Elementals 3: The Head of Medusa (13 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY

It was my first time in LA, but since we were there on “business,” I barely got to see anything besides Jason’s house and the beach behind it. At least I got to swim in the Pacific Ocean—that was a plus. It was a brighter blue than the Atlantic, and
much
warmer than the icy waters in Massachusetts. And Jason had his assistant deliver In N Out Burger to us so we could try the animal style burger and fries, which meant they were smothered in special sauce, cheese, and bacon. I had no idea why
this
fast food chain only existed on the west coast. The east coast was missing out—big time. 

Most of our time was spent in Jason’s gym (yes, he had a full gym in his house) training for the fight with Medusa. Jason hired professional trainers to help us, and he compelled them to forget about our abilities afterward. This training was tougher than ever, especially since we had to practice not looking at our opponent while fighting. Perseus used mirrors when he beheaded Medusa, so we had handheld mirrors to practice his technique. We also had special hats designed for us with a mirror hanging over our eyes, to prevent any accidental glances in Medusa’s direction. We could
never
look at Medusa, not even accidentally, since one glance was enough to turn us to stone.

It was a challenge, but we were improving. I just wished we had more time. Five days was hardly enough to prepare for a fight like this. Unfortunately, since we needed Medusa’s head by the spring equinox, time wasn’t on our side. Which was why we trained relentlessly—the only breaks allowed
were
while we were sleeping or eating. We had to hope that practice, paired with the intense training we’d been doing for the past two months, would be enough to prepare us for the upcoming fight.

Eventually, Saturday arrived—which meant there were less than twenty-four hours until we would be walking into Medusa’s den. Jason had been given an exclusive peek at the artwork earlier that week—I wasn’t sure if it was given to him because of his celebrity status or because of his ability to compel—but after seeing the statues, he was ninety-nine percent sure that this artist was, in fact, Medusa. He refused to describe the statues in detail, simply telling us that we would understand once we saw them ourselves.

We needed to be rested and focused for the fight, so we were allowed to sleep in on Saturday morning. But since I naturally rose with the sun, and because my mind wouldn’t stop spinning with worry, I awoke at dawn. No one else was up yet, so I walked out to the beach and practiced some of the yoga poses we’d been learning. I was still a beginner at yoga, but practicing alone at sunrise, with the waves of the ocean crashing nearby, was as calming as our trainer had promised it would be. I could
feel
the positive energy entering my body as the sun rose higher in the sky.

Then the door opened, interrupting my concentration. Not breaking the upside-down pose I was holding, I opened my eyes and saw Blake watching me from the porch.

“One more week of being in California and you’ll be wearing hemp necklaces and going vegan,” he said, strolling barefoot onto the sand.

“Hey.” I broke the pose and wiped the sand off my hands. “What are you doing up this early?”

“Since we’ve been forced awake at the crack of dawn every morning, I think I’m still jet-lagged,” he said.

“I don’t think jet-lag lasts that long.” I laughed and walked up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and standing on my toes for a kiss. “Could it be that you’ve started to adjust to waking up early?”

“Doubtful,” he said. “Although I
am
glad to find you out here. Because I feel like we haven’t gotten a second alone since portaling here, and there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh yeah?” I tilted my head, curious about where he was going with this. “And what’s that?”

“Will you be my date to the gallery opening tonight?”

“I sort of already assumed we would be each other’s dates,” I said with a smile, tracing my finger along his chest. “But yes—I would love to.”

“I was hoping you would say that,” he said, and then he lowered his lips to mine, kissing me again. I pulled him closer, my body flush against his, never wanting this moment to end.

If there was ever a time to tell him that I loved him, it was now. He didn’t have to say it back—I just wanted him to know how I felt. Or at least that’s what I was trying to convince myself. Because if he didn’t say it back, I knew it would likely break my heart.

“Can’t the two of you get a room?” Danielle said, and I pulled away from Blake, looking over to see her standing in the ocean with the waves crashing around her feet.

“You seriously walked from the house all the way to the ocean before letting us know you were here?” Blake asked. “I hope you enjoyed the show.”

“Hey,” I murmured in his ear. “Don’t be mean.”

“I wasn’t being mean,” he said. “Just honest.”

Since I suspected that Danielle was probably still hurt from Blake’s breaking up with her, I disagreed, but it wasn’t worth arguing about.

“I wasn’t spying on you.” She grimaced. “It wasn’t my fault that the two of you were making out in plain sight when I came back from my swim. I said something right after I surfaced.”

“I was doing yoga on the beach for a while,” I said. “I didn’t see you swimming.”

“Of course you didn’t.” She shook out her hair, and it was dry in an instant. “I was underwater.”

“The whole time?” I asked. “Like a mermaid?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Like a mermaid. Although I didn’t see any of them out there, so I doubt they exist. Anyway, what’s got the two of you so hot and heavy before breakfast? None of that ‘this might be our last day together’ stuff, I hope.”

“No way,” Blake said. “We’re winning in this fight against Medusa—we
have
to.”

“Agreed.” Danielle glanced at the house, as if she couldn’t wait to get back inside. “Well… I’m glad that the two of you weren’t going all doomsday on the rest of us.”

“Of course not.” I shuffled my feet in the sand at the reminder of how she’d swam right up to our make-out session. “Blake just asked me to be his date to the event tonight, and I was… telling him yes.”

A shadow passed over her eyes, but she quickly shrugged it off. “It’s too bad Jason’s going with Hypatia,” Danielle said. “He might be old, but he’s still hot. I
so
would have said yes if he’d asked me. Oh well. Since I’ll be the only one going solo, maybe I’ll meet some hot Hollywood celebrity while I’m there.” She bit her lower lip suggestively, and I worried for any human male celebrity she might come across at this event.

“If you’re the only one going solo, does that mean Chris asked Kate?” I asked, bouncing on my toes. “And she said yes?”

“No.” Danielle rolled her eyes. “He’s clueless that she’s interested, and she’s too shy to do anything about it. But we all know that they’ll be hanging out together all night. And I have no intention of being their third wheel. Or anyone’s third wheel, for that matter.” With that, she marched across the beach and headed back into the house, shutting the door behind her.

Blake brushed a stray strand of hair off my face, his fingers leaving a line of heat where they traced over my skin. “Now… where were we again?” he murmured, standing so close to me that he was driving me absolutely crazy.

“Right about here.” I smiled and closed the space between us, melting into him the moment his lips touched mine.

He kissed me back with more fervor than before, and even though we were fighting Medusa tonight, I pushed all my anxiety away, allowing this moment to be only about us.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Jason had taken the liberty
to have his fashion advisor take our measurements, and that afternoon, the stylists wheeled racks of dresses into the house. Kate, Danielle, and I were ushered into the first floor bedroom, where three personal stylists waited to prepare us for the night. The guys were all trying on their suits together—Jason wanted to have final say in what they wore—and Hypatia’s stylist was getting her ready privately in her room.

The first floor bedroom had been transformed into a full-on salon—with various hair styling tools in the bathroom, pop-up makeup stations in the main room, and dress racks lining the walls. Since it was only noon, and we weren’t set to leave the house until after six, I guessed we were in for a long haul of getting ready. I couldn’t imagine what they were going to do to us—it took me an hour to get ready to go out, tops—but I supposed that when in Hollywood with paid-for personal stylists, it was best to go with the flow.

First, we tried on the dresses. Each was tailor-made with the goal of movement in mind, so they wouldn’t inhibit us during our fight with Medusa. The material was stretchy and the skirts were detachable, so we could quickly remove them and fight in the leggings we would wear underneath. Our heels were all slip-on, so we could kick them off the moment the fight began.

If the stylists found it strange that we needed dresses with removable skirts, they didn’t say a thing. I could only assume that in LA, they’d seen crazier requests than that.

“We’ll start with hair,” my stylist—Melanie—announced once we’d chosen our dresses. “How drastic are you willing to go with colors and cut?”

“I don’t want anything changed with my hair,” I said, holding onto it protectively. My naturally blonde hair was my best feature, and I’d always kept it long. When we first started training, Kate told Danielle and I that we should consider cutting our hair short, like hers. While she was probably right that it would have been more practical, both Danielle and I refused, opting to tie our hair up while training and fighting instead. I think it was the first thing that Danielle and I had ever agreed on.

“Nothing more than a trim for me,” Danielle said. “But for my makeup… could you make me look older?”

“
Older
?” Her stylist balked. “Every woman in Hollywood is always asking to look
younger
.”

“We’re going to an adult event.” Danielle didn’t back down. “The last thing I want is for everyone there to think I’m a kid.”

“You hardly look like a kid,” her stylist said. “But yes, of course I can make you look older.”

“And for you, dear?” Kate’s stylist asked her.

Kate studied her reflection in the mirror, examining herself from a few different angles. “Do whatever you think is best,” she finally said. “I think I’m ready for a change.”

“A full makeover?” her stylist asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

“Yes.” Kate nodded. “I know you don’t have much to work with, but…” She shrugged and studied her hands, her cheeks turning pink. “It might be nice to be noticed. Even if it’s just for tonight.”

“Don’t worry, dear,” her stylist said, an excited glint in her eyes as she mixed some chemicals together in a plastic bowl. “If being noticed is what you want, then that’s
exactly
what you’re going to get.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

I’d tried giving Kate a makeover once, back when I first moved to Kinsley and we went to my first party there—at Danielle’s house. But I had minimal knowledge of makeup myself, so it didn’t make much of a difference.
Especially
compared to what the professional stylist pulled off today.

Kate’s hair was now highlighted, and with the help of extensions, it was the same mermaid-length as Danielle’s—but it had the volume only seen on models in shampoo commercials. Her makeup smoothed her skin, making her face look sculpted and refined. In her green shimmering dress that swept to the floor, she looked every bit an Earth goddess.

Danielle and I looked more refined, too, but our transformations weren’t as extreme as Kate’s. Once finished, we all complimented each other—and the stylists, for their hard work—as the stylists packed up their things. We said bye to them, and when I checked the time, I was glad to find that we had about half an hour left before leaving.

“I’m going to take a catnap.” Danielle stretched her arms in the air, her blue dress flowing around her. “All that preparation was exhausting. I’ll see the two of you soon—and I can’t
wait
to see the expressions on the
guys
faces when they see you for the first time.” The last part was directed toward Kate, but before Kate could reply, Danielle was already out of the room.

“Now that it’s just us… what do you
really
think?” Kate asked me, pulling at the straps of her gown. “Do you think it’s too much?”

I sat down on the bed, laying the skirts of my black dress out around me. I’d been torn between a white dress or a black dress—but I’d ultimately settled on black because it made me feel powerful. Ready to fight.

And ready to kill.

“It’s not too much,” I assured her. “You look beautiful. Chris is going to be speechless the moment he sees you.”

“I didn’t do this for Chris…” Kate said, although she refused to meet my eyes.

“Then why did you do it?” I asked. “You’re the one always telling me that shorter hair is more practical in a fight. Your extensions are gorgeous, but they make your hair even longer than mine!”

“I know,” she said, and she threw her head back, exasperated. “I should have chosen a braided up-do, like you did. Should I call the stylists back in here?” She looked to the door and twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “I could ask them to put it up quickly. I would still have the extensions, but they would be more practical that way.”

“Or you could just do what I always do and keep a hair tie on you at all times.” I held up my wrist, where my hair tie clashed with my watch. “It might not be the best fashion statement, but it works. Besides… we spent so much time getting ready. It would be a crime for Chris not to see the final result.”

“I already told you,” she said. “I didn’t do this for Chris.”

“Would it be so terrible if you did?” I asked. “The two of you would be perfect together.”

“Well,
he
doesn’t seem to think so,” Kate said, plopping down next to me on the bed. “If he did, wouldn’t he have done something about it by now? I mean—you moved here in January, and you and Blake are already together. I’ve known Chris for my whole life. For most of it, he just saw me as a good study buddy. Now we’re better friends because we’re part of the same team, but I don’t think he’ll ever see me as more than a friend, no matter what I do.”

I smiled, because she’d all but admitted I was right—she’d gotten this makeover for Chris. I’d known it, of course, but her admitting it was a huge step in the right direction.

“If he doesn’t notice you tonight, he’s an idiot,” I said. “And you’re way too smart to date an idiot.”

She laughed at that, but she was serious again a few seconds later. “Chris isn’t an idiot,” she finally said. “Sure, he might not get straight A’s in school, but most of that is because he doesn’t really try. And he’s so kind, and funny, and brave… it sounds corny, but I’m happiest when I’m around him. Being around him makes me feel like a better person—like the kind of person who can fight the Titans, and who can win. Does that make sense? Or do I sound totally crazy?”

“If you’re crazy, then I’m crazy, too,” I said. “Because I feel the same way when I’m around Blake.”

“Well, I suppose that’s good to know,” she said. “Although… I don’t think Chris feels the same way. How did it start between you and Blake? How did you both realize you wanted to be together?”

“I don’t know.” I wrapped my arms around myself, thinking back to when I first met Blake. “We were both attracted to each other the moment we saw each other, but I tried to dismiss that, because he was dating Danielle. Because obviously, finding someone attractive isn’t enough of a sign that it’ll work out. I figured that it was a crush, and it would pass.

“But then we started to get to know each other. And after the comet, I was the first person he told about his ability with fire. His trusting me with that secret made me feel closer to him. Then, when I was still figuring out how to use my power, he helped me learn and experiment with what I could do. He had so much faith in me that he cut his arm so I could heal it—even though neither of us knew if I could heal someone else at that point. A few days later, in the cave, he helped me get through my fear of heights when we went down the cliff. By that point, we’d both made ourselves vulnerable to each other. And
that
was when I realized that whatever was between us could be more than that initial attraction. That it had the potential to be something real.”  

“So what did you do about it?” She sat forward, transfixed by the story. “Did you tell him about your feelings for him? Did he tell you?”

“Something like that.” I looked over at the door, making sure no one was about to come in, and then turned back to Kate. “If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Of course,” she said, her expression serious. “You’re my friend. Honestly… I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but you’re probably my
best
friend.”

“Good,” I said. “Because you’re my best friend, too. We’ve been through
way
more together than I ever had to face with my friends back in Georgia.”

“Fighting ancient monsters can really bring people together, can’t it?”

“That it can,” I agreed. “Which I guess is what happened between me and Blake. Remember when we got to the bottom of the cave and his lighter went out for a minute, and it was completely dark?”

“Yep.” Kate nodded. “We were such novices with our powers back then.”

“It wasn’t because he was a novice.” I smiled, excited to tell her what happened next. “He let the fire go out on purpose—so that he could kiss me without anyone knowing.”

“What?” Kate gasped. “But that was before he broke up with Danielle!”

“I know,” I said. “Which is why I forced myself to pull away from him. But… it was pretty clear afterward that he was interested, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I guess so. But I can’t just pull Chris into a dark corner and plant one on him.”

“Why not?” I asked. “With how hot you look right now, I bet he wouldn’t complain.”

“Because I just… can’t.” She blushed, unable to look me in the eye. “I can’t kiss him without knowing if he feels the same way.”

“Catching him by surprise might not be a bad thing,” I said. “Blake caught me by surprise in the cave, and I think it made me like him even more. It showed me that he knew what he wanted, and that he wasn’t afraid to go for it.” Despite what I was telling her, Kate’s face had paled at the idea of kissing Chris out of the blue, so I searched my mind for another option. “But I get that kissing Chris suddenly might not be the way you would handle it. So maybe you could just tell him how you feel?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “What if he’s not interested in me like that? Then I’ll have made a fool of myself, and ruined our friendship forever.”

“But what if he
is
interested in you like that?” I asked. “He could be just as nervous as you are about messing up the friendship. And then, if neither of you says anything, you might look back forever and wonder what would have happened if you’d told him how you feel. Isn’t that worse than not being honest about your feelings?”

“Maybe.” She wrung her hands together, which I hoped meant she was considering my suggestion. “I don’t know. Maybe I should wait until we finish our mission.”

“You mean after we behead Medusa?”

“No,” she said. “I mean after we seal the portal.”

“That could be weeks from now,” I said. “And I believe more than anything that we can do this, but…”

“But what?” she asked, her voice rising in challenge.

“I almost waited, too,” I said. “With Blake. I thought it would be easier to just be friends, because I didn’t want our relationship to get in the way of our mission. I tried to keep my distance from him. But then in Greece, when we fought the hydra, and when Rachael…” My voice choked up, and I had to swallow to get the lump out of my throat. Once I got ahold of myself, I leveled my gaze with hers, speaking slower now. “When Rachael died, it made me realize that we never know what moment will be our last. Every second I wasn’t honest with Blake, I risked losing my chance with him forever. If he’d been the one to die that day instead of Rachael—” Just voicing the possibility got me choked up again, and I took a deep breath, blinking the tears away. “I couldn’t lose him without telling him how I felt about him. I wouldn’t be able to live with that.”

I paused and stared out the window, hit with the reality of my words. Because I needed to take my own advice. Yes, Blake knew I wanted to be with him. We were together now, and I was so grateful for that. But he didn’t know how much he truly meant to me. He didn’t know that I loved him.

“You’re right,” Kate said, yanking me out of my thoughts. “As terrifying as it is, I know that you’re right.”

“What?” I did a double take to make sure I’d heard her properly. “You’re going to tell Chris about your feelings for him?”

“I
want
to.” She wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them to her chest. “Will I have the courage to do it when the time comes? I don’t know. But I know that what we’re doing is dangerous. Yes, your ability to heal makes it more likely that we’ll all get out of this alive, but we were all there in the hydra cave. You can’t bring someone back from the dead. So if any of us gets killed instantly, then that’s it. We won’t get a second chance. And I’m not going to lie—that terrifies me.”

“Me, too,” I admitted. “I’ve had nightmares since that day in the cave. It’s like Rachael’s ghost is in my dreams, haunting me—blaming me for her death.” I shivered, not wanting to think about it. The only reason I’d been able to sleep for a few hours every night was because we trained every day to the point of exhaustion. Otherwise, I doubted I would sleep at all.

“You tried to save her,” Kate said. “Her death wasn’t your fault. She was reckless when we were fighting the hydra, and while she obviously didn’t deserve to die for that, it probably wouldn’t have happened if she’d been more careful. You have to know that—right?”

“Yes,” I told her. “Blake tells me the same thing. And I know it’s true. But it doesn’t make it any easier, especially now that Ethan’s back. I can’t forget the way he looked at me that day—as if I’d killed Rachael myself.”

Kate didn’t say anything at first, and I worried that she didn’t know what to say because she
did
think I was partly to blame for Rachael’s death. “That day was hard for all of us—especially for Ethan,” she finally said. “But Ethan wants to fight with us, and he knows that Rachael’s death wasn’t your fault. He wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“Thank you.” I forced a smile, not wanting to talk about this any longer. Nothing we said could change anything. What happened to Rachael was in the past. “Anyway, I hope you’re honest with Chris,” I said, bringing the conversation back to where we’d started. “Because while I obviously can’t know for sure, I think he has feelings for you, too.”

“Really?” she asked, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Really,” I assured her. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it.”

“Then I’ll do it,” she said. “Maybe not tonight—we have a lot to do tonight—but I won’t wait until the portal is sealed. You’re right that too much can happen between now and then. And if he
does
feel the same way… then I want to take advantage
of
every moment we have together.”

I smiled, happy that she’d decided to be brave and put herself out there. This would work out between them—I
knew
it.

Now I just needed to take my own advice and be honest about my feelings for Blake.