Chapter Five

The world felt lighter without Mother and Xyphon dictating Ephy’s every action. They were gone, back to Greece, and Ephy felt free for the first time.

I hope I never have to go on The Lives of Gods and Goddesses again.

Ephy and Liska followed Airin back to Zephyr Suite. They’re really nice. Way nicer than anyone at Heskalon Academy, where Ephy had spent the last seven years just trying to survive.

Competing—winning—defined everything at Heskalon. If there was a tie, there would be a tiebreaker to determine the winner and the loser. It was impossible to score the same grade as anyone else in any class.

Ephy managed to stay in the top quarter of students last year, but her brother Xyphon and her sister Astra always came in first. But Xyphon always cheated and then bragged about it.

Liska opened the door, and both Liska and Airin gasped.

“It’s different!” Liska shrieked.

Ephy followed Liska into a tropical-inspired teal and green paradise. A sinking feeling gnawed at Ephy’s stomach.

Fuzzy cream-colored floor cushions were piled in one corner beside a teal sofa. A matching fuzzy off-white rug covered the center of the floor.

Plants in pots and on small stands cluttered the corners and the window of the common room, and greenery draped down the walls.

“Are these alive?” asked Airin. They touched one gingerly. “It’s alive! Will we need to take care of them?”

Ephy sighed dramatically. Mother interfered again. “They are probably preserved and only need watering once a year. My mom’s designer specializes in that.” She walked to the door with her name and plucked a green sticky note off it. She shook her head as she read it to her suitemates. “Mother wants me to post it on Supergram. Great.” Ephy turned her back to the door and leaned against it, wishing it would all disappear.

Liska cocked her head at Ephy. “Your family did this? I mean, it looks cool. But didn’t they tell you they were going to do it?”

Ephy crumpled the sticky note in her hand. “No, they usually don’t.”

Airin leaned closer to Ephy. “Are you okay? Your hair is…” Airin trailed off.

“Getting brighter? Yeah, it does that.” When Ephy got mad or very excited, her hair transformed from pastel shades to bright rainbow colors like a mood ring, reflecting her emotions for everyone to see. I hate my hair.

Liska opened her door and gave a sigh of relief. “They didn’t change my room.”

Airin opened their door and said, “Mine, either.”

Stolen story; please report.

Ephy stared at the note, frowning.

Liska came back to her. “It’s okay to be upset with them. They should have asked you—and us—first. But I’m okay with you posting it so you don’t get in trouble.”

Airin nodded. “I kinda like it. I’m not good at decorating. But they should have asked.”

My room? Ephy spun around and opened her door.

All three of them stood in the doorway, gazing at Ephy’s room, shocked.

The room had been decorated like a Greek or Roman archeology dig, complete with columns, scenes of historical sites on the wall, and a brown rug Liska thought was supposed to resemble dirt. The lofted bed and desk were encased in a shell painted like a tourist bus.

“What was she THINKING?” Ephy shouted. “Did she even sign off on this, or did her designer choose it?”

“How did they do it so fast?” asked Airin.

“Magic, I’m guessing,” Liska murmured.

Ephy walked slowly to the center of her room, her legs as heavy as stone. She pulled out her phone and started typing, then stopped and stared at it. “Ugh.”

It was a Supergram post of the room from an account called “Designs of the Gods.” Her mother’s designer loved to tag them to increase publicity. And Mother loves to be tagged. Liska and Airin both peered at the post over her shoulder.

“She tagged my brother for the idea? Ugh. This was something he would have wanted.” Ephy walked out of her room. Liska and Airin followed. Ephy turned and slammed the door, staring at it for a moment.

“Are you a goddess?” Airin asked quietly.

Liska glanced at Airin, who was staring at the room and not at Ephy’s phone.

Ephy deflated. “Half. Well, slightly more than half.”

Airin nodded, seeming to accept it without question.

Liska pointed up at the ceiling, her eyebrows and mouth scrunching in harmony. “Your brother’s on that show. The Lives of Gods and Goddesses. That’s where I’ve seen him before.”

Ephy nodded slowly. “I thought it would be nice to be normal for once.”

Liska laughed.

How dare she? Is she going to be like the bullies at Heskalon? Ephy spun around to glare at Liska.

“None of us are normal here, Ephy. It’s okay.”

Ephy crossed her arms, not ready to totally trust Liska. “I guess that’s true. But even back home in Olympia, my family never seems normal.”

“You didn’t want to go to Heskalon?” asked Airin. “Isn’t that supposed to be one of the best schools in the world?”

“I hated it there. My family is still a bit mad at me for coming here.” Ephy sank down onto the sofa and leaned back. A piece of fuchsia pink hair flopped onto her face, and she brushed it off. “My aunt lives here, and she knew I was unhappy, so she pressured my mom to let her train me in my light powers. She has the same ability.”

Liska cocked her head. “That’s unusual in your kind, isn’t it? To have similar powers.”

Ephy nodded, then smiled. “But I’m kind of glad we do. I like my aunt.”

Airin sat down next to Ephy, primly folding their hands in their lap. “So, you don’t know what you want to do here. But maybe that’s a good thing? You can explore anything you want now.”

Ephy rolled her head toward Airin. “Yeah, that’s true. I like plays. And music. My aunt thought my light powers could be useful in stage production, and it would be a good way to practice them. But I play the harp, too. My mom insisted all of us learn either the harp or the flute. Mostly I wanted to get away.”

Liska beamed. “You have lots of talents that are perfect for a school for the arts!”

Ephy couldn’t help but smile back. “I guess you’re right.” She sat up. “And my aunt is going to teach me! Everyone in my family thinks my powers are lame, but they don’t think that about my aunt. She can disguise herself any way she wants, make powerful shields, and even create flashes of light to defend herself.”

“They don’t think we can do things because we’re just kids, right? You’d think they’d never been kids before, either!” Liska bounced down on the couch on the Ephy's other side. She grinned at Ephy again. “We’ll show them!”

As long as I don’t have to go back to Greece, Ephy thought.