as I rounded the last corner. Recognizing the warm, inviting magic instantly lifted my mood. A slow smile spread across my face; those were fast becoming my favorite scents.
Xander stood by my door, leaning against the frame. For several long moments, my mind went blank as I took in the sight of him. Tanned skin, heavy-lidded eyes, and soft lips next to that strong, square jawline. Adding to his overall perfection was a mischievous charm; he was up to something.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he said, the timbre of his voice deeper than usual. “Want to go to a real party?”
He made the offer sound like a forbidden temptation. I was pretty sure I’d let him take me anywhere, even into the pits of hell.
“What kind of party?”
He straightened. “An Ares one.”
Scratch that—I’d let him lead me anywhere except there. “Hard pass.”
I had enough of Ares torture in class. I didn’t need another round in my spare time.
“Not so fast.” Xander placed my arm into the crook of his, causing my belly to do a little flip-flop. “Ione’s rumor worked. The whole school thinks you’re a geniox. Besides, you’re the only first year to score a soul weapon. Do you know how amazing that is?”
My cheeks warmed at his compliment, but I was still hesitant. “Her rumor spread that fast?”
He nodded. “You’ll be welcome. Fair warning though, it’s nothing like your delicate Aphrodite parties, with your crystal chandeliers and flowers. Nothing breakable, no prim and proper nonsense, and everyone gets pretty loud.”
Hmm…
Sounded tempting, but the last party hadn’t gone that great. I wasn’t sure I was up for another this soon. “I don’t know,” I hedged. “I found out some things about Riley.”
He groaned. “Can we forget about Sister Satan for one night?”
“She’s building an army,” I said, point-blank.
His eyes flared. “How—”
“She’s going around, asking for seals of support. Storm told me. She gave me hers.” I showed him the golden coin, twisting it between my fingers.
“Whoa…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t expect her to go this far.”
I let out a breath. “Neither did I.”
He quickly blinked the glimmer of fear out of his eyes. “Okay, so she’s worse than we thought. We’ll deal with this when your grandfather gets back.”
Who knew how long that would take.
Grandpa left for Davidson almost as soon as Riley arrived. He hadn’t been able to withdraw Riley from Arcadia, but Dad could since he was our parent and legal guardian. Dad could haul Riley back to Davidson, Timbuktu, or even to Mars if he wanted, as he held all the parental rights. But no one could get a hold of the man, and that presented a problem. So, Grandpa left in search of him. Meanwhile, he advised me to stay away from my sister, and to “not get killed”. That part was proving more and more difficult.
Xander placed his hands on the sides of my arms. “Everything will be fine. We’ll figure this out, I swear. But for tonight…” He let out a hopeful breath. “Let’s just have fun. Remember the bubbles? We need another night like that.”
The bubbles had been our way of escaping the grim reality of all this curse stuff, an escape I badly needed at the time. An escape I badly needed now. I chewed the inside of my cheek, knowing he was right but still unsure.
“Come on, Sher,” he said sweetly. “I want you to meet my friends.”
“I want to meet your friends, too,” I admitted. Especially if they no longer considered me a traitor.
“Then let me show you a good time, damsel. You’ll never want to go to a lame Aphrodite party again.”
The Aphrodite insult didn’t offend me, but the nickname he coined made me flinch. The whole damsel-in-distress thing hit too close to the truth. Weak and helpless were not admired traits in House Ares. “Fine, I’ll go. On one condition.”
Xander sighed and dropped his hands; he knew what was coming. “Here we go.”
“We start those training sessions you’ve been putting off.”
He frowned, his blue eyes narrowing. “I don’t like your reasons for wanting them.”
Good grief. He wouldn’t even consider Persephone’s Cure. Six months in the Underworld with Riley was better than the two of us murdering one another in Mythos—if I could get her to agree to it.
“Look, Riley isn’t even on board yet. It’s not like I’m going to the Underworld tomorrow.”
“You would if you could convince her.”
True, but admitting that would only make him more obstinate.
I pointed out the obvious instead. “Does it