“I wasn’t trying—”
“Don’t lie!” she snarls. “We all saw you trying to get Athena to notice you.”
“I just wanted to give her a gift—”
“Is that what that thing was?” Her laugh is cruel. “No wonder it burst into flames. Why would she want a gift from anyone as pathetic as you?”
“That’s enough,” a familiar voice says from behind me.
Shock shoots through me at the sound, and I whirl around to make sure I’m not mishearing things.
It turns out I’m not, because Kyrian is standing right behind me, glaring at Rhea. I’m so shocked to see him here—and in an actual uniform, complete with a black brocade tie—that all I can do is stare up at him with my mouth open.
Which makes him grin, even as he taps a fingertip on his chin—a silent reminder to close my gaping mouth. One I appreciate, considering it’s just another thing for Rhea to use against me.
But she’s not looking at me now. She’s staring at Kyrian with wide eyes and bright pink cheeks. “Who are you?” she demands.
“Someone you don’t want to piss off,” he answers with that lopsided grin that always does funny things to my stomach and my knees.
“Hey, don’t talk to her like that.” Suddenly Paris is on his feet too. But he’s defendingRheafromKyrian.
Hurt slams through me. He’s my brother,my twin brother, and yet he stayed silent when she was going after me. But one harsh word from Kyrian aimed at Rhea—to defend me—and suddenly Paris is willing to get involved.
It’s awful. Embarrassing and hurtful and absolutely awful. What changed since he became an Athena? I know we’ve grown apart these last few months, but I never would have imagined he would take someone else’s side against me. Especially when that someone is a real jerk.
“What’s happened to you?” I whisper, completely blown away by this new version of my twin.
For one startled second, Paris’s eyes meet mine. Something sparks in their depths, but it’s gone so fast I don’t even have time to identify it. And then he’s glaring at me, just like Rhea. “Go back to your table, Penelope. You don’t belong here.”
He isn’t as loud as Rhea, or quite as mean, but his words cut me so much more deeply. Partly because I’m afraid he’s right and partly because he knows just how hurtful they are to me.
This time I can’t blink the tears back and I whirl away, unwilling to give Rhea or Paris the satisfaction of knowing they hurt me. And just that thought—just the idea that my brother actually wanted to hurt me—nearly brings me to my knees.
“Hey.” Kyrian grabs my upper arms to steady me. “Are you okay? Don’t worry about what some jerk says—”
“That jerk is my brother,” I whisper.
Kyrian’s grip loosens, his face going slack with shock at my words. So I take advantage of it, breaking free and running toward the nearest exit as fast as my wobbly knees can carry me. Thankfully, the rain finally stopped a little while ago.
“Penelope, wait.” Kyrian follows me, but I throw an arm out, gesturing for him to stop.
“Leave me alone,” I tell him. “Just for a few minutes. Please.”
His face clouds up at my words, his eyes turning the dark green of a forest at midnight. But he doesn’t argue with me. Just says, “Okay,” and steps back. “But only for a few minutes.”
I nod and then slip through the curtain of fairy lights and run straight out into the night.
I don’t stop until I get to the cluster of bushes that surrounds the amphitheater. Only then do I let the tears fall freely as I try to process my brother’s betrayal.
“Hey, Penelope. What’s going on? Are you all right?”
I turn to find PT standing next to me, a lighter in his hand and a concerned look on his face.
“I’m fine,” I tell him, dashing the tears away.
“You sure?” His kind eyes study my face. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Not unless you want to help me kick my brother in the privates,” I sigh.
