Ariadne nodded and looked at the floor. Unable to resist, Matt leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled the same, like honey and summer. He let himself run his hand down the back of her bent neck, feeling how slender it was under his calloused palm—as fragile as a flower’s stem.
“Will you try?” she whispered, not looking up.
“Yes. I’ll try.”
“Hey. Are you mad at me?” Lucas heard Helen ask.
He turned and saw her floating toward him across the roof of the house. He shook his head, and she sat next to him on the very edge of the roof over his bedroom.
“I didn’t mean to disagree with you in front of the family back there. About Orion being the Shield,” she continued.
“It’s okay. You were just bringing up a good point,” he said, knowing she could hear the truth in his words. Helen’s new talent as a Falsefinder made things both easier and harder between the two of them. He could never lie to her again, not even to protect her. Not that lying had ever kept her safe. Lucas briefly wondered if he’d ever protected her at all. “I still think Orion’s the Shield, though.”
“But I don’t need a Shield. I never did,” she said, almost like she was reading his mind. With all the new things she could do, Lucas wouldn’t put telepathy past her.
“No. I guess not,” he agreed. Something about that troubled Lucas. Helen had always been the strongest, so what did the Shield “shield” her from, exactly?
“Maybe Orion is the Lover. He is a son of Aphrodite,” Helen said, like she was considering it.
That made sense. And although it killed him to think about it, Lucas was pretty sure that Orion was Helen’s actual lover now. But no matter how mixed up all the signs for the different roles were, Lucas knew better.
“Orion isn’t the Lover.”
“How do you know?”
“That part’s taken already.”
Helen looked at him, her beautiful mismatched eyes swimming with regret and, Lucas hoped desperately, not pity as well. “You know . . . all these new talents I have . . .” Her voice wavered. “One of them is controlling hearts.”
“So you mentioned.”
“I could take your love for me away,” she offered in a small voice.
“And then what?”
Helen’s brow pinched together, like she was confused by his question. “Well, then you could move on with your life. We’d have to stay away from each other, though.”
“We tried that already, remember?” Lucas asked with a wry smile. “It didn’t work.”
Lucas had no doubt Helen could erase his love for her, but he also knew he’d only fall in love with her again the next time he laid eyes on her. There was no “moving on” for him. No matter what else Lucas did in his life, his love for Helen would always define him. He was the Lover.
“Please, Lucas? I want to make this easier on you,” she said quietly, her head tilted down.
“Then stop talking nonsense.” He bumped her shoulder playfully with his until she dropped her pained look and smiled. “We’ve been over this a dozen times. Nothing’s ever going to change the way I feel about you.”
She finally met his eyes and nodded sadly, accepting what she could hear in his voice—the truth.
“So, maybe Orion’s the Hero?” she asked, trying to change the subject to something more productive.
“Hector,” Lucas replied immediately, shaking his head.
“Right. That’s a no-brainer,” Helen said, rolling her eyes a little. “Unless Hector’s the Warrior?”
“The Warrior joins the fight last, and Hector’s never come late to a fight in his life. I’d bet just about anything Hector’s the Hero and Orion’s the Shield.”
Helen seemed to struggle for a moment with her next question. “What is it?” Lucas asked coaxingly.
“Is the Tyrant really as bad as Pallas said?”