Goddess Boot Camp

I just-'

'I know,' I say, trying to ease his pain. 'You have to help her. It's your Hercules complex.'

'No.' he says. 'It's more than that.'

'Then what?' I say, trying to be as open as possible. I won't let there be any more lies and half- truths between us.

'Adara is my friend. Until you helped me work through things with Nicole last year, she was my oldest friend. That's never going to change.' He takes my hands and holds them between his, between us. 'Neither is the fact that you're my girlfriend.'

'I know.' I ignore the wetness in my eyes. 'I'm sorry I doubted you. I trust you. I really do. But sometimes I just don't trust my own instincts.'

'We'll have to work on that,' he says, grinning and pulling me off the coffee table and onto his lap.

When he's got me settled, I slip my arms around his neck. 'While we're at it, let's work on you trusting me, too.'

'Me? I trust you,' he insists. 'What makes you think I-'

'I saw you with Nicole on the beach the other night.' I think back to that night. When I got so upset I'd shimmered myself home. Griffin always said my powers would be affected by my emotions until I learned to master them. 'She knew what was going on with Adara.'

His brows scrunch over his blue eyes. 'You were there?'

I refuse to blush. He doesn't need to know I was hiding behind a boulder. 'Why could you tell her the truth and not me?'

His head flops back against the couch. 'I didn't tell her,' he groans. 'She guessed.'

'Really?' That's a pretty uncanny guess.

'Interpol could use someone with her instincts. If it makes you feel any better, she was pretty pissed that I hadn't told you.' He gives me a half smile. 'She let me have it.'

Score one for Nicole. She always has my back.

'Why did you think the truth would hurt me?' I ask.

'What do you mean?'

'You asked her not to tell me,' I explain. 'You said you didn't want me to get hurt.'

'No, that wasn't about Dara.' He turns completely serious. 'You know that research project Nic's been working on?'

I nod.

'She's been trying to find a loophole in our parents' punishment decree.'

'Wow.' I'm breathless. 'Can you do that?'

'There have been a few cases.' He gives me a sad smile. 'But it's very rare.'

Rare, but not impossible. My mind floods with possibilities. If there was a way to undo an Olympic decree, then Griffin could get his parents back. Nicole's parents could be un-banished. Dad could get un- smoted.

'Omigods, Griffin,' I gasp, overwhelmed with hope. 'Do you know what this means? This means we could all-'

'No,' he says, cutting me off. This is why I didn't want to tell you what she's trying to do. This is a one-in-a-billion long shot. The gods are as unyielding as they are fickle, if that makes any sense. They've had millennia to hone their skills at writing unbreakable decrees. The chance that they messed up in one of ours-' He shakes his head. 'I don't want to get your hopes up, just to see you get hurt all over again.'

His blue eyes are full of the same pain I felt at losing Dad. More,since he lost both his parents at once. But at the same time, deeper than the pain is his love for me. I don't know how I let myself believe that wasn't there.

And because of my love for him, I won't push the issue right now.

'We can talk about this some other time,' I say. Relaxing in his arms, I snuggle my head against his neck. 'Right now I'm too busy trusting you to think about anything else.'

I feel the rumble of his laugh against my chest.

I know he is dead serious about protecting me, about keeping me from pain. I also know that I can't let this go forever. I'm not so dumb that I don't realize what a crazy impossibility this loophole thing is. If there is a chance, though-even the teeny, tiniest, slimmest chance in history-for any of us to get back our lost parents, then I have to pursue that chance.

For now, I'll hang back and let him and Nicole take the lead, helping when I can. But I'll follow this through to the end.

However long it takes.

Chapter 10

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CORPOPROTECTION

SOURCE: HESTIA

The ability to protect oneself from harm, whether seen or unseen. In some hematheos, this may manifest as the ability to sense impending danger. Others may be capable of deflecting a direct physical threat. Effectiveness diminished by mental distraction.

DYNAMOTHEOS STUDY GUIDE * Stella Patrolas

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TANSY IS WAITING at the cross-country starting block when Griffin and I walk up the next morning. She's wearing a tank top, supershort running shorts, and a pair of sneakers that look older than me. She's also wearing a headband and matching wristbands in a very eighties white with blue stripes. Oblivious to our approach, she's busy stretching. But not normal stretching-super/exaggerated stretching, like a cartoon or something.

'Is that her?' Griffin whispers.

'Uhhuh,' I whisper back. With a shrug, I add, 'She wants to be a runner.'

'She, um…' He swallows hard. 'Certainly has the outfit down.'

'Don't laugh.'

'I wouldn't. Besides,' he says, 'if she starts training with us, she's gonna need those sweat bands.'

With a grateful smile, I take his hand and slip my fingers through his.

Tansy finally notices us approaching.

'Hi, Phoebe,' she calls out, waving excitedly. 'Griffin, right?'

'Yeah,' he says, nodding. 'I hear you want to be a runner.'

Her green eyes flick to me and back to him. With a breathless, dreamy voice, she says. 'More than