Fire & Flood (Mythverse #1)

Book 2 Chapter 4

4

“Hold up!”

We’ve barely taken two steps when a booming voice stops us in our tracks. With a flash of light, Mr. Zee appears before us.

Themis audibly sighs.

“I’ve come to see you off,” Mr. Zee says in a way that makes it clear he’s doing us a great honor. “I can’t let the only dragon shifter in history go off without a word of advice from me. Exceptional beings must stick together,” he adds, tipping me a wink.

“Actually,” Themis says, inspecting her nails. “I’m not sure that our Edie is all that exceptional.”

“What?” Hermes and Mr. Zee ask…at the same time I do.

WTF, Themis? I know it’s a big freaking deal that I’m a dragon. Everyone basically peed their pants—while fighting for their lives—when I shifted at the Spring Fling. So why is the story changing now?

Cassie’s mom, Merilee, spots us as she’s crossing campus, and detours to Themis’ side. She looks awful, which is to be expected since her daughter was kidn*pped by our enemies. Her hair is a blonde tangle and her face a shiny mess. She probably hasn’t washed in days, at least not with anything but tears.

Since Cassie disappeared, I’ve been checking in on her mom to see how she’s doing. But with planning the mission, I haven’t seen her in a few days.

“Mr. Zee.” Merilee tugs at his toga where it drapes over the arm. He looks down at her like one would a spider crawling on their bare flesh—with a mixture of disgust, astonishment, and certainty that he can squish her flat. Merilee, meanwhile, is oblivious to all of it. “You told me you’d have an update on Cassie.”

With practiced ease, Themis takes hold of Merilee and pulls her away from Mr. Zee. “What good timing, Merilee. We were just discussing Edie’s dragon status and would appreciate your historical insights.”

“Yes…shifter history is endlessly fascinating,” Merilee says absently.

Themis is asking her because she runs the record room. She’s a seer, like her daughter, but more specifically, she’s a finder. She memorizes—and mentally catalogues—everything she reads.

If it’s happened in the history of Mount Olympus, Merilee knows. When I first suspected I was a dragon she laughed in my face. In a nice way. She thought the suggestion was absurd. “Dragons don’t exist,” she’d insisted. And up to that point, they hadn’t. Until me.

So why is Themis inspecting her manicure and insisting I’m not special?

“And what did you find, Merilee?” Themis prompts.

“Oh, yes. Edie. Well, obviously you were not raised by your biological parents—”

“Hold up,” Mr. Zee interrupts. “You mean, this isn’t a rescue mission for Edie’s hot dragon mama?”

“No, it is not.” Themis’ mouth purses. “And might I remind you that your own rules state—”

Thunder rumbles the ground beneath our feet. A lightning rod appears in Mr. Zee’s hand as he leans into Themis, terrifying in his rage. “Woman, thou shalt not cockblock me. As I proclaim it, so it shall be.”

Themis looks more amused than scared. Still, her tone is respectful. “Of course, Zee. As you say.”

“That’s right.” He is pacified and the lightning bolt disappears from his hand. Sunlight streams down on us once more as the clouds that had crowded overhead disperse. “Anyway,” he smiles brightly, rage completely forgotten. “Those rules are for students. Parents are fair game.” Mr. Zee nudges Hermes. “Am I right?”

“The fairer the game, the better,” Hermes agrees.

They chuckle together. It’s icky. Even Jordan looks grossed out.

Suddenly, Mr. Zee’s mood shifts and he looks extremely sad. “But no hot dragon mom, huh?” he asks Themis and Merilee.

“Unfortunately, no,” Merilee says, shaking her head. “Dragons don’t exist, so how could one be Edie’s mother?”

“But if she’s not the child of dragons what is the provenance of”—he swirls a hand through the air, clearly searching for my name—“this one?”

“We believe she may be the result of a union between two shifters of different types. Perhaps a bat and an ostrich,” Merilee says. “I went quite far back into the archives and found other interesting offspring—”

As soon as Merilee says archives, Mr. Zee loses interest. Or maybe he just misheard her, because he starts doing the hand jive while also humming the song from “Greece” that goes with it.

Meanwhile, Greg is ecstatic. “I knew you had some bat in you.” He waggles his eyebrows. “My offer still stands if you want a little more—”

“Very little more,” Hepa quietly snickers.

“An ostrich?” Jordan asks, his usual emotion—confusion—evident. “But where’s the lizard part come in? Wouldn’t it be like…” His forehead scrunches as he puzzles it out. “Like a bat and a Gila monster?”

“No,” Themis says, very patiently. “The ostrich is descended from the dinosaurs, and some of that DNA must have been activated by the…” She actually wrinkles her nose. “By the bat, I suppose.”

“Damn right,” says Greg, triumphantly.

“Wait…” Jordan, even more confused, turns to Hepa. “Dinosaurs are real?”

She tries to stop herself, but the laughter erupts. I’m tempted to laugh with her, but the idea that my cool dragon might be result of an ostrich and a bat mating is a little deflating. Those are the two shifter animals I didn’t want to be and now I might be both of them!

Mr. Zee crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t like all the shifters mixing. What happened to sticking to your own kind? Sure, today we’ve got a dragon, but tomorrow it could be a hornless unicorn.”

“Um,” Hermes frowns. “Wouldn’t that just be a regular horse?”

“Exactly!” Zeus thunders. “That’s the problem with diluting the blood.”

Without saying good-bye, he stalks off, still muttering to himself about crossbreeding and well, a bunch of other stuff that sorta makes him sound like a bigot. Which is not really a comfortable thought. But I’m probably just overreacting. This is a whole different world and I am still very, very new here.

“Mr. Zee, about Cassie…” Merilee runs after him, waving her hands.

I want to go with her, to use the little bit of status I’ve gained to convince them we need to get Cassie. Now. But first I need to rescue my mom.

Themis clears her throat. “Edie, are you running this mission or shall we cancel so you can continue daydreaming here in the quad?”

I stare at Themis, stunned by this snark attack. “No, we’re going. I mean”—I turn and gesture to the rest of the group— “Let’s go team!”

Hepa rolls her eyes while Greg sends a sympathetic smile my way. When even Greg is pitying me, I know it’s not going well.

Themis, Hermes, Mr. Zee, and all the other gods have this effortless attitude of power and authority. And confidence. Most of the students here do, too. They make me feel like a clueless Swamper. That’s the nasty term for someone who doesn’t belong. And until six months ago it’s exactly who I was.

Which is why as we follow Hermes across the campus, I debate whether I should ask how we’re getting to Greece. Flying—in an airplane—seems like the most obvious, but nothing at Mount Olympus Academy is that clear cut.

We’re crossing the main lawn when someone taps my shoulder. Two taps, not hard enough to hurt, but definitely demanding attention.

I look over. Ugh.

With her usual “who farted” expression, Tina, my bitchier-than-thou roommate, stares at me mutely, waiting. It’s possible she expects me to curtsy.

Instead I settle for a simple, “Hi Tina.”

I didn’t even know that she was back on campus for summer term. As usual, she looks stunning, her required uniform punked-out to her own specifications, the bright green highlights in her hair still holding their vibrance. After I saved everyone at the dance, she’d announced I was no longer the “worst person on campus,” but we’re not exactly besties.

More importantly…if she’s here then that means Val is too.

I strain around her to look. Surprisingly helpful, Tina actually steps aside.

Then I see why Tina is being so accommodating.

Val stands with another vamp. No, not just stands. He’s holding hands with her.

I feel the heat rise in my throat, but I hold it back. I do not flambé my romantic rivals.

I’d practiced acting cool and disinterested for when he returned to campus. But for some reason it never occurred to me that his fiancée would come with him. Yep, fiancée. Even if it’s the product of an arranged marriage, seeing the two of them together is just too much. I try to step away, to continue following Hermes, to focus on my mission, but Tina grabs my arm.

“Oh, you just have to meet Val’s fiancée.” She loops her elbow through mine and pulls me along. Vampires are freaky strong, so I have no choice but to let her lead me. I mean, I could fry her with a blast of dragon fire, but that might get me kicked out of school.

I’d be more tempted to run the risk and set Val on fire, but the healers magicked him with a fireproof spell last year after he caught on fire for the third time, deciding to allocate their resources elsewhere.

“Edie, this is Val’s soon-to-be wife, Larissa Golov, from the Russian Golovs. She transferred schools to be with her intended. And of course, you know Val. I mean, didn’t you guys…date? Or something?”

“Yeah, I get it, Tina. Thanks.”

We kind of dated. Val set up a fake relationship with me in order to shield me from accusations after students were being turned into piles of ash all over campus. He’d claimed to be with me—in bed, thanks a lot—the night our female assassins’ dorm caught fire.

Fake relationship or not, it had felt real enough when he broke it off.

“I am very pleased to meet you,” Larissa says.

Her voice is sweet and she smiles at me. It’s not a typical ‘let me show you my fangs’ vampire smile, but a real one. Like she actually is pleased to meet me. I didn’t know nice vampires were a thing. She doesn’t share the punk style of the vamps on campus either, judging from her cute little garden dress with a gossamer layover.

If she hadn’t shown up with Val, I think this girl and I would be friends, instead of bitter rivals. I give myself a little mental shake. This girl is not my enemy. We are not going to roll around in the mud and pull each other’s hair as we fight over a boy.

And yet, I can’t stop my eyes from drifting over to the boy in question.

Larissa is way overdressed compared to Val. I want him to look visibly unhappy. But he’s as unreadable as ever. I check out his snarky T-shirt for some sort of hint as to what’s going on inside his head, but all it says is, Give Blood. Give Life.

“Pleased to meet you,” I finally say in response to Larissa.

“Edie’s my roommate,” Tina informs her. “She’s a shifter.”

“Oh?” Larissa’s eyes light up. “How interesting! I have always wanted to meet shifter.”

“How about that?” Tina smiles at me, fangs glinting. “As the two newest students on campus, I bet you and Larissa are gonna be good friends.”

Val finally speaks. “Edie, it looks like your group is getting impatient.” He jerks his head in the direction of my team, who have all been avidly watching this entire interaction.

What does it say for my leadership abilities that I’d entirely forgotten about them?

“Right,” I say lamely.

Tina flashes me a phony smile. “See ya later Edie…and you’d better have fed Vee while I was gone. If she has one limp leaf, you’re dead.”

Vee is Tina’s pet Venus Fly Trap. She’s bizarrely attached to the thing so she isn’t joking about killing me. I actually did feed it. I have the bite mark on my finger to prove it.

“We must meet more later,” Larissa says in her charming accented voice, again sounding totally sincere and non-sarcastic. She waves as Val turns without another word or glance my way.

I watch them walk away, hand in hand, Larissa excitedly pointing at this and that as they go. It’s a relief when they turn a corner and disappear from view.