Page 40 of Dark Gods
"What?" she snapped, jerking her hand away with a surprising amount of force for someone who'd nearly choked to death.
"You weren't supposed to see me like that," I said firmly. "No one is. I need to know you're not going to go running to your girlfriends and blabbing about what you saw."
Her eyes narrowed with spite she usually reserved for Hades. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have 'girlfriends,' or friends for that matter, courtesy of your boy band."
I snorted. "So I can trust your discretion? Considering I did save your life."
"I would've figured something out if you hadn't come along," she muttered.
"Whatever you say."
She started to stalk off again, and I called, "You should probably talk to someone about that whole killer plant thing."
She flipped me off before disappearing through the tall hedges surrounding the garden and I grinned.
20
Kore
"And then he kissed you?" Dionysus asked in disbelief from his perch on my dresser. "And thatworked?"
I groaned, flopped on my back and staring up at the ceiling above my bed. I still had a headache from the lack of oxygen, or maybe just the entire day. "It shocked me, okay?"
"I'd say so."
"Don't give me that tone. It wouldn't be the first time a magic kiss has broken a spell."
"Hmm."
"What?" I asked, sitting up to face him. My head spun from the sudden movement. Over the last hour, I'd been filling Dionysus in on everything from my encounter with Phrixus to the resulting investigation and what had happened in the garden, minus the detail about Fenrir's wolf form.
If that beast I'd seen could even be called a wolf. More like a hellhound. I could certainly see why he didn't want me telling anyone about it. If the other students knew something likethatwas lurking around campus, they'd really freak.
I felt like I owed it to him to keep his secret, at least, even though he probably could have come up with something besides kissing me.
"It was a magic kiss now, was it?" Dionysus asked, raising an eyebrow.
My face grew warm. Why did his teasing affect me the way it did? No one else's ever had. "It was probably his gift. It felt like your Ecstasy, but… different."
"I doubt Fenrir's gift is kiss-related," he snorted. "Whatever you felt, I'm glad it worked, but what if you’re alone next time that happens?"
"I don't know," I murmured, rubbing my wrist. "I don't even know how it happened."
"Well, try to retrace your steps," he reasoned. "What happened before you blacked out?"
I hesitated, struggling to recall the events leading up to the chaos, but it was like there was some kind of mental block forcing me back the more I tried to access those memories. "I ran from Odin's office and out into the garden. I tripped and I remember crying. All of a sudden, something sprang out of the ground..."
"You mean it wasn't one of yours?" he asked, frowning.
"I don't know. It might've been my tears," I admitted.
He blinked. "Your tears grow demon plants?"
"They've sprouted flowers before, but the demonic ones are new," I sighed.
"Maybe you should ask your Mom. She's good with plants too, right?"
"It's not her power, it's just an affinity," I said, hugging myself. I'd been breathing fine for a while now, but I still felt cold somewhere deep inside. "Besides, I can't talk to her right now."
