Shaken by Thalia’s advice, Pip turned to look back at the boy still standing in the center of the training ring, rubbing his shoulder. She winced, heat rising to her cheeks. She really shouldn’t have reacted like that.

  After a few deep breaths, Pip walked across the room, hoping she’d be able to decide what to do while she moved.

  Florence watched her carefully, tensing slightly as she stepped once more into the ring. Cycling her core eased the pain in her feet, but she still grimaced as every step sent pain through her soles.

  “I’m…” What could Pip say that made any sort of a difference? “I’m sorry I reacted like that. I’m not used to losing.”

  “Many aren’t,” Florence said, flashing that smirk once again. “Believe me, I’ve had a lot worse reactions than that.”

  “Yeah.” What else was she meant to say? She’d said sorry. Now she had to ask for advice, from the boy who had defeated her so easily. It made sense, she couldn’t deny that, but it stung. Couldn’t Thalia just tell her what she needed to know?

  Florence jerked his head, nodding across the room. “She whipped the shit out of you, huh?”

  A long breath escaped Pip, turning into a chuckle just as it died out. “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “Been there,” Florence said, nodding. “Though, considering what I’ve heard my dad say about your grandma… It might be a little bit hypocritical on her part.”

  “Oh yeah?” She perked up, mind latching onto the information. People were always dropping little hints at Thalia’s past, beyond what was publicly available, but rarely wanted to explain.

  “Yeah, she was something else back in the early days,” Florence said.

  “She hasn’t changed much then, I guess,” Pip said, glancing over her shoulder at her grandmother. The woman watched them closely, eyes never wavering or letting them leave her sight. She would watch with a hawk until they’d finished talking, or come to some sort of conclusion. “I’m supposed to ask you what I can work on, I guess.”

  Florence let out a sigh. “I really hate being so good at assessment sometimes,” he said dramatically. He shook his head, then focused once more, motioning up and down her. “You’re really misusing your potential.”

  She bristled once more. “What does that mean?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “You fight like a brute,” he said bluntly. “And you’re not. You have fine control over your power, at least from what I can see. But what did you do? You threw some knives at me, failed at using a shield, and slashed me with a sword.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with weapons.”

  “I didn’t say there is,” Florence said. “And I know why you use them, considering your family and all, but there’s so much more you can do. Can you make that gauntlet again?”

  Exuding a minor effort, Pip crafted a glass gauntlet around her arm, tinted the faintest color orange.

  “You use a shield the size of your body and nearly double your weight, when you could use this,” he said, tapping on the glass. “I wouldn’t have gotten your arm if you’d been using something like this rather than that shield. And you wouldn’t have to keep dropping the shield any time you have to do a maneuver.”

  Pip nodded, flexing her hand beneath the gauntlet. It wasn’t very effective. It was more a block of glass than a glove, covering her fist with a cap. “I won’t be able to move in it.”

  “I was under the impression you had glasskinesis,” he said.

  “I do.”

  “Then why can’t you move in it?” he asked. “The weight shouldn’t matter, if you can lift it with a thought either way.”

  “There’s not much finesse,” Pip added. If she used this, she wouldn’t be able to use her weapons.

  “Well, I can’t help with that,” Florence said. “Sounds like you need better control.”

  “My control is solid.” She opened up her bare palm and summoned a dagger in response.

  “Yes, your summoning is fast,” he said. “But any pyro can summon a storm of fire at the drop of a hat. But can they make the fire so hot so fast that it can melt bullets? Or cause a single speck of dust to explode? No, because they don’t have the same level of fine control as I do. And that’s what we need, types like you and I. Brute force doesn’t work for us, not for every problem. If I used brute force all the time, I’d leave half the city burning just to solve a minor issue. We’re not strongmen. If we want to win, we have to have better control than anyone else. Glass… it doesn’t exactly have the same overwhelming force as geokinesis.”

  Pip nodded, forcing herself to swallow the information. She wanted to get better, which meant she had to work on every area of her power, not just fighting. And he was right. Her power wasn’t on the same level as her mother, or other people with geokinesis.

  “You obviously can fight,” Florence said, rolling shoulder for emphasis. “I just don’t understand why you’re not fighting with your power. Sure, you’re using weapons made of glass, but I can see so many more possibilities in front of you.”

  He shook his head and glanced away. “But what do I know? The Carter family is all about weapons, after all.”

  Pip nodded even as she flexed the piece of armor again. Maybe he was onto something. She wouldn’t get rid of her weapons; she’d been trained to fight that way since she was young enough to wield a blade. But she obviously needed to get better, and she only had a few months to be able to do it.

  “Do you live in town?” Pip demanded. “Or are you just visiting?”

  “Visiting,” Florence said. “Why?”

  “Because I want to train with you,” Pip said, setting her resolve. “I’m going to beat you one day. I might as well start as soon as possible.”

  Florence glanced across the room at Thalia. “I’m sure your grandmother will be able to work something out. Now, I think it’s time for you to get healed up, because I’m taking us out for margaritas!”

  *****

  Sitting at a bar, Pip sipped on what was basically just fancy orange juice while Thalia and Florence enjoyed actual drinks. It wasn’t fair that Florence was able to drink, considering they were basically the same age, but Thalia had shushed her when she asked about it. Evidently, if you were resourceful enough to have a fake ID, you were allowed to have it. At least in Thalia’s eyes.

  Pip should get on that.

  Not that it really mattered to her. She couldn’t be distracted right now anyway, not when Florence had just highlighted how badly she needed to focus on training. Not just her weapons skills, but all areas of her power. If she was going to beat him when they got into the program, she needed to step it up. And she fully intended to be able to beat him.

  “Thank you for bringing me down here, ma’am,” Florence said. All of the smirking, self confident energy he’d had during their match had been replaced with impeccable manners that made Pip glad Mai hadn’t met him because then she’d expect Pip to behave the same.

  “You were doing me a favor,” Thalia said, patting the boy on the shoulder. He beamed, sitting up straighter under her praise. As if the energy was being pulled from one place to another, Pip slumped over further against the bar. She couldn’t begrudge him this, being praised by one of the world’s best heroes was something many could only dream of. But Thalia wasn’t just The Archer to Pip, she was her grandmother.

  “Can you bring Florence back so we can keep sparring?” Pip asked, looking between her grandmother and Florence hopefully. He was good, really good, and she wanted to train with him.

  “I don’t see why not,” Thalia said with a shrug. “So long as your school schedules allow.”

  “I can always skip,” Florence said, and Pip’s esteem for him rose by a few inches. Between that and the fake ID, and of course his powers and skills, he was shaping up to be an interesting friend, or rival. Or both. Both was good.

  Thalia let out a laugh and shook her head. “Your parents are going to accuse me of being a bad influence.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “That’s irrelevant,” Thalia said, brushing the comment aside. “They believe I should be a good influence, so I’m stuck having to fulfill that role.”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “That must be so difficult for you,” Florence deadpanned.

  Shortly, Thalia excused herself to the restroom, leaving Florence and Pip sitting alone together at the bar. She stared him, then down at her glass when his eyes darted her way. Alone, they didn’t have much to talk about. But Pip could talk about anything, regardless if there was something to talk about or not.

  Retrieved her phone, she slid over onto Thalia’s stool and held it out to them. “Give me your number,” she demanded.

  “I’m flattered,” Florence said, batting irritatingly long eyelashes. “But I’m taken.”

  Pip scoffed. “And I’m a lesbian. That’s not why I’m asking.”

  Florence let out a sigh. “Fair enough.” He took the phone, adding his number and snapping a posed selfie he placed as the icon. Pip took one look at it and deleted it, snapping another picture where he didn’t look nearly as good, and you could see halfway up his nostrils.

  “Unfair.”

  “You don’t deserve to look that pretty.”

  “Should I be hurt or complimented?”

  Ignoring him, Pip shot Florence a quick text.

  Pip: it’s Pip :))))

  Her phone pinged a moment after.

  Florence: who

  Her expression dropped into a glare, and Florence barked out a laugh. “Okay, fine. I’ll message you all my training plans and shirtless workout pictures.”

  “That’s unnecessary,” Pip said quickly. “I just don’t have that many other hero friends. Or future hero friends.”

  “Really?” He arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “I find that surprising.”

  Pip shrugged. “I guess I’m just not around all that many people? Mostly my family and then people at school.”

  “That’s interesting,” Florence said, his tone saying something different.

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “It’s just curious. I would have thought you’d always be around other supers, considering how connected your family is. Then again, not everyone wants their children to be surrounded by supers and heroes all the time.”

  “Yeah,” Pip let out a sigh. “It’s not that I didn’t grow up around supers and heroes, but does it count if they’re just my siblings, or people my mom works with?”

  “Not really. I mean, I know plenty of heroes, but I also had friends of my own.”

  “Yeah, I just made some of my first friends,” Pip admitted.

  “Wow. Can’t believe I’m your best friend already.”

  “You’re not,” Pip said flatly.

  “Oh yeah? Who else do you have?”

  “There’s this girl Khione…” Pip trailed off, not sure how to think of Khione. They weren’t close, but they’d kissed, and apparently Pip was supposed to take her on a date now. Were they still friends, if that was the case?

  “You’ve made out with her, haven’t you?” Florence’s words were flat and unimpressed.

  “That doesn’t matter,” Pip said.

  “If you’ve made out with her, you’re not best friends,” Florence said. “So that leaves you with who?”

  She stared at him, unwilling to open her mouth. Just because he was right didn’t mean she was okay with that.

  But she didn’t need to say anything for him to get his answer, and a smile broke out across his face. “That’s what I thought,” he said, taking a smug sip of his drink. “Where do you plan on going for the hero program?”

  “I’m not sure,” Pip said. She’d always imagined staying here in the city, but at the same time… Part of her wanted to get away. She would miss her family of course, but it would give her a chance to build her own reputation. At least in part. She’d never get away from the Carter legacy, and she didn’t want to, but she wanted to uphold her part of it without her mother a call away from being there to save the day. “Grandma Thalia said she’d take me on a tour of some of the hero programs, so I’m not sure where I’ll end up. What about you?”

  Florence shrugged. “I was told I should take a look at a few different locations, which is part of the reason why your grandma brought me here. But I’m probably going to stay in New York. There’s so much more there, plus there are like a ton of heroes up there. It’s great for connecting.”

  Pip nodded. New York city was sort of a hub for a lot of supers, along with D.C. and Los Angeles, of course. New Denver had its fair share as well, but it was all relative to the population of a place, and New York city was definitely at the top. It would be interesting to go there for training, but she’d also be thousands of miles away from most of her family.

  Did she want to go that far?

  “Well, if Thalia takes me up to New York, I’ll drop by and visit you,” Pip said.

  “You’d better bring your A game,” Florence said. “I don’t want to have to whoop your ass so thoroughly again.”

  “You’re just lucky it wasn’t a close combat brawl,” Pip said.

  Florence shrugged. “Maybe. But what can you do if you can’t touch me?” Heat began to waft off his skin as he spoke, eyes twinkling as he stared at her.

  Thalia clucked her tongue as she walked back to the bar. “Don’t burn this place down.”

  “Wasn’t going to,” Florence said, the heat vanishing so immediately she had to wonder if he’d reabsorbed it. It would be unusual, but not unheard of, especially for someone with so much fine control of his power.

  “Can we start with New York when you take me on the tour?” Pip asked, batting her eyes at Thalia. Unfortunately, Grandma Thalia was immune to puppy dog eyes.

  “Possibly,” Thalia said. “I take it you want a rematch?”

  “Of course I do,” Pip said, unable to prevent from clenching her fists. She was going to get stronger, and sparring Florence again would be a way to prove that. To herself, and to others. He wouldn’t be so far ahead of her for long. She’d lost time while grounded, but she’d be able to make that ground up if she pushed hard, and she would push hard. There was no world in which she fell behind or didn’t make it to hero. You could talk to any future-seer. They would say the same thing. She would make it to hero, there was no questioning it.

  “Well, I can't fault you,” Thalia said. “I don't think I'd be in this position now if I didn't love a good fight. Thank you for that, Florence, but I believe it's time for Pip and I to head out.”

  She shook the boy's hand, and Pip waved and made him promise not to text her any pictures of himself shirtless, and they left the bar.

  They walked back to the tower to retrieve the ancient sports car Thalia continued to drive and piled in. Pip kicked off the shoes given to her at the tower and kicked her feet up on the dash, only for Thalia to promptly slap her across the knee and chide her for dirtying the dashboard.

  They drove through the city, as chaotically as everyone else since Grandma Thalia only drove offensively, mountains rolling off in the distance. In the quiet, Pip had to voice a question.

  “You knew I would lose, didn’t you?” It was hard to keep the note of accusation from her voice, but did she even want to? It was clear Thalia had come into the spar with an agenda.

  “I had hoped you wouldn’t, but suspected you would,” Thalia said. “Florence is very good, and not at all what you’re used to training with. Odds were you’d lose.”

  “Why?” Pip demanded. “Why bring me there just to lose?”

  “It’s necessary,” Thalia said. “You’re good, Pip, but you’re not the best. But you’ve never lost. Your mother and I were concerned that if you went into the program without ever losing, it would be detrimental. Losing will only make you stronger.”

  “Unless you’re in the real world, where losing could mean death,” Pip fired back.

  “Don’t even start,” Thalia snapped, her eyes flashing. “There are plenty of situations where heroes lose and don’t die. I’ve lost my fair share of times. What won’t help you is this attitude.”

  “Fine.” She slumped back in the seat, staring out the windshield. Flying past the speed limit, they rapidly made their way homeward, where Pip felt certain she had a lecture awaiting her.

  Thalia let out a sigh. “Don’t sulk. This is with your best interest in mind. I hope you can learn to see it that way and improve before you get into the program. I will not have my granddaughter go and make a fool of herself the moment she enters the hero program.”

  “I’m going to get better,” Pip said, jaw set. She wouldn’t make a fool of herself. She was a Carter, even if she couldn’t do the traditional Carter things. She wouldn’t disgrace the legacy she’d been born to.

  “You already have some ideas, don’t you?” Thalia asked, glancing over at her.

  A smile flickered across Pip’s lips. Florence did have some good ideas, though she couldn’t imagine ever giving up on using her summoned weapons. Not when she was so good, and had so much training in that area. She simply had to find a way to make it so that her skills and her powers could work together to make her a better hero. “I have a few.”

  “That’s my girl,” Thalia said, a wicked light entering her eyes. So much of the time, Thalia was just Grandma Thalia. A bit weird, with a massive legacy and more stories than anyone could ever beat. Other times, The Archer shone through. “I knew you’d rise to the challenge.”

  “I’m not quite sure how to work it out,” Pip admitted, “but I have some ideas.”

  “Well, your mothers said I couldn’t take you on tour until your next break,” Thalia said. “So you have until then, if you want that rematch with Florence.”

  “So, Christmas break?” Pip asked, tilting her head to the side. She was hard pressed to believe either of her mothers would allow her to be gone over Christmas.

  “Don’t you get Thanksgiving break?” Thalia asked.

  “Just a few days,” Pip said with a shrug.

  “Damn. Well, I’d prefer not to wait until spring break, so I’ll see what I can do.”

  “You can always take me out of school for a few days,” Pip said, beaming at her grandmother with wide eyes.

  Thalia side eyed her. “Nice try.”

  They reached home, Thalia’s car screeching as she slammed on the brakes in front of the mansion. Glad she didn’t have her feet up on the dash, Pip slipped out of the car and made her way up to the front door. If her siblings were home, there was no sign of it, the house quiet as she made her way inside, Grandma Thalia following behind.

  She reached the kitchen, stumbling in on Athena doing her best to cook fried rice with a pile of leftovers from the fridge. Her mother looked up and smiled, then let out a muttered curse as her rice started to burn.

  “Where is everybody?”

  “Dad took everyone out for ice cream,” Athena said. “And Mai went with them to make sure they don’t end up on a beach in California.”

  Thalia barked out a laugh. “Grant isn’t that much of a troublemaker.”

  “Mai still isn’t over when you and Dad took Pip to Florida without letting us know.”

  “We had her back by dinner,” Thalia said, brushing the comment aside. “And it’s not like we kidnapped her. You asked us to babysit.”

  This must have been when Pip was a baby, because she didn’t remember ever being kidnapped and taken to Florida. It would explain why Mai never let Grandma Thalia and Grandpa Grant take them anywhere, and wasn’t entirely out of character. When you had access to a transporter who could take you anywhere, the whole world was your oyster.

  “How’d it go?” Athena asked, dismissing any hope Pip had that Athena didn’t know what Thalia was planning.

  “I lost,” Pip said, shoulders slumping. Somehow, this was worse than Grandma Thalia witnessing her failure. Athena had trained her, pushed her, made certain she could fight and defend herself. And Pip had gone and lost.

  “Good,” Athena said with a nod. Giving up on the rice, she pulled it off the stove and dropped the burnt pan into the sink, smoke drifting quietly off it.

  “You wanted me to lose?”

  “I wanted you to learn,” Athena said. “Especially after your stunt with the summons.”

  Pip grumbled beneath her breath. It wasn’t fair that they were still holding that against her. She’d been punished. She’d made up for it. And she hadn’t snuck out to fight since, even though it would be so interesting. It had been so long now, she wasn’t certain she’d be able to find the summoner’s ring if she tried, now that they’d moved locations.

  “What did you learn?” Athena asked.

  “That I need to change up my fighting style,” Pip said. It would take work. A lot of work. She wasn’t sure how she was going to find the time for it, unless she abandoned the Losers, but she couldn’t do that to them. Mai would probably ground her again if she did. She would have to think of a way to help them first. “And I also need to figure out how to prevent my glass from melting.”