her own fear, even if she wasn?t any closer to conquering
it.
?How could you have known that about me?? Helen asked,
slightly awed.
?Because I?ve been trained to think tactically and find my opponent?s
weaknesses since the day I was born. You haven?t. There are
so many ways to kill a person, Helen. You think you?re safe because
you passed Cassandra?s test with the sword, but you?re not,? Hector
said, his voice thick with frustration and worry. ?I know you?re still
in shock, but I don?t have time to wait for you to get comfortable
with what you are. People are coming for you. You have to grow up,
and you have to do it now or a lot of people are going to die. So go
home. Eat something and get some rest. You look sick and I don?t
want Luke blaming that on me. But tomorrow you come to train.
No more excuses.?
Without waiting for a response, Hector stood up and left her
alone on the dark beach. She fiddled with her heart necklace,
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running the charm along her lower lip as she sat there feeling
ashamed of how she had acted. Her clothes were heavy with water,
but she didn?t wring them out. She felt like she deserved to be waterlogged
and uncomfortable a little longer.
Obviously, she had to keep training with Hector, but that meant
she had to go to the Delos house. That meant she had to see Lucas,
and she absolutely could not do that. No matter how she turned it
over in her mind she felt like she was choking whenever she
thought about having to see him every day, knowing that he was
forcing himself to be nice to her, that he probably pitied her. She
still couldn?t figure out how she could have been so wrong about
Lucas in the first place, and it stuck inside her like a splinter that