Starcrossed

total bull, of course, but they are pretty,” he said in a light tone. He was just giving her time to calm down, and she knew it.
    “Okay. What do I do?” she asked evenly.
    “I want you to pick the world back up again,” he answered.
    “What do you mean, pick up the world?” she sputtered.
    “Concentrate. You can feel what I mean, I know you can, but you have to trust me.”
    “I trust you,” Helen said for the hundredth time that day, but this time she looked him in the eyes as she said it, and he looked back at her with perfect faith. His face was glowing with it. Nothing could be impossible if Lucas had faith in her. So, she picked up the world . . . and fell, exactly like anyone else would have if they were trying to walk on six feet of air. Of course, Lucas knew what to expect, and caught her easily on her way to the ground. Snatching her out of the air, he eased her down until her feet lightly touched the grass.
    Finally standing on her legs after so long without using them, Helen felt a bit unsteady. Her vision was reeling, and she rested against Lucas for a moment, her arms wrapped around his neck. When the dizzy feeling passed, she kept her arms there still, hoping to feel some kind of invitation from him. He pulled away and forced a laugh.
    “See? Piece of cake. Next time, just swing your legs under you right before you change states, and you’ll be good to go,” he said breezily as he started walking back toward the house. “You’re learning much faster than I did, you know.”
    “Yeah, right. I would have hit the ground like a brick if you hadn’t caught me,” she said, shoving Lucas away from her as she walked, laughing with him even though her heart felt a bit twisted up in her chest.
    She wasn’t exactly expecting a kiss, but she certainly had been hoping for one. She suddenly felt really foolish, like she was being an idiot for even trying to kiss someone so much smarter, so much more confident, so much more worldly than she was. She crossed her arms and sped up, but Lucas wouldn’t let her pass him. Instead, he unwound her arms and took her hand. She had just enough pride to be offended that he would insist on holding her hand after refusing to kiss her.
    “They can see us,” he said so quietly Helen could barely hear him. She saw him jerk his chin over toward the house.
    Following his gesture she saw that Pallas and Castor were sitting on the dark deck outside their shared study. They must have come outside to talk privately and been interrupted by Helen’s prolonged landing. They also must have seen her angling for a little nookie, which was so horrifying to Helen that she had to banish that thought from her mind forever or instantly explode from humiliation.
    “She’s learning fast, isn’t she, Dad?” Lucas called out.
    “Much better than her first landing,” Castor replied jovially, then turned to Helen. “Glad to see you’ve stopped trying to impersonate a comet.”
    “Yeah. I’ve also decided to do all my landings conscious from now on. Saves on food costs,” Helen returned amiably, glad that it was too dark for them to see her blush. She smiled at Pallas but he didn’t laugh, or even return her smile. He just watched.
    “Very wise of you,” Castor said. “By the way, you’d better not be planning any side trips, Lucas,” he added in warning. “Your mom’s almost done with dinner and she’s not in the mood to wait for anyone tonight.”
    “Duly noted. Thanks for the heads-up,” Lucas said as he led Helen back toward the house. By the way Lucas was rushing her along it seemed as if he was purposely avoiding his father and uncle. Either that or he was keeping Helen away from them.
    “Okay, what’s going on?” she asked as soon as they got into the dark garage and closed the door behind them. “Your uncle is really weird around me. What did he find out in Europe?”
    “No one’s heard of you over there—or at least no one is talking about you. My uncle Pallas came home because he was following Creon here, but as far as we know Creon came to the States without telling his family. We think he just wants to keep an eye on us—on Hector, mostly,” Lucas said with a dark look on his face.
    “Did your uncle learn anything about those two women? The ones who attacked me?” Helen whispered tensely.
    “No, that’s still a mystery. None of Uncle Pallas’s contacts know anything about them. We don’t think Tantalus knows about you yet, but no