Killer Frost (Mythos Academy #6)(73)
Author: Jennifer Estep

“You know, we could skip the dance,” Logan murmured, stepping closer to me, his eyes that wonderful, wonderful blue. “And go straight to the after-party. The one where it’s just you and me. Alone.”

I stood on my tiptoes as though I were going to kiss him and tapped him on the nose instead. “And you should know that we at least have to put in an appearance at the dance. Besides, I didn’t put this dress and makeup on for nothing. So come on.”

Logan groaned, but he let me lead him outside.

The four of us walked up the hill and fell into the stream of students flowing into the dining hall, since that’s where the dance was going to be held. We stepped inside and stopped, all of us bowled over by the sight in front of us.

The dining hall had been utterly transformed. All of the chairs and tables had been removed, creating one enormous open space. White, pink, and red lights had been strung up in the indoor garden in the middle of the room, wrapping around all of the trees and even the statues there, and casting the entire area in warm, soft light. Silver, pink, and red hearts dangled down from the ceiling, the glitter on them throwing out small sprays of light in every direction. Giant hearts had even been taped up onto the walls, covering many of the mythological paintings there. It was even more impressive than the memories of the dances that my mom had attended here.

But more than the decorations, there was such a sense of peace, calm, and relief in the room. At first, I wondered why, but then I realized that everyone was smiling, from the students on the dance floor to the adult chaperones chatting by the punch bowl to the statues in the garden. I even spotted the three guys from the coffee shop, the ones who had been betting that the dance would be ruined. They were laughing and talking, like everyone else. I didn’t know what had happened to their bet, and I didn’t care. All that mattered was having a good time tonight.

“Come on,” Daphne said, grinning at us. “Time to party.”

She led Carson out onto the dance floor, and the two of them were soon rocking to the music.

Logan took my hand. “What do you say, Gypsy girl?”

he asked in a teasing voice. “Want to dance?”

I started to answer him when I noticed two people standing off to one side of the dining hall—Metis and Nickamedes. Metis looked lovely in a dark green gown, and she’d even worn her black hair down for a change, softening her features. Meanwhile, Nickamedes looked almost as handsome as Logan did in his tux. Nickamedes seemed to be trying to get Metis to go out onto the dance floor with him, but she kept shaking her head in refusal.

Nickamedes’s mouth pinched with frustration. Metis said something to him and started to turn and walk away, but he grabbed her hand, pulled her toward him, and kissed her soundly. She stiffened in his arms at first, clearly shocked by his bold action, but then, she slowly melted into his embrace. By the time he drew back, they were both blushing and flustered. This time, when Nickamedes tugged on Metis’s hand, she let him lead her out onto the dance floor.

Logan frowned, seeing exactly what I was looking at. “Metis and Nickamedes? What’s that all about?”

I laughed and grabbed his hand. “Well, I thought it would be obvious, but come and dance with me, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

He stopped, pulling me back toward him. “I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we sneak off and go have that makeout session we talked about back at the dining hall?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head down toward mine. “Why not start now?” I whispered.

Logan grinned. A moment later, his lips met mine, and I forgot about everything else, including the dance.

I didn’t think it was possible, but things slowly went back to normal at Mythos Academy. Actually, they weren’t quite normal.

They were better than that.

With the threat of Loki gone, and the remaining Reapers in hiding, everyone was far more cheerful and relaxed than I’d ever seen them before. Professors, staff members, students. Everyone just seemed . . . happy. Laughing, talking, joking, out on the quad, in the dining hall, even in the classrooms. Of course, there was a lot of sorrow, sadness, and grief mixed in, especially for those who had lost friends and loved ones, but things were far more hopeful than they’d been in years. As for me, well, I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders, literally. For the first time in a long time, I felt . . . free.

And I loved it.

But that didn’t mean I didn’t have responsibilities. I was still a student, after all, which meant classes and more classes and tons of homework assignments from all the days we’d missed while the academy had been closed for repairs. I was busier with school than ever before, but I made time for the things I enjoyed most, the things that were truly important to me. Weapons training in the morning with my friends, lunch with Logan in the dining hall, afternoon visits to Grandma Frost’s house. I even worked my regular shifts in the Library of Antiquities, helping Nickamedes clean up, since the library had taken the brunt of the Reapers’ attacks.

Speaking of the library, I was late for my shift, as usual, but instead of hurrying inside the building, I stood at the bottom of the steps, staring at the two gryphons. They were the only statues left on any of the buildings on the quad, since Loki had destroyed all the others. I thought he had obliterated them too, but they’d been in their usual spots when we’d come outside after the battle, perched by the library steps as if they’d never even moved in the first place.

Whatever magic Carson had used to bring them to life had sustained them through the battle, and the gryphons loomed as large and fierce-looking as ever before. Sure, they were a little rough around the edges now, with scars embedded in their stone bodies from the wear and tear of the fight. But they were still here, still watching over me, and still protecting us all. Walking by the gryphons every single day was one of the things that had helped me cope with all the nightmares from the battle. I think that seeing them helped a lot of other folks deal with things too.

Metis said that all of the statues on all of the other buildings would be replaced, a project that Raven was overseeing, which didn’t surprise me in the least, given what I now knew about her real identity. I wondered if the new gargoyles, dragons, chimeras, and more would all have that same wary watchfulness as before.

I hoped so.

I patted first one gryphon’s head, then the other, whispering my thanks to them before entering the library.