Fourteen

The goddess turned around.

“Oh, Ava,” she said with a loud sniff. “Was she mean to you too?”

Ava was thoroughly confused. “I’m sorry, who?”

“Athena!” Athena said. “She basically told me I was pathetic, a monster and a loser.”

Even though her voice sounded exactly like Athena’s, Ava knew the goddess would never say anything like this. “Layla?”

“What?”

“You’ve got to see this!”

Ava dragged her over to their closet. A mirror hung inside.

“You mean my hair—”

“Not just that,” Ava said, yanking open the door.

Layla’s—or rather Athena’s—gray eyes widened at the sight of herself. Her skin glowed like Athena’s, and she was tall with the same fierce expression. She touched her face, pinched her arms.

“You really shape-shifted!” Ava said. “Like all the way. Athena said only she could turn into people. Ha!”

But Layla was breathing fast. “I need to talk to Ms. Demi. Now!”

Ava shut the closet door. She didn’t blame Layla for freaking out, especially now that she knew how cruel Athena could be. The goddess wouldn’t be happy about this. “Relax. We’ll just go over right now. It’s her free period.”

“What if Athena sees me?”

“Ms. Clio was taking her back to Mr. Orion’s office,” Ava said, thinking out loud.

“So she’s on the first floor! She’ll see me. She’ll think I’m making fun of her.”

“We just need to get past Mr. Orion’s office door. Once we get up the stairs, we’ll be fine.” Come on, this is our only chance before the period ends.”

Layla grabbed Ava’s hand, and they ran down the empty corridor until they were just around the corner from Mr. Orion’s office. Ava peered out, then darted back and put a finger to her lips. Zale was knocking on Mr. Orion’s office door. Layla and Ava crouched down and waited.

“Come on in, Zale,” Mr. Orion said. “I called you out of class because Athena wanted to thank you—”

Ava tried to ignore the sting that Athena wanted to thank only Zale. At least they knew for certain that the goddess was inside.

The moment Zale closed the door behind him, Ava and Layla raced past Mr. Orion’s office and up the stairs to Ms. Demi’s classroom on the second floor. There was no one in the hallway, though Ava could hear the hum of conversation behind the closed doors where classes were taking place. They were halfway down the corridor when a door opened.

“You have five minutes!” Ms. Moira said over her shoulder to the class inside.

Layla shot a panicked glance at Ava, but Ava put her finger to her lips. Ms. Moira closed the door and upon spotting them, bowed deeply.

“Pallas Athena.”

Layla gave a curt nod.

“Hello, Ms. Moira,” Ava said. “I’m taking Athena to see Ms. Demi.”

“Of course. Are you enjoying your visit, Pallas Athena?”

Layla frowned. “I do not envy you the task of trying to rehabilitate children like these.”

Ava sniffed and looked away, trying not to laugh.

“It’s not easy,” Ms. Moira agreed. “But it does have its rewarding moments.”

Layla gave her a skeptical look, then waved Ava onward.

“You were perfect,” Ava whispered as soon as Ms. Moira was out of earshot.

“I was terrified I was going to change back to myself in the middle of that,” Layla said.

Ava grinned. “That wouldn’t have been one of Ms. Moira’s rewarding moments.”

“I’m glad you’re finding the humor in this.”

Layla knocked on Ms. Demi’s classroom door, first softly, then louder and more urgently.

The door flew open, and Ms. Demi stared sternly at Layla.

“Athena, what a welcome surprise.”

Not “Pallas Athena,” Ava noticed, just plain “Athena.”

“It’s me: Layla!”

Ms. Demi blinked.

“It really is,” Ava said. “She shape-shifted completely.”

“And I don’t know how to become myself again!” Layla added.

Ms. Demi pulled them inside and closed the door. Ava was surprised to see Arnold sitting beside Ms. Demi’s desk. He scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over them in his haste to stand.

“Pallas Athena—”

“Relax, it’s just Layla,” Ava said. “She transformed into Athena by accident. What are you doing here?”

Arnold blushed.

“He’s just helping me out,” Ms. Demi said.

Arnold looked at her. “No, you can tell them the truth. I get anxious sometimes, and Ms. Demi counsels me.”

“Is this about you not having developed any powers yet?” Layla asked.

“A little,” Arnold admitted. He scrunched up his face at her. “It’s really weird talking to you when you look like that.”

Layla turned to Ms. Demi. “What am I going to do? I can’t stay like this!”

“Don’t panic, Layla,” Ms. Demi said. “Let’s just start at the beginning. What happened before you transformed?”

Layla explained what Athena had said to her at lunch, how she had felt so hurt that afterward she had gone back to her room and cried into her pillow. “I was so angry at her—”

“That you transformed into her,” Ms. Demi said gently. “It makes perfect sense. Powers get triggered by emotions, and you just discovered the strongest part of yours. If you want to control it, then you need to control your emotions. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.”

Arnold gestured to the seat next to Ms. Demi’s desk. Layla sat down and closed her eyes.

“Think about who you are, not the way someone like Athena thinks of you, but who you are on the inside,” Ms. Demi said. “Now take control of your anger, put it away.”

Athena shrunk in her chair, her face broadened, her gossamer gown turned into jeans and a T-shirt. Her gray eyes darkened.

“It’s working!” Ava said.

Ms. Demi opened a drawer of her desk and pulled out a hand mirror.

“Look, Layla,” she said, holding it up to her.

Layla opened her eyes and smiled. “It’s me!”

Her eyes were green with flecks of yellow, and her dark hair was wavy, a combination that suited her so well that Ava wondered if it was her original one.

Ms. Demi put down the mirror and took Layla’s hand. “You have a very dangerous power. Gods can impersonate mortals, but it’s a rare mortal who can impersonate a god. Use it wisely, Layla. Don’t get yourself in trouble.”

Ms. Demi’s advice reminded Ava of someone else’s.

“Did my mom ever get in trouble?”

Ms. Demi gave her a strange look.

“You said she was feisty,” Ava said.

“Your mother learned the lessons of the Accademia through experience,” Ms. Demi said quietly. Then she strode to the door and waved them out. “The bell’s about to ring and I have an appointment. You three should go.”

“But wait,” Ava said. “What do you mean, ‘through experience’?”

“You’ll have to ask her yourself. Excuse me now, someone’s waiting to see me.”

Ava spun around to find Cassie standing behind her. Her eyes bored into Ava’s and began to flutter. But before they could roll back in her head and she could utter another one of her prophecies, Ms. Demi swiftly ushered Cassie inside and closed the door.