I leaned my head back so I could look at him. “I know. I’ll talk to him. Tell him that I’m not interested and he needs to stop or—”

“Or what?”

“I’ll ask him to leave.” Why was that so hard for me to say? I had Alex. He was perfect for me. Yet, I didn’t want Chase to leave. As much as he scared me and caused trouble for me and Alex, there was a part of me that wanted Chase here. God, what was wrong with me?

Alex smiled. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” He leaned down and kissed me. The kiss was so passionate I felt my legs shake. Good thing Alex was still holding me tight. We only stopped when the front door swung opened and Leticia rushed in, bumping right into us.

“Sorry,” she said.

Alex looked annoyed by the interruption, but I said, “It’s okay. Is something wrong? You look like you’re in a hurry.”

“Jodi.” Leticia’s voice shook. “We finished burying the bodies, but there’s something you should know.”

“What is it?” I wasn’t sure I could take any more bad news right now.

Leticia lowered her head and stared at her feet. “We lost a lot of corpses to Hades.”

“Yes, I know.” Why wouldn’t she spit it out already? How bad was the news?

“Well, we think one of the bodies he took was…” She stopped and looked at me.

“Leticia, you’re killing me here.”

“Your dad.”

I tried to swallow, but there was a lump in my throat the size of a baseball. How hadn’t I noticed my dad’s body was gone? I’d seen his corpse before, and I’d never forget it. Even though I’d only met him that one time in the cemetery, when Victoria raised him to torture me, I’d recognize him anywhere. I’d been too preoccupied with all the drama of Chase and Alex, and now my dad’s body was in the underworld with Hades. Who knew what torture Hades was putting his soul through? And now that Hades had his body too, I couldn’t raise him. I’d never see him again.

Since I’d come to the school, I’d had almost no contact with my mom. I’d emailed her once to tell her I wasn’t coming home but that I was okay. I deleted the email account immediately after I sent the message, because I knew if I got any emails back from her—which I definitely would have—I would’ve broken down and called her. I couldn’t let myself do that. This whole situation was too crazy to ask her to understand. She thought my dad had been some teenage jerk who didn’t want to take responsibility for getting his girlfriend pregnant. That was awful, but the truth would’ve been more painful to hear. How did you tell your mom that the guy she loved and had a child with wasn’t really human? That he was a Gorgon necromancer who was killed by his own kind barely a month after their baby was born?

Except now, my mom was the woman whose boyfriend and daughter walked out on her. I’d destroyed her life and mine. I had no parents left. At least knowing my dad’s body was nearby had given me a false sense of comfort. I’d never planned on raising him again, but I marked his grave and kept flowers on it. It was my way of letting him know I didn’t blame him for what had happened. Now, he was lost to me too. Hades had taken the one last piece of family I had.

I crumbled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Alex bent down and wrapped his arms around me. He rocked me like a baby and whispered in my ear, but nothing registered. I was tuned out. All I could do was cry because the emotions inside of me were spilling over. Finally, the tears stopped coming. Alex took my head in his hands and raised it so I was looking at him.

“Hey, we’ll find a way to get him back, okay? I’ll strike a deal with Hades myself if I have to. I won’t let him take your dad away from you.”

“He already has, and it’s my fault. Everything is my fault.”

He shook his head. “No. Don’t say that. You never asked for this to happen.”

“I might not have asked for any of this to happen, but I gave in to it. No, I didn’t just give in to it. I became the freaking leader of the Ophi. I ruined my mom’s life, and I sentenced my father to be Hades’ slave in the underworld.” Somehow, I managed to find more tears, and they spilled over my cheeks.

“Jodi, I’m so sorry. I’m the one who came to get you. I’m the one who brought you here.”

I wiped my face and looked at him. “If you hadn’t come for me, my mother would be dead. Don’t you dare blame yourself. I killed her. You saved her. I owe you everything for that.”

He kissed my cheek and picked me up off the floor. Leticia stood there, trying not to stare at us. “Um, I’m going to wash up before lunch. I’m sorry, Jodi. About everything.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Leticia.”

The front door opened, and Chase and Randy walked in.

“Jodi, are you okay?” Chase asked.

Alex put his arm around me and started walking me toward the stairs. “She’ll be fine. I’ll take care of her.”

I didn’t even fight him. I couldn’t handle Chase right now. I didn’t have the energy. Alex waited in my room while I washed my face and tried to make myself look somewhat normal. The puffiness under my eyes wouldn’t go away, but at least I’d stopped crying. I took two aspirin for my headache, and several deep breaths, before I walked back to my room.

“All set?” Alex asked, getting up from the bed.

“I guess. Thanks for taking care of me.”

He reached for my hand. “Always.”

Everyone was already eating when we got to the dining room. I stopped in the doorway. I wasn’t the least bit hungry, and I didn’t feel like sitting through a meal with everyone talking about Hades, my dad, and my out-of-control powers.

“What is it?” Alex asked.

“You know, I think I need some fresh air,” I said. “I’m not really in the mood to eat. I’d rather go for a walk.”

“I’ll go with you.” His stomach growled in protest.

I smiled and patted his stomach. “No, go eat. I’ll be fine. I can use the time alone to clear my head.”

“Are you sure? I could grab a sandwich to bring with me.”

“I’m sure. Sit and relax. We have a long afternoon of training ahead of us. I want to look like we actually know what we’re doing when the others arrive tomorrow. The last thing I need is for them to turn right around and go back to Serpentarius.”

“Okay.” He lightly kissed my lips. “I have my cell, so call me if you get lonely or if you just can’t stand being away from me anymore.”

I smiled. That was my Alex, cocky in a cute way.

“See you later.” Chase caught my eye before I left, but I quickly turned away. No need to invite trouble. I walked down the hall and past the Medusa statue. Part of me wanted to stop and talk to her. Get her advice about my dad and Hades, but I really did want to clear my head and forget about everything for a while. I decided I’d talk to her later.

The air had a slight chill to it, the way I liked it. I didn’t want to go anywhere near the cemetery or my dad’s empty grave, so I headed around back and went into the woods. When I was younger, I loved walking in the woods, but I hadn’t really done it since I came into my powers. I hadn’t done a lot of things I loved to do before I stopped being human. When I’d drunk Medusa’s blood, I thought I was doing the right thing. Saving the Ophi and becoming what I was meant to be. Now… well, I wasn’t so sure.

I missed being human. I missed my best friend Melodie, my mom, Matt. I tried not to think about Matt. Poor Matt, who died for kissing me. Poor Matt, who I brought back as a zombie. He was my biggest regret. Alex had been able to save my mom. He’d gotten to her before I could bring her back wrong. But Matt—Alex hadn’t been in time to save him from me.

Sometimes, I wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn’t come into my powers. If I’d stayed human. I’d probably be in the cafeteria with Matt and Melodie complaining about how boring life was. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for a little boring in my life now.