“Maybe that’s for the best.” I said, forcing myself to see the bright side. “If I got out there and made a beeline for the shield, it would look pretty suspicious.”
“True.” He stood, handing me my swimsuit cover. “I think swimming is actually a good way to build your strength back up. Don’t overdo it, but swim until you get tired and push yourself a bit further every day. You’d be surprised how fast muscle bounces back.”
I nodded, pulling my swimsuit cover on. “Well, if you’re done ogling, let’s get some breakfast.”
Ares laughed and followed me out the door. The walk to the dining hall was all downhill, which should have made walking easy, but the hill was ridiculously steep. Walking down the incline felt more like a controlled fall. I was out of breath by the time we reached the dining hall and could feel Ares’s worried eyes boring a hole in the back of my neck the entire way.
“Hey,” Medea called, waving us over to the table she and Jason shared.
“I’ll get your tray,” Ares offered.
I smiled in thanks and headed over to Medea’s table.
“Morning,” Jason said with a grin. He glanced at me, noting the swim cover, then looked over at Medea. “You girls going to the beach today?”
“I wasn’t planning on it.” Medea gave me a quizzical look.
“I thought it’d be a good day for a swim,” I said with a shrug, propping my arms up on the cool metal table.
“Are you up to that?” Jason looked me over, doubt filling his face.
“Nope.” Ares’s voice came from behind me.
Startling, I twisted in my seat and narrowly avoided getting a tray in my face.
Ares set the tray down and pushed back his chair. “That’s part of the problem.”
“You sure a pool wouldn’t be better?” Medea asked. “There’s one behind the—”
I snorted and waved at the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the perfect beach. “We’re on a gorgeous, tropical island with crystal-clear, beautiful water. No. I’m not swimming in a pool.”
Jason laughed. “She has a point. Look, there are always people on the beach. Just make sure someone knows you’re out there, and take it slow. You wanna go with her, hon?” He glanced at Medea.
She wrinkled her nose. “I can show you where the beach is and bring a book or something. I’ve had my fill of ocean.”
“I mean . . . it’s that way, right?” I pointed toward the picture windows that offered an unobstructed ocean view.
“No, the dock is that way,” Ares corrected gently.
“The area we’ve marked off for swimming is over . . .” Jason raised a hand to point, then seemed to think better of it. “Medea can take you.” He gulped down the last of his orange juice. “I’d do it, but we just got in a shipment.” He glanced at Ares. “Wanna help unload?”
Ares hesitated, and I knew he wanted to be nearby in case I drowned or something.
“I’ll be careful,” I snapped, failing to keep the annoyance out of my tone. So maybe I didn’t have anything in the way of powers right now, but I could still manage a simple swim. How helpless did he think I was?
“Yeah, I’ll help unload,” Ares said, finally.
“Great.” Jason collected his tray. “Just head on over to the dock when you finish eating. There’ll still be work left.”
“I can come now.” Ares tossed his bacon and what was left of his eggs onto his pancake and rolled it up. “Be safe.” He kissed my forehead and followed Jason out the door, his pancake creation in one hand, a carton of orange juice in the other.
ONCE MEDEA AND I finished breakfast, we walked down to the beach. She showed me the flags that marked the barrier where the shield stood.
“It hurts if you bump into it,” she cautioned. “It’s like slamming into a brick wall. Plus, there’s this . . . charge. You don’t feel it as much in the air, but it does weird stuff to water.”
“I’ll be careful. You sure you don’t want to come?”
Medea shook her head, looking faintly sick at the idea.
“You don’t have to sit and wait on me. There are plenty of people here.” I motioned to a group of demigods setting up a volleyball game down the beach.
“Yeah, no. I’m slammed today.” She flashed me an apologetic grin, tucking a wayward strand of dark hair behind her ear. “I swear, he thinks I just sit around and do nothing. But how about we grab lunch later?”
“That sounds great.”
“Have fun!”
I waved as she walked toward the dining hall, then stripped out of my swimsuit cover, and walked into the water. It was pleasantly warm.
This isn’t so bad, I thought, kicking off the sandy bottom.
But it wasn’t long before I found myself back on the shore, exhausted and bedraggled.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’d do better.
Chapter XVI
Medea
IS IT STUPID TO live on an island and not like the ocean? I wrote from my usual table in the dining hall as I waited for Elise to join me for lunch. I’d headed straight to the pharmacy after I dropped her off. Unfortunately, they were still checking in their shipment, so I’d headed to the dock to help with the unloading. Now, I was taking a much-needed lunch break.
I’ve always hated the ocean. Otrera and the others can just sit out there, on the ocean’s edge for hours, sunbathing. To them, the sound of the surf crashing on the sand is something relaxing. To me, it’s downright ominous. Like the water is drawing closer and closer as the tide swallows the sand. The ocean doesn’t look beautiful to me. It looks mysterious. Anything could be lurking below the surface, and I could never shake the feeling that I didn’t belong there. Or that something else might take offense at my intrusion. I always thought it was a silly fear, my own personal phobia, until I saw the monsters waiting beneath the waves.
I shuddered at the memory of Ren, the first female demigoddess anywhere near my age that I’d ever met. She’d been waiting on Jason’s ship while he raided Mom’s hospital. When we escaped the island, she and I had become hesitant friends, though neither one of us was well-practiced at socialization.
My mind flashed back to the blood in the water as she screamed, slick, gray shapes closing in on her from beneath the waves. She’d never been all that stable, but none of us had expected her to jump overboard. The bitter memory clashed with the happy atmosphere of the dining hall, morphing the din of conversation and laughter from the nearby tables into something menacing.
Ren was just a first-generation demigoddess, and she had no control of her powers. None. Jason told me they found her after her charm drove her stepfather to shoot her mother, then blow his own head off for making Ren cry. She mostly stayed below decks until that horrible night when she jumped.
“We’re all monsters,” she sobbed before stepping off the edge of the boat.
I didn’t know our charm worked on anything other than humans. But the dolphins were drawn to her. At first, we were delighted by the sight of them. We’d all read stories about dolphins saving drowning swimmers. We thought we were about to watch something amazing. But then they started fighting over her.
Talos had jumped in after her, a rope tied around him, before we spotted the pod. But when the dolphins realized he was trying to take her away from them . . .
Swallowing hard, I pushed my lunch tray across the slick table before returning to my journal. I’ll never be able to listen to that Orpheus song again. Every time it comes on the radio, I see the blood bubbling along the top of the water. Her screams were the worst, because they compelled action. There weren’t enough of us immune to charm to hold back the guys who kept trying to leap off the boat to save her. I ended up turning on the radio to drown her out.
Elise dropped into the seat beside me. “Hey.”
I closed my journal, noting how
discouraged she looked as she moved food around on her plate. “Swim didn’t go well?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it. What did you do?”
“Shipment stuff.” After Jason and the guys unloaded, Otrera and I separated the contents into separate orders to be delivered to each demigod’s home. “We don’t usually get this much stuff at once. But we combined a few shipments to keep traffic down.”
I stretched, my muscles aching, and glanced toward the door in search of my friends. “Otrera bullied Glauce into going to the gym with her, but they should be here soon. Wanna come with us after lunch to help finish it up?”
Elise hesitated.
“No heavy lifting,” I promised her.
Her shoulders slumped. “Honestly, I’m so exhausted, I’m actually dreading the walk back to my cabin. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I need a nap.”
I gave her a sympathetic smile as I returned to my uncomfortable, metal chair. “It really does get better.”
“Thanks.” She didn’t sound like she meant it. Her gaze dropped to the metal table as she pushed macaroni around on her plate with an air of dejection.
“You won’t believe the crap some of these guys order.” I switched to Greek, keeping an upbeat narrative through lunch, regaling her with tales of the more amusing and horrifying items Otrera and I had discovered earlier this afternoon. Most of what we sorted were essentials: food, clothing, toothpaste, tampons, and the like. Boring, but utterly necessary. But Jason always reserved some space in each order for personal items, and that’s where things got weird.
“I mean, it was animated,” I complained, as Elise’s laughter echoed off the high ceiling. “Like that cartoon with the little ponies, only they were all naked and jiggly. I’m never going to be able to look at Zeetes the same way again!”
“Oh, gods,” Elise laughed, clutching at her side. “The Bronies have invaded.”
“It came with an action figure, Elise. What the hell is he planning to do to Twilight Sparkle?”
“Not Twilight Sparkle,” she cried, laughing so hard, the phrase came out thin, and high-pitched. She pounded on the table with her hand.
I burst out laughing, not caring that everyone in the dining hall was staring, especially since they could only understand her half of the conversation. The more Elise laughed, the less coherent even that was. By the time my lunch break drew to a close, all I had to do was glance across the table and say “neigh” to reduce her to helpless giggles. “I’ve got to get going,” I said reluctantly, getting up from the table.
She nodded, wiping at her eyes as she stood. “Oh, gods. That hurt. But thanks, Medea. I really needed a laugh.”
“Glad to help. Get some rest. I’ll see you at the party tonight?”
“See you then,” she called as we parted ways.
I smiled to myself as I walked from the dining hall, glad to have cheered her up. As I turned a corner, I spotted Jason striding up the hill toward the cabins, carrying a large box.
“Jason?” Had they finished unloading the shipment already? A quick glance toward the dock assured me that wasn’t the case. Then what was he doing? I’d almost caught up to him when he circled around the hospital and moved toward the dumpsters.
“Oh,” I said, feeling foolish. He was probably just throwing something away. Rolling my eyes at myself, I rounded the corner of the hospital and paused. Jason wasn’t there.
The hospital backed onto a thin strip of forest. Frowning, I batted the low-hanging branches out of the way, and stumbled through the underbrush. I walked until I reached the rocky ledge at the end of the ocean, but I saw no sign of him.
“Jason,” I called, glancing around. Considering how much noise I’d made going through the trees, I’d have heard him if he’d been here. Even the brush looked undisturbed, except for where I’d passed through.
“Weird,” I declared, circling the hospital building once more. When I walked back around, passing between the dumpster and the hospital wall, my skin prickled and the hair rose on the back of my neck. I paused, one foot still raised to take the next step. It was the strangest thing. For a second, I could have sworn I heard screaming.
Chapter XVII
Aphrodite
“IT EVEN CAME with an action figure!” I hooted to Persephone that night in the dreamscape.
Persephone blinked up at me from where she sat on the picnic blanket, looking more horrified than amused. “That’s so messed up.”
Eh, it wasn’t as funny when I told her. “Yeah, very. How’s the search for the island?”
Persephone grimaced. “Unproductive. I’ve been going through old photos and maps with my people in the Underworld. But so far, we haven’t found an island on one that doesn’t show up on the others. Artemis and Athena are visiting the area she thinks it’s at and talking to locals to see if they can jog anyone’s memory. Poseidon has”—she shook her head as though she couldn’t believe this sentence was leaving her mouth—“fish scoping out the area to see if they bump up against any shields. Speaking of . . .” The tiny blonde sat up straighter, eyeing me warily through green eyes the color of freshly grown grass. “He says you’re going to swim out to the shield to mark it? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Ugh, don’t get me started,” I groaned, right before launching into a tirade about my horrible attempt at swimming. I paced back and forth, heedless of the flowers trampled in my wake. “All I have to do is get to the stupid shield. If Poseidon’s right, then boom. You guys will know where we are. But can I get to the stupid shield? No, because it’s in the frickin’ cent—” My throat closed around the hyperbole wanting to form. The shield was not in the center of the ocean; it was just an intimidating distance from shore. And I was weak and pathetic.
“Sorry.” I let out a long breath and sat on the blanket next to her. “I’m just not used to getting all weak and sore because I’ve overworked my muscles.” I’d never felt particularly strong in that regard, but now I realized how much I’d taken for granted. “And Elise has—” My teeth clicked shut before it could allow the word “terrible” to pass through my lips, because really, what she wore worked for her body. “Different tastes in clothing than I do. The way they fit on my—her body—ugh! It’s weird looking in the mirror and seeing someone else. Everything feels off because I don’t have my powers. And I’m sick and tired of everything feeling weird.”
“I’m sorry.” Bright sunlight played in Persephone’s hair, setting her face alight with a soft glow.
Guilt twisted my stomach as I glanced at the diminutive goddess. Her face was drawn with worry over her missing husband, the gods were questioning her authority, and she had three realms to run. Yet here she was, still taking the time to babysit me. “We’ve searched most of the cabins,” I said, changing the topic as an olive branch. “We’re narrowing down the possible—”
“They’ve got more than one island, Aphrodite,” she said, sounding tired. “The one Tantalus held you prisoner on, this one . . . for all we know, there could be a dozen more.”
“I doubt that’s the case.” After watching how much work it took to keep this island stocked and habitable, I doubted they had the resources to maintain too many more, if any. But then again, the island we’d been held captive on had only had the one fortified building and rocks. Not much upkeep required. “Either way, we’ll find something. Someone who knows something.”
“Yeah.” She plucked a flower from the ground. “Maybe.”
Searching frantically for some kernel of hope to offer her, I said, “There’s a party tonight.”
Persephone smirked. “Isn’t there a party there every night?”
“Yup. Happy hour.” I scooted closer to Persephone, wrinkling the flowered-pattern blanket. “They get drunk and chatty. Maybe they’ll let something slip.”
&n
bsp; “Just be careful how much you ask.” Her green eyes met mine, full of worry. “Don’t let them suspect you’re prying, Aphrodite. If something happens to you . . .”
“I’ll be careful.”
Persephone nodded, falling silent as she picked the petals off her flower. “What are they like?” The question was so soft, I barely heard it.
“Surprisingly nice.” I twirled a strand of golden hair between my fingers, frowning thoughtfully. “At least to me. I don’t know. They don’t seem like people who are actively fighting anything. They have their little nightly parties, they hang out on the beach, they order clothes and stuff from the mainland, wherever that is, and they just act normal. No, not even normal. They act like they’re on vacation. Most of the demigods I’ve talked to don’t give a flying flip about the gods. They’re there to enjoy paradise.”
She let out a long breath. “Everything would be so much easier if they were all just evil psychopaths.”
“Tell me about it.” I didn’t enjoy the thought of them finding out that I was a goddess masquerading in a golden package and not just because of fear. If my glamour were to fail, if they figured out what I was inside, I didn’t know what would happen. A few weeks ago, I’d have said they’d kill me point-blank, but now I found myself more worried about the betrayal they’d feel than any danger to me. I knew they were dangerous—I’d been attacked by them on the cruise. But it was getting harder and harder to remember the danger when I was enjoying their company.
Persephone’s eyebrows drew together, and she tossed the flower to the side. “There’s gotta be at least one faction that’s gone extremist. Happy-go-lucky vacationers didn’t arm those passengers with Steele or demand cadavers for their scientists.”
“I’ve not even met a scientist—Charmed nurses and doctors, yes, but people developing poison and weaponry, no.” Maybe there was another island. “Maybe Jason keeps the extremists out in the field? He sent Narcissus away pretty quickly and from what I’ve gathered, Tantalus never spent much time on the island.”
Love & War Page 13
