Starcrossed

by Josephine Angelini

  “Did Hector see you in Pandora’s shape on the beach tonight?”

  she asked her mother quietly when they got to the front door.

  “No. And he can never know,” Daphne said, staring at Helen intensely.

  “You and I are the only family he has now and he needs to

  trust me. You both do.”

  Helen knew her mother had risked her life to help Hector, but

  the way Helen saw it, trust was something that was earned, not

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  something that another person could demand from her. Even if

  that person was her own mother.

  “I’ll be in touch with you over the next few days to let you know

  what the plan is,” Daphne promised as she took her bag down off

  the hook and opened the door.

  “One last thing?” Helen asked as she held the door open. “I’ll stay

  quiet about what I saw on the beach if you agree to release Jerry

  from the influence of the cestus. You never loved him, but Kate

  does, and I think it’s about time you let someone in your life be

  happy, don’t you?”

  Daphne stared at Helen, shocked that her obedient daughter had

  finally expressed a mind of her own, then looked off to the side distractedly,

  like she was listening to a faraway sound.

  “It’s done,” she said in a brisk voice, snapping out of her momentary

  trance. “I can’t make any promises about his relationship

  with Kate working out, but Jerry’s heart is his own to give or to

  keep as he sees fit.”

  “It’s about time,” Helen said coldly.

  “All of this pain I’ve caused, I did it to protect you. And it worked.

  So I’m not sorry for any of it,” Daphne said, giving Helen a sad

  smile before turning and walking away.

  Helen shut the door and wandered back to the rest of the family,

  forehead furrowed in thought. As soon as she stepped into the living

  room, Lucas’s head snapped around to look at her. He gestured

  for her to come to him. Although she knew it was the last thing that

  she should do, it was the only thing she wanted to do.

  “I have to go home,” she told him as soon as she got to him, trying

  not to shake too much. “I left a good-bye note for my father on

  my desk when I thought . . .” She broke off and had to take a

  breath. “Anyway, I have to get rid of it before he wakes up and

  finds it. He’s been through too much already.”

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  Lucas balled his right hand into a fist and shoved it into his pocket.

  Helen had never seen him make that gesture before, and she

  realized he was doing it to stop himself from taking her hand.

  “Let’s go, then,” Lucas said, turning his face away from hers.

  “But I thought you and I were staying away from each other?”

  She broke off awkwardly.

  Lucas shook his head decisively. “Creon had Pandora drag

  Daphne to that beach because he was going to take her off this island

  by boat. Which means he was supposed to rendezvous with

  someone out there on the water,” Lucas said, his expression steely.

  “When they realize that Creon is missing, they’re going to come

  looking for him, and when they don’t find him they’re going to

  come looking for Daphne—and then you. You’re in more danger

  now than you ever were and I don’t care how hard it is on either of

  us. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a second.”

  “Well, what are we supposed to do then?” she nearly cried out,

  throwing her hands up in surrender. She had reached the end of

  her emotional and physical tether.

  “Come on,” Lucas said grabbing her hand and pulling her out of

  the room. Everyone turned and looked at them, but they were too

  overwhelmed by the losses they had suffered to pay much attention

  to Helen’s outburst.

  “I’m taking her home and staying there to watch over her,” Lucas

  barked at Ariadne, who was weeping quietly in a chair. As soon as

  they were outside they leapt in unison into the night sky.

  The cold air was like a slap in the face. It knocked Helen out of

  her confused state and she realized that no matter what she had

  been through that day, Lucas had been through far worse. It was

  time to stop feeling sorry for herself and pay attention to him.

  Moments later, they landed on Helen’s widow’s walk, and Lucas

  turned to her with an empty face, letting go of her hand.

  “Go in. I’ll be fine up here,” he whispered. Helen took a step

  closer to him, but he just shook his head.

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  “I can’t come in,” he whispered, his voice breaking hopelessly.

  “I’ve lost too much today. I’m not strong enough.”

  “I know,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Lucas.”

  Helen wrapped her arms around his shoulders, wanting nothing

  but to console him. She held on to him, propping him up until Lucas

  was strong enough to stand on his own again. He eased himself

  away from Helen and gave her a small smile to let her know that he

  was better.

  “Wait here a sec. I have to let my dad know I’m home.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Lucas promised.

  Helen flew down to the front yard and noticed that Kate’s car was

  still parked in the driveway. She landed and went in the front door,

  not at all sure what she was going to say or do. She found her dad

  sleeping on the couch in the living room, sat down next to him, and

  shook him gently until he woke. Jerry looked relieved for about

  two seconds, then sat up and sighed at Helen in disappointment.

  “You know what you put me through, right?” he asked, heartbroken.

  Helen felt so guilty she couldn’t meet his eyes, so she just

  nodded her head. “You’d better start explaining.”

  Helen thought about how so many people in her life already

  knew what she was, and for just a moment she considered telling

  her father everything. But if she opened that can of worms she’d

  also have to tell him Daphne was back, and she couldn’t bring herself

  to do that. Not after she had finally released him from his unnatural

  attachment to her. For the first time in almost two decades,

  Jerry had the chance to have a real life with a woman who actually

  loved him in return. Helen wouldn’t allow anything to endanger

  that.

  “I can’t, Dad. At least I can’t right now. I guess I could make up

  an excuse, but it would be a lie,” Helen said hopelessly as she

  rubbed her hands over her tired face and aching skull. “And I don’t

  ever want to lie to you.”

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  “Is this how things are going to be between us now? No trust, no

  communication, no respect?”

  “No, Dad. Don’t even say that,” Helen said shaking her head

  tiredly and meeting her father’s eyes.

  “I’ve been through this before, you know,” Jerry said quietly.

  “I’ve spent a lot of nights waiting right here on this couch for

  someone to come home. And she never did. I won’t do it anymore,

  Helen.”

  “Good,” Helen said, seeing a spark in her father that she had never

  seen before. “I don’t want you to waste one more second of your

  life waiting for anyone. Not even me. My life is crazy right now and

  I can’t promi
se that I’ll never disappear again, but I can promise

  that I will always come back to you. I’m not going to leave you,

  Dad. Ever.”

  “I know you won’t,” he said as if he was just realizing that it was

  true. He took a deep breath and sat quietly for a moment, thinking.

  “Well, I always knew you were different, and I also knew that

  someday you were going to realize it. That’s all the explanation I’m

  going to get out of you right now, isn’t it?”

  “For now.” Helen said smiling warmly at what had to be the best

  father ever.

  “Would it do any good to ground you?” he asked with a humorous

  glint in his eyes as he stood up and stretched.

  “Probably not,” Helen laughed.

  She stood up and gave her father a hug. He hugged her back with

  more than forgiveness. He hugged her to let her know he accepted

  her exactly as she was—sleepless nights and all. As they walked to

  the stairs together a happy thought occurred to Helen.

  “You’re going to bed?” she asked, glancing over at him with a sly

  look in her eyes. He nodded. “I saw Kate’s car outside. Is she in

  your room?”

  “She is,” he said with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. “That’s why

  I was on the couch.”

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  “You’re not on the couch anymore,” Helen observed innocently.

  Jerry paused at his bedroom door and turned to face her.

  “Are you going to be okay with this?” he asked seriously.

  Helen knew that if she said it bothered her he would turn right

  around and spend the rest of the night alone.

  “Dad. I’ve never been more okay with anything in my life,” Helen

  said honestly. She went into her room and closed the door firmly

  behind her to let him know that she was going to give him some

  privacy.

  Helen heard her dad wake Kate up and let her know that

  everything was okay, and then turned to tear up the note she had

  left on her desk. She flew out her window to meet Lucas on the

  widow’s walk.

  “Did you hear all that?” she asked when she saw the sympathetic

  look on his face.

  “Does it bother you?” He took the sleeping bag from the chest

  and spread it out for both of them to sit on.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I would have told you, anyway.

  Somehow, it’s like whatever I’m going through hasn’t happened to

  me until you know about it.”

  “I know what you mean,” he whispered.

  They sat down next to each other on the edge of the widow’s

  walk, their thighs threaded between the bars of the railing and

  their feet dangling off the side of the house.

  “It’s Monday. We’ve got school in a few hours,” Helen said. “I

  suppose if we all stayed home it would look suspicious, huh?”

  “Very suspicious,” Lucas replied. “Besides, you’re safer in a public

  place. The Hundred won’t attack you in front of mortal

  witnesses.”

  “And what about you?” Helen asked, looking at her hands. “Are

  the Hundred going to come after you and your family now?”

  “I don’t know,” Lucas replied with a tired shake of his head. “But

  whatever they do, they know that if they kill one of their own kin

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  they’ll become Outcasts, and the more Outcasts there are, the

  farther they are from attaining Atlantis. I think they’ll focus their

  energy on Daphne and Hector. And you.”

  Helen nodded, and debated whether or not she should keep asking

  questions.

  “And tomorrow—what should I say about Hector if anyone asks?

  Or Pandora?” Helen asked gently, knowing that every time she said

  their names it hurt Lucas a little more.

  “Pandora went back to Europe to study art in Paris,” Lucas said

  in a hushed tone. “And Hector is home with a nasty case of the flu

  for the next few days until we can coordinate a plan with your

  mother.”

  “I don’t trust my mother,” Helen said as she stared out at the

  rising sun.

  “Neither does Cassandra,” Lucas replied without looking over at

  her. “She thinks Daphne is hiding something.”

  “Do you think my mother is dangerous?” Helen asked. She

  turned to Lucas with worried eyes.

  “I think she’s entirely committed to freeing the Rogues and the

  Outcasts,” he answered, choosing his words carefully. “As long as

  we remember that, I don’t think there’s any reason not to trust her.

  She hasn’t lied.”

  Helen nodded, accepting Lucas’s interpretation. “I’ve got too

  much baggage to think rationally about my mother.”

  “That’s the funny thing about being a Scion,” Lucas said, smiling

  in the petal-colored air of the chilly dawn. “Our fights tear the

  whole world apart, but for us, they’re really just family feuds. And

  no one ever acts rationally when it comes to their family.”

  Helen smiled back at him, struck yet again by how perceptive he

  was. Then she caught herself, and remembered how important it

  was to keep her distance from him. She turned her face away and

  forced herself to stand.

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  “Are you going to be okay?” she asked him. He didn’t answer, but

  just smiled up her and nodded before turning his face back to the

  horizon.

  “Good morning, Lucas,” she said, her voice soft and sad as she

  walked away.

  “Good morning, Helen,” he replied, not allowing himself to turn

  and look at her as she left him.

  Helen, beloved of the goddess of love, went downstairs to crawl

  into her empty bed as Lucas, the son of the sun, leaned back on his

  elbows and watched his father-god brighten the bare wooden

  planks of her widow’s walk.

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  HarperCollins Publishers

  .....................................................................

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  end