Daphne and I grabbed our things and went out into the front room. Rachel and Rory were looking at the photos on one of the tables - the photos of Rory's parents I'd noticed before. From Rachel and Rory's red eyes and flushed cheeks, it was obvious they'd both been crying.
Daphne looked back and forth between me, Rory, and Rachel. "I'll go on up to the other cottage and help the guys," she said. "It always takes Carson forever to get ready."
I wanted to point out that it took her just as long, but she was giving us some time to say good-bye, so I nodded. Daphne stepped outside and shut the door behind her.
Rory, Rachel, and I were silent for a moment. Finally, I cleared my throat.
"So I guess this is good-bye," I said. "Thanks for all your help. My friends and I wouldn't have made it off the mountain without the two of you."
Rory and Rachel both nodded.
I looked at the older woman. "What will happen now? To Covington?"
She sighed. "Right now, he's in a cell in the academy prison. Ajax alerted the Protectorate that Covington was a Reaper and that he killed all of those people in the library. The Protectorate is sending some folks to question Covington to see what he knows about the Reapers' plans. Hopefully, now that we know what really happened, Rory and I can try to clear Rebecca and Tyson's names - at least about what happened in the library. And ours too."
She smiled at Rory, who returned the expression. The phone rang. Rachel gave me a quick hug good-bye, then excused herself to go answer it.
Rory looked at me and shook her head. "You know, I heard all those stories about you, and I never believed they were true. But you sure do impress, Princess."
"So do you, Spartan," I replied. "You kicked some serious Reaper ass up there in the ruins."
She smiled, but her eyes were still dark and sad. "Some, but not enough. Not nearly enough. Not for what Covington did to my parents and how he planned to frame me and Rachel."
"I know. I'm sorry about that."
She brightened. "But at least now you know that you're not really related to a family of Reapers. Or at least that not all of us are Reapers. I just wish . . . I just wish my parents had told me what they were and that they wanted to change."
"Oh, I think family secrets are a way of life for us Forseti girls," I said, trying to make my tone light. "But you know they loved you. That will help. Maybe not today or tomorrow. But someday, it will help."
She nodded and stared at the photo of herself with her parents. "I know."
"Whatever happens, don't let what they were affect who you are - or who you want to be."
She snorted. "As if. Rachel says that I never listen, anyway. Apparently, being stubborn is another Forseti trait."
"Well, I think it's a good one," I replied. "If you're ever in North Carolina, come say hi. Because we've got plenty of Reapers to fight out there."
Rory grinned at me. "I may just take you up on that, Princess."
I returned her grin. "I hope you do. I really hope you do."
Rachel finished her phone call, and the three of us stepped outside. My friends were waiting on the porch, and Rory and Rachel walked with us down to the main gate, through Snowline Ridge, and all the way over to the train station.
Twenty minutes later, my friends and I had our faces pressed against the windows, waving good-bye to Rory and Rachel. All too soon, though, the train started down the mountain, and they disappeared from sight. Yeah, there might be Reapers everywhere, but I had made some new allies, some new friends, these past few days. That made me feel better about things. Maybe I could actually pull off all of the missions Nike had given me. Finding artifacts. Killing Loki. Saving the world.
We made it down the mountain without incident, and an hour after that, we were at the airport in Denver, getting ready to board the plane home to North Carolina. While the others carried their luggage on board, Logan gestured at me. I stepped over to one side of the tarmac with him.
He hesitated. "I'd like to fly back to the academy, if that's okay with you. I want to make sure that Nickamedes is okay."
"Of course," I said. "He's your uncle. I always thought you would fly back with us."
"It's just . . . after what you said to me in the gryphons' cavern, I didn't know if you'd want me to come along or not."
We'd been so busy getting back to the academy, packing up, and then getting to the airport that Logan and I hadn't really talked since our argument. He may have been traveling with us again, but he'd kept his distance from me on the train, sitting with Oliver, Alexei, and Carson. He still didn't trust himself around me, and I didn't know what I could do or say to change his mind. Everyone had told me that Logan needed some time. I knew that - really, I did - but that still didn't make it hurt any less.
"Gypsy girl?" he asked, breaking into my thoughts.
"Of course I want you to come along," I said, finally answering his question. "I never said I didn't."
I just don't want you to leave and break my heart all over again.
That's what I really wanted to tell him, but I kept my mouth shut. I might be hurt and angry, but I didn't want to add to Logan's guilt. He had enough of that already.
He opened his mouth, but Ajax stuck his head out of the plane's door.
"Come on, you two," the coach said. "We need to get in the air as soon as possible."
Logan hesitated again, then held out his hand. "After you."
I climbed up the steps to the plane with him behind me. I sat down next to Daphne, while Logan moved past me and took a seat next to Oliver, keeping his distance from me yet again.
I could feel Logan's eyes on me, but I put my head down and pretended to look for something in my messenger bag so he wouldn't see me blink back the tears scalding my eyes.
I hadn't asked Logan what he would do after we got back to the academy and gave the ambrosia flower to Nickamedes. I didn't have to because I already knew the answer.
Logan was planning on leaving the academy, on leaving me - again.
Chapter 35
It was late that afternoon when we finally got back to North Carolina. The others had managed to sleep on the plane, but I couldn't. Oh, I wasn't worried about having any more nightmares. Not now, when I knew Logan was safe from the Reapers. But too much had happened the past few days - and too much was still on my mind.
We all kept an eye out for Reapers, but, for once, we managed to make it to our destination without getting attacked.
Metis and Grandma Frost were pacing back and forth in the waiting room of the infirmary. Grandma looked tired, the wrinkles on her face deeper and more pronounced than usual, the colorful scarves drooping off her body. Metis also seemed exhausted, and much thinner than I remembered, but her face brightened when Ajax handed her the tube containing the ambrosia flower. Metis and Ajax disappeared into the back of the infirmary without another word, leaving the rest of us to sit and wait - just wait.