Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1)(65)
Author: Jennifer Estep

"But if you’re a Champion, why are you here at the academy?" I asked. "Why aren’t you out fighting Reapers or something?"

Metis put the staff on the rack with the rest of the weapons, walked back to her desk, and sat down. "Because my job as a Champion is to be here and watch over the students. To teach them wisdom and everything that they need to know to fight Reapers. And now, I’m here to teach you, Gwen."

She hesitated. "Just the way Grace would have wanted me to."

For a moment, I was stunned. Just … stunned. Then, my brain kicked back into gear. "Grace? My-my mom? What do you know about her? Why would she want you to teach me how to be a Champion?" The questions spilled out of my mouth one after another.

"Your mother and I were friends," Metis said. "Best friends, actually. Back when we went to Mythos."

Professor Metis put her silver glasses back on and picked up a picture frame from the corner of her desk, the one that she’d looked at a few minutes ago. She turned it out so that I could see it. Two people stood in the photo, two girls with their arms slung around each other and wide grins on their faces. One of them was a younger version of Metis, taken when she was about my age.

The other girl in the photo was my mom.

Brown hair, violet eyes, pale skin, wonderful smile. Grace Frost had been beautiful even back then. My mom had hated having her picture taken, so I didn’t have many photos of her, especially when she was young. But this one-I knew that this one was something special.

"Can I-can I touch it?" I whispered. "Please?"

Metis slipped the photo out of the frame and held it out to me. Hand trembling, I reached for it. My fingers latched onto the soft, slick edge, and I closed my eyes and let the memories sweep me away.

So many images flickered through my mind, all of my mom and Metis. Laughing, talking, walking across campus together, eating lunch in the dining hall, practicing in the gym, and doing all the other things that Mythos students did. There were other images, other feelings, associated with the photo, too. The complete faith they’d had in each other, the trust between them, all the whispered secrets and heartaches they’d shared. But through it all, Metis and my mom had loved each other-like sisters. That was the emotion I felt the most-love. It was … nice to know that someone had cared about my mom just as much as I did. That someone else missed her just as fiercely as I did.

I opened my eyes and swiped away a couple of tears.

"You can keep it, if you want," Metis said in a low voice. "I have another copy."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak just yet. Instead, I carefully ran my fingers over the photo, feeling the emotions ripple out of it and into me.

We didn’t speak for the better part of a minute, but finally Metis cleared her throat.

"Anyway," Professor Metis said. "Your mother and I were friends. She saved my life more times than I can remember, and I plan on doing the same for you, Gwen. To help with that, I’ve rearranged your schedule a bit. Now, in addition to your regular gym class, you’re also going to be getting private lessons every day from your combat tutor to bring you up to speed on how to use your sword."

Combat tutor? I wasn’t sure that I liked the sound of that.

Metis looked toward the frosted glass door. "Come in now, please."

A second later, the knob turned, the door opened, and Logan Quinn stepped inside the office.

"I believe that you and Mr. Quinn already know each other," Metis said. "He seemed to be the most logical choice to be your tutor, given what happened in the library."

I hadn’t really talked to Logan since that night. Afterward, he’d gone over to Carson’s dorm with Daphne and me, but he hadn’t hung out with us, instead saying he was tired and was going back to his own room. I’d looked for him ever since, but I never seemed to spot him in the halls or out on the quad, and he never glanced my way in gym class or came into the library while I was working.

I smiled at Logan, thinking that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all, but he only gave me an icy stare with his eyes. I frowned. What was that all about? I’d thought we were at least friends now, maybe even something more. I’d certainly hoped so, anyway.

"Logan will work with you every morning before classes start," Metis repeated. "You’re to learn every single thing that you can from him, Gwen. Because this is not a joke, and the danger that you are in is very, very real. Do you understand?"

I shivered and nodded. Then, another thought occurred to me. "Um, what about . . ."

I gestured at Vic. It might be kind of hard to learn how to fight with a sword that was alive. And what would I tell Logan about what Vic was and who had given him to me?

Metis looked at the sword, then me. "It’s your sword, Gwen. You’ll learn how to use it. I’m sure it will behave for you, as my staff does for me. As for everything else, I’ll leave that up to you."

Her staff must be a whole lot different from Vic, because I couldn’t imagine Vic ever obeying me. But at least she was going to let me tell Logan about the weapon and everything else in my own time, in my own way.

"I think that covers things for now," Professor Metis said. "It’s getting late. Go on and enjoy the rest of your day, and remember, you have another essay due next week."

"Yes, Professor," I said.

"Logan, Coach Ajax talked to you about this," Metis said. "You are to work Gwen as hard as you need to in order to train her fast, understand?"

"Yes, ma’am," he said.

"Good. The two of you can go now."

Professor Metis grabbed a stack of papers and started shuffling through them. I slipped the photo of my mom that Metis had given me into my messenger bag, careful not to wrinkle it. Then, Logan and I left her office and walked outside the English-history building. It was after six now, and the quad was deserted except for a few students coming in and out of the dining hall and the Library of Antiquities. Twilight crept across the grass and trees, bathing them in soft shades of purple and gray.

The two of us stood at the edge of the quad, not quite looking at each other. Awkward.

"So," I finally said. "You’re my combat tutor now?"

Logan nodded.

"Did Metis ask you? Or did she make you?"

I asked because I wanted to know, no, because I needed some kind of clue as to how Logan felt about me. Something that would tell me whether he was interested in me or had just been forced into all of this.

"No," Logan said in a quiet voice. "She didn’t make me. She, Coach Ajax, and Nickamedes asked me, and I told them yes."