Lightning crackled in my eyes and jumped around my fists. ❝Zeus is fallen. I am Hercules. I stand in his place.❞
The giantess snorted, leering down at me, yellow teeth like bricks. ❝Another dead hero.❞
❝Yes. But not today.❞
...
Meagan's pickup truck was baby blue, the color of the sky on a clear summer day. Opening the passenger side door, I was stumped by the books stacked in the seat. Climbing into the driver's side of the cab, Meagan leaned over, sweeping her books effortlessly to the floor.
"Just my school stuff, get in." She winked, chewing her gum with a smile I adored. She offered me a piece when I took my seat and I accepted, if only for the excuse to touch her hand.
Cranking the engine, Meagan paused, adjusting knobs on the dash until the windows were down and the music louder.
"Sorry, I like it cold. I also like my Julia Michaels."
"Wouldn't change a thing," I said, tapping the air freshener, watching it swing.
The drive was short, but with a little lightning here and there, we caught every red light. I wanted to savor the time we had. In the glow of the traffic lights, curls flowing in the open breeze, she was angelic. Funny, charming, intelligent, Meagan made me feel better about my decision to leave Olympus. Even though she hit me with her truck and stole Eros' ring... it was worth it.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
According to Meagan, Breakfast at Night was the best diner in town. Located close to the docks, Ban was the first stop for sailors looking for a hot meal. Bright and cozy, decked with familiar themes of the sea, I felt more at home here than I ever had in the dining hall at the Alcatraz.
Meagan found us a booth along the diner's window front, with a direct view of the wet parking lot. Moonlight glittered in the wet pavement but there was a shine from Meagan the moon couldn't beat. In a plum wrap dress with my jacket across her shoulders, she was ravishing.
A server appeared, leaving behind two buttery, golden stacks drizzled in raspberry and chocolate sauce, capped with a whipped cream tower and a cherry on top.
"Ever had powdered sugar on a pancake? As if this stuff needs more calories, right?" Laughing, Meagan shook a canister over my plate, smattering the yellow pancakes in a glorious layer of white. "Now try."
They melted in your mouth. "Mm-m-m..." Swallowing another delicious bite, I leaned back, spreading my arms along the booth in content. "Where I'm from, we have pancakes too. They're called attanitai. Sometimes we roll them into balls," I said, miming with my hands.
"We do that here too." Meagan played with the straw from her strawberry milkshake, grinning. "I like your accent. Tell me something else about Greece."
"Well..." Gods and giants were the first thought that sprang to mind. "There are two thousand islands. Less than two hundred are inhabited; I have visited them all."
"All of them?" Meagan's smile was dubious as she licked the fork. "Traveler from the stars maybe?"
Smirking, I leaned forward on my elbows, a mountain of pancakes between us. "What makes you say that?"
