Page 16 of Wild Hunt
He just smirked, tossing the cue my way. I caught it easily. “Just be ready when I need you.”
Chapter 9
Kore
At first, I’d hoped that Dionysus avoiding me was going to be a short-term thing. When he didn’t come back to the room the next night, I knew otherwise.
We had training class together that afternoon, but Artemis didn’t exactly give us time to talk. We went through drills and Dionysus was politely cooperative, but I could tell he had no plans of ceasing this little avoidance game anytime soon.
I saw my chance as he made his way to the men’s locker room after class, and I took it. I grabbed his arm and he turned around with a look of shock. “What the —”
“What, did you really think you could just go AWOL and I wouldn’t anything?” I challenged, folding my arms. “You should know me better than that by now.”
He gave a sigh of resignation and ran his hand through his hair. “I suppose I should have.”
“So what the hell is going on?” I asked, unable to keep hurt out of my voice.
He still wouldn’t meet my gaze, but he was talking to me, so I figured that was progress. “I just wasn’t sure how to proceed after… you know.”
“What?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “The kiss?”
He blushed. I mean, he actually freaking blushed, and it was adorable. Trying not to get off track, I forced myself to focus on the matter at hand. “It was just a kiss, Dionysus. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
I was expecting his reaction to be one of relief, but it wasn’t. I wasn’t surewhatit was, all he knew was that I had no hope of reading the look in his eyes. I wanted to comfort him all the same, but I wasn’t quite sure how. “No,” he said quietly. “I guess it doesn’t.”
I’d never been good with words. Not when it came to making people feel better, anyway. Now proved no exception. “Listen, I’m not sorry it happened, but I would be if it came between us. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I feel like we’ve bonded after everything. If you don’t want anything to do with me, that’s fine, but at least let it be out of self-preservation instead of some stupid kiss.”
This time, he did smile. It actually touched his eyes, too. “Are you sure?”
I gave him a playful nudge. “Are you kidding? We’re like, ultra secret spies together. That means something.”
He laughed, the same musical sound as always. “I guess it does.”
“So,” I said pointedly. “Are you going to come back to the room?”
He still looked unsure, but he finally nodded. “Alright. As long as it’s not weird.”
“It doesn’t have to be weird unless you make it that way,” I said with a shrug.
This time, he seemed to breathe a little easier. I could tell it was time for change and subject, so I said, “Preliminaries are coming up.”
His expression relaxed, but his gaze intensified. “Daphne was great at practice, but do you really think we’re ready? We just became a team.”
“I wouldn’t say ready,” I admitted. “But it’s not like we have any other option. We’ve just gotta give it our all and see what happens.”
“Are you always optimistic?”
I laughed. “Not by a long shot. Just when it comes to putting assholes in their place.”
* * *
The day of the preliminaries,my stomach was full of butterflies. I didn’t even want to think about breakfast, but I knew I needed the fuel, so I grabbed a granola bar, some eggs and orange juice before going out to the training grounds to meet up with Daphne and Dionysus.
They were both there when I arrived, and they seem to be having a pleasant conversation. It was nice to be part of a group that wasn’t full of drama for once. Dionysus was right, Daphne had blended with our team perfectly, and she’d even been willing to stay after class to get in as many extra practice sessions as we could before preliminaries.
Now, all we had to do was survive the Valkyries. Given the dirty looks they were giving me from across the lawn, it seemed like it would be easier said than done.
The field had already been cordoned off for the preliminary games, and as far as I could tell from the obstacles set up, it was going to require equal parts physical prowess and mastery over our individual abilities. Artemis had prepared us for as much, but she was mum on the specifics of the exam.
