One girl in particular kept staring at me. She was about my size, with a body that was lean and strong. Her hair was a rich, auburn color and frizzed out like crazy, just like mine did, but she had the most amazing golden eyes, like two perfect topazes had been set into her face. Even with a red, runny nose, splotchy face, and tears sliding down her cheeks, she was still quite beautiful. She wore designer clothes like all the kids at Mythos, but she kept tugging at her sleeves, like her shirt was too tight, even though it hung loosely from her shoulders. The girl noticed me watching her. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away.
"Who's that?" I asked, jerking my head in the girl's direction.
Daphne looked over my shoulder. "Oh, that's Vivian Holler. She's a second-year student, too. An Amazon, I think. She's friends with Savannah and Talia."
"I don't think I've seen her before."
Daphne shrugged. "Vivian's kind of quiet from what I know. Doesn't say much, reads a lot, gets good grades, but isn't so good with weapons. Kind of like you, Gwen."
"Gee. Thanks," I said in a dry tone.
Daphne rolled her eyes and laid her head on Carson's shoulder. She hadn't let the band geek get more than a few steps away from her since the attack. Carson hugged Daphne to his chest, and a few pink sparks of magic shot off her fingertips and flickered in the air between them. Whatever else had happened today, at least Carson was okay. I don't know what Daphne would have done if he'd died. I don't know what I would have done.
Logan grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the others.
"You know, this isn't how I wanted school to start," Logan said. "Or how I pictured seeing you again after the break, Gypsy girl."
He gave me a small, sad smile. No, nothing about today had gone the way I'd hoped it would.
"Me either." I bit my lip. "Do you-do you think this is my fault? The attack?"
Logan frowned. "Why would you say that?"
My stomach twisted, but I drew in a breath and forced myself to get the words out. "Because I haven't found the Helheim Dagger yet like Nike wants me to. Maybe if I'd found it by now, none of this would have happened. Maybe no one would have gotten hurt today. Maybe Carson wouldn't have almost died. Maybe-maybe Samson and the other kids would still be alive."
The Spartan put his hands on my arms. The heat of his body chased away some of the chill that had sunk into my bones. "That's crazy and you know it, Gypsy girl. None of this is your fault. This is how it's been ever since the other gods trapped Loki in that prison realm. The Reapers have been trying to free him, and they've been killing warriors like us ever since. Even if they hadn't been looking for the dagger, they probably would have come here today anyway, just so they could attack the other students and steal the artifacts. So don't you ever think for one second that any of this is your fault."
I nodded, although I didn't really believe him. No matter what he said, I couldn't help thinking that if only I'd been smarter, I would have found the dagger by now. If only I'd been quicker, I could have kept Carson from being stabbed. If only I'd been stronger, I could have killed the Reaper girl and avenged my mom.
If only ...
Sometimes I thought those were the two most horrible words in the world.
Logan drew me into the strong circle of his arms. I put my head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around me, just holding me-
"Bitch," a voice behind me muttered.
Still in Logan's arms, I raised my head and turned around to see Savannah Warren glaring at me from a few feet away. Savannah was a lovely Amazon with gorgeous green eyes and red hair that tumbled down her back like a copper waterfall. She also happened to be Logan's ex-girlfriend, the one he'd broken up with before the holiday break.
Savannah clutched two bottles of water in her hands, and her fingers tightened around one of them, like she wanted to throw it at me. With her Amazon quickness, she could bean me in the head with the bottle before I'd even realized she'd thrown it-or could even think about ducking.
Thanks to the gossip that had gone around campus before the holidays, I knew Savannah blamed me for Logan's breaking up with her. I supposed she had a right to feel that way. After all, I'd demanded that the Spartan kiss me or let me go during the Winter Carnival trip the students had taken a few weeks before the break.
I'd thought nothing could make me feel any worse today than I already did, but then I saw the hurt that filled Savannah's face as she looked at Logan holding me. I knew that pain-it was the same sharp, longing ache I'd felt whenever I'd seen Logan kissing the other girl. I'd only wanted the Spartan to care about me like I did him. I'd never intended for Savannah to get hurt-but she had.
What a mess I'd made of everything. I stepped out of Logan's arms, even though it was already too late.
"Savannah?" Vivian asked in a soft voice from her spot on the floor several feet away.
The Amazon glared at me another second, then walked over to her friend. She handed Vivian a bottle of water, which the other girl opened with shaking hands and started gulping down. Some of the water spilled onto Vivian's shirt, and Savannah handed her friend a couple of tissues to mop it up. Every few seconds, though, Savannah's angry eyes would cut to me.
Logan sighed. "I'll go talk to her."
I shook my head. "No, she's got a right to be mad at me."
"Oh, yes, she does," another voice drifted over to me. "Because everyone knows how crazy Logan is about you, Gwen. Why, it's almost the stuff of legend at Mythos. How the Gypsy girl tamed the wild, bad-boy Spartan."
Footsteps sounded behind me, and Morgan moved to stand beside me. She looked at Savannah, who was still glaring at me while she talked to Vivian in a low voice.
"Careful, Gypsy," Morgan murmured. "Savannah might look sweet and innocent, but the Amazon has a temper. She's not someone you want to mess with. You know, if you keep this up, you'll turn into me pretty soon. The school slut who goes around stealing other girls' boyfriends."
The Valkyrie let out a harsh, ugly laugh, and a few green sparks hissed in the air around her. Morgan had a reputation for hooking up with any guy who caught her eye, one that had only gotten worse after everyone found out she'd been sneaking around with her best friend's boyfriend.
I'd never figured out how much Morgan remembered of the night Jasmine had tried to sacrifice her to Loki. Jasmine had used a powerful artifact called the Bowl of Tears to basically turn Morgan into a mindless puppet, and Morgan had claimed not to know what had happened. But I had a hunch that she remembered everything Jasmine had done to her, because Morgan had changed since then. She didn't seem as cold and cruel anymore, and she'd even helped me during the Winter Carnival when I'd decided to sneak into another kid's room. Now, the Valkyrie was almost someone I thought I could be friends with because she'd gone through some of the same terrible things that I had.