Tony wrinkled his forehead. “I’ve heard of this, but it’s very rare. It’s almost like when you connect with the Medusa statue.” He said it more as a statement than a question.

“You could say that, and that’s exactly why I think we can use this combination of power. When I connect with Medusa, I get an energy boost. I’m stronger. It’s what allowed me to bring Abby back before I even really knew how.” I remembered the day Abby tried to prove she was as strong as me. She’d held both of Medusa’s hands and died for it. Even though she was the last person I’d wanted to help, I couldn’t let her die because of me. I had asked Medusa to help me bring her back. Which only made Abby hate me more.

“Whoa,” Chase said. “I knew you could bring Ophi back and all, but you did it without any training?”

I shook my head. “Having Medusa help me was better than any training.”

“Yeah, you brought Alex back no problem after Troy—” Leticia’s eyes widened when she saw the look on Alex’s face. She shoved a piece of toast in her mouth and looked away.

“You were dead?” Chase asked. “And wait, isn’t Troy your father? Uncle Mason told me you’re Victoria and Troy’s kid, only they don’t openly admit it.”

Alex gripped the edge of the table, and for a second I thought he was going to lose it. How could Chase say those things? I was about to defend Alex when he stood up.

“You know what, Chase? I think you’re jealous because Jodi cared enough to save me. She gave her blood to bring me back.” He pulled up his sleeve and leaned across the table to shove his forearm in Chase’s face. “Her blood is in my veins.”

Chase swatted Alex’s arm away and stood up.

“Enough!” Tony yelled. “Don’t you two understand we may be at war soon? A war against Hades? How do you expect us to defeat a god when you two can’t even be civil around one another?”

I walked around the table and stood at Alex’s side. “Please. This isn’t helping.” I rubbed his arm, trying to calm him.

His expression softened at my touch. He leaned down and lightly kissed me. “I’ll be fine. Morning training will burn off some energy, and I’ll be good to go.”

I didn’t feel like eating anymore, so Alex and I headed to the cemetery. Leticia and Randy followed, which left Chase alone with Tony and Arianna. I knew they’d have a few things to say to Chase about the comments he’d made. The topic of Victoria and Troy was pretty much off-limits. It was an unspoken rule around here, and I knew Tony would make sure Chase was aware of it.

The air was crisp, and I filled my lungs with it. Since I had come into my powers, I was usually hot, thanks to my blood boiling in my veins to mix both sides of my powers. I welcomed the cool air on my skin.

Alex draped his arm around my shoulders. “What should we start with today?”

“Well, Randy is pretty good with raising one soul at a time, but he really needs more practice with raising multiple souls. I was thinking I could work with him, and you could help Leticia maintain her focus so she stops losing control over her corpses.”

“You got it.”

“Hey! Wait up!” Chase ran after us.

Alex rolled his eyes. “I was hoping Tony was really going to ream into him for a while. Maybe long enough for him to miss morning training.”

“Alex, we need him. You don’t have to like him, but you have to get along with him.”

He pouted.

“For me?”

He sighed, and I knew I’d won.

Chase slowed down when he reached us. “So, I was thinking I could give Uncle Mason a call. Tell him about the power connection between you and me,” he began, as if Alex wasn’t even there. “I think together we could convince him and the others to join us.”

“Really?” I was more than a little excited.

“Really.” Chase smirked. “Let’s show everyone what a great team we make.” He stopped and reached his hand out to me.

He wanted to shake hands? Without thinking, I took his hand. But Chase’s fingers squeezed mine, transferring power up my arms. Instantly my body tingled, overcome with power.

I pulled away, feeling completely self-conscious. “You want to take Leticia over there?” I asked Alex, pretending nothing had happened.

“Sure.” He gave Chase one last glare and walked off.

Chase leaned in close to me and whispered, “How long are you going to try to deny what you feel for me? You can pretend Alex is the one you want, but when I touch you, I know it’s me your blood craves.”

I stepped back from Chase. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Randy awkwardly moved past us. I was sure he’d overheard everything. The question was, how long would he wait before he told Alex?

I followed Randy, yelling back over my shoulder at Chase, “Go work with Leticia and Alex. Until I know how much control you have over your powers, you’ll start with the basics.”

I didn’t have to turn around to know Chase was fuming mad at that comment. I already knew he was powerful, but I’d demoted him to square one as if he were a beginner. I wasn’t sure how training with Alex would go, but I couldn’t handle working with Chase right now. Not until I got my emotions in check.

That’s how it went for the next two days. Me training with Randy and avoiding Chase at all costs. I knew it couldn’t go on like this forever, but I was willing to stick it out for as long as I could. Luckily, Randy never said anything to me or Alex about Chase’s comment. Maybe he assumed Chase was just full of himself. By Saturday, Chase found a way to corner me.

“Hey, did you forget we have a phone call to make?”

“A what?”

“We were going to call Mason and see if we could convince him to get everyone out here. Now that we have our combined powers backing us up, I think we could persuade him.”

“Right.” In trying to dodge Chase, I’d forgotten all about that plan. “But we haven’t trained together yet. I need you to master all the beginner skills before we can move forward.” As much as I wanted the other Ophi here, I couldn’t train with Chase. I couldn’t be alone with him. It was too dangerous. Too dangerous for my relationship with Alex.

“You’ve had me in the baby group for days. I’ve raised souls and released them. What more do I need to prove to you?”

“You haven’t raised multiple souls yet.”

“Okay, then from now on I’ll train with you and Randy.”

What could I say to that? I’d set myself up.

“But I don’t think we should wait to make this call. So what if we let Mason think we’ve already mastered our combined power? If it gets the others here, then it’s worth a little white lie.”

“All right,” I said.

“Good, let’s do it now.” He tugged my arm, pulling me toward my office. Randy shrugged and headed over to Alex and Leticia to finish training.

“I told Alex I’d meet him before dinner.” I tried to get Chase to at least slow down, but he was already pushing me through the door.

“I think lover boy can find the dining room on his own.”

I sighed and walked into my office, taking a seat at the desk. I had Mason’s number memorized. I’d called it about a thousand times before he’d called me back. I dialed and switched the phone to speaker.

“Hello?” Mason answered.

“Guess you forgot to check your caller ID,” Chase said.

“What? Who is this?”

I heard Mason fumble with the phone. “Jodi?”

“Does my voice really sound that deep?” I asked.

“No, no. Who’s with you?”

“It’s Chase, Uncle Mason.”

“Oh, Chase. It must be a bad connection. I didn’t recognize your voice.”

“No problem. Listen, we’ve got exciting news.”

“Don’t tell me you two hit it off and got engaged or something.”

“No!” I yelled.

Chase laughed. “Not yet.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “But Jodi and I do have a special connection. A power connection.”

“What do you mean?” Mason asked.