“It’s not,” Jason replied. “Especially since one of the volcanoes had been extinct for thousands of years.”
“Hephaestus?” Andy asked.
“We think so,” Claire said, looking at Jason.
“But why would he make volcanoes erupt? Just because he can?” Andy pressed.
“No. So he can forge weapons for Olympus,” Lucas replied. Several people started talking at once. In the commotion, Helen saw the opportunity to talk privately with Orion. She swung her legs around and straddled the bench, gesturing with her chin for him to follow her out into the hallway.
As she passed, she saw Lucas glance up at her. He looked at her like she was the big, blue sky, and he was watching it fall.
Something bright and pretty inside of him seemed to burn up and turn to soot. Ashy-colored hurt smeared around Lucas like a fog, darkening the air and stinging Helen’s eyes.
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Helen clenched her jaw and forced herself to keep going, heading blindly for the front door. She felt Orion hook his fingers around her arm. They were by the coats hanging in the front hall when he finally nudged her around to face him.
“What’s going on with you?” he whispered. “I could have sworn you just saw . . .”
“Parts of Lucas’s insides burn up and come out of his skin? Or are you talking about Hector literally glowing when he fell madly in love with a girl who hates him? Because I just saw both of those things happen,” Helen said in a manic whisper. “It’s as if everything that everyone is feeling is splashed across their insides, and I can see it! I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be able to see inside people!”
Orion took a step back, momentarily thrown, and then nodded in acceptance. Helen looked up at him pleadingly.
“What the hell is going on with me?” she squeaked. “I can see love, Orion, and it’s making me totally hectic.”
“Yeah, love’ll do that,” he said distractedly. Helen bounced on her toes, anxious for some kind of explanation or reassurance—anything, really. He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. “You’re seeing emotions. It’s perfectly normal. For members of the House of Rome, anyway.”
“News flash. I’m not from the House of Rome.”
“And that’s the big problem, isn’t it?”
“Lucas told me once that Scions are born with all their talents. Have you ever heard of this happening before?”
“What? A Scion taking such a huge beating they wake up with a new talent? No, I haven’t.” He rubbed her upper arms with his palms a few times and then gathered her into a hug. “There’s got to be an explanation. We’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t want to figure it out,” Helen grumbled, her words muffled in his chest. “I want it to go away.” She pulled back a bit so she could look up at him. “How do you stand it? I usually have a hard enough time dealing with my own emotions. What the heck am I supposed to do with everybody else’s?”
“You get used to it,” he replied with a little shrug. Helen gave him a dubious look and he chuckled. “Okay, you don’t get used to it,” he admitted. “But you do get better at blocking it out.”
“You know what? This sucks. I was just getting the hang of all the other things I can do,” she said, throwing up her hands. “And it’s like I woke up the other day with this whole new bunch of magic tricks to deal with, but no instructions for getting the blasted rabbit back in the hat.”
“What do you mean? What else is going on in there?” Orion asked, tapping Helen lightly on the tip of her nose with his pointer finger.
“I don’t know,” Helen said with a frustrated sigh. “Honestly? I’m so confused right now I don’t know whether to spit or go sailing.”
Orion smiled and leaned back against the wall, letting his gaze drift down in thought. Helen stared at him for a few moments, just enjoying his company and the fact that he was there with her. No. Better than that. He was there for her.
Orion had saved her butt so many times now, listened to her whine when she couldn’t figure something out. He’d followed her to hell and back, and he still didn’t seem fed up with her. The gratitude she felt toward him, and toward whatever force put him in her life, was overwhelming. He sensed her flood of feeling and looked up, startled.
“There’s something I need to show you,” Orion said quietly.
“Sure,” Helen responded, concerned. The half-sad, half-afraid look on his face worried her.
Even more confusing than the look he gave her were the colors she saw boiling inside of him. They twisted and changed before Helen could define them. He was hiding his feelings from her, she realized with a jolt.
She knew Orion had been through a lot in his life, and sometimes Helen had to run through the whole mess in her head just to keep it straight. Orion was a Rogue Scion. His parents were the Heads of two opposing Houses, the House of Rome and the House of Athens. He’d been claimed by the House of Athens when he was born, so the House of Rome hated him and wanted him dead, even though he had inherited the title of Head of the House of Rome. The House of Athens hated him as well, because he was born with the talent to cause earthquakes. Earthshakers were supposed to be left to die at birth, but Orion’s father had gone against this rule.
When other members of the House of Athens found out that Orion was still alive, they had tried to kill him when he was still just a little boy. To defend his son, Orion’s father—Daedalus—had killed one of his family members and became an Outcast, which meant that for years before the Furies were finally dealt with, Orion couldn’t be anywhere near Daedalus without feeling the Furies’ influence and wanting to kill his own father. And his father wanting to kill him.