Chapter 24
I’D FANTASIZED SO MANY TIMES ABOUT WHAT IT would be like to be in a relationship with Aiden. There had been days, not too long ago, that I would’ve smacked that dream right out of my head because it seemed so hopeless. But for a week I lived that fantasy to the fullest.
We stole as many moments alone as we could, filling them with deep kisses and quiet laughter. And plans, we actually made plans.
Or at least we tried to.
My back arched and a giggle escaped.
“Oh, so you are ticklish?” Aiden murmured against the flushed skin of my neck. “This is a very interesting development.”
It seemed that, when we were together, we could never keep our hands off each other for very long. Aiden had to be touching some part of me. Whether it was just a slight contact of skin, his hand wrapped around mine or our bodies flush with our legs tangled lazily, we were always touching.
Maybe it was because he’d fought it for so long or maybe we both were crazy, intoxicated by the simple act of just lying together, and we were addicted to it. Our legs pressed together and our heads rested on the arm of the couch in the room with the family portraits. It was safe in here as no one dared to enter it. What had once been Aiden’s sanctuary had become ours.
Today was no different.
But it wasn’t all fun. As the days passed and I knew Seth’s return was approaching, anxious energy built inside me. There was also barb-tipped guilt that sank in deep. Sometimes, when I thought of him, I remembered those glimpses of vulnerability he’d shown after our midnight swim in the Catskills and the day after I’d been given the brew. Seth was a lot of things, almost a complete enigma at times, but under it all, he was a guy who… who cared, and he cared about me. Maybe more than I did for him. Maybe not, but I didn’t want to hurt him.
I wiggled on the couch beside Aiden, trying to shake the sudden dark cloud that’d settled over me. Talking to Seth wasn’t going to be easy. Then again, I had no idea how he would respond. He’d been with Boobs…so maybe it wouldn’t be that hard.
“So tell me,” Aiden continued idly, drawing me back to the present—to him. “Where was that spot again? Was it here?” He trailed his fingers over my stomach.
“No.” My eyes closed as my heart jumped and tiny shivers skated through me.
“Here?” His fingers danced over my ribs.
Beyond words, I shook my head no.
“Now where was that spot?”
His agile fingers skipped over my stomach and along my side. I clamped my mouth shut, but my body shook as I tried to restrain my natural reaction.
“Aha! Is this it?” He increased the pressure slightly.
I squirmed, but he was relentless. He laughed when I jack knifed, and I would’ve tumbled to the floor if it weren’t for his quick movement. “Stop,” I gasped in between fits of giggles, “I can’t take it.”
“All right, maybe I should be nice.” Aiden pulled me back to his side and leaned over me. He plucked a strand of hair and twisted it around his two fingers. “Anyway, back to the question at hand. What place other than New Orleans?”
I ran my hand down his arm, loving the way his muscles seemed to clench under the skin I touched. “How about Nevada? There’re no Covenants nearby. The closest is the University.”
He leaned down, brushing his lips over my cheek. “Are you suggesting Las Vegas?”
I fixed an innocent look on my face. “Well, there’d be a lot of daimons, since you pures like to party there, but no real Hematoi establishments of any kind.”
“First New Orleans and now Las Vegas?” He brushed his lips back and forth as his fingers tipped my head back. “I’m starting to see a trend here.”
“I don’t know.” My breath caught as he pressed down. “Maybe you can’t handle Las Vegas.”
Aiden smirked. “I love a challenge.”
I giggled, but all humor fled the moment his lips touched mine again. I could go on just kissing him forever. They were gentle kisses at first, soft and questioning. My fingers sank through his hair, clenching him closer, and the kisses deepened. I shifted and wrapped my arms around him, wanting to be able to push the stop button on time. I could stay here forever, feeling his body molded to mine, melting together—I froze against him.
The feeling slithering down my spine was unmistakable. The three runes that had been dormant since Seth left now woke up with a vengeance, burning and tingling. The cord snapped alive, responding to its other half.
His lips moved down my neck, over my collarbone. “What is it?”
There was no stop button for time. Dammit. “Seth’s here, like he’s right outside.”
Aiden lifted his head. “Seriously?”
I nodded stiffly.
He swore under his breath and sprang to his feet. I started to get up, but he held out his hand. “Let me just check this out first, Alex.”
“Aiden—”
Swooping down, he clasped my shoulders and kissed me until I almost forgot about the way the cord was unraveling in the pit of my stomach. “Just let me check this out, okay?” he whispered.
I nodded and watched him prowl toward the door. With a quick reassuring smile, he left the room. It was probably a good thing that he was going out to greet Seth. I needed a few moments to collect myself after that last kiss.
Nervous energy rushed me and the cord thrummed happily. Agitated, I rose to my feet within a minute and crossed the room. Seth was near. I knew it deep in my bones. I stopped in front of the cracked door and held my breath.
They were in the hallway, alone. And of course they were arguing already. I rolled my eyes.
“You think I don’t know?” I heard Seth say in a smug, knowing way. “That I didn’t know this entire time I’ve been gone?”
“Know what?” Aiden sounded surprisingly calm.
Seth laughed softly. “She may be here with you, right now, but that’s just a moment in time in the big scheme of things. And all moments end, Aiden. Yours will, too.”
I wanted to throw open the door and tell Seth to shut up.
“Sounds like something on the back of a twisted Hallmark card,” replied Aiden. “But perhaps your time has already ended.”
There was a stretch of silence and I could picture the two of them. Aiden would be coolly looking down on Seth, who would be smiling arrogantly and secretly enjoying the whole confrontation. Sometimes I wanted to smack them both.
“It doesn’t really matter,” said Seth. “That’s what you don’t get. She can love you and it still doesn’t matter. We belong together. It’s fated. Have your moments, Aiden, because in the end, it really won’t mean a damn thing.”
That was it. I threw open the door and stormed out into the hallway. Neither of them even turned around, and I knew they heard me fly out of the room. Beyond them I could see the shadows of the Guards through the tiny square windows on each side of the door.
“You really think that?” Aiden cocked his head to the side. “If so, then you’re a damn fool.”
Seth smiled. “I’m not the fool here, pure-blood. She doesn’t belong to you.”
“She belongs to no one,” Aiden growled as his hands flexed by his hips, where his daggers normally hung.
“Debatable,” Seth said, so low I wasn’t even sure I’d heard him correctly.
I shoved between the two idiots before one of them did some damage. “You don’t own me, Seth.”
Seth finally looked at me, his eyes a cool amber. “We need to talk.”
That we did. I glanced at the furious pure-blood beside me. This wasn’t going to be pretty.
“In private,” Seth added.
“What can you possibly need to say that you can’t say in front of me?” Aiden asked.
“Aiden,” I groaned. “You promised, remember?” I didn’t need to say any more. Aiden knew. “I do need to talk to him.”
“Nothing will happen to her. Not when she’s with me.”
I spun around. “Just let me get my hoodie. Try not to kill each other.”
“No promises,” Seth smirked.
Grabbing my hoodie off the back of the couch, I quickly hauled it on and hoofed it back to the hallway. Gods knew a second of those two together was a second too long. I passed Aiden a meaningful look as I followed Seth to the front door. He looked severely unhappy, but nodded.
Brutal temperatures sucked away my breath as I stepped outside. I was unable to remember the last time it’d been this cold in North Carolina. Seth wore just a black thermal and cargos. Nothing else. I wondered If I got built-in weather padding once I Awakened.
The Guards immediately stepped aside, revealing the strong winter sun glaring off the still waters. At first I was surprised, but then I remembered whose Guards they were—Lucian’s.
Aiden moved uneasily. His hands opened and closed at his sides.
Seth feigned a look of sympathy. “Don’t look too happy about this, Aiden.”
I kicked Seth in the shin.
“Ouch,” he hissed, blasting me with a look. “Kicking is not nice.”
“Antagonizing people isn’t nice,” I shot back.
Aiden sighed. “You have twenty minutes. Then we’ll come looking for you.”
Backing down the steps, Seth bowed at Aiden and then pivoted around. Wind caught and tossed his hair around. Sometimes I forgot how… beautiful Seth was. He could give Apollo a run for his money. Both of them had this type of cold beauty that didn’t seem real, because it was flawless both far away and up close.
I fell into step beside him, shoving my hands into the center pocket of my hoodie. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
Seth arched a golden eyebrow. “Really? I’m not surprised by that.”
My cheeks flushed. There was no way he could’ve known what had happened between Aiden and me. The bond didn’t work over that many miles. Taking a deep breath, I womaned up. “Seth, I have to—”
“I already know, Alex.”
“What?” I stopped, pushing my hair out of my face. “You know what?”
He faced me and leaned in, bringing his face mere inches from mine. The cord went crazy inside me, but it was manageable… as long as he didn’t touch me. Oh gods, this wasn’t going to be easy. “I know everything.”
“Everything” could mean a lot of things. I hunched my shoulders, squinting against the harsh glare. “What exactly do you know?”
His lips tipped into a small smile. “Well, let’s see. I know about that,” he gestured to the St. Delphi house, “back there. I knew that was going to happen.”
I went hot and cold all at once. “Seth, I’m really sorry. I don’t want to hurt you.”
He stared at me a moment, then laughed. “Hurt me? Alex, I’ve always known how you’ve felt about him.”
Okay. I must’ve been on crack when I thought I’d seen vulnerability in Seth before. Silly me, he was the boy with no feelings or something. But even for the cocky, annoying version of Seth, he was taking this surprisingly well—too well. My suspicions skyrocketed. “Why are you so okay with this?”
“Am I supposed to be upset? Is that what you want?” He tipped his head to the side, brows slanted. “Do you want me to be jealous? Is that what it takes?”
“No!” I felt my face flush again. “I just didn’t expect you to be so… okay with it.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m okay with it. It is what it is.”
I stared at him and then a thought struck me. “You’re not going to turn him in, are you?”
Seth slowly shook his head. “How would that benefit me? You’d be in servitude and on the elixir.”
And I wouldn’t Awaken, which it always seemed to come down to, and I was big enough person to admit that stung. I wondered what bothered Seth more—my life being virtually over or my Awakening not happening. I looked away, biting my lip. “Seth, I found some stuff out while you were gone.”
“So did I,” he responded evenly.
That was cryptic. “You had to know about the Order and how an Apollyon is made.”
His expression didn’t change. “Why is that?”
Frustration flared. “You once said that when you Awakened, you knew everything from the previous Apollyons. One of them would’ve known about the Order, and about how they were born. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Seth sighed. “Alex, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t see a point.”
“How could you not see a point after everything that happened to me in New York? If you’d told me about the Order, I could’ve been better prepared.”
He looked away, lips pursing.
“And I asked you while we were there if you knew what that symbol meant,” I said. Anger and so much disappointment swamped me. I didn’t even try to shield my emotions from him. “You said you didn’t know. When I asked if you knew about a half and a pure mixing, you said you guessed your father had to be a half. You knew the truth. What I don’t get is why you didn’t tell me.”
“I was told not to.”
“What?” Seth started walking, and I hurried to catch up with him. “Who told you not to tell me?”
He stared up the beach. “Does it matter?”
“Yes!” I practically shrieked. “It does matter. How can we have anything If I don’t trust you?”
His brows shot up. “What do we have exactly, Alex? I do remember telling you that you had a choice. I didn’t ask for labels or expectations.”
I remembered that, too. The night in the pool seemed forever ago. Part of me missed that playful Seth.
“And you made your choice,” Seth continued softly. “You made your choice even when you said you chose me.”
I also remembered that fleeting, satisfied look when I had said that I’d chosen him. Shaking my head, I searched for something to say. “Seth, I—”
“I don’t want to talk about this.” He stopped where the sand faded into pavement, reached down and brushed his knuckles across my cheek. I jerked back, startled by the contact and the electric shock that followed. Seth lowered his hand, staring at the backs of the small shops lining the main road. “Anything else you want to talk about?”
He hadn’t answered a damn question, but I did have one more. “Did you see my father, Seth?”
“No.” He met my eyes.
“Did you even look for him?”
“Yes. Alex, I couldn’t find him. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.” He pushed back the shorter strands that had been blown free. “Anyway, I brought you back a gift.”
I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right, but then he repeated it, and my heart sank. “Seth, you shouldn’t have brought me anything.”
“You’ll change your mind once you see it.” A wicked grin pulled at his lips. “Trust me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime type of gift.”
Great. This was making me feel better. If he handed me the Hope Diamond, I was going to throw up. He and I had never been in a relationship, but guilt still twisted at my insides. When I looked at him, I saw Aiden. And when Seth touched me, I felt Aiden. The worst thing of it all was that Seth knew.
“Alex, just come on.”
“Okay.” I drew in a deep breath and then pressed my lips together. The wind that kicked up from the ocean was shockingly cold, and I huddled down in my hoodie. “Why in the world is it so cold? It never used to be this cold here.”
“The gods are pissed,” Seth said, and then laughed.
I frowned at him.
Seth shrugged. “They are putting all their focus into this little piece of the world. It’s because of us, you know. The gods know change is coming.”
“Sometimes you really kind of freak me out.”
He laughed.
I made a face. We walked in silence after that. I kept expecting him to turn toward the Covenant-controlled island and when we didn’t, then I thought we’d head toward Lucian’s house, but he led me straight through town and toward the courthouse, which was used by the Council members.
“My gift is in the courthouse?”
“Yes.”
Honestly, I never knew what to expect from Seth. Even with the bond, I didn’t have a clue what went on in his head half of the time.
The normal number of Council Guards stood just inside the Courthouse, hidden from mortal tourists; beyond them, three of Lucian’s Guards blocked a door. They stepped aside, opening the door for us.
I halted, knowing where the door and the stairs led to. “Why are we going down to the cells, Seth?”
“Because I’m going to lock you up and get all freaky.”
I rolled my eyes.
Taking my elbow, he tugged me forward. Down we went. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the stairwell. Old boards creaked under our feet. The cells weren’t underground. They were actually on the first floor. The main entrance opened up to the second floor, but it still felt like we were walking down into some dank, dark place.
Dim light lit the hallway. Over Seth’s shoulder, I could make out several cells lining the narrow corridor. I shuddered, picturing myself stuck in one of them. Gods, how many times had I come close to that?
Ahead of us, two Guards stood in front of the very last cell. Seth walked up to them and snapped his fingers. “Leave us.”
I gaped as the two Guards left. “Do you have special Apollyon finger-snapping powers?”
He tipped his head toward me. “I have a lot of special Apollyon finger powers.”
I shoved him. “Where’s my gift, perv?”
Seth backed up, grinning. He stopped in front of the barred door and spread his arms. “Come look.”
Okay. I was curious. Stepping forward, I stopped in front of the door and peered through the bars. My mouth dropped open as my stomach hollowed.
Huddled in the middle of the cell, with his hands tied to his ankles, Head Minister Telly stared back at us with blank eyes. His face was battered, barely recognizable, and his torn, dirtied clothing hung off him.
“Oh, my gods, Seth.”