I start to fall, but Devin catches me and pulls me into his protective clutches.

"For now I can control her storms, not her. In a few days, her power will surpass mine. We grow stronger with each generation. Our collective parts gain more energy with each new breath. She has to get a handle on herself - at least somewhat - or she'll be ripped apart by her own power. That's why I'm here."

Devin scoops me up and sits down with me still tucked safely in his arms. My head rests on his chest, and I feel the burning passion inside of me clashing with my fury. The clouds thunder again, and Persia flashes to be next to us.

"You're training her Prometheus half first when you should be concentrating on her Aphrodite half. That's the control," she says in the usual cryptic manner the immortals around me do.

"Prometheus? She's half titan? Impossible. Aphrodite never mated, let alone bore child, with a titan," Theia objects.

"Aphrodite had a child that found a strong titan mate. I'm the direct daughter of Prometheus and Sapphire. Sapphire had me shortly after she met Prometheus, and then Athena's war began.

"We bounced around from place to place, but eventually Athena and her daughters caught up with us. I destroyed Athena, but not before my mother was killed. That was my strongest trigger - my mother.

"Then I was hunted. I bounced all over the world, and denied my Aphrodite half satisfaction. It finally caught up with me. I met Aphrodisia's father while I was in Egypt. I didn't even know he was immortal at first because his eyes were so subdued. My goddess called to him, and he responded with vigor. The overwhelming ecstasy made me make a decision I wasn't ready to undertake, given the hunt for me. I opened my womb for a child, and her father and I stayed together for as long as we could."

I don't even know how to respond. My storm is being subdued by the bitch who abandoned me, and I'm weakened from the strain of trying to force it. Devin's arms tighten around me when he feels my shaky body trembling against him.

"And her father?" Theia asks.

Persia hesitates and takes a deep breath before answering.

"Kahl, son of Krios. A full titan."

"That's impossible. The titans have all been killed with the exception of Deidra."

Theia apparently doesn't want my mother to know she's a titan. I don't blame her. I don't trust the blond bitch either.

"Don't treat me like a fool. I told you the name of my father. Don't pretend I don't know who or what you are. Besides, Kahl died before Aphrodisia was ever born. No one, and I mean no one, outside this group can know of her existence.

"You have no idea what I've sacrificed to keep her safe. If she dies, I'll kill you all. Don't doubt my abilities. I've survived one attack after another from the bitches spawned from Athena. I'll continue until I kill them all. Don't add yourselves to my list."

You have got to be kidding me.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You abandoned me. You have no right to threaten anyone for my safety," I wail out angrily.

Devin's arms tighten around me again while Persia takes a deep breath, and then she calms herself before speaking. Thunder doesn't crackle when she's mad. Why does it crackle when I'm mad?

"I did what I had to in order to keep you from living the life I did. It wasn't living at all. I wanted you to have family, friends, and possibly a future. I had hoped your immortality would stay dormant, and then you could live a normal, happy, fearless life. I knew this day would come despite my hopes. Your blood is too strong for your powers to have stayed dormant. Then I saw you with him, and I knew it was just a matter of time before you hit your mark. It was so obvious. I don't know how anyone missed it."

"You can see her?" Devin questions, seeming intrigued.

"Vaguely, and only because I'm a direct descendent of Prometheus."

"I can't see her at all," he says in a huffing manner.

"That's because she's very shielded, more so than I. We can discuss the ins and outs of our world at a different time though. Right now, we need to train her Aphrodite half. You're the key to that," she says to Devin.

He frowns slightly, and I finally sit up and out of his lap. I can't train my Aphrodite half because it wants to be with Devin so badly it's painful. If I give in again, it'll be worse.

"I don't have to listen to you. I'm getting somewhere the other way," I lie.

"You're not getting anywhere. You can hate me as fervently as you want to, you can even try to kill me later, but right now, I'm going to get you where you need to be in order to survive. So get up, dust yourself off, and get ready to learn."

I stand up, take a deep breath, and then something bizarre and unexpected happens. I punch her as hard as I can right in the face.

She flies backwards into the lake - that is rather far away - and I turn to walk in as if I'm not rattled by my incredible strength.

Holy fucking shit.

Kry and Ther let accidental laughs escape, but everyone else is wide-eyed and mum. I'm not listening to this bitch. I'm not having anything to do with her.

I'm not using my Aphrodite half for a thing if I don't have to. I'm tired of feeling pain. I'm tired of the foolish tears. I'm sick of the people who inflict me with both.

For the first time, I use my speed and flash up to my makeshift room. Everything around me blurs, and my legs feel to be moving in slow motion even though they're carrying me too fast for the human eye to see. I almost get queasy from the velocity I wasn't expecting.

Talk about a head rush.

I find the room and flop on the bed. Soft footsteps are not too far behind, and I know Devin is in my room when his incredible scent engulfs me.

"I'm sorry she's here, but she's right. There's no way we can beat your self-destructive deadline without her. You have two titans and Aphrodite in you - and that's just what we know. We have to do something fast because I'm not going to watch you die."

"I don't really care what you do or don't want to do. I'm not letting that woman anywhere near me. Please go away. My head is already killing me as it is."

I sniffle a little as a few tears escape. How did this happen? My life was so normal just yesterday. I was heartbroken, but normal.

He climbs into my bed and wraps his arms around me. I can feel my goddess half warming up, and I fight to suppress it.

"I'm not going anywhere until I know you're okay," he whispers while nestling his head into my hair.

I turn to face him, and his hand grazes my cheek.

"I can't do this. You know how badly you hurt me. You watched it. I've never been so destroyed in all my life. Please, just go away."

His eyes are rippling with pain just as Persia enters the room while rubbing her sore, aching jaw.

"Okay. Now that you've gotten that out of your system, let's get to work," she sighs.

Devin shakes his head woefully before standing up and leaving me alone with Mrs. Bitch.

She takes a deep breath, and I swear she's as nervous as I am. She finally steadies herself enough to talk.

"You need to train now. I know you don't want me here, but I'm the only one who knows how to teach you. I've survived this long just to be here when you reached this age. Your adoptive parents will have to see you ripped apart from the inside out if you don't listen to me. Your brother will have to see you like that. Clara will see you like that. Don't do this for me, Devin, or anyone here. Do it for the ones who have loved you in my absence."

How does she know so much about me?

She's right. My parents would be destroyed by such a thing. I hate her, but I love them.

I slowly stand to my feet and glare at her.

"This doesn't mean you and I will ever be anything more than teacher and student."

"I understand," she says with a pained whimper.

I barge by her and flash down the stairs - that wild head rush coming in again. Everything blurs by me vividly, and my stomach slaps my throat from the inside.

Devin is drinking a glass of scotch, and Kry is pouring a glass of his own when I reach the bottom. Exhaling heavily, I stalk toward them very deliberately.

"I'm going to assume immortals can still get drunk since the two of you are always drinking."

Kry shrugs. "It takes more for us than mortals, but it's still doable."

I take Devin's glass from his hand and turn up the remaining liquid. I hand him the empty cup, and then I take Kry's from his hand and turn it up as well. Kry laughs a little when I finish my little breakdown.

"I'm about to go train with Persia. I suggest you take cover," I mumble.

Kry laughs a little harder, but Devin follows me outside with a solemn air. He keeps his distance this time, but Persia is already out there. How'd she get by me?

Devin's eyes seem to bear the burden of a thought I don't share. I'm not sure if he knows something I don't, or if he's just sulking from our previous conversation.

"So, in order to train Aphrodite, you have to get your inhibitions a little lower. It's obvious the two of you are in a bad patch, but Aphrodite doesn't give a damn. She's a beast with an appetite. You have to get your lust under control before you can control anything else."

Oh. This can't be good.

She turns to Devin.

"Okay. Kiss her," she demands very bluntly.

"I can't do that," he says with a nervous chuckle while strumming his hand through his already tousled hair.

"You have to. Otherwise, Aphrodite sleeps until she wants to control her. Aphrodisia is different from us. Her entity lies in wait to take control, where as the rest of us just draw off the power of the ancient ones. If she's to be trained, we need her awake."

His laughter fades, and he looks at me with pained eyes. Turning back to her, he sighs in reluctance.

"I'm not kissing her until every bit of her wants to kiss me," he murmurs gently.

I cross my arms in protest. I don't get a say in this? She's such a bitch.

How can she waltz in here and act as though she has a say in anything? She can't order him to kiss me.

"Kiss her," she says, her eyes turning green.

Nothing happens, and she seems a little taken aback by that.

"You're immune?" she almost whispers.

"Look, I don't want to take advantage of her!" he barks, ignoring her question.

Immune to what?

"If you don't wake Aphrodite, then none of this is going to work. It just requires a little effort from you. Otherwise, she could die."

He flinches at the mention of the fatal possibility. He steadies his breath before whispering to her, but I can still hear it.

"She doesn't want me to."

"It doesn't matter what she wants. It matters if she lives or not," she whispers back.

He flashes to me, and his eyes connect with mine. The goddess within is awakening against my wishes. His hands grip me, and I struggle lightly against his touch.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs as his lips take mine.

I can't fight him. I need him right now. Aphrodite breaks free and takes me over as my hands wrap around his neck and then move to twist in his hair as he lifts me up.

My legs wrap around his waist, and the kiss deepens with more fire and intensity than I've ever felt. I can hear something happening, but my eyes barely gauge anything around me as he grips me tighter and they close again.

The steamy scent of boiling water invades my nose, but it doesn't snuff out the entrancing scent of Devin Cole's passion for me.

"What's going on?" Theia questions, but I can't stop what's about to happen - even if it is a little crude to do in front of his mother.

My nails dig into his back, and he squeezes his hands against me tighter in response. I'm not in control anymore. I'm not me at all, but then again I am. It's all so confusing, dreadful, incredible, and surreal at once.

"Now. Please," the goddess and I beg.

He starts walking away with me still firmly attached to him, and Theia calls to us. "We need to train. The whole lake is boiling. Can you two break it up for a minute?"

Devin ignores her as he carries me toward the house, and I hear Persia talking in a low murmur.

"Unfortunately, this is how you train Aphrodite."

I feel the wall crack as he falters in his stride and my back claps against it. He doesn't attempt the stairs. I can feel us crossing a threshold, but I don't pay any attention to the room around me.

The bed is suddenly beneath me, and he separates from me long enough for me to rip his shirt over his head. His mouth quickly regains control over mine, and his hands scour my body, making up for lost time. My hips rise and fall against his and my jeans feel as if they're burning off of me.

He rips them free from my body, and then he hoists me back into the air to force my back into a shattering armoire. The splintered wood splatters around us, but that only fuels my lusting fire.

He pushes me harder against the wall, and I balance myself long enough to pull my shirt off. His lips stroke my neck, and I'm so fucking doomed at this point. My lips return to his, and I feel the desperate, unkempt desire I've been dying to give into.

Aphrodite seizes her moment, consumes me, and takes both of us into the flames.

"Do you hate me for that?" Devin asks guiltily while we lie in a shattered bed surrounded by an even more shattered room.

I think about that for a second, and I know I can't hate him no matter what - certainly not for that.

Day turned to night during our ridiculous amount of time in here. I don't know what I'm supposed to feel, but Aphrodite has been sated, and I still want him so badly.

"No. I don't hate you, but I don't see how having sex with you has helped anything... other than the obvious," I mumble.

He stifles a grin, and I roll over to face him.