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Authors: Kieran Scott
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furtively over my shoulder as my hair whipped in front of my face. “But I can’t just leave Orion here alone like a sitting duck. I have to be here to protect him. You’d do the same for Harmonia.”
Hephaestus’s eyes shadowed. “That I would.”
“Have you heard from her lately?” I asked.
“Not since she warned us of Artemis and Apollo’s arrival,” Hephaestus said under his breath. “But it’s not unusual for her to go silent for a few days. We try not to use the mirror too much to avoid detection by the upper gods.” His right wheel got stuck in a divot and I waited while he shoved it free, which he did, gritting his teeth. “At least Orion came up with a cover story for you. Now if he sees them lurking, he’ll think he knows why.”
I shook my head and smiled. “I still can’t believe it. A gang. Why didn’t I think of that?”
We paused as we came around the corner. There was a huge crowd in front of the two double doors to the school. The people in the back were on their toes trying to see, and almost everyone was texting like mad. I noticed more people pointing at me and staring and tried to ignore it, but I’ll admit it stung. I was just getting used to not being a pariah around here. One more reason to hate Artemis and Apollo.
A broad-chested white-haired man in a dark uniform walked up from behind us and strode to the melee, pushing through the throng like a butter knife through cream cheese. There was a shout, and suddenly the group fell silent.
“What’s this about?” Hephaestus asked.
“New security measures.”
Orion’s voice, as always, warmed me from the inside out, melting away my tension. He stepped up next to me, surveying the crowd with appreciative eyes, as if they were his loyal subjects. He was wearing a red-and-blue-striped turtleneck sweater over jeans and looked so gorgeous I didn’t understand why the girls at this school didn’t mob him like he was a boy band member every time he stepped foot on the grounds. My mouth actually watered at the sight of him.
“Security measures?” I asked, trying to recover my senses.
He nodded. “After I saw you at Goddess yesterday, I told my mom about this whole gang-members-out-for-revenge thing, and she called the school board. They decided to hire a private security company to make sure those two kids don’t get on school grounds again.”
“You’re kidding,” I said.
“Nope. They got a bunch of pictures from people who got them on their phones yesterday, so they know who to look for.”
Hephaestus and I exchanged a look—a very happy look—and together the three of us joined the crowd, which the man in charge was now organizing into four neat lines. I saw one of the security guards hold up a tablet with a semi-blurry picture of Apollo’s face on it.
“Orion, this is genius,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank my mom. If there’s a school safety issue, that woman is on it like leather on a football.”
Unbelievable. First Orion had unwittingly supplied the perfect explanation for Artemis and Apollo, and now he’d saved the day without realizing it. He’d saved himself, really. Artemis and Apollo might have easily made it past the usual lame guards who policed the school, but an entire trained security detail? Not a chance.
He was so my hero. He just didn’t know it.
“So . . . do you want to meet up at lunch and talk about our pancake breakfast project?” I ventured, hugging a couple of books against my chest.
I saw Hephaestus eyeing me in an amused sort of way as we inched forward in the line, but I chose to ignore it. I must have looked so human to him in that moment. I felt human—vulnerable.
Orion scratched the back of his neck, his telltale gesture of uncertainty. The sight of it caught my heart, as any sign of his former self seemed to do. It reminded me that he was still in there somewhere—my Orion—and that sooner or later he’d come back to me.
Sooner. Sooner.
Hephaestus’s eyes shadowed. “That I would.”
“Have you heard from her lately?” I asked.
“Not since she warned us of Artemis and Apollo’s arrival,” Hephaestus said under his breath. “But it’s not unusual for her to go silent for a few days. We try not to use the mirror too much to avoid detection by the upper gods.” His right wheel got stuck in a divot and I waited while he shoved it free, which he did, gritting his teeth. “At least Orion came up with a cover story for you. Now if he sees them lurking, he’ll think he knows why.”
I shook my head and smiled. “I still can’t believe it. A gang. Why didn’t I think of that?”
We paused as we came around the corner. There was a huge crowd in front of the two double doors to the school. The people in the back were on their toes trying to see, and almost everyone was texting like mad. I noticed more people pointing at me and staring and tried to ignore it, but I’ll admit it stung. I was just getting used to not being a pariah around here. One more reason to hate Artemis and Apollo.
A broad-chested white-haired man in a dark uniform walked up from behind us and strode to the melee, pushing through the throng like a butter knife through cream cheese. There was a shout, and suddenly the group fell silent.
“What’s this about?” Hephaestus asked.
“New security measures.”
Orion’s voice, as always, warmed me from the inside out, melting away my tension. He stepped up next to me, surveying the crowd with appreciative eyes, as if they were his loyal subjects. He was wearing a red-and-blue-striped turtleneck sweater over jeans and looked so gorgeous I didn’t understand why the girls at this school didn’t mob him like he was a boy band member every time he stepped foot on the grounds. My mouth actually watered at the sight of him.
“Security measures?” I asked, trying to recover my senses.
He nodded. “After I saw you at Goddess yesterday, I told my mom about this whole gang-members-out-for-revenge thing, and she called the school board. They decided to hire a private security company to make sure those two kids don’t get on school grounds again.”
“You’re kidding,” I said.
“Nope. They got a bunch of pictures from people who got them on their phones yesterday, so they know who to look for.”
Hephaestus and I exchanged a look—a very happy look—and together the three of us joined the crowd, which the man in charge was now organizing into four neat lines. I saw one of the security guards hold up a tablet with a semi-blurry picture of Apollo’s face on it.
“Orion, this is genius,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank my mom. If there’s a school safety issue, that woman is on it like leather on a football.”
Unbelievable. First Orion had unwittingly supplied the perfect explanation for Artemis and Apollo, and now he’d saved the day without realizing it. He’d saved himself, really. Artemis and Apollo might have easily made it past the usual lame guards who policed the school, but an entire trained security detail? Not a chance.
He was so my hero. He just didn’t know it.
“So . . . do you want to meet up at lunch and talk about our pancake breakfast project?” I ventured, hugging a couple of books against my chest.
I saw Hephaestus eyeing me in an amused sort of way as we inched forward in the line, but I chose to ignore it. I must have looked so human to him in that moment. I felt human—vulnerable.
Orion scratched the back of his neck, his telltale gesture of uncertainty. The sight of it caught my heart, as any sign of his former self seemed to do. It reminded me that he was still in there somewhere—my Orion—and that sooner or later he’d come back to me.
Sooner. Sooner.
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