an animal, she'd make sure he wouldn't either.

The sun god tried two more times to get a creature and Cassandra thwarted him on each occasion.

The last time he screamed incoherent words and turned his bow on her.

Apollo aimed at her chest, right at her heart, but didn't strike. Apollo just stood there, and Cassandra figured he'd wait to kill her until just before the last grain of sand tumbled to the bottom of their hourglasses.

"Twenty. Nineteen," Apollo called. Mad glee danced in his eyes.

Cassandra couldn't look at him.

Instead, she stared at her toes and silently said goodbyes her loved ones would never hear. At least Cassandra had tried her best. She had some dignity left, enough to satisfy her.

That's all someone could ask for in their last moments, right?

"Eight... Seven..."

Hopefully, Apollo would leave her body recognizable, so her family could find it and get closure. She should have asked, had made him promise her.

Could she now? Was it too much?

If she infuriated him further, would it make her death worse?

"Five..." Apollo's hand twitched.

Cassandra sighed, furious with the tears that gathered in her eyes.

No, she wouldn't break down. Not at this —

Something wiggled next to her sandal.

She blinked away her tears as encouragement flooded her.

Cassandra crouched and cupped the creature. She smiled with sudden optimism as she met Apollo's puzzled gaze.

As the hourglasses ran out, she displayed her game.

"I think I won."