look at each other much. Instead, they all had their heads bowed over their desks as they stared down at their laps with laser-like intensity.
I frowned, wondering what kind of class Athena was teaching when the mystery was solved by the boy next to me.
“Classic.” He spoke with a slow drawl, seemingly unbothered by the greasy chunk of dark hair hanging in his eyes. He flicked his gaze from me to the board. “You’ve read it, right?”
I must have looked confused because he drew his cell phone from beneath his desk and waved it at the board.
I glanced at what Athena had written.
Do androids dream of electric sheep?
His fingers moved across the screen of his phone. “She posted it on ELC this morning, so you should be able to download it.” The boy started to add more but stopped when Athena turned to face the class.
“What does it mean to be human?” Athena asked. The entire room fell silent. Heads popped up, looked at her straight on, every eye glazed over with reverence. Subtle waves of charm washed through the room, commanding attention, drawing their worship, and likely opening their minds to her lecture. I couldn’t decide if I was disgusted or impressed. I’d never liked charm, but this seemed like a good use of it. The students hung on her every word, open, engaged, and learning. So long as Athena taught halfway decent material, this was one of the more mutually beneficial uses of charm I’d ever seen.
Athena hadn’t changed since the last time I saw her. She tucked her carefully coiffed brown hair behind her ear and looked out at the class with emotionless gray eyes. “We’ll talk theories in a moment, but I’d like to know your opinions. What makes you human? What’s different about you from every other creature out there?”
“We can think?” a boy wearing a loose button up shirt and khakis called from the front row.
“We have emotions?” a girl asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her pinkie.
“We’re self-aware? Like, we think about thinking and time and stuff?”
Gods, when had college kids become so uncertain? All their replies ended with an upward lilt like they were asking a question instead of supplying an answer.
After a couple of students gave faltering answers, I called from the back of the room, voice strong and certain, “They can lie.”
Athena jerked her head toward me, panic flashing in her eyes as she scanned the rows of students. When her gaze locked on mine, the color drained from her face. “Class dismissed.”
The students looked at her in confusion. Athena didn’t look away from me, but her voice took on a panicked edge. “Get out, now.” Her charm was in full effect.
The room filled with noise. Chairs scraped across the blue carpet as they were pushed back from the desks. Papers rustled as they were gathered and shoved into folders. Hushed whispers whipped around me as the students filed out of the classroom. A few glanced my way.
I stretched my legs and folded my arms over my chest. When the last student left, I curled my lips in a grin. “Philosophy?”
“I didn’t know about Zeus. I didn’t.”
“You know about him now. Did your message get lost in transit, or did you have the impression I wouldn’t be interested in the news?” I could see her pulse pounding in her neck.
Athena pressed her elbows to her sides like she was trying to make herself smaller, less threatening. All she accomplished was wrinkling her gray power suit.
“Where is he, Athena?”
Her chin trembled. “I don’t know.”
I unfolded myself from the tiny desk and stood, keeping my stance casual, then walked through the row of desks. Athena tensed. She looked ready to run. Sticking my hands in my pockets, I stopped at the edge of the first row, leaving her the front of the room.
She inched away until her back met the white board. “All I have are theories.”
“I’m going to need more than theories.”
Chapter XV
Persephone
“Persephone.”
My eyes fluttered open. Hades. It was his voice. My vision blurred then focused. He knelt in front of me, his eyes marred with dark lines of worry.
“You’re here.” I threw my arms around him.
His lips found mine and he kissed me, pulling me to my feet.
“How are you here?” I asked, breaking off the kiss. My head was pounding and the room swirled around me in indistinct colors. I swayed on my feet, and his grip on me tightened.
“You’re dreaming.”
“Right.” Closing my eyes