I felt my way along the walls to the other exit. It was in the same hall as the classrooms but farther down. As long as no one was in the hallway, I’d be able to get away unnoticed. I put my ear to the door, listening for footsteps or any other sounds. All quiet. I opened the door a crack. The hall was clear. I stepped out and ran for the stairs. I took the back way out of the school and headed straight for the woods. As long as Chase wasn’t at the classroom window, I was sure I’d made it undetected. I had to stop a few times, too drained to run the whole way, but I made it to Melodie’s car. The road wasn’t much farther, and this time I was going to make it.

I was so close, and I wasn’t going to let anything surprise me this time. I got to the road and ran into the center of the street. I’d make someone stop for me. Breaks squealed and a big gray car came skidding to a stop. My heart pounded, not because I’d almost been creamed, but because it was Alex.

I ran to the passenger side and got in. He pulled away quickly without saying a word. His tires screeched around the turn, and I struggled to get my seatbelt on before I was thrown through a window. I looked at him, but his eyes stayed focused on the road. I didn’t know if I should say something or wait for him to talk, but I’m not that patient.

“How did you know I’d be here? I just emailed you about an hour ago.” I held onto the door for support as Alex launched the car around another bend in the road.

“I answered your email from my phone. I knew if you tried to get away you’d head for home. You’re really predictable, Jodi. You’re lucky I got to you before he did.”

I could tell he was avoiding Chase’s name. “You’re right. The first time I ran away, he caught me. That was this morning. This day has been one unending nightmare. He’s pure evil, Alex. I should’ve listened to you.”

He still didn’t look at me. “You smell like his cologne. How do I know this isn’t a trick? That you didn’t lure me out here so he can come out of nowhere and—”

I reached for his hand on the steering wheel. “Because you know me.” I smiled, trying to ease the tension. “And because we’re in a car doing 85 on a windy road. He’d never catch us.”

Alex slowed down, but he didn’t face me. I let go of his hand.

“If you think he’s evil, why are you getting close enough to him to smell like him?”

I had to tell him everything. The way Chase really made me feel. The way I was defenseless against the connection we had. I took his hand again, hoping that, by touching him, he’d know I how I felt about him. Know how difficult this was for me to say and how much I didn’t want to hurt him.

“When Chase touches me, he transfers power to me. It’s not like anything I’ve ever felt. It’s—”

“You can tell me, Jodi. I can handle it. I need to know everything if we are going to fight him.”

“Fight him? What do you mean? He’s one of us.” As I said it, I felt my blood mixing. The whole Alex/Chase situation was screwing me up again. Making me unsure of everything.

“He’s evil, Jodi. You said so yourself.”

“I did?” What was happening to me? “My blood is acting strange. I feel so confused.” I rubbed my forehead.

“I think it has to do with this connection you’re trying to tell me about. I don’t blame you. I want to protect you from it.” Finally, he looked at me. He pulled into an abandoned warehouse and parked. He cut the engine and turned to face me. “We have to get rid of him.”

“Alex, I really do think we need Chase. The power between us is so strong. Maybe strong enough to fight off Hades. If that’s true, we can’t lose him. No matter what.” I looked down at my feet. I wished I could send Chase away. Things would’ve been simpler, but I was the leader of the Ophi. I had to do what was best for the group, not what was best for Alex and me.

Alex sighed. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out. No matter how much you think it’s going to tear me up inside. Got it?” His features were hard, serious.

I nodded. I told him about the way Chase’s touch sent me into an almost euphoric state when he dosed me with the power in the right side of his body. How it made me feel better than alive. I also told him about the kiss. The way Chase had surprised me the day Alex had left.

“I wasn’t planning on kissing him. All I cared about was you leaving. Trying to convince you to stay.” I squeezed his hand, not wanting to let him go.

“I know.” He looked away. “I saw it. I saw him grab you and kiss you. I also saw you kiss him back. It wasn’t one-sided.”

“I’m not going to deny it or try to lie my way out of this, Alex. I did kiss Chase. I gave in to his power. It filled me up so much I was overwhelmed by it. I loved it.” I was embarrassed to admit I loved the power, but Alex needed to know. “I probably sound like a drug addict, don’t I?”

“Kind of.” He looked at me and brushed the hair from my forehead. “Why does he get to you like this? Make you lose control?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why does he make you feel so alive and…” He paused, but I knew what was coming next. “I can’t?”

“I don’t want you to make me feel like that, Alex. I’m scared of Chase. I’m scared of what I become when I’m with him. I lose control, and bad things happen. Everyone died when Chase kissed me. My powers went crazy, and I killed all the Ophi in the school. Medusa helped me bring them back.” I swallowed hard. “All but one.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

“Randy. He’s gone. His body couldn’t hold his soul in place. That zombie took a huge chunk from his shoulder and nicked a small artery. We couldn’t stop the bleeding. When I brought him back, he died all over again.”

Alex pulled me to him and hugged me tightly against his chest. I couldn’t believe it. I thought he’d hate me for everything I’d done. For kissing Chase, for giving in to the power, for killing Randy. But he was comforting me. As much as I didn’t want him to let go, I had to finish explaining what had happened.

“There’s more.” I pulled my head back to look at him. “When I ran away, he caught me and tortured me with his power. He can send the poisoned part of his blood to me in concentrated doses. It feels like I’m burning in a hellfire. Like when Hades stared at me. Chase can control me, Alex. He makes me hate him and crave him at the same time.” I was crying now. Admitting all this to anyone was hard enough, but saying it to Alex was heartbreaking. “I’m so sorry.”

“How does he control you? You have to tell me.”

“I don’t want to. You’ll hate me. I couldn’t handle it if you hated me.” I squeezed him to me, afraid I was losing him again.

“I won’t hate you. I’m going to hate Chase even more. I can tell. But I won’t hate you.”

I sniffled and looked at him. “Like I said, he can control what kind of power he transfers to me. When he sends me the life-restoring power, he can make me do anything he wants me to. My blood responds to him. I wish it didn’t, but I can’t stop it. When he touches me like that, I don’t want him to stop.”

The disgusted look on Alex’s face tore me apart. He was wrong. This was going to make him hate me. I tried changing the subject. “Chase also stopped me from saving Lucas, one of the Ophi from Serpentarius.”

“He died? How?”

So much for the topic change. “Chase kissed me again. Lucas was near us, and the connection reached out to him and killed him. It’s this weird thing that happens sometimes when Chase and I are together.”

“How many times have you kissed him?” Alex’s face was bright red with rage.

I shook my head and sobbed. “I don’t know. I swear I’m not doing it because I want to. He’s making me. When I tried to bring Lucas back, Chase pretended to help me because the others were watching, but instead of transferring life-restoring power to me, he dosed me with poison. He was killing me, too. I had to break the connection and let Lucas go.”