I stood in the spray, letting it hit me, letting it soak me, enjoying shivering because I was alive to do so. And felt a weird smile stretch my lips. I felt strangely euphoric, a feeling I hadn’t expected just after being threatened by the king of the gods.

Only it wasn’t ‘just’, was it? That must have happened hours ago, shortly after they brought me back, yet I was still here. I had no idea how, but suddenly, it didn’t matter so much anymore. I’d lived. I’d healed. I was here and Zeus was gone and Aeslinn was off somewhere, trying to regrow a hand.

How’s that working for you, I thought, half hysterical laughter bubbling up in my throat. How is that working?

I let my emotions out after a minute, despite knowing it would hurt, and I was right. My abused vocal cords made me sound like a winded donkey, braying snorts instead of anything resembling a human sound. I didn’t care. I laughed and laughed, until I was dizzy again, then sat on the windowsill and laughed some more. I finally ran out of strength and leaned my head against the panes, staring in wonder at my reflection in the darkened glass.

How in the hell had I gotten out of that alive? Any of it? How in the—

Hey.

I paused, and squinted into the makeshift mirror that the window had become, thanks to the darkened street. It was rain splattered and a little grimy, but as good as the others I had in here. Or maybe not.

Because the face being reflected back at me was… strange.

Instead of wide, relieved eyes, mine were narrowed to slits, and instead of stretching into a sloppy smile, my lips were… kind of scary. My lips were set on snarl, and I didn’t know why. I was definitely not feeling like snarling. I wasn’t feeling like much of anything except finding a towel and going back to bed. Just sitting there was taking all the strength I had, and even with that, I was trembling slightly.

So, what was up with my mouth?

I stared at it some more. It continued to snarl. Stop that, I told it sternly.

It did not stop that. It did, however, start to speak. Which freaked me out so much that I got up and staggered back a few steps.

Because the words… weren’t mine.

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

What the hell are you doing?”

I started and stared around at the empty room. “Zeus?” I said, feeling slightly ridiculous. And then wondering what I was doing, because if this was another attack, I was screwed. I had nothing left—absolutely nothing—to fight with, which meant that I didn’t need to sit around, chatting with this thing! I needed help and I needed it now, which was why I bolted for the door the next second.