by Belle Malory
I let out a breath. “Neither did I.”
He quickly blinked the glimmer of fear out of his eyes. “Okay, so she’s worse than we thought. We’ll deal with this when your grandfather gets back.”
Who knew how long that would take.
Grandpa left for Davidson almost as soon as Riley arrived. He hadn’t been able to withdraw Riley from Arcadia, but Dad could since he was our parent and legal guardian. Dad could haul Riley back to Davidson, Timbuktu, or even to Mars if he wanted, as he held all the parental rights. But no one could get a hold of the man, and that presented a problem. So, Grandpa left in search of him. Meanwhile, he advised me to stay away from my sister, and to “not get killed”. That part was proving more and more difficult.
Xander placed his hands on the sides of my arms. “Everything will be fine. We’ll figure this out, I swear. But for tonight…” He let out a hopeful breath. “Let’s just have fun. Remember the bubbles? We need another night like that.”
The bubbles had been our way of escaping the grim reality of all this curse stuff, an escape I badly needed at the time. An escape I badly needed now. I bit my lip, knowing he was right but still unsure.
“Come on, Sher,” he said sweetly. “I want you to meet my friends.”
“I want to meet your friends, too,” I admitted. Especially if they no longer considered me a traitor.
“Then let me show you a good time, damsel. You’ll never want to go to a lame Aphrodite party again.”
The Aphrodite insult didn’t offend me, but the nickname he coined made me flinch. The whole damsel-in-distress thing hit too close to the truth. Weak and helpless were not admired traits in House Ares. “Fine, I’ll go. On one condition.”
Xander sighed and dropped his hands; he knew what was coming. “Here we go.”
“We start those training sessions you’ve been putting off.”
He frowned, his blue eyes narrowing. “I don’t like your reasons for wanting them.”
Good grief. He wouldn’t even consider Persephone’s Cure. Six months in the Underworld with Riley was better than the two of us murdering one another in Mythos—if I could get her to agree to it.
“Look, Riley isn’t even on board yet. It’s not like I’m going to the Underworld tomorrow.”
“You would if you could convince her.”
True, but admitting that would only make him more obstinate.
I pointed out the obvious instead. “Does it look like that’s happening soon?”
His lips thinned; he couldn’t argue there.
I understood why he pushed so hard against me on this. The Underworld had scarred him, and this was his way of keeping me safe. I gently touched his shoulder, trying to draw him out of his own head. “Would training me really be so terrible?”
“Yes,” he snapped. “If I build your confidence, you’ll believe you’re ready to face anything, and you’re not. Nothing can ever prepare you for what’s down there.”
“You’re forgetting, I survived it once.”
“For one measly day, Sheridan. Not six months.”
“My mother,” I swallowed, despising that word, “lives there. She would help me.”
Probably.
Petra Drakos, or as I liked to call her, The World’s Worst Mother, was a bit of an enigma. For all of her wickedness, she seemed to genuinely care about me.
“Oh, sure,” Xander scoffed. “Let’s entrust the woman who vowed to kill your sister to keep you safe in the Underworld. Great plan.”
Okay, he had me there. “So, I need to fine-tune the details. But you have to admit, it’s still the best plan I’ve got.”
He looked away. “The right plan just hasn’t occurred to us yet.”
Ugh. He was beyond impossible!
Since making him see reason wasn’t working, I tried a new tactic.
“Who cares about what’s down there anyway—what about what I’m dealing with right here? If Riley sends another monster my way, I’m screwed.”
Xander sniffed, seeing through me. “Really, a guilt-trip?”
“I’ll be ripped to shreds.” I gave him my best damsel face, batting my lashes. Hey, he was the one who came up with the nickname. If he wanted the shoe to fit… “Remember the nightcrawler? I was seconds away from death.”
“This is beneath you, Sheridan.”
“Or what if it’s Riley herself? You can’t defend me because you swore to protect her.”
He let out a long, tortured groan. “I hate you.” He rubbed his temples, looking stressed. “Fine. I’ll train you.”
I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you, Xander.”
He steered me back down the stairs, grumbling as we walked. “I’m clearly on the losing side of this bargain.”
“Let’s try to make tonight worth it then.”
5
Xander wasn’t exaggerating. The Ares party was Aphrodite’s polar opposite. As we approached the house, two gladiators were fencing outside in a makeshift ring, using magic to help them levitate. Their swords clanked loudly, fire sparking with every blow. We stopped to watch the match while others around us placed bets. One sword glowed a neon green, the other a fiery red. I leaned against a wooden post, holding my breath as the fighter with the green sword barely missed a clip to the shoulder.
“Do they ever get hurt?” I said, unable to tear my gaze away.
“Yes, sometimes.” Xander leaned against the post beside me. “But during matches like these, they spell the swords to prevent killing blows.”
Ah, no wonder Ares descendants trained and sparred with such fervor, as if nothing could stop them. Fear didn’t hold them back.
“Who do you think will win?”
The question caught me by surprise; my fencing knowledge was limited. Seizing up the two combatants, I tried to guess. “The one with the red sword looks like he could squash the other guy.”
“It’s not always about strength or size. The green one is swift.”
The green fighter knocked his opponent’s sword from his hands. It fell and slid feet across the ground. He held his blade to the red fighter’s throat, demanding he yield.
“You’re good,” I said, admiring his ability to call the win. “You should’ve placed a bet.”
“Around here, you learn to watch how others fight. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses will help you more than anything else.”
“Thanks for the tip, gladiator.”
He grinned. “Let’s go in.”
House Ares was all hardwood and metal, no frills or pretty things like Aphrodite. Ancient weapons decorated the stone walls. Loud, upbeat music vibrated throughout the house, as well as raucous shouts and laughter. Xander took my hand, leading me toward a set of sofas by the fireplace where a group of gladiators in leather kilts sat, drinking ale from wooden mugs.
One of them stood and shouted, spilling his ale in his excitement. He was stocky with dark, shaggy hair and an infectious grin. As we approached, the guy clapped Xander on the back. “Bout time you made it. Where have you been—” he peeked around his shoulder, “—and who have you brought?”
“Cassius, meet Sheridan Thorne.”
His brown eyes flicked to Xander for a second, a question in them, then quickly returned to me. I stilled under the weight of his gaze. “The geniox.” He held out his hand, his grip strong as he shook mine. A long, white scar spiraled from his fingers, all the way up his arm. “I had a feeling I’d be seeing you again.”
“Again?” I said, confused.
“We sort of already met, on the ferry.”
“Oh, right.” The day I traveled into the Mythonian islands. He was with Xander out on the boat’s deck; but at the time, I hadn’t been paying much attention to him.
“Nice work on the soul weapon, by the way.” He gave me a brief salute. “You’re the only freshman I’ve met to summon one.”
“Thank you.” My insides warmed. The rejection I expected wasn’t in Cassius’s expression. It made m
e feel like things were finally turning around, like I was no longer an outcast.
“Did you name it?”
“Not yet.” I had to leave it back in my dorm for that very reason.
Xander said, “Don’t be like Cassius. He named his weapon after himself.”
Cassius squared his shoulders proudly. “It’s the greatest name on the planet—why wouldn’t I name it after myself? At least I didn’t give mine some stupid, frou-frou moniker like Reina gave her axe.”
A tall goddess of a girl with black hair and blunt bangs spun around, hands on her leather-clad hips. With curves and muscles for days, a sharp chin, and bright green eyes, she looked like a warrior princess. “Talking shit about me again, Cass?”
Cassius smirked, clearly glad he gained her attention. “Sheridan, meet my lover, Reina.” He placed an arm around her waist.
Reina shoved him off of her. “He wishes.”
I hid my smile.
Cassius ignored that, continuing on with introductions. “Sheridan is Arcadia’s resident geniox.”
“Interesting.” Her piercing gaze cut into me, her manner very direct.
“And, apparently, a friend of Xander’s,” Cassius continued. “Any friend of Xander’s is a friend of mi—”
“Girlfriend,” Xander corrected.
The word made me blink.
The word made everyone blink.
Neither of us had used those titles out loud before. I stiffened and looked up. His blue eyes locked with mine for a moment, as if making sure I was good with it. I subtly nodded, a firestorm of flutters unfurling within me.
Reina and Cassius looked even more stunned. “Close your mouth, Cass.” She pushed his chin up. “There’s a first time for everything.”
Xander sighed. “Don’t make a big deal of it, guys.”
Things were getting awkward fast. Clearing my throat, I tried to change the subject, spitting out the first question I could think of to ask Reina. “I’m curious; what did you name your axe?”
“Empress Alladora.” She glared at Cassius. “And it’s a damned fitting name for such a prized piece of weaponry.” In her hands appeared a gleaming, platinum axe with golden vines twisting around its hilt. Impressive.
Cassius snorted. “For a porcelain doll, maybe. Not an axe.”
She raised it to his throat. “Don’t mock. With one swing, the empress could take that empty, useless head of yours off clean.”
Cassius glanced down at the blade and quickly pushed her hand away. “You’d miss me too much.”
She rolled her eyes. “As much as I’d miss a migraine.”
Their lighthearted banter made me smile. It was easy to see why Xander liked them.
Reina shoved Cassius’s shoulder. “Don’t be rude—get Sheridan something to drink.” She turned to me again, her nose twitching. “We don’t have any of that bubbly piss they drink in Aphrodite.”
“Ale is fine.” At least I hoped it was. My experience with drinking was pretty limited, too.
As soon as Cassius left to do her bidding, Reina shoved her mug into Xander’s hands. “Someone needs to get me a refill as well.”
Xander glanced at me, and I could tell he didn’t want to leave my side. “But—”
“She can survive without you for a few minutes.”
I nodded, letting him know it was okay.
“Fine,” he grumbled, walking off in the same direction Cassius. “But be nice.”
“I’m always nice,” Reina insisted.
I was suddenly nervous. Whereas Cassius was warm and friendly, Reina was sort of intimidating. And without Xander by my side, I felt like an open target.
She looked over me with her pointed gaze, gesturing for me to take a seat on one of the leather sofas. I did, and she followed suit. “You’re from the human world, right?”
“Yes.”
“How did you meet Xander?”
Her curiosity made sense. Xander was several years ahead of me, and I was brand new to the school. We didn’t exactly run in the same circles.
“Ah, we met on the ferry. Then, later, he helped me out of a booby trap.” It was a simplified, cut-and-dried version of everything that brought us together.
Reina arched a brow. “Now that surprises me.”
“Which part?”
“That he helped you.”
“Why?” I didn’t understand. All Xander had done was free me from the net.
“There’s a pact between seniors to force freshman to figure out those traps on their own. If another freshman helped you, that’s fine. But Xander would have caught hell for it. Our classmates would have set another trap for him, just to teach him a lesson.”
I swallowed, finding the tradition strange and barbaric. “Sorry, but I’m grateful he violated your pact.”
Several students had passed me that day, hardly bothering to glance up. Since I was new to magic, I never would have gotten out that tree if Xander hadn’t come along when he did.
Reina tilted her head to the side, as if she were trying to figure me out. “He must really like you.”
At the time, Xander thought he was sworn to protect me. That he happened to like me was a nice bonus, but it had nothing to do with him helping me escape the net.
“Tell me something, what do humans do for fun?”
Thank God—a change of subject. It was easier to answer this question. “Pretty much the same thing mages do. They go to parties, dance, play games and stuff.”
“Do they spar?”
I laughed once. “Not usually.”
“How boring. Good for you for escaping.”
If only she knew how literal of an escape it was. Had I stayed in Davidson, my sister and I would have torn each other apart until there was nothing left. Of course, now that Riley had enrolled at Arcadia, we were back at square one.
“Some parts weren’t so bad…” I sighed, thinking about the simplicity of my human life before everything blew up. “There are things I miss.”
“Like what?”
“Let’s see,” I tapped my fingers against the cushion. “Morning Starbucks runs. The variety of seasons, especially the way the leaves change in the fall. Oh, I definitely miss my cell phone—and good Wi-Fi.”
And my Dad, my friends, and sometimes even Connor, but all of those subjects were too sad to bring up to someone I’d just met.
“I’ve heard humans use their gadgets to avoid social interaction. Doesn’t sound appealing.”
That was a fair point. I tried to think of something else that didn’t involve technology.
“I miss poker night.”
Dad’s poker nights gave me some of my best memories. We’d laugh, steal each other’s money, and bet on things like chore duties or embarrassing dares. One time, I made Riley go to the grocery store in a purple leotard and a glitter top hat. She loved the attention though, and she wasn’t nearly as embarrassed as I would have been.
“Po-ker?” Reina emphasized each syllable. “Does it involve pointy objects?”
I laughed. “No, nothing like that. It’s a card game.”
“What’s the object?”
“To steal each other’s money.”
Cassius reappeared with a second mug in his hand, passing it to me. “Stealing money? I like the sound of this game already.”
“It’s probably not fun for anyone that can read minds, so I wouldn’t play with Hades or Athena descendants, but you guys might enjoy it.”
Reina stood up. “I have a deck of cards. You must teach us.”
“Right now?”
I looked between their faces, and they both nodded eagerly.
Xander came back with Reina’s ale, catching the tail end of our conversation. He shrugged. “Why not?”
“Okay.” I grinned, excited. “We’ll need a table and some coins.”
All of this was still hard to believe. They weren’t kicking me out, avoiding me, or tying me to an execution block. Instead, we were going to play poker—poker!
While setting up, a few other students saw us, and asked if they could join in. Some of them had already learned the game from their stints in the human world. For everyone else, I went over the rules, listing the winning hands in order of rank.
Two hours later, the music died down, and nearly the entire room surrounded our card table, entertained by the drama of it all. One player, Darius, became the chip leader for a while. He spent a summer in Las Vegas, and he was skilled at catching bluffs. Another player, Sasha, came from a rich family and got a thrill at gambling her money away. Cassius kept trying to cheat by peeking over Reina’s shoulder. She slapped him across the back of his head, and he laughed so hard, ale spit out through his nose. That was another thing I was learning about Ares descendants; violence wasn’t always seen as a bad thing, like it was in the human world. Some physical violence, little smacks and kicks and bites, were more akin to showing affection.
As the night wore on, and after all the beginners were knocked out, I played more aggressively. For several hands, it was only Darius and me. Then, with a lucky pair of Aces, I took the pot. The room went wild, cheering me on, like they would at the end of a sparring match. Xander howled along with them, his eyes full of pride. But I knew it wasn’t just because of the game. He was happy to see me finding my stride and making friends inside his own house.
Darius sighed, shaking his head. “Well done, little hustler.”
“I did mention I’ve been playing a while,” I said with a smirk.
He laughed. “I enjoyed every second of this defeat.”
I reached for my stack of lixers and wots, looking around. “Any more takers?”
“I’ll sit in.”
I froze at the sound of that voice.
Slowly lifting my gaze, I watched as the room parted in front of me. Riley stood at the doorway, twirling a coin purse attached to a rope on her red toga. “That is, if you feel like losing.”
Icy knots coiled in my stomach. It had been such a good night—an amazing night—and now she was here to ruin it.
Xander, who had been standing several feet away with Cassius, was suddenly at my side, his hand gripping the back of my chair. I glanced up, catching the distrust in his gaze, almost as thick as my own. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered. “Grab your winnings and we’ll sneak out.”
