Page 44 of The Shadow Gods

“The internet,” Orestes replied, fixing his friend with a thousand-yard stare. “And a millennium of traveling. Trust your navigator.”

“I trust no one.” Achilles crossed his arms, surveying the room. When our eyes met, he dropped them and smiled. “Except for you, Leo. You're flawless.”

A snort burst out of me. “Flawless” and “Leo” didn't go together in the same sentence. But I appreciated the sentiment. Hurrying to him, I stood on tiptoes to kiss him. I was aiming for his cheek, but he turned his head and caught my lips. His kiss was unhurried, and in the blink of an eye, the room disappeared.

He pulled away, and I reluctantly let him go. “Did you feed her?” he asked Hector.

I grimaced, and my stomach took advantage of the brief silence by growling. We'd been busy doing other...stuff. Food hadn't crossed my mind.

Not.

Once.

But I was hungry, now that I was thinking about it. And here we were in Italy, but we needed to blow through this country, jump on a ferry, and find the spot where Athena had cursed me.

There went my appetite. Committed to outing me as a liar, my stomach growled again.

“There's a bakery nearby. We'll stop there before we leave,” Hector said.

Achilles growled. “You should have done that last night. You had two things to do. Make sure she slept, and make sure she ate. You failed.”

Hector's smile disappeared. Justwhoosh.Gone. He agonized over all of us. Achilles’s comment had been a low blow.

“He took care of me.”

But the big man was staring down Hector. I reached up, took his chin between my index finger and thumb, and forced his face toward me. “Achilles. I'm fine. I wasn't hungry until now, and I slept fine. I was perfectly happy and content.”

He continued to frown. There was more than frustration behind his anger, wasn't there? “Hey.” Placing my hands behind his head, I pulled him lower until my mouth was at ear-level. “You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine.”

“You need to be ready,” he said in a louder voice.

Right.General Achilles. Sleeping and eating weren't just meeting my immediate needs; they were preparing me for whatever came next. If I was tired or hungry, then I wouldn't be sharp, and I could get hurt.

And that's what it came down to. Worry.

“I'll grab breakfast, and if I get tired, I'll sleep in the car. All of you are with me, and I know you won't let anything happen to me. I promise I feel good.”

The frown just grew deeper.

“Achilles. I promise. I won't put myself in danger. I won't put any of you in danger.”

The frown softened, and the lines next to his hazel eyes disappeared. “I'm sorry. I know.” Glancing at Hector, he dipped his head. “Sorry. I'm—” He cut off quickly, so I didn't think he'd say it, but after a second he went on. “I'm afraid something will happen. I have something to lose again, and it scares the bloody hell out of me.”

He meant me. He was afraid of losing me.

This wasn't just an adventure to Corfu and a trip down memory lane. This was a race to outsmart the gods—one of whom had already escaped and another we suspected had.

Pollux

My friends were coming back to life. It was something to see. The ice cracking on Hector's heart and the natural joy Paris used to have bubbling to the surface. She was changing things—changing us.

It was good. Mostly.

But I was beginning to worry about Achilles. He'd loved few people in his life, and he'd lost them. All of us had lost the people we loved, but it had changed something vital in Achilles. Watching him watch Leo, an arrow of fear spiked through my body.

He was doing his best to stay levelheaded, but it would take nothing for that veil of rage to cover him and turn him into a berserker.

He'd single-handedly wiped out most of the Trojan army in retaliation after Hector had killed his mentor and best friend.

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