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

Truth is stranger than prediction (Part 3)

Excuse me? Destruction? I was supposed to save humans, not destroy them. Unless ... is that how I was planning on stopping the war? Just destroy earth? Theo never actually said I had a way to save everyone. Just stop the war. I swallowed hard to keep the nausea from rising in my throat. I was really going to have to start carrying around some Tums.

Also? What the hell? How could she have known any of this? I hadn't even been clued in until yesterday. So was Cassie in on it too? But then why didn't Theo mention her?

My hands were trembling. Terrified that I was going to do something inadvertent, like freak and take out the second floor, I shoved them under my butt.

I had to talk to Cassie. But when I checked back at Ms. Keeper's desk, she was gone. I figured she must have gone to the washroom, but she never returned.

I had no idea what else was discussed in class that day. I was a giant ball of nerves, staring at the clock and dying for the bell to ring so I could talk to Theo. Or find Cassie. Or do something resembling anything to figure out what was going on.

The shrill bell indicating end of class had never been so welcome.

I grabbed the piece of paper with Cassie's "truths" on it, shot out of the classroom, and barreled my way down the hallway to my English class, which I had with Theo and Hannah.

I slid onto the low couch next to Theo and shoved Cassie's "truths" at him. "Explain this," I hissed. Hannah dropped her books on the sofa arm next to him and peered over his shoulder to read it.

He blankly returned it to me. "No clue."

"Did you see the part that said 'destroyer?'"

"Yes."

"Am I gonna blow up the earth?"

"It wasn't part of my plan but since everything is screwed, anything is a go."

"Was it part of my plan? I told you I could stop the war. Not save humanity. Was this how I meant to do it? Was I some kind of human racist?"

Theo thought about it. "No. I don't know. Maybe? You do get extreme about your likes and dislikes."

Hannah snorted. I ignored her.

"For the one person who is supposed to know what the deal is, your intel sucks."

He stared at me in distaste."Don't like what I got? Find a new source. Sixteen years of planning just went out the window. I'm not sure it's worth the bother."

"Hey!" Hannah protested. "Human being. Sitting right here."

I patted her hand reassuringly. "What's the skinny on Cassie anyway? She's not part of our wacky gang? Venus, maybe? Or Diana?"

"Obviously not either, since they're the fake names those pretender Romans gave us. Get your gods right," he snarked.

"Listen Rockman, I'm a pissed off teen with unstable powers. You really want to discuss semantics with me?"

The bell rang. "Thank God," Hannah muttered.

Our teacher, Mr. Locke, launched into some diatribe on Romeo and Juliet. Luckily, I was an expert at tuning him out while appearing to pay rapt attention so I could focus on the important matter at hand. Namely, me.

I tapped my pen anxiously against my leg. Hannah plucked it from my grasp to write in Theo's binder. Could Cassie be from Olympus and you don't know?

Theo shook his head and wrote I'd know if anyone from Olympus was on school grounds. Talk. To. Cassie.

I tilted his binder so I could reply. If I can find her. Took off during class. Didn't return. Left all her stuff.

Hannah read it and turned a worried look on me. I nodded, which Mr. Locke fortunately took as agreement with whatever long-winded point he'd been making. He smiled at my enthusiasm. I felt a twinge of guilt. I seriously hoped I wasn't planning on obliterating him.

Lunch period found me too keyed up to eat. I raced around the school searching for Cassie and eventually found her in the sick bay. Okay, Nurse Hamata's office. I just called it a sick bay because in the sci-fi version of my life—Crap. This was the sci-fi version of my life.

Cassie was lying on one of the two beds in there, with the lights off. I checked to make sure there was no one else around, then crept softly over to her bedside.

"Cassie?" I said quietly. "We need to talk."

"Go away," she moaned.

"What's wrong? Can I get you something?" She was holding her head and rocking so I flung open the cabinets looking for a Tylenol.

"The blood," she cried.

I froze. "Cassie. Are you talking about me?"

Nothing. I put my hand on her shoulder and she began speaking super rapidly. Some stream-of-consciousness stuff.

"OneaboveonebelowakeyawakeitisnomoreITISNOMORE ..."

"What? Slow down?"

She thrashed, bucking off the bed. I stumbled back.

"What's going on here?" I whirled around. It was Ms. Keeper, looking every inch the staff member who'd just caught a student where they shouldn't be.

"There's something wrong with her."

She ran her hands through her hair, making tiny purple spikes. "Cassie is ill, Sophie. I'm getting her help. But I'm sure she wouldn't want you to see her like this." She grabbed my shoulders, steering me toward the door.

"I guess not," I agreed, trying to get one more look at her.

Ms. Keeper ushered me into the hallway. She paused at the doorway. "Do you think Bethany has been bullying Cassie as well?"

"I don't think so."

"I just worry because Cassie is the kind of girl that Bethany could easily boss around. Don't you think?"

Quiet, not many friends, a little weird. "Yeah. I guess she is."

She nodded and shut the door.