Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2)(66)
Author: Jennifer Estep

I’d been going to the prison for a few days now, using my Gypsy gift to find out everything Preston knew about the Reapers, what they were up to, and where they were hiding.

It hadn’t been fun. Most of Preston’s memories involved hurting other people-kil ing them and sacrificing them to Loki.

But try as I might, I hadn’t been able to discover the most important secret of All : who Loki’s Champion was. The Reaper who’d been in the back of the SUV with Preston the night they’d plowed into my mom’s car, the one even he was afraid of. The girl who’d kil ed my mom. It seemed like they’d always met at night the few times that they’d been face-to-face, and in All of Preston’s memories, she was always in the shadows with her face hidden.

He didn’t seem to know who she reAll y was. The fact that I couldn’t figure out her reAll identity was beyond frustrating. It was driving me crazy.

Professor Metis, Coach Ajax, and Nickamedes knew about the Reaper girl and what she’d done to my mom, but I hadn’t exactly told them that I was peering into every corner of Preston’s brain, trying to find out who she reAll y was. I knew what they’d say-that tracking down Loki’s Champion just so I could kil her the same way she’d murdered my mom was wrong and would make me no better than she was. Whatever. The Reaper girl had kil ed my mom, and she was going to pay for that. There was nothing else to talk about as far as I was concerned.

Daphne and Vic certainly agreed with me on this point. In fact, Vic had spent an hour enthusiasticAll y describing All the various ways he could be used to torture the Reaper girl. I didn’t know about All that, but I’d be just fine with her dying-and me being the cause of it.

Stil , despite the fact that I hadn’t discovered the Reaper girl’s identity yet, I felt like I was doing something good with my magic, that I was making a difference. Metis told me that members of the Pantheon had used some of the information I’d gotten from Preston to capture severAll Reapers, and were hot on the trail of even more. So I thought Nike would have approved of what I was doing-

and my mom, too.

"I’l be fine," I said. "I won’t be seeing Preston again until after the break. I’m going to go to Grandma Frost’s house and just chil out over the holidays. Eat junk food, watch television, read my new stash of comic books. There wil be absolutely no thinking about Preston, his horrible memories, Reapers, or anything else like that."

"All right," Daphne said, finAll y satisfied. "But you cAll me every day."

I rol ed my eyes. "Wel , yeah. I want to know All about your Christmas-and what your parents think of Carson." Daphne and Carson were taking the major, major step of introducing each other to their parents. Daphne was going home with Carson for a few days before Christmas, then he was coming over to her house after New Year’s. After that, Daphne was going to come spend a few days with me and Grandma Frost before classes started again at the academy.

The Valkyrie bit her lip, and pink sparks of magic flashed around her fingertips. "I hope his parents like me."

"I’m sure they wil ," I said. "What’s not to like?" Daphne narrowed her eyes, plucked one of her pil ows off the bed, and threw it at me. "Your sarcasm is noted." I grinned. "And you love me for it."

I helped Daphne carry her ridiculously stuffed, ridiculously heavy suitcases out of her room, down the steps, and outside ValhAll a HAll . Kids streamed out of All of the dorms at this point, bags in one hand and cel phones in the other.

Golf carts zipped over the cobblestone paths, hauling students up the hil , past the main quad, and over to the parking lot behind the gym, where a variety of private towncars waited to drive them home or to the airport.

Carson waited out front, along with Oliver and Logan.

While Logan helped Carson and Daphne load her bags onto one of the golf carts, I drifted over to Oliver’s side.

"I hope you have a good holiday," I said. "Going home to see your parents?"

The Spartan nodded. "Yep. You going to your grandma’s?"

I nodded.

Oliver grinned. "Try not to fAll for any Reaper guys while you’re away, okay?"

I rol ed my eyes. "Just as long as you don’t try to run down or shoot arrows at any Gypsy girls. Do we have a deal?"

"I don’t know," Oliver murmured. "I kind of like scaring Gypsy girls. It’s a lot more fun than myth-history class." I punched the Spartan in the shoulder, and he just laughed.

"What about Kenzie?" I asked in a low voice only he could hear. "You going to see him over the break?" Oliver shook his head. "He wanted to hang out, but I told him that I’d be too busy with family stuff. I think it’s better if I don’t see him for a while.

Give me a chance to get over him, you know?"

I nodded again. I did know. "Maybe you’l meet somebody new over the holidays."

Oliver smiled, but his green eyes were dark and sad.

"Here’s hoping anyway."

Carson and Logan finished loading Daphne’s luggage.

The Valkyrie came over and hugged me tight, cracking my back with her enormous strength, then hopped into the back of the cart with Carson. Oliver jumped into the driver’s seat, and the three of them waved good-bye before Oliver hit the gas and the cart took off toward upper quad.

That left Logan and me alone, standing outside ValhAll a HAll .

Students moved All around us, talking, texting, and laughing, but everyone was so focused on going home that no one paid any attention to us.

I wasn’t quite sure what to say to the Spartan. We hadn’t reAll y talked since he’d found me a few days ago in the library, and we stil hadn’t discussed the kiss. I didn’t know what was going on between us, but I knew I’d miss him like crazy over the next few weeks.

"So … I should probably get going," I said. "I need to go grab my stuff out of my room and catch the afternoon bus down the mountain."

Logan nodded. "Me, too. My uncle has a car waiting up at the gym to take us home."

"Nickamedes, right? He’s your uncle?"

The Spartan blinked. "How did you … ?"

"I saw the two of you at the ski resort, remember? And I realized just how much you look alike." I shrugged. "And the way you talked to him, it was like the two of you knew each other very, very wel . Like you were family. It wasn’t too hard to figure out.

Why didn’t you ever say anything to me?" This time, Logan shrugged. "It’s … complicated.

Nickamedes and my dad don’t exactly get along." He didn’t explain any more, but after a moment, he grinned. "Besides, you’ve met Nickamedes. Would you claim him as a relative?

EspeciAll y if he worked at your school?"