to me.”
Hold up. She was jealous of me?
Almost impossible to believe.
“Where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, sighing in a defeated tone. “But I know one thing—using that gun is the easy way out.”
When I looked at her, I could see the weariness she mentioned. There used to be a spark in her gaze I hadn’t seen in a long time. She used to be effortlessly happy. But running from the monster inside was a nonstop job, one I was getting firsthand familiarity with.
I cleared my throat. “Well, I might have something. Grandpa doesn’t like it, but I think it’s a good option.”
“On Zeus’s grave, Sheridan. If you bring up Persephone’s Cure—”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I laid on the sarcasm pretty thick. “Did you have any other ideas?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Do you know what else is dangerous? The two of us trying to kill each other every chance we get.”
“We will separate the two of you again until we can come up with something better. Send Riley back to Davidson.”
“No.” Riley shook her head emphatically. “I don’t want to go back to the human world. This is where I belong.”
“Separation won’t do any good anyway,” I pointed out. “When the effects of the curse grow stronger, all Riley has to do is conjure another monster and send it my way.”
Riley nodded, in total agreement for a change. “That sounds like something I would do.”
Dad crossed his arms over his chest. “No,” he finally said. “Your grandfather’s right. It’s too dangerous.”
My shoulders drooped. This was so unfair.
The three of us spent the rest of the night arguing, only to reach an inevitable stalemate. Riley remained quiet in her chair, acting as if she didn’t care either way. Her only concern was for herself, and that she stayed at Arcadia. It bothered me. I wished she would’ve fought harder, but I was the only one who kept pushing to go to the Underworld. In the end, Grandpa cut off my arguments. He sent Dad to walk me back to my dorm, while he escorted Riley. They didn’t trust the two of us alone together. I found that ironic considering not long ago Grandpa put a loaded gun in my sister’s hands. But, no. The Underworld was somehow more dangerous.
Good grief, what logic.
For a while, Dad and I walked in silence. Now that it was just us, I had so much to say, but I didn’t know where to begin. Instead, I just watched him, trying to imagine him as a student, walking these same grounds. It wasn’t hard to do. As rough as he looked, he was still handsome, and he looked ten years younger than he was.
“Everything will be okay, Sher Bear.” For once, it was nice to hear that nickname without the snide tone attached.
“How do you know?”
“Because we’re all in this fight together.”
It was a nice thought, but not entirely true. “Riley seemed bored of it.”
“To be fair, she’s been aware of the curse a lot longer than you.”
I glanced around, making sure the connecting sidewalks and pathways were empty. It was time for us to have the conversation he’d been avoiding.
Here goes nothing. “Dad?” I waited for him to look up. “What happened between you and my mother?”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s uh, a heavy topic.”
“You lied to me.”
His eyes tightened at the corners. “Only to protect you.”
“I deserve to know the truth, and to hear your side of it.”
He looked up at the crescent moon for several long seconds, then back at me. “Yes, you do.”
I swallowed, sensing he was finally ready to be open and honest. “Did Grandpa tell you I met Petra?”
He nodded.
“I was blindsided, Dad. Do you know how unfair it was, to hear it from her?”
“I’m not sure how credible her side of the story was.”
I blinked. “It’s better than what you gave me—nothing!”
“Calm down, Sheridan. Here, have a seat.” We reached the front steps to House Aphrodite, empty for the moment. I plopped down on one of the stone steps, and he sat beside me.
“How could you do it, Dad?” Already, tears rose. I loved him, but I was so, so angry with him, and I couldn’t keep it locked inside anymore. “How could you impregnate two women at the same time? I never took you for a manwhore—”
“Watch your tone, Sheridan. Do you want this story or not?”
I breathed out through my nose. “Let’s hear it then.”
“I loved your mother.”
I blinked again, not expecting that. That’s not what