My Date From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #2)

The Understatement of the Century (Part 5)

I scrambled to my feet and began to pace.

That was ... wow ... he chose me. Me. Then again, especially since his little revenge trip had failed, he still needed me to defeat Hades.

I stopped pacing and stood over his body, staring down at him with a frown. Perhaps "chose" was a little vague. Somewhat undefined.

I squatted down next to him, watching the rise and fall of his chest.

What verb would he have used with Persephone? Want? Desperately need to kiss? Those would have been perfectly fine verb choices for me, too.

Love? I didn't want that. Kai and love were a dangerous, potentially lethal combo. But there it was. The specter of her once again.

I was stuck in a not-love triangle with myself.

I was a means to an end and not the end itself. I wanted to open my mouth to ask why he chose me but I couldn't make my lips move. I could single-handedly take on the minions of the Underworld and Olympus, but I didn't have the guts to ask the boy I crushed on a simple question.

Kai stirred fitfully. "Never again," he rasped.

"While I'd like to believe that of a whole bunch of situations, for now, you gotta wake up and help us get out of here," I said, slapping his cheeks with my hand, hoping he'd come to.

I may have slapped him a bit too hard, because his eyes snapped open and he snatched my hand in mid-air before it could land on his cheek again.

His eyes narrowed. "Tell me I'm hallucinating." His voice was low and still rough, but lucid.

Yippy. Totally back to normal.

I yanked my hand free. "I can see how you think that sounds like 'Thank you, Sophie, for freeing me with your fine lock-picking skills,' but really, it's nowhere close."

"You freed me?" Could he sound more incredulous? Doubtful.

I shrugged modestly. I was so going to enjoy Kai thanking me.

Kai pushed to his feet with a rustle and only the tiniest sway. If I hadn't been watching him closely, I wouldn't have seen any sign of weakness. He peered closely at my face. "Blood?"

I raised a finger to touch the tracks of dried blood along my cheeks.

He cast a suspicious glance behind me then stormed over to the two sets of manacles, hauling me along for the ride.

He kicked at one of the sets before turning an accusing glower on me. "You were cuffed?"

I shivered at the menace in his voice. Kai was barely civilized at the best of times, but right now the expression on his face made me think he'd fallen a few rungs lower.

Not that it scared me. I poked him in the chest, hard. "Not willingly, idiot. I was an exalted guest of Zeus' for a few days."

I waited for his snarky comment about how stupid I'd been to let myself get captured.

It never came. His jaw tensed. "Did he hurt you?"

I crossed my arms. "Wow, Kai. I could almost believe you care. The saying must be true. Absence does make the traitorous manbag's heart grow fonder."

His eyes went flat black, the way they did when he got angry.

My heart sped up. Sadly, not in fear.

"Are you accusing me of something?" he asked.

Was he kidding? Anger and adrenaline from everything I'd experienced hit me like a freight train. "You're a jerk."

Mr. Broody didn't like that. He prowled toward me, forcing me backwards.

I scooted back, ignoring the pain in the cut up soles of my feet, until eventually my spine hit the wall. I spread out my arms and legs, attempting to create a large bubble of personal space that even he would get the point to stay clear of.

He knocked my right leg aside and got in close.

I willed my body to stay relaxed.

The picture of indifference.

"Think carefully about insulting me." He leaned forward.

My choices were press myself back further into the wall or let his body cover me.

Ooh, actually, I had a third option.

I called up whatever tiny amount of power had managed to recharge. It was enough for one weak vine to snake out. I wrapped it around his waist and flung him clumsily against the metal table with a satisfying thunk.

The dummy gave a low laugh as he rubbed his hip. "Foreplay? Better give me a sec to recuperate."

That was it. I would have attacked him again but my power gage had hit empty. I lunged across the space to pummel him. "You think it's funny?"

Kai winced and I felt a spasm of guilt about hitting a guy who was already so battered. But he only allowed me about a punch and a half before my hands were grasped in a steel grip and my body arched backwards against the table.

"What is your problem?" he said. "And keep your bitching down to a murmur. We don't want to attract attention."

I lowered my voice. "While you may not have truly betrayed me since—I guess—you were rectifying the poisoning situation—"

Kai's brow creased in confusion. "How do you know that?"

The fact he didn't remember being all sweet and honest with me minutes before made me even angrier.

"You still abandoned me." I yanked myself free and shoved him away from me.

"What?" He did sound rather surprised. His face was all scrunched up in confusion. "I was coming back."

I glowered at him. "To gloat on my grave? Which wouldn't have existed because there wouldn't have been any of me left to bury. Last time we saw each other, you left me to die in in a rapidly unravelling alternate reality forged by an insane dragon."

Kai reached for my throat and I tensed, thinking he wanted to choke me but all he did was angrily grab my sapphire pendant and hold it up for me to see. "And you didn't use this because ... ?"

I stared at him blankly.

Kai blinked, incredulous. "You don't remember that either? Theo didn't tell you?"

I snatched the pendant away. "I'm sure had Theo known to tell me something, he would have. His life was on the line, too."

"Then I was the only other person who knew?" He roughly ran his fingers through his hair. "You're gonna be the death of me."

I leaned in, letting him see my resentful anger. "Yeah, in about five seconds."

That only made the infuriating boy grin. He hooked a finger into the necklace and tugged me close.

I went, shuffling forward. But only because I didn't want my chain broken.