I follow her off the bed and start pacing.

The Pythian Games are a huge deal. Apparently, the Olympics weren't always the only games in town. When the last ancient Olympics were held in the year 393, the Pythian Games became restricted to hematheos competitors and went underground. They've been held every four years-except during World Wars I and II-since forever.

Griffin and I were invited by the coach of the Cycladian team-who also happens to be Coach Lenny-to try out for this summer's games.

We're supposed to start training today. In fact-I check my watch-he's supposed to be here any second.

"Relax." Nicole says as she pulls herself off the floor. "It's not so much scary as…" She smiles. "Embarassing."

"Great. That's just what I need." I flop into the giant squishy chair Mom and Damian bought for my birthday, sinking into the turquoise velvet softness. "Another reason for everyone to make fun of me."

Being the new girl at a school full of descendants of the gods is no cakewalk. You'd think once I found out I was a descendant, too, they would let up. But no. Most of them still treat me like a total outsider. An interloper who can't control her powers. An intruder. Especially after I "stole" Griffin-as if you can steal someone who doesn't want to be stolen-away from cheer queen Adara Spencer. And don't think she has ever let me forget it. When we had to give our final speeches in Oral Communications two weeks ago, she made every word I said come out in pig latin.

Partly, Damian says, it's that I'm closer to Nike than most of them are to their gods. They're jealous, he says. Right. And jerky Justin dumped me because I was too good for him.

"Don't worry," Nicole says, trying to be reassuring after laughing herself into hysterics. "Maybe no one will find out you're in boot camp."

"Really?" I ask, hopeful even if she's just trying to make me feel better.

"Sure." She takes a seat an my bed. "Usually it's just a couple of upper-class counselors, a faculty director, and about a dozen, um, campers."

My racing heart calms down. A little.

"Okay." I say, breathing a sigh of relief. "That should be okay. Maybe the counselors will be friendlies."

Not that there are many. Besides Nicole, our good friend Troy Griffin, and a couple of my cross-country teammates, there aren't many kids at the Academy I could call friendly, let alone friends.

With my luck, they'll be a couple of Adara's groupies who can't wait to expose my embarrassment to the world. It's not like I can do anything to make them like me since I didn't do anything to make them hate me in the first place. My existence is reason enough for them.

Besides, the truth is I am a little freaked out about controlling my powers, especially considering how my dad died. I haven't worked out all the details yet, but he used his powers to improve his football career… and wound up smoted by the gods. I don't think I'll ever know exactly what happened. The gods frown on the misuse of powers in the notbos world and they could just as easily smote me for using them accidentally.

Controlling my powers is a good thing, and I'm looking forward to the day when I can zap myself a Gatorade without worrying that I'll wind up wrestling an alligator.

"Who knows?" I say. "Going to Goddess Boot Camp could be fun."

"Goddess Boot Camp?" Griffin asks as he walks into my room.

"Hi!" I jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. Since school let out Wednesday, he's been in Athens with his aunt Lili, picking up an espresso machine for the bakery. 1 know it's only been four days, but seeing him again-all tall, lean, and dark, curly-haired dreamy-makes me shivery happy all over.

Especially when he's wearing track pants. Call me a running geek, but I love a guy in training gear.

He hugs me back and whispers in my ear. "I missed you, kardia tis tardias mou."

And I love it when he calls me his heart of hearts. Leaning back, I give him a soft kiss. We've been going out for almost nine months, but I still can't get over kissing him. My real-life hero.

"Let me just lace up." I say, releasing him and going for my sneakers under the bed. "and I'll be ready to go."

"Hey, Nic." he says softly.

She gives him a little smile. "Hi Griff."

"You doing all right?" he asks.

"Always, jockhead."

She means that affectionately. I think.

Besides, all the descendants of Ares are jockheads. But there's more to him. She doesn't know he's a heroic descendant of Hercules, too. No one does.

I take a seat on my bright yellow rug and pull on my Nikes. Even though Griffin and Nicole worked through their major problems last fall-they had been best friends when they were little, until their parents got punished for something the kids did-they're still a little awkward around each other. They both like me, though, and they have some serious history behind them. I have faith.

"What were you saying about Goddess Boot Camp?" Griffin asks as I tie my laces into bows. "Why are you going?"

"Damian's making me." I let out a rough breath, "He's afraid I won't be able to pass the test."

"What test?"

"The one the gods are making her take." Nicole explains.

Griffin scowls, his dark eyebrows scrunching together over his bright blue eyes in an adorably concerned way. "I was afraid something like this would happen. What with your powers still so unpredictable-"

"Hey!" I smack him on the thigh. "It's not for lack of trying."

"I know." he says, reaching down and pulling me to my feet. "It's not your fault. Not with such late-onset powers."

"And the fact that you're only three steps down from Nike." Nicole adds. "They're stronger than most."

I feel a little better. I mean, most of the kids at the Academy are several generations or more removed from their ancestor god. The closer your branch is to the trunk of the tree, the stronger the powers. Mine are colossal strong. Which makes them colossal hard to control.

Clearly, the gods aren't taking that into account.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to snap." Sometimes I open my mouth and my emotions spill out before I can check them. "It's not your fault I'm a complete failure at the whole powers thing."

"You're not a failure," Griffin insists. "Just… inexperienced. Like training for the Pythian Games. Even though you already know how to run, you still need to train hard and in a different way for the marathon-length race than you do for cross-country. Right?"

"Of course."

"You just have to keep pushing yourself harder, further, until it becomes as natural as what you're used to."

One of the reasons I adore Griffin so much is his ability to speak my language. Runner-ese.

"What do you think will happen if I fail the test?" I ask. "Damian wasn't exactly forthcoming about the consequences."

Griffin shakes his head. "I don't know. Has anyone else ever taken a test like this?"

"There arc rumors." Nicole says. "No one's ever proven them."

"Damian told me there has been one other student tested since he became headmaster. But he didn't tell me who it was or what happened-"

Nicole snorts.

We all know Damian's big on secrecy. The man makes the CIA look like a gabfest. He is Mr. Need-to-know. As in, students never need to know.

I close my eyes. It's either that or give in to the despair. Of course I'm one of only two hematheosin recent history forced to take a powers test-and likely to fail that test. Life would be too good if I weren't about to be made a horrible outcast. I mean moreof a horrible outcast. It's bad enough I'm already the girl who didn't know about her powers-and the entire hematheosworld-until she was seventeen, and the girl who is so close to Nike she makes the other kids nervous and resentful. Now I'll be the girl strung up on the rack for the next seven or so centuries.

Rather than focus on something I don't have control over at the moment-exactly my problem, by the way-I focus on something I can control. Running.

"I can't think about this anymore right now," I announce. I ask Griffin. "Are you ready to run?"

"Of course." He flashes me a brilliant grin.

Turning to Nicole. I offer. "You're welcome to join us."

"No thanks." She climbs off the bed and grabs her messenger bag from the floor. "I'm allergic to exercise."

"So I've noticed." I tease. She and Troy have that in common.

"I was thinking we could run the north shore today," Griffin says. Then to Nicole, "You could walk with us as far as the village." He dips his head a little and lowers his voice. "If you're heading that way."