But he blinked, and the moment was lost. His hands dropped to his sides as he stepped back, the pure marble god once more. I felt like a lost fool standing there.

All I ask of you, I thought, before looking away from him as I swallowed my hurricane of emotion. “I don’t get it,” I said instead. “Why can’t we just ‘magic door’ to New York City.” I waved my fingers for effect.

Riley frowned, but not in displeasure. He almost looked… embarrassed.

“I am… not as powerful as I was since I rescued you last night,” he confessed, and it almost seemed to cause him pain. “I have not consumed sustenance as my kind must, and as such—”

Realization dawned on me. “You… you used up the last of your powers… for me?” I whispered.

“My uncle could sense my… weakness,” he explained, his face growing dark. “I am surprised he said nothing.”

This incredible being, this Great One, this beautiful boy in front of me, weakened, because of me. I wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. Once again, I desperately wondered why me, the little girl living her silly little life. Nothing special, nothing worth fighting for. And yet, he thought I was. Why? What did I matter to him in the grand scheme of things?

“So… who’s driving?” I asked, trying to force a lightness to my tone.

Riley looked at me—and to my shock, rolled his eyes! “I will be,” he declared imperially, and he unlocked the passenger door, gesturing for me to get in.

My jaw dropped. “Wait a minute, you really won’t let me drive this thing?” I protested as I slid into the seat. He closed my door and I watched him go around the long hood to the driver’s side. I made another attempt as he took his seat, “This is a classic muscle car, when am I ever going to have the chance again?”

“You are an inexperienced driver, and we must make haste for the city of New York,” he explained as he put the key into the ignition. “I must drive.”

“But it’s Saturday afternoon! There won’t be any traffic on the highways or anything!” I argued.

“Do not argue with me, Andromeda,” he ordered, his voice low and impossible to deny. He looked at me, and something in his eyes made my breath catch. “One day, I will teach you how to drive a car such as this,” he promised softly.

I wanted to protest that I knew how to drive thanks, but that softness in his voice and face touched me instead. The thought that one day, just the two of us, Riley carefully but expertly instructing me as we made our way down some empty road—