Linus opened his mouth to argue, but he saw the stubborn set of Logan's jaw. "Fine. I'll see you at breakfast in the morning, just as we planned. Don't be late."
Logan sighed, but he nodded at his father. I said my good-byes to Daphne and Oliver, then left the library with Logan and Alexei.
It had grown bitterly cold while we'd been inside, and more snow had covered the ground since I'd stepped onto the balcony looking for the Reaper. I shivered and wrapped my gray scarf a little tighter around my neck to help keep out the chill. It was almost ten o'clock, and all the other students were already safe and snug inside their dorms for the night. The three of us made it over to Styx Hall without seeing anyone else. We stopped at the bottom of the steps, and Logan turned to Alexei.
"Can you give us a few minutes alone, please?" the Spartan asked.
I thought Alexei would say no, given what Linus had said to him in the library, but the Bogatyr nodded and drifted off to stand underneath one of the trees that ringed the dorm. Logan stared at me, his blue eyes somehow bright, despite the shadows around us.
"How are you holding up, Gypsy girl?" he asked in a soft voice.
"Oh, you know. Another day, another night, another battle to the death with Reapers in the library," I joked. "It's the Mythos Academy special."
Logan smiled a little, but we could both hear how hollow my words really were.
"Why do you think the Reaper took that box?" he asked. "I know you said you didn't get any big flashes off the case with your magic."
I shook my head. "No, nothing useful. Just the Reaper smashing the glass and taking the artifacts. I'm going to go back tomorrow and try again, just in case I missed anything."
Logan nodded, and we were quiet for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry about my dad," he said.
"It's okay. He's just doing his job. I'd rather he be here and worried about you than not around at all, wouldn't you?"
Logan shook his head. "Maybe. But I'd rather he not dis my girlfriend every chance he gets. He started in on you again tonight in the library before Agrona distracted him by changing the subject."
My breath caught in my throat at the word Logan had just said. "Girlfriend?" I whispered.
Logan gave me a crooked grin. "Well, yeah. That's what we are now, right? Together? As in a real couple?"
Despite all the horrible things that had happened over the past few days, happiness erupted in my heart like fireworks streaking up into the sky and exploding in a hundred happy colors. If I'd had a Valkyrie's magic, sparks would have been shooting out of my fingertips like lightning. For a moment, everything was bright, beautiful, and perfect-simply perfect.
Then, Logan frowned, as if another thought had just occurred to him. "Unless you sneak back into the stacks and make out with just any guy who saves your life a few times."
I rolled my eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "And there you go again, ruining the moment."
The Spartan laughed and drew me into his arms. The heat of his body washed over me, driving away the cold and awakening all the feelings I had for him-feelings that made me wish Alexei wasn't standing a few feet away.
"I'm glad you're okay," I whispered, gazing up at him.
"You too."
"When I saw the Reapers in the library, I was so worried that maybe they'd already killed you and Daphne-" My throat closed up, and I couldn't get the words out to tell him how scared I'd been of losing him.
"But I made it through another battle and so did you, Gypsy girl," he said in a gentle voice. "No matter what happens, I'll always come back to you."
"Promise?" I asked in a shaky voice.
Logan's eyes burned with icy determination. "Promise."
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him once, softly, before putting my head on his chest. Logan's arms tightened around my back, and he pulled me even closer. And we stayed like that, just holding each other in the cold dark for as long as we could.
Chapter 15
I hadn't thought it was possible, but the next day was even worse than the one before.
Word got out about the Reaper attack at the library, the way it always did, and it only made the other students angrier at me. Apparently, they all believed that I'd planned the whole thing, just like Linus did. Harsh mutters and snide comments followed me wherever I went.
"Where's your black robe, Reaper girl?"
"Going to bring more of your friends on campus to attack us?"
"Why don't you just get lost, you murdering bitch?"
I'd been used to being ignored by the other kids, but now I was the center of attention at Mythos. Everyone watched me all day long, and every time I reached into my messenger bag for a pen or a piece of paper, the other students and even some of my professors tensed up, as though I was going to pull Vic out of his scabbard and go all Reaper on them. Some of my classmates, like Helena Paxton, probably wanted me to do that very thing so they could lash out at me with their own weapons.
I kept my face blank, and I didn't respond to the threats and taunts, even though the words and accusations hurt, like invisible daggers slicing off my skin one layer at a time, leaving me bloody, exposed, and aching from head to toe.
But my friends kept their promise to watch my back. Daphne and Carson walked me from class to class to class in the morning, while the three of us sat with Logan and Oliver during lunch. The other kids glared at my friends, but nobody wanted to take them all on, especially not Logan.
Alexei was there too, watching and following me all day. He didn't talk much, but every once in a while he would nod his head at me. He seemed to have thawed a little bit toward me.
But my friends couldn't be with me in my classes, and all the other students pulled their desks away from mine once again. Finally, it was time for gym. Yesterday, I'd stood by myself at the edge of the mats all period long, watching everyone else fight. Today, I was wondering if it would be even more humiliating-or dangerous. I'd thought that some of the students might decide to come after me with their weapons, but to my surprise a few folks stood up for me.
"I'll be sparring with Gwen today," Morgan McDougall announced in a loud voice before Coach Ajax could randomly assign us partners like he sometimes did. The Valkyrie twirled a staff around and around in her hands, green sparks of magic shooting out of her fingertips.
"Me too," Talia Pizarro chimed in. The Amazon stood next to Morgan, slashing her sword through the air.
The girls were issuing a clear warning to the others, and I gave them grateful smiles. Morgan winked at me, her hazel eyes warm.