Cas chose to do the most humiliating thing yet: he stayed still, letting me slam fist after fist against his bare chest.
As ineffective as my attacks were, it felt satisfying, like finally finding a punching bag strong enough for me to use without breaking it in five minutes. Plus, this punching bag had the most annoying smirk in the universe, which made each punch sweeter than the last.
In the end, I grunted and sat down on the floor, winded, sweaty, and thoroughly trounced.
I lost. He never even attacked and I lost. I expected that watching a tiny little house cat fighting against Kleos’s monster at full size would have been equally pathetic.
Cas sat in front of me in silence. I couldn’t bear to meet his gaze after my mortifying defeat, so I closed my eyes.
“Why do you pretend to be human?” he asked.
I frowned. “What?”
“You fight like a human. I don’t understand it.”
I opened my eyes, surprised to see him confused rather than smug. “That’s how I’ve always fought. And I usually win.”
He shrugged. “You would, against mortals. A dragon would win against a dormouse, regardless of the dragon’s ability. I’m not saying that learning to move with skill and speed isn’t without value, but what you’re doing—going for the soft tissues with your fists—is like a fleabite to a god. And your enemies are gods. You ought to train yourself to fight them.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again, digesting his advice.
When Zeus attacked, he summoned lightning bolts that destroyed everything they touched. They would have destroyed me if Apollo hadn’t flown me out of the way.
Finally, I settled on, “I don’t have any magic.”
“Today, you still have mine.”
I kept forgetting. “Well, what’s the point in training myself to use something I only have for a couple of days?” I snapped.
Cas tilted his head. “Good point. Your focus ought to be recovering your abilities. You won’t survive long without them.”
His words hit me like a freight train.
I’d survived just fine for twenty-four years magicless, yes, but now Zeus knew I was here. And his first reaction to finding me had been to chuck a million volts right at me.
“I don’t know where to start with that,” I confessed, kicking myself for sharing something so personal with Cas.
“Want me to help?”
My jaw ticked.
He was untrustworthy. Potentially an enemy. I definitely shouldn’t open up to him, no matter how right he was.
Apollo told me himself: he sealed my power within hours on the day I was born. I didn’t need Cas to figure out my magical ineptitude, I needed my annoying divine twin.
“No,” I replied, getting to my feet. “I’ll figure it out. And then we can spar again.”
“Looking forward to it, doll.”
16
CAS
“You’re sure?” The tall blond grimaced as he took in the surroundings. “I mean, I’m really not kicking you out, and there’s plenty of room.”
I nodded, staring out the window.
From the seventh floor, I had a good view of Ares and Poseidon’s temples on the dining room side, and most of the city from the bedroom’s balcony. The Hall of Truce seemed like a stone’s throw away. Beyond, the opposite temples were Apollo and Athena’s. Surrounding buildings blocked the others, but it was a good strategical point.
