“But why do you all have a better room than me?” he asked, looking around with a critical eye. He gazed at Aiden. “I mean, who are you, anyway?”

“Well.” Alex popped up from the ottoman. “I’m hungry. You want to go get some food with me?”

Several seconds passed before I realized she was talking to me. I stood slowly as she walked over to the door, sending me a look that warned I better hurry. I did.

Once out in the hall, she lifted her arms and shook her fists at the ceiling as she stomped her feet. Full tantrum mode.

I grinned.

“Oh gods, I can’t even deal with that guy,” she said. “It’s only been a couple of hours and I want to gouge his eyeballs out with my toenails.”

“Toenails?”

“Yes,” she seethed. “Because they are blunt and it would hurt more, after I delivered a kick to his stupid face.”

I laughed as the image formed in my mind. “He’s definitely a jerk.”

“I’m not even surprised that Apollo managed to find the most annoying demigod,” she said as we walked down the hall. “Besides the fact that he has impeccable timing, he has a superpower when it comes to finding douchebags.”

The fact that Alex was aware of how bad Apollo’s timing was made me think of how she’d discovered that. We reached the crowded lobby. Several students standing near the furies gawked openly at her as she strode toward the door. Night had fallen.

“Wait.” I caught up to her, keeping my voice low. “Isn’t there a curfew?”

Alex snorted as she opened the door. “Yeah, but it doesn’t apply to us.”

My brows flew up as we walked out of the door and, sure as hell, walked right past the Guards enforcing curfew. They said nothing. Not even when Alex wiggled her fingers at them.

Alrighty then.

“I hope there’s still something to eat in the cafeteria,” she said, glancing over at me. “By the way, I’m almost always starving.”

“Same here.” I wished I’d had my hoodie with me. The wind was still cool, even in June. “They will probably have some cold food out. They normally do overnight. Someone keeps it stocked throughout the night.”

“Cool.” We walked a few moments in silence and then she said, “Are you good with everything? Leaving for Cali and what we might face out there?”

I nodded and immediately stopped myself from reading more into what was definitely a harmless question. “I am. I mean, I don’t know what exactly we might come across, but I’ve . . . I’ve faced a Titan before.”

Her lips pursed. “I’d heard. You took Hyperion out.”

“Kind of,” I said as we followed the walkway, eerily alone on the quad. “I just put him out of commission.”

“After being . . . alone with him,” she added quietly.