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

A dead minion tells no tales (Part 5)

I tried not to shiver under his gentle touch. "Don't know. No idea what it entails. Don't even know how we do it." Nervously, I smoothed my comforter.

He tucked the strand behind my ear and leaned in close. "Two become one."

It took a minute for the penny to drop. "Sex?!"

Disappointment flickered in Kai's eyes. I guess my incredulous tone of voice hurt his poor ego.

"Yeah, sex," he said flatly, moving back. "Big bang, honey."

"Ahhh!" I covered my ears, embarrassed. Yes, and fascinated. "I thought we touched foreheads."

Kai shrugged. "If that's some kind of euphemism for orgasm, then sure. We touched foreheads."

I swatted him away. "You know, maybe goddesses don't care, but a girl likes a gesture or two before she hops into bed with someone."

"No bed," he pointed out. "It was always outdoors for you."

I steeled myself against the deliciously naughty images running through my head and tried to stay on point. "Gestures like flowers. Or chocolates. Maybe even a date to actually get to know the guy, before she just gives it up."

Kai swore. "Give it up? Are you a virgin?" Said like it was leprosy.

"Yes." I jutted my chin out. "Got a problem with it?"

"In general, yes." He sighed heavily. "Guess I'll have to take one for the team."

"Presuming it's you, smart guy."

He didn't look pleased at that. "It will be."

"That a threat?"

"Just a fact, Sophie Bloom. Don't play jealousy games with a god."

He got up and stalked off.

Well, at least he'd be jealous.

I dished to Hannah later that evening. She supported me in feeling this was one giant heap of messed up as she led me through some kind of "follow the light" test with a flashlight to assure herself I didn't have a concussion.

I humored her and tried not to stare too hard at the vertigo-inducing fractal pattern on her T-shirt.

"There's enough pressure around your first time without having the fate of the universe depending on it." She swung the flashlight. "Look up."

A wise woman. "I know, right? And what if it's bad? Does that mean I only save half the population? This would be a lot easier if I'd already had sex. It wouldn't seem so huge."

"Think of it as simple biological urges. Although, you could totally cat around in the meantime." She clicked off the flashlight, apparently satisfied with her findings.

"Kai wasn't too on board with that idea."

"You're gonna let him dictate what you can do with your body?"

I cut her off before I bore the brunt of her feminist outrage. "Down girl. I agree with you. Thing is, it's not like there's any other guy I want to have sex with."

Hannah narrowed her eyes at me. "Any other? Meaning you want to have sex with him?"

"I have. As Persephone."

"Past tense, pussycat. Would you sleep with him now?"

I fluffed up my pillows. Avoidance tactic. Would I? The thought was exciting and scary and overwhelming to me in my weakened state.

Hannah cleared her throat. "I'm waiting."

"I'm not ready to sleep with anyone. But what if I don't? And I miss my chance to do whatever it is I'm supposed to?"

"As a representative of the human race, that would suck for us."

"I'm human, too."

"Only marginally. I don't senior citizen things to death when I get mad," she pointed out.

"Don't forget my glowing eyes of fury."

"Making your freakiness complete."

I bowed best I could being propped up against pillows. "I pride myself on being well-rounded."

Hannah crossed the room to put the flashlight away in her desk drawer. "Seems to me that you're going to need more information. How is this whole power dealie supposed to go down? When? Where? And what does it mean for us mere mortals?"

"Agreed. But Kai isn't the greatest with the sharing of info."

"Talk to Theo," Hannah replied.

"Are you crazy? He already hates Kai. Plus, he's like my brother and I so am not having a detailed sex chat with him. Also, he might not know. I doubt Kai and I were going around sharing these details. And if other gods knew we could do this, they would have tried to ..." Oh.

Hannah completed my thought. "Kill you. Makes you wonder who else knew what was going on when you were god-slaughtered."

"And why Hades and Zeus came to finish the job. It might not be because they think I tricked them and have gone human. Maybe they don't want me to carry out my plans."

"Theo says that Hades is still incapacitated from the poison. You know, the event you failed to mention that you'd been framed for?"

I scowled. "I didn't want you to know. You'd worry."

"No kidding," she said, gently swatting the top of my head. "But you still suck for not telling me. Anyhow, apparently the odd couple, Death and Sleep, seem to be running the show. Since they don't love you, either, absolutely do not leave the grounds. Even if it seems like the right thing to do. At least not without Theo's say-so. Promise?"

"Promise. Do you remember anything about Cassie?"

Hannah looked at me, with no trace of understanding.

"Never mind," I said. I had my answer. "We'll get her back from Ms. Keeper."

"Who?"

Beyond a vague curiosity, Hannah didn't even seem to care that much that we were discussing people she no longer remembered. Memory loss side effect, perhaps? "No way. Now you don't remember her, either?" Keeper was a master of memory loss. "She's a dragon? You found her scale."

Her eyes glinted in interest. "Where is it?"

"Theo has it. Needed for magic, not dissection. Okay. Here's the deal. Ms. Keeper, our phony guidance counselor, is probably a dragon. We think she's made everyone forget about two students she's abducted and has now probably made you all forget her existence so that she can go carry out her evil plans."

"Impressive."

"No. Dangerous. You need to stay far away from her." I snapped my fingers. "Pen."

"Yes, master," Hannah grumbled, handing me a felt.

I grabbed her palm and wrote the word "Keeper" on it. Then I circled it and put a slash through it. "Keeper bad. Don't let this fade. It's your reminder. Like 'keep out.'"

"Got it. I don't like Ms. Keeper. But can I have her scale when we're done?"

"No."

She pouted.

"Fine."

She clapped her hands in delight.

I didn't want to kill her happy buzz, but if I didn't figure out how to stop the dragon from taking down our entire student body, Hannah could end up close and personal with a lot more than the scale.