My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #1)

Between a Rockman and a hard place (Part 2)

Apparently not. I returned to my starting point under Theo's disappointed gaze. "I didn't think it was possible but you're a worse runner than before. I'm not even sure that counted as a slow jog. Guess the goddess is diluted by human," he said.

"Fun as this was, watching Soph jumping around like a constipated elephant, I'm outta here," Hannah said, getting to her feet.

I stopped her from leaving. "You have a divorce lawyer for a dad and a psychologist for a mom. Your entire home life is all about everything that's wrong with people. If you can believe some of those wackjobs' problems, then you can stay here, be my supportive friend, and believe in exactly what's wrong with me right now."

I looked around the room, desperate for some way to prove this to her. And, let's face it, me. "Super strength. Let's do that one." I was pretty sure I'd ace any test on that subject.

Theo dragged Hannah across the gym in my determined wake.

I stopped in front of the chin-up bar, wrapped my hands around it and tried to pull myself up. I could barely lift myself off the ground. That couldn't be right. I'd destroyed two supernatural creatures. I would not be defeated by my own body weight.

I narrowed my eyes at the chin-up bar.

It symbolized all the feelings of total uselessness I'd ever felt in gym class. I shot a viney rope out of each hand. I was dimly aware of Hannah gasping but I was more interested in wrapping the vines around the bar and squeezing the crap out of it.

I lifted the bar in the air, my ribbons of light spinning and encircling it. It started to tighten, shrivel, and wither. Then ... poof. It was dust.

"Ta da," I gloated. "'Circle of life' can bite me. I. Am. The. Lion. Queen."

Theo didn't look too pleased. I followed his gaze to see that Hannah had fainted.

Before I could figure out what to do for her, Theo "energetically patted" her across the face. Her eyes fluttered open and she glowered at him in indignation.

He shrugged. "You fainted."

We helped her into a sitting position.

"Did you see what she did? Of course I fainted, you idiot!" She stared at me as if I had two heads.

I felt sick. Now that she knew, she'd be all creeped out and not want to be my friend. I didn't want her thinking of me as a monster. "I'm not moving out. So tough." I blurted.

"Uh, yeah. Are you going to be all Jekyll and Hyde now? Do I need to worry about being murdered in my sleep?"

"You're staring at me with this weird look on your face," I insisted.

She smacked my leg. Hard. "You just did this impossible thing that I, of all people, don't believe is possible!" She smacked me again.

"'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,'" Theo added gravely. "Sherlock Holmes," he explained at our stares of bewilderment.

We both smacked him.

"She's a goddess," he said. "Deal with it. Both of you."

I slid to the floor beside Hannah and lay my head on her shoulder.

"Start from the top," she said quietly.

Theo sat down beside us. "Short version? There's this 'mine's bigger than yours' turf war going down between Zeus and Hades. Earth was supposed to stay Switzerland in it. Instead, it became the key battleground and humans suffered. Earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tsunamis, everything you people blame on natural disasters? Not always so natural. Mother Nature and her temper makes a great cover, though."