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Twelve guys and girls. Twelve demigods. Five guys and seven girls—two of them Alexander and that horrible Hera’s daughter, Sirena.
Sirena clung tight to his arm while she whispered in his ear. Alex’s laugh rang through the mess hall.
On Alex’s other side, a guy hung his arm over his shoulder—comfortable like only a best friend could be, but beautiful like I’d never seen. Long, copper waves flowed from the roots and ended in soft curls. It framed a face that it tried to soften and feminize, but for his full downturned lips and dreamy eyes, soft wasn’t what I’d call his thick brows, diamond jaw, or dimpled chin. The guy was molded in clay by divine hands, gifted the kiss of life, then sent to earth to put the memory of Adonis to shame.
The guy hung off Alex, but his attention fixed on the rest of the six girls in their group—who swarmed around him like bees diving for the honeypot.
Tycho shot between me and Daciana.
“Hey, Calix,” he called. “Did you have a good summer? You look great, man. Like you were working out— I mean, not like that. Not in a weird way. Just that you looked like you’ve been training. Not that you didn’t look like you trained before! You’ve always looked really strong, and athletic, and tight—”
Calix blew past Tycho without a glance in his direction.
I threw Tycho big eyes. He slunk back to us with a face so ashen, I’d have said he was sick. “Uhh. What did I just witness?”
Nitsa rolled her eyes. “You just witnessed Tycho’s massive, embarrassing crush on Calix Lambros.”
“Don’t have to call it embarrassing,” Tycho snapped.
“It is embarrassing because Calix doesn’t even know you’re alive. Calix doesn’t know anyone outside of their little gang is alive. All he cares about is training, training, his future council seat, and more training.” Nitsa hooked her arm through his and mine. “You’re better off falling in love with Alexander if you’re that desperate to moon over a gorgeous, unattainable, hot, steamy bowl of ambrosia.”
I have no idea why I blushed. She wasn’t even talking to me.
“At least Xander will acknowledge your existence,” she said.
“That’s not how it works,” he muttered. “I can’t help it. It’s like he uses his power on me every time he walks into a room. I turn into a babbling idiot chasing his heels, even though I know he’s not interested in men.”
“What’s his power?” Daciana asked.
Nitsa led us toward the Dionysus area and kept walking, leaving it behind.
I glanced back in confusion as staff streamed out of the kitchen carrying plates. They served the Titans as they took their seats in their multicolored, godly paradise.
“He can create this pink, sweet gas that makes you fall in love with the first person you see.” She gave me a look. “I’m not talking cute, flowers-on-their-birthday, kisses-in-the-rain love. I mean, obsessive, passionate, will-claw-the-eyes-out-of-anyone-who-looks-at-them love. Worse, it doesn’t matter who the person is. A toothless keeva. A drooling, snapping monster. Your own brother. He’ll make you want nothing more in this world than to rip off your clothes and jump them.”
I grimaced. “Yikes. Tell me he’s a good person who’d never use his powers for evil.”
She shrugged. “We wouldn’t know. Calix Lambros doesn’t waste his time—or his power—on the likes of us.”
“The likes of us? What do you mean?”
“Sisypheans,” Tycho mumbled, and he looked miserable to go with it.
“I don’t understand. None of you were Sisypheans before yesterday.”
“But I was still a cow before yesterday,” Nitsa reminded.
“And I still never used my power,” said Tycho.
“The strong finds the strong.” I followed Nitsa’s glance up to the Twelve’s table as she led us past it. “Power finds power. Popular finds popular. That’s the way it’s always been and always will be.”
I didn’t know where Nitsa was leading us until my eyes lit on a staircase. I didn’t notice it amid all the beauty and wonder of the decked-out mess hall. We rounded another rock wall and I landed on where those twelve steps down led.
A bunch of very normal tables and regular seats lined the plain, nondecorated space. Seriously, the white walls and gray, stained floors couldn’t have been blander and more boring if they had hired the world’s worst interior decorator to come in and make it more unwelcoming.
The only claim to brighten up the spot was all the water running down from the Titans’ spot, forming a kind of cool waterfall. Other than that, the only thing to look at was the food table pushed against the back wall. Novices were already lining up to get their plates, forks, and breakfast.
“Are you kidding me?” Daciana’s nose screwed up like she smelled something bad. I hoped it wasn’t the buffet. “The Titans are served their meal, and Sisypheans get to scoop cold eggs out of a bowl? Why?”
