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I fell. Tipping into the abyss, I fell into another world. Grass rose up all around me—dipping and rising—bright, verdant hills spread out beneath my feet and topped with magnificent palaces and white stone structures. In a blink, it all disappeared and a ferocious battle fought and bled before me.
Swords flew. Shields clanged. Warriors laid down their lives. A crack of lightning struck the earth and they were gone. Nothing but the heavens spread before me—angry and roaring its might with every burst of thunder and lightning.
The storm threw me out of the sky into the sea. I tossed and drowned within the mighty fury of the ocean—a small speck in its vastness.
“Ahh!” I wrenched away, stumbling out of his grip. In a blink, I was in Central Park again—safe on dry land. “That was— What was that!”
“I told you, Aella. We were chosen by the gods. That can’t be hidden.”
I breathed fast—chest rolling like I’d really been fished out of the sea. “Are you saying you saw that in my eyes?”
He nodded.
“How?” I clutched my head. “Why have I never seen it?”
“You weren’t looking for it. Just like you weren’t looking for a godly explanation when you accidentally used your power, but think back.” He squeezed my shoulders, steadying me. “When you were scared, frightened, or in trouble. Did anything ever happen? Did you blink and your enemies were suddenly on theground? Or turned into butterflies? Or breaking into song and dance when two seconds before they were angry and yelling in your face?”
“No, nothing like...” I trailed off.
Visions flashed through my head. Dina, Kylie, Justin, and the popular crowd. Shoving me. Punching me. Breaking my nose. Pushing me down the stairs. Everything crunching, breaking, agony, and knowing I was about to die... then it was over and I was back on the sidewalk, about to be pelted with paint balloons.
But that didn’t really happen. I was freaking out about returning to school, so my mind spun out on worst-case scenarios. It only seemed so real because I’m still shaking off the effects of the unneeded meds they’ve been shoving down my throat for the last two years.
“Yes?” Alexander prompted, ripping me back to my reality. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” I dropped my hand. I hadn’t realized it was stroking my unbroken nose. “Nothing like that has happened. Or maybe it’s like you said. I wasn’t looking for a godly explanation, so I dismissed it. Now I don’t know.”
“Ah, fair enough.” He said that, but he looked faintly disappointed. “You’ll figure it out when I bring you home.”
I didn’t correct him on where my home was. Truthfully, New York hadn’t felt like home in a long time—two years exactly. My home was wherever Mom was, which I guess made me... lost.
We continued on, lapsing into silence. I felt awkward again. Alexander was being so nice to me after I attacked and accused him of being an abductor, but could I trust him? What did I know about this guy and the world he was about to bring me to, except that he had no love formundanesand his world had monsters that liked to snatch them?
“What about you?” I spoke up—eyeing him up and down, lingering too long on his sculpted backside, and snatching my gaze back up. “What’s your power or gift?”
“I’m a son of Zeus,” he said easily. “I bet you want proof of that after everything I’ve thrown at you.”
I was nodding before he finished the sentence.
“But my power only works on living beings,” he finished, “and I’d never put an innocent person or animal through that for a demonstration. I only use my power in self-defense.” Alexander met my eyes. “There’s electricity in the body. I excite that electricity. Heat it up. Turn it to maximum until they boil from the inside out and explode.”
I gaped at him, jaw hanging. “Are you kidding?”
“I am not.”
“But that’s—” I reeled in my tongue before I said something insulting. “That’s intense. Are all of your powers—all of you Olympians—so deadly?”
He shook his head. “Everyone and every power is different, just as the god who gave it to them. Zeus was ruler of the heavens. He was fair and just, but he was also jealous and vengeful. So, while one son of Zeus could have the power to always know when someone’s telling the truth. The other could have a gift that embodies Zeus’s fury.” Alexander held his hands. “Like me.
“But as with every ability, it only matters what you do with it. Like I said, I only use my power on monsters.” Alexander bared his teeth. “When we find the monsters who dared cross the barrier and steal your mom, they’re top of the list for experiencing my gift.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What would it have been like if Alexander had been there the night they took my mom? Being exploded from the inside out would’ve stoppedthem a lot better than me being thrown around the room with a dagger I didn’t know how to use.
This is why Selene led me to him.I rubbed the bracelet.Because he’s powerful enough to stop those massive beasts. She really is trying to help me, and so will he. Together, we’ll save my mom.
“Flowers,” I blurted.
“What?” Alexander stepped off the path and climbed a mound, crossing into a thick copse of trees.
