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“He tried to kill me, Liv,” I gasp, trying desperately to fill my lungs as sweat beads ... everywhere. Ihaterunning.
“I did not,” Titus says, his eyes widening as he looks between me and Liv. Oh, he thinks I mean ... Oops.
“And which one of us is dramatic again?” Liv asks. I finally pull myself up to look at her. She’s wearing her training clothes too, with her long dark-brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail. She better not try to make me run anywhere else. Liv takes a sip from a white to-go cup, and a bead of brown liquid sticks to her lip before she licks it away. Coffee. Ugh, that looks so good.
Maximus stands beside her with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Amusement dances in his emerald eyes as he looks between me and Titus. I never thought I’d see the day that the stoic bastard was actually amused, but my stomach sours as I realize he is basically laughing at me as I’m still gasping for breath, and Titus is stretching his arms like he just went for a light jog.
“Definitely you,” I gasp, reaching for her coffee, which she swiftly pulls out of my reach.
“Then say he didn’t try to kill you before you give Titus a heart attack,” Liv says expectantly, lifting a brow as she waits.
“Fine, I guess he didn’t try to kill me,” I groan. “He just almost did it inadvertently.”
Liv laughs as she sips from her coffee cup. “Let’s get you some water,” she says, motioning towards the refreshment station towards the middle of the stadium. “You should walk anyway.”
“No way am I walking anywhere. Someone can carry me—not you.” I add, cutting a glare towards Titus.
“Trust me, I wasn’t about to offer,” he chuckles, the sound of his laughter making my annoyance ratchet up even higher. “Liv is right though. You need to cool down.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” I groan, wishing I could smack all of them ... which reminds me. “I still have to get my reward.”
“Reward?” Maximus asks, his deep grumbling voice incredulous as he lifts a brow in question.
“Yes,” I reply primly, not caring about his attitude. “My reward for running was I get to hit this jerk.”
“Interesting,” Liv murmurs, her eyes flicking between the two of us like she sees something I don’t.
“You can go ahead and hit me now,” Titus chuckles. “Just remember, not in the face.”
“That’s seriously how you motivated her to go running?” Liv asks in disbelief. “We’ll meet you at the refreshments.”
Maximus shifts his arm to her waist and guides her through the throng of students training, his shoulders shaking as he apparently takes amusement in Titus’ suffering.
At least the gruff god has a sense of humor.
I lift my arm and drop into my stance, only for my arms and legs to scream in pain. My muscles ache as I bend them, protesting against any further movement.
“You seriously did this on purpose,” I groan. “My arms and legs feel like they’re melting right now. How am I supposed to get a good hit in?”
“Maybe that was another lesson?” He chuckles. “To show you just how important it is to build up your stamina, otherwise you’ll be the one out of breath and struggling to keep up in a fight.”
“You suck,” I hiss and swing my clenched fist towards his biceps. My knuckles barely make contact, but a win is a win, honestly, and I’m not going to pass up this opportunity.
My mouth pops open as tiny sparks erupt from my skin as I make contact, but they’re gone without a trace in the next second, almost like I imagined it. I almost would think I did if this was the first time.
Titus stares back at me, any hint of his smug grin gone now as though he too saw the power zap from my hand.
Nope, I’m not doing this right now. Whatever this is, I do not want to know.
I turn to follow after Liv, but Titus grasps my shoulder, pulling me to a stop.
“Penelope,” Titus murmurs, sending a chill straight down my spine.
This cannot be good.
“My name is Nelle,” I huff and pull my shoulder from his grip, needing to put some distance between us.
Weaving my way through the crowd, I pick up my pace, pushing the ache of my weary muscles to the back of my mind in my haste to get away.
