Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

Pandora shook her right wrist out from under the piles of

bangles. At the very bottom, clipped tightly to her skin, was a cuff.

Pandora opened the oval face to reveal that the cuff was actually a

wrist-locket, something Helen had never seen before. Inside was a

picture of what Helen first thought was Hector, tickling the daylights

out of a little girl with short dark hair.

?My brother Ajax,? Pandora said wistfully. ?He always had time

for me, which is a big deal when you?re in a family as large as ours.

It?s easy to get lost in the shuffle, especially when you?re the littlest.

I used to follow him around everywhere he went, begging him to

give me jobs to do. He started calling me ?Squire? and I loved it.?

Helen looked at the joyful little girl squirming under the giant

hand of her big brother, and then up at Pandora?s glistening eyes.

?Even just looking at this picture I can tell he loved you very

much.?

?He did, and I loved him. I used to pretend he was a glorious

knight and I was his only trusted sidekick, and he played along. He

was so patient. He used to send me on dangerous quests to find his

car keys or summon the elevator. I was seven when he died. I

wasn?t supposed to be following him that night, but I was. I was

there when he was murdered.?

Helen was about to speak, to say something comforting if she

could, but Pandora changed abruptly, and continued. ?He was like

Apollo himself,? she said with a bright, although slightly forced,

smile. ?Like Hector in a lot of ways . . . only sweet, and not a cranky

wiseass. Don?t get me wrong, I love my nephew, but damn! He can

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be a such a grouch.? They both broke into a much-needed laugh at

Hector?s expense.

?I wish I?d met him. Your brother, I mean,? Helen said, and was