Claimed by Twelve

23. Pax

My dreams weren't my own. I knew that the second I saw Jason pacing in front of a building. I didn't pay much attention to the details as someone walked out in a white bedsheet. A bedsheet?! I did a double take and saw that it was a toga.
Jason stopped pacing and looked at the person. I realized it was Frank. Frank sighed as Jason stared at him. "It's bad."
      "How bad?" Jason fell into step beside Frank.
      "They don't know. The Gods won't talk to us."
      "None of them?"
      Frank shook his head. "Not even the Greek ones."
      The image started to fade as Jason spoke. "And the–"
      My eyes flew open. What had just happened? The tree I was leaning against had become cold. I squinted as I realized that it was no longer day. The stars twinkled back at me as I used the tree to stand up. I yanked my hand back as a freezing cold covered it. I looked at the tree and realized it was covered in ice.
"Nice nap?" Khione's voice startled me. I turned around to see her leaning against another tree.
      "How did you....?" I trailed off as someone stepped out from behind Khione.
      "This is Paxton." My eyes locked on to Paxton's light blue ones.
      Paxton stuck his hand out. "Call me Pax."
      "You're a demigod?" I shook his hand warily. Pax nodded as he let his hand fall back to his side.
      "Paxton can shadow travel." Khione had a bored look on her face.
      "He can what?" Pax laughed at my response. I was momentarily distracted by the way the starlight glinted off his golden hair. I snapped my attention back to Khione as I realized she was talking.
      ".... travel." I almost asked Khione to repeat what she had said but decided against it.
      Pax rolled his eyes as he surveyed me. "Come on." Pax took Khione's elbow at the same time he grabbed my shoulder. I started to protest but didn't have time.
      Darkness engulfed my vision. I staggered as I disappeared. When I regained my balance, I looked up and noticed that we were now in Khione's....castle, I guess?
      "How..." I stopped myself from finishing the question. Pax gave me a sideways glance but said nothing.
      Khione beckoned me to follow her. Pax was close on my heels. We walked through hallways and rooms. My head was spinning by the time we got to where we were going. I had thought about asking for a map. More than once.
      As we stepped inside the selected room, Khione cleared her throat. "This is where you'll be staying. You're sharing with Pax." Khione left without letting me question her. Why? There must have been hundreds of other rooms in here.
      I glanced at Pax, who was rummaging around in a mini fridge. I moved my gaze from him to the room.
      I was standing in what had to be the living room. In front of me, two couches faced a giant TV screen. There was a small table to my left. On my right was the kitchen, complete with stovetop, oven, and island. Two doors branched off the living room, one was closed and the other was open. Through the open door I could see a queen sized bed, dresser and mirror, walk in closet, and a bathroom.
      "The closed one's mine. Open one is yours." Pax said as he closed the mini fridge. "There are clothes in there for you. If you don't like them, either let me or Khione know and we'll find something else."
      I nodded in thanks, still shocked at my surroundings. I watched as Pax made his way to the couch, a coke in hand. He grabbed the TV remote and flipped to his desired channel. I walked over to my room and slowly closed the door behind me. I could hear the TV through it. I sighed. It was probably good for me, having a roommate.
      Pax seemed different. I was never one to trust easily, but something had clicked. Something told me that I could trust Paxton. And another part told me I didn't want to. I kicked off my shoes and flopped onto the bed as I thought about the blue eyed boy that was on the other side of my door.