He might not have seen that I was trying to trail Wendy. By the time he showed up, she'd been deep in that mob.

  “I didn't think--”

  Ronin sighed. “I'm sorry. The first years never know until it happens. Most of the Olympian kids don't come over here to terrorize people, but nobody ever stops the ones who do. Not even the gods. And they make all of us look bad. And they wonder why budding monsters go off and join the Lower Order.” He finished by glaring at the wall.

  No. He hadn't seen what I'd done. Phew.

  But Ronin's words sent a chill through me. “But people have to know not all Olympian students are jerks. I haven't heard of any yet. Cal's cool. Natalia's cool. And you're, well--”

  Ronin held me in a serious look. “A part time jerk?"

  More shouts and screams echoed from below. The nightmare was getting closer. My throat dried. “Get in.” I unlocked my door, fumbling with my keycard. If any place was a good one to ride this out, it was my room. And I regretted not bringing Maria and Mikey up here. Of course, if they'd tried to come with me, they would have gotten beat up, too. Well, Mikey would have. His Siren powers didn't work on girls. Maria could have thrown that Apollo girl down the hall and hit the others like bowling pins.

  Ronin and I spilled into my room as the shouts of the mean girls bubbled up the stairwell. They were looking for more victims, and the faster they got bored, the faster they'd leave. My security system beeped as I shut the door behind me. Ronin armed the digital monitor. Another click told us we were safe.

  “Have they ever killed anyone?” I asked.

  “I don't think so,” Ronin said. “Giselle, you should have sheltered in place."

  "I was trying."

  Ronin lowered one eyebrow. “Stop putting yourself in danger. You could have been forced to fight back and that would have made you dark, had you killed those girls.”

  I hated what he was saying. Ronin had done this sort of thing before, back when he was trying to stop me from getting these terrifying powers in the first place, and now he was doing it again. Balling my fists, I flinched as the icy plasma filled me again, threatening to spill out and take over. “Then I need to learn how to use my other powers instead."

  “I know." Ronin reached out. Took my arms and rubbed his thumbs along the fabric of my uniform, despite his joints popping. “You forget I can sense magic in others. Not a common ability in god descendants, not even Zeus's, but I feel like there's a split forming inside you. Like two halves of you are tripping away from each other.”

  Outside, the shouts of the nasty girls peaked. They had reached the top of the stairwell.

  “Yoohoo!” one shouted, banging on my door. “You all cheered on the Lower Order, didn't you?” Then she kicked, but my door held.

  “Come on, Jamie. They're all hiding,” another girl said.

  “They'd better.” The first girl stepped away from the door. “They can clean up the blood, at least.”

  The blood?

  Ronin frowned. I slapped my hand to my mouth like I'd throw up again. The groan of destruction made a wave through me and Ronin flinched, taking his gloved hands off my arms.

  “I just felt it right now,” he said. “Giselle. Stop. Breathe. Anger does this to you.”

  I took a breath. "It let me use your powers, too."

  "That was because you had my sword. And you were among the gods. But when you're here, away from that all, you feel dark." He wrapped his gloved hands around my shoulder blades and pulled me close. "Your surroundings affect you. And you were also close to me." He smiled, pressing his lips to mine. Electricity flowed and I breathed in Ronin's scent and taste. His power zapped down my arms and spine. Gathered in my palms. The groan vanished. I focused. Electricity filled me. I could wield it. Show Ronin and everyone else I belonged at Olympian after all. I kissed Ronin back, pulling in his life, his force, and I raked my hands down his back first. Then down his arms. Ronin's magic built inside me, as if I were adding to it, and I found myself tracing my hands down his arms. Ronin let go of my shoulder blades as I gripped his gloved hands. The air crackled. My hair stood on end. What was I doing?

  I squeezed Ronin's hands. They popped and he gasped, breaking our kiss, but the electricity that made up our merged magic gathered in my palms, flowing from me to Ronin.

  "Giselle!"

  He flinched and let go. I released his hands, which now had sparks--Ronin's normal sparks--dancing around his gloves, and he backed into my wall and flexed his fingers as the energy died.

  "What was that?" Ronin asked.

  "I don't know. You're the one who can sense magic. I don't know what I did." I breathed in ozone. Ronin just felt more present, more alive.

  Ronin held up his hands. "You took my magic, multiplied it by like three, and pumped it back into me. I feel like I could destroy all those horrible girls right now. Wait." Lifting an eyebrow, he grabbed the finger of his left glove and pulled it off.

  His hand.

  It was young, beautiful, and completely normal.

  Ronin's eyes bulged.

  I had healed him.

  "Giselle?" He stared at me, open-mouthed. "That was some kiss. You can take someone's powers, amplify them, and give them back."

  “I can what?” His kiss lingered on my lips as I watched him take off his other glove.

  "It's no wonder everyone wants you. This is the other way you can go. Maybe if we get you over to Olympian, you'll become a goddess of power or something. Everyone could get behind that."

  The room spun. "And if I stay here--"

  "Goddess of destruction." Ronin frowned and threw the gloves on my night table. "I trailed the gods today."

  “You trailed them? That's brave." I'd been meaning to ask him about that. Forcing in a few breaths, I got situated. I'd never get used to these revelations.

  “Well, them and Prometheus. All of them were talking about how on earth you could have gotten over here when you're clearly meant for Olympian. He was happy to remind them of the Oath. He does not want to let you go. You're all he has to really speak for in this school.”

  I fake glowered at him. “Could you not insult my friends, please?” Ronin still had a lot to learn. I picked up the stuffed unicorn off the floor and chucked it at his face.

  He threw it back at me, where I missed catching it and let it fall to the floor in typical Giselle fashion. “Well, I'm just doing an impression of the titan.” He peeled himself from the wall. “We need to check on the others. I think those witches are gone. Even though they're not even witches. They've probably used all the powers they can without overextending themselves by now.”

  My heart leapt into my chest. Ronin reached out with his hand and I took it, both relieved and terrified that he'd never felt so alive. At least I had him with me and he could strike down those girls with lightning. Then I wouldn't have to use my powers. I had almost...I had almost...

  Ronin and I crept back downstairs and ran into no one on the way down. The mean Olympian girls had vacated the dorms. I imagined a group of jerk guys had invaded the boys' dorm, too. We'd hear about it in the morning.

  “You know, I didn't deserve to have my hands fixed," Ronin said.

  "What do you mean?" I snapped my gaze to him once we reached the second floor landing.

  "Nothing," he said.

  "Don't tell me you lied about going to the healers." I knew Ronin felt bad about what happened in the library. And he felt bad about what happened to his mother. Did he have a massive guilt complex?

  Ronin sighed when we reached the first floor.

  “What are you two doing out?”

  We froze, still hand in hand. Staff members, mostly security guards, were gathered around a puddle of blood on the floor. Wendy, Serena, and the three second year girls were gone, probably taken to the infirmary in the basement, and Prometheus looked up from the blood with a deep frown and a sad cast to his green-flecked eyes.

  Then the air heated as he snapped his gaze to our interlocked hands.

  Ronin immediately let go, but it was too late.

  He was not supposed to know about this.

  “Ronin. You have no need to be on the Cursed campus when you are not instructing class or escorting Giselle to class,” Prometheus snapped. "I still think you don't even need to do that."

  I waited for Ronin to come back with something sarcastic, but you did not argue with an immortal. Even Ronin would end up a nice, neat ash pile in the middle of the hall.

  But I felt an urge to defend him. I stepped in front of Ronin. “He was making sure I was away from those mean girls who were beating people up. That's his job. Your guards couldn't stop them.”

  The titan worked his jaw as he trained his glare not on me, but on Ronin. Suspicion flared. Sweat broke out on the back of my neck. “Ronin, you and I need to have a meeting."

  My heart dropped into my chest. All my spit dried up, leaving my pulse racing in my throat. Prometheus must have known what he was doing. And the meeting with the gods must not have gone well. Ronin would be the victim.

  “Sir,” Ronin said, straightening into military posture. “My father requested that I help teach Combat Training over here. He also requested I escort Giselle from class to class. I can't go against his orders.”

  “Almighty Zeus is across the world for the next several months. Follow me,” Prometheus ordered, snapping his fingers. Then he softened as he faced me. “Giselle, this is for your safety. You should not have commanded that weapon today. Rest assured, I am working hard to find your true weapon before exams. And it is possible Ronin and I can come to a deal.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I found myself unable to focus on anything that night, not even reading the book about the Underworld's rivers. I skimmed the section on Lethe and then the others, but my mind kept going back to the argument in the hall.

  Prometheus wanted to blackmail Ronin.

  Find my birthright weapon, which I hadn't seen in months, or lose access to me. What else would it be? Why hadn't I let go of Ronin's hand before we got to the first floor? Ugh. Now Prometheus knew how to get to Ronin.

  And Ronin wouldn't betray me.

  “This sucks!” I chucked my stuffed unicorn at the wall, where it hit and fell to the floor.

  Morning came, and as I feared, I didn't see Ronin down in the cafeteria when I met Maria and Mikey. Both seemed to feel a bit better today, like the gods' message had worn off. For now. Maria dug into her oatmeal like she hadn't eaten in a week. Well, she hadn't eaten much yesterday.

  “At least the all clear came fast,” Mikey said. He tapped my shoulder. “Did you get to your room okay?”

  Prometheus had, of course, ordered me back to my room right after he'd gotten Ronin to follow him. “Wendy got beat up.”

  Maria gasped. “She what?”

  “I'll tell you,” I said. And over food, I told her about how Wendy and Serena got mobbed by those Olympian girls. I didn't see either of them in the dining hall today, though Percival and Duncan were at the end, staying away from everyone else. I should have felt great telling this story, but it just made a weight settle in my chest. Especially since everyone in the dining hall seemed on edge this morning. Even the fourth years were huddled and quiet. The centaur stood at the end of the table, on his own, ignoring everyone else.

  And then I told Maria and Mikey about the principal's blackmail.

  “He what?” Mikey asked. “We can't see Ronin anymore?”

  “He's a big part of the reason I've been able to sneak off campus every evening,” I said. “Even if we can get past the security around here, I don't think we want to just walk over to Olympian after what happened. And next week we'll have to carry student ID's."

  "Gotta work on some fake ones," Mikey said. "A fourth year says he's selling them to first years once he knows what the design's going to look like."

  “Because we're all going to join the Lower Order,” Maria said, stabbing her food with her spoon. It didn't work well, sending oatmeal all over the table. “Just because Dominique held up her ring doesn't mean we're all going to go looking for her tomorrow.”

  “Held up her ring?” I asked.

  Mikey looked at me like I wasn't getting it. “Yeah. Haven't you seen that on the news? That's why the station cut off her recording yesterday.”

  “Actually, I never watched the news at home because my fake Grandma was there, trying to drag me down into a pit of despair with her,” I said. “Trust me, I was never home and I stayed away from her. What does it mean?”

  “When Dominique holds up her ring on TV,” Maria said, “it means the Lower Order is recruiting. And they recruit from near Cursed Academy campuses worldwide on full moons. I think that's part of the reason some of the Olympian kids came over here yesterday and went on a rampage. The guys' dorm got it as bad as we did."

  My oatmeal suddenly looked like cardboard. And tasted like it, too, with a bit of strawberry on top. Ronin's words came back. And they wonder why budding monsters and former Cursed students sometimes go off and join the Lower Order.

  “Oh, no.” I slapped my hand to my mouth.

  “What? I know oatmeal sucks, but--” Mikey started.

  “Dominique must know these attacks on Cursed kids happen every time she blows something up,” I said. "And that's the time to recruit."

  “Of course she does,” Maria said.

  “Wendy got the crap beaten out of her yesterday. I saw what could have been her blood on the floor. She's going to be, well, pissed, and might even try to go to the Lower Order.”

  “But Wendy wants to impress the gods, not attack them,” Mikey said.

  “After what happened?” I asked. “I've heard things. Duncan and Percival sounded suspect yesterday. Guys, with all this, and the vision we saw with Natalia...I think Wendy's seriously going to join the Lower Order. Or try. This is our chance to save ourselves.”

  * * * * *

  Blackmail. It was an awful word, but it seemed to be the way around here. If we could catch Wendy, maybe even film her trying to join the Lower Order, we had a chance. Hey, Wendy. We'll tell the Olympian Guard about your activities unless you bring us some of that asphodel. A lifetime supply, in fact. Deal?

  Yeah, that wasn't dangerous. I couldn't risk another fight with her, getting caught by the Lower Order, or just plain gathering the guts to do it. I'd so break my promise to Ronin. But I couldn't let Mikey turn into a blue-skinned, man eating monster and I wasn't going to let Maria wake up with one eye in her forehead. Or let them worry about that for the next few years.

  The next morning, Saturday, eventually came. Maria knocked on my door and roused me from sleep, and the tone of her knock told me that something good had happened.

  I opened up, blinking sleep out of my eyes. "Hey."

  She held up a yellow paper in my face as if it were gold. "Remember this? I won the fight yesterday."

  "Huh?" Yeah, I was all one-liners this morning.

  "The pass. To get off campus for a full weekend. I marched down to Prometheus's office this morning and he had to give it to me. He swore on the River Styx." Maria handed the paper to me. "Said that if he breaks his vow, he has to go without nectar for a year. I guess that's really punishment for immortals, since that's their food."

  My hands tingled as I eyed it. Off-Campus Pass. Valid any Saturday and Sunday, one Weekend Only. The words, written in fancy Greek style script, spread across the top of the paper. The funny part was that Maria's name was typed in obvious modern font in the middle, right above a raised, shiny green hand holding a flame. Prometheus's symbol. This was an official paper, all right. And as I ran my hand over the raised seal, it heated. Nobody could forge this.

  "I bet he was mad," I said. "He took a gamble and lost." I'd been supposed to win that brawl. I gave it back. "We should save this."

  "I agree. We use it whenever Wendy and her crew decide to go off campus. With the Lower Order recruiting, though, he's going to up the security even more. Or Olympian will send over some guards."

  The two of us headed downstairs. The blood from Wendy was long gone, and I spotted her sitting on a bench, quiet, beside Serena. She had a major black eye. The two talked in low voices as we approached. I tensed, but Wendy kept her gaze off me. Olympian hadn't even sent the healers over to help those their students attacked.

  And I felt like a piece of crap for wanting to attend. But Ronin said most of the students were okay. I believed him. I'd met several.

  We spent the weekend playing cards with some second years and watching Wendy from a distance. Snow fell. Ronin never sneaked over. No one tried to go out in the storm. Wendy's black eye didn't start fading until Monday, when we showed up at Combat Training. Her bruise had gone from purplish to greenish, and she had moved her hair back away from her face and regained the bravery to glare at people. Max, our normal Combat Training teacher, paraded to the front of the class and took a breath.

  “I will inform you first and foremost,” he began. Max never greeted the class or said hello. Usually he just yelled at us to get in line.

  My heart raced. I'd been dreading this announcement since Friday.

  “I will now be your Combat Training instructor all five days of the week.”

  Max's words fell like hammers. I struggled not to flinch. People let out breaths around me.

  That meant Ronin had refused to bring over my real birthright weapon.

  And now Prometheus had punished him. I swallowed, throat dry. Mikey dared to look at me and let his jaw drop. But no one asked why. You did not ask Max questions. He got in your face and asked you questions instead.

  Max shouted something about us working extra hard for exams now that he was here, and that we'd be practicing a full arena battle with each other today, and I was relieved to see that the stupid stick I'd been using was on the rack. But so was Wendy's sword. I couldn't help but check the doorway to Olympian's grounds for Ronin, but he hadn't showed.

  “What are you looking at?” Max roared in my face.

 

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