I sighed again, but I let her lead me out of the bathroom.
Daphne and I stepped out into the main part of Kaldi Coffee.
In many ways, Kaldi’s was your typical coffeehouse. A long counter running along the back wall. A glass case full of sinfully sweet cheesecakes, cupcakes, and every other kind of dessert that you could think of. Lots of overstuffed chairs and couches. Wrought-iron tables. Espresso machines burping and bubbling away, flavoring the air with the rich, dark aroma of the coffee they were brewing up.
What wasn’t so typical were the folks inside the coffeehouse.
Valkyries, Amazons, Vikings, Romans, Spartans. All kids around my own age, all descendants of ancient mythological warriors, and all armed with weapons. Swords, daggers, staffs, spears. Practically every person in the shop had a mug of coffee in one hand and something sharp and pointy within easy reach of the other. Morgan McDougall, one of my Valkyrie friends, had a crossbow propped up on the table next to her, the bolt in it aimed toward the door. Morgan had told me once that always having a weapon around made her feel better. Yeah. Me too.
I barely had time to wave at Morgan before Daphne strong-armed me over to two couches in front of the fireplace. As we moved through the shop, whispers sprang up in our wake. Or my wake, rather.
“Hey, look, Gwen Frost is here . . .”
“She must be taking a break from fighting Reapers . . .” “I wonder when she’s finally going to battle Loki . . .” I grimaced and tried to pretend I didn’t hear the other kids talking about me. Everyone at Mythos Academy knew that I was Nike’s Champion and that I was supposed to find some way to save us all from Loki and the Reapers. Nothing like a little added pressure to make a girl worry and obsess that much more.
I sighed. Daphne was right. I was being totally paranoid today, and I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.
She let go of my arm and plopped down on one of the couches next to a guy with black glasses and hair, eyes, and skin that were all a dusky brown. Carson Callahan, her band geek boyfriend, and a truly nice guy.
Daphne leaned over and gave Carson a loud, smacking kiss, not caring who saw her do it or the fact that she’d just transferred all the pink gloss from her lips onto his. Carson gave her an adoring look in return and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. She hugged him back, her strength making him wince before she let him go.
“Is that my hot chocolate?” Daphne asked, her gaze zooming over to a tray full of mugs and plates of desserts on the table between the two couches. “Finally.”
Practically every seat in the coffeehouse was taken, so we’d left the guys to brave the long line at the counter while Daphne freshened up in the bathroom.
Carson shot her another adoring glance. “I got you a piece of chocolate cheesecake too. I know how much you like it.”
“Thanks, babe.” Daphne kissed him again before leaning forward and picking up her oversize mug of hot chocolate.
I shrugged out of my hoodie, then sat down on the other couch next to a guy with ink-black hair and the most amazing ice-blue eyes I’d ever seen. He smiled at me, making a warm, fizzy feeling explode in my heart.
Logan freaking Quinn. My boyfriend. The guy I loved. “It’s about time you came back,” Logan said, his voice taking on a light, teasing note. “I was starting to wonder if you’d snuck out the back and were ditching me for some other guy.”
“Never,” I replied. “It’s not my fault that Daphne spent forever touching up her hair and makeup.”
“Hmph,” Daphne sniffed, but she was too busy canoodling with Carson and eating her cheesecake to really let me have it the way she usually did.
Seeing my friends so lovey-dovey made me turn toward Logan. I smiled at him and leaned forward, ready to kiss him, but he grimaced. It was just a twinge, just a small twitch of his mouth, really, but it was enough to make me stop. Instead, I changed direction, moved past him, and grabbed my own mug of hot chocolate, as if that was what I had meant to do all along. As if I hadn’t noticed his wary expression—or the hurt that it sent shooting through my heart.
I leaned back against the couch cushions, still holding my hot chocolate. Logan hesitated, then reached out and put his arm around me. But he didn’t draw me close like Carson had Daphne. Instead, we sat there, touching, but still with this distance between us—distance that I didn’t know how to get rid of.
Not too long ago, Logan had attacked and almost killed me. Of course, he’d been connected to Loki at the time, and the evil Norse god had forced Logan to hurt me against his will. I’d managed to break Loki’s hold on Logan, but the Spartan had left the academy as a result. I’d eventually convinced him to come back, but Logan still thought he might hurt me again, even though I knew he would never do anything like that. Not of his own free will.
Some days, Logan was just as fun, carefree, and charming as ever. But there were other times when I saw him looking at me, and I knew he was wondering if he’d really done the right thing by returning to the academy. I had thought we were past all of his self-doubt and worry, but the Reapers had left their scars on Logan just like they had on me. Just like they had on all of us—inside and out.
All of our friends told me that he needed more time. I knew they were right, but that didn’t make things any better, especially when I saw how much Daphne and Carson trusted and loved each other. How freaking easy it was for them to be together.
“Are you two ever going to come up for air?” I asked.
Yeah, I knew it was wrong, sniping at them, but heartache or not, there was only so long that I could watch the two of them suck face.
“Sorry, Gwen,” Carson said, breaking their intense liplock, his glasses slightly crooked from how hard the two of them had been kissing.
“Just ignore her,” Daphne said, planting one more kiss on his cheek before she finally moved away from him. “She’s just grumpy because she hasn’t had enough sugar today.”
“I could feed you some cake if you want,” Logan suggested, giving me a sly wink.
I huffed. “Please. I am perfectly capable of feeding myself. Besides, that way, I don’t have to share.”
I grabbed the plate containing the giant s’more that I’d asked Logan to get for me, picked it up, and sank my teeth into the sugary treat. Buttery graham crackers; grilled marshmallows; two thick bars of oozing, melting dark chocolate; toasted, slivered almonds for a little extra crunch. It was a perfect combination of sweet and salty flavors, and I savored every single bite. Yum. So good.