Sophie thought she was scared before? This was worse. Her hands had lit up and electrocuted people. Her entire body had become a high-voltage weapon. She’d thrown a bunch of men off her with only the intention of defending herself. She’d made lightning.

She kept trying to wrap her head around the idea, but apparently, her mind wasn’t that bendy. Nothing made sense to her. Except for fear. There was plenty of that.

According to Piers, lightning wielders only came from Zeus’s bloodline. And the magic only manifested in the most powerful and unique of people. His brother’s wife, Cat, was apparently one of these mega-special Magoi, and she was practically a demigoddess on her way to ruling an entire continent!

What a special snowflake.

Evidently, so was Sophie. A special snowflake. Alone on Earth. Able to zap people.

“Oh my God,” she murmured for the five hundredth time in an hour.

“Gods.” Piers squeezed her shoulder with strong, reassuring fingers, stopping her manic pacing. “I think it’s time to start believing.”

Oh, she believed, all right. She believed she needed to get the hell away from that ice shard and go back to Connecticut. She loved Pinebury. She loved teaching. She loved her family. She did not love the Shard of Olympus. “We have to get rid of that thing.”

“You might lose your magic. The shard might be the only thing giving you access to it here in Att…on Earth,” he said.

“Good.” Sophie glared at the shard on the desk, backing away from it. “I want it gone forever.”

“Are you sure?” Piers frowned in thought. “You—and the Shard of Olympus—could be the key to bringing magic back to this world.”

Possibly the most inelegant sound she’d ever made shot from Sophie’s mouth. “That’s the last thing this world needs. People are already destructive enough without adding unstoppable superhero powers to the mix.” She huffed, shaking her head. “You can’t tell me everyone in Thalyria uses their magic for good. Even your sister-in-law, Cat. You keep saying she’s a reckless, power-hungry warmonger. And she’s your family!”

Piers’s lip curled. “She’s Griffin’s wife. Not my family.”

That sounded like the same thing to Sophie. “You don’t always get to choose, Piers. Sometimes, it’s someone else’s choice, and if you love that person, you just have to accept it.”

A shadow flitted through his eyes. He pinched his forehead. He looked guilty as hell, but Sophie didn’t have the emotional capacity right now to deal with whatever troubled him. She had her own epic freak-out going on. “And besides—”

“What’s that?” Piers pointed at the television.