there??
?No. This is the part where you mind your own business and eat
your dinner,? Helen said, sounding exactly li
ke a mom.
?Good! Another bullet dodged,? he said with a smile, and asked
for seconds of Noel?s potatoes au gratin.
The rest of the evening went along as well as Helen could have
hoped, until the end. Helen chatted with Jason, joked around with
Ariadne, and even spoke briefly with Pallas about his job as a museum
curator. Up to that point, Pallas had seemed cold, even hostile
toward her, but as soon as they started discussing painting, he
seemed to open up a bit. Helen was no expert, but she knew
enough about art to keep the conversation interesting. They were
both surprised to find that they shared similar tastes, and they had
a moment of mutual admiration while they discussed one of their
favorite painters. Helen was beginning to think that she and Pallas
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could get along, but after their exchange ended she saw him turn
away from her with a deep, distrusting frown.
Helen heard a merry jingling and turned when she felt a touch on
her arm.
?You can?t take it to heart,? Pandora said consolingly. ?Look, I
love all my brothers, but they can be huge jackasses sometimes.
Especially Pallas.?
?I just wish I knew what I did,? Helen said, frustrated.
?No, it?s not you! You didn?t do anything. All of this Scion crap
has been going on for a lot longer than you know.?
?Since the dawn of time, right?? Helen asked, trying to be humorous
even though she was still hurt by Pallas?s reaction.
?Yeah, right. In a literal sense that?s true, but in this family