Chapter 3
I DIDN’T GO BACK TO MY CLASSES. INSTEAD, I WENT TO my dorm room and sat on my bed, the letter resting in front of me like a snake ready to spread its venom. I was reeling from learning that my dad was still alive and…. I felt so stupid for not figuring it out right away. Laadan’s letter didn’t come out and say it. Obviously, I understood why she skirted the true bomb she was dropping in the brief letter. How else would the Council have been able to get my father under control? And I’d seen him fight. He was like a ninja with those candleholders.
My father was a freaking half-blood—a trained half-blood. Hell, he’d probably been a damn Sentinel, which totally explained how my mom had known him before she met Lucian.
A half-blood.
So what in the holy Hades did that make me?
The answer seemed too simple. I flopped on my back, staring blindly at the ceiling. Gods, I wanted Caleb to talk this through with, because this couldn’t be what it was.
A pure-blood who had children with other pures made happy, little pure babies. A pure-blood who got it on with a mortal created the ever-useful half-blood. But a pure-blood and a half-blood getting together—which was so forbidden, so taboo that I couldn’t think of one situation where a child was actually produced—made… what?
I jerked straight up, heart thundering. The first time Aiden had been in my dorm room and I’d looked at him—well, I’d been ogling him, but whatever—and wondered why relationships between halfs and pures had been forbidden for eons. It wasn’t the fear of a one-eyed Cyclops, but it kind of was.
A pure-blood and a half-blood made an Apollyon.
“Shit,” I said, staring at the letter.
But it had to be more than just that. There was typically only one Apollyon born every generation, with the exception of Solaris and the First, and Seth and I. Which would mean a half and a pure only produced a child a handful of times since the time the gods had walked this earth. There had to be more times when it happened. Or were those babies killed? I wouldn’t put it past the pures or the gods to do such a thing if they knew what could come from the joining of a pure and a half. But why had Seth and I been spared? Obviously they knew what my father was since they’ve kept him around for whatever reason. My heart clenched, as did my fists. I pushed the anger down to revisit later. I’d promised Aiden I wouldn’t do anything reckless, and my anger always led to something idiotic.
A shiver inched its way down my spine. A sound came from my door, much like a lock being turned. I glanced at the letter, chewing my bottom lip. Then I looked at the clock beside the bed. I was way late for training with Seth.
The door opened and shut. I grabbed the letter, quickly folding it. I knew the moment he stood in the doorway without looking up. A level of awareness danced over my skin and the air filled with electricity.
“What happened today?” he asked simply.
There was very little I could hide from Seth. He would’ve sensed my emotions from the moment I read the letter and everything that I had been feeling while I’d been with Aiden. He wouldn’t know exactly what was causing my feelings to be all over the place—thank the gods—but Seth wasn’t stupid. I was a little surprised that he’d waited this long to come find me.
I lifted my gaze. He looked like one of those marble statues that adorned the front of every building here, except his skin was a unique golden color—otherworldly perfection. Sometimes he looked cold, impassive. Especially when his shoulder-length blond hair was pulled back, but it hung loose now, softening the lines of his face. His full lips were usually curved in a smug smile, but now they were pressed together in a hard, tight line.
Aiden had suggested that I keep the letter and its contents to myself. Laadan had broken gods know how many rules by telling me about my father, but I trusted Seth. We were, after all, fated to be together. A couple of months ago I would’ve laughed if someone had said that we would be doing whatever it was that we were doing. It’d been a case of mutual dislike when we first met, and we still had some epic moments. It wasn’t too long ago that I’d threatened to stab him in the eye. And I’d seriously meant it.
Silently, I held out the letter.
Seth took it, quickly unfolding it with long, agile fingers. I tucked my legs underneath me, watching him. There was nothing in his expression that gave away what he was thinking. After what seemed like forever, he glanced up. “Oh, gods.”
Not exactly the response I was shooting for.
“You’re going to do something incredibly stupid in response to this.”
I threw up my hands. “Jeez, does everyone think I’m going to Sparta-charge the Catskills?”
Seth’s brows rose.
“Whatever,” I grumbled. “I’m not going to attack the Covenant. I have to do something, but it won’t be… reckless. Happy? Anyway, do you remember the half-blood we passed when we were watching the Council the first day there?”
“Yes. You were staring at him.”
“That’s him. I know it. That’s why he looked so familiar to me. His eyes.” I bit my lip, looking away. “My mom always talked about his eyes.”
He sat beside me. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to send a letter back to Laadan, a letter for my dad. From there, I don’t know.” I looked at him. Thick strands of hair shielded his face. “You know what this means, right? That he’s a half-blood. And this—” I gestured at us. “We’re the reason why relations of the fun kind are forbidden between halfs and pures. The gods know what’ll happen if a pure and half hook up.”
“It’s probably more than that. The gods like the idea of subjugating the halfs. What do you think they did to the mortals during their heyday? The gods subjugated the mortals until it went too far. They still treat the half-bloods like dirt worthy of only being walked upon.”
Man, was Seth on a god-hating kick or what? I stared down at my right palm, at the faint rune that only Seth and I could see. “It was him—my father—in the stairwell. I can’t explain it, but I know it was.”
Seth looked up then, his eyes a strange shade of yellow. “Who knows about this?”
I shook my head. “The Council has to know. Laadan knew because she was friends with my… my mom and dad. It wouldn’t surprise me if Lucian and Marcus knew, too.” I frowned. “Do you remember when we overheard Marcus and Telly talking?”
“I remember dropping you on your butt.”
“Yeah, you did because you were staring at Boobs.”
His eyes widened and he let out a shocked laugh. “Boobs? What?”
“You know—that girl who was all over you in the Catskills.” When his brows rose, I rolled my eyes. So like Seth that he’d have trouble remembering which girl. “I’m talking about the one who had, well, huge boobs.”
He stared off into the distance for a moment and then laughed again. “Oh. Yeah, that one—wait a second. You named her Boobs?”
“Yeah, and I bet you don’t even remember her name.”
“Ah…”
“Glad we’re on the same page now. Anyway, Remember how Telly said that they already had one there? That they could keep them together? Do you think he was talking about my father and me?” If Marcus and Lucian knew, I wanted to bash their heads together, but confronting them would place Laadan in danger.
Seth glanced down at the letter. “That would make sense. Especially considering how badly Telly wanted you to be placed into servitude.”
Minister Telly was the Head Minister of all the Councils and he’d had it out for me from the get-go. My testimony about the events in Gatlinburg had been a complete ruse to get me in front of the entire Council so they could vote me into servitude. And I truly believed that Telly was behind the compulsion that’d been used on me the night I almost turned into a human popsicle. If Leon hadn’t found me, I’d have frozen to death. Then there was the night the equivalent of an Olympian roofie had been given to me in a coarse attempt to catch me in a compromising position with a pure. It would’ve worked if it hadn’t been for Seth and Aiden spotting me with the drink.
My cheeks burned as I remembered that night. I’d pretty much molested Seth—not that he’d complained. Seth had known I was under the influence of the brew and he’d tried to control himself, but the bond between us had spewed my revved-up lust all through him. I would’ve lost my virginity if I hadn’t ended the night by puking up my guts. I know the whole situation bothered Seth. He felt guilty for giving in. And Aiden’s fist had done a number on Seth’s eye after discovering me on the bathroom floor… in Seth’s clothing. Aiden couldn’t understand how I’d forgiven Seth… and sometimes I couldn’t, either. Maybe it was the bond, because what linked us together was strong. Maybe it was something more.
Then there was the pure-blood Guard who’d tried to kill me, saying he needed to “protect his kind.” I suspected Minister Telly had been behind that, also.
“Who else knows about this?” Seth dragged me from my musings.
“Laadan asked Aiden to give me this letter, but Leon did instead. Leon claims he didn’t look at the letter, and I believe him. It was sealed. See.” I pointed out the broken stamp. “Aiden didn’t know what was in it, either.”
Seth’s jaw flexed. “You went to Aiden?”
I knew I needed to proceed with caution. Seth and I weren’t together or anything, but I also knew he wasn’t messing around with anyone else now. The hot flashes I’d picked up on since returning from the Catskills had only been when he was around me, mostly during our hands-on training sessions. Seth was foremost a guy. It happened… a lot.
“I thought maybe he knew, since Laadan entrusted him with the letter, but he didn’t,” I said finally.
“But you told him?”
There was really no point in lying. “Yes. He knew I was upset. Obviously, he’s trustworthy. He’s not going to say anything.”
Seth was silent for a heartbeat. “Why didn’t you come to me?”
Oh, no. I focused on the floor, then my hands, and finally the wall. “I didn’t know where you were. And Leon told me where Aiden was.”
“Did you even attempt to find me? It’s an island. It wouldn’t have been hard to do.” He placed the letter on the bed, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his feet point to me.
I bit my lip. I didn’t owe him anything, or did I? Either way, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Seth might act like he had none, but I knew differently. “I just wasn’t thinking. It’s not a big deal.”
“Okay.” He leaned over and his breath warmed my cheek. “I felt your emotions this afternoon.”
I swallowed. “Then why didn’t you come looking for me?”
“I was busy.”
“Then what’s the big deal about me not looking for you? You were busy.”
Seth brushed the thick hair off my neck, tossing it over my shoulder. My muscles locked up. “Why were you so upset?”
I turned my head. Our gazes locked. “I just found out that my dad’s alive, and that he’s a servant. That’s kind of emotional.”
His eyes deepened to a warm amber. “That’s a good point.”
There wasn’t much space between our mouths. A sudden nervousness took over. Seth and I hadn’t kissed since the day in the labyrinth. I think my cold had grossed him out, and it wasn’t like I’d been pushing it, but I hadn’t sneezed or sniffled since early this morning. “You know what?”
He smiled slightly. “What?”
“You don’t seem very surprised about my father. You didn’t know, did you?” I held my breath, because if he did, I didn’t even know what I’d do. But it wouldn’t be pretty.
“Why would you even think that?” His eyes narrowed. “You don’t trust me?”
“No. Ido.” And I really did… most of the time. “But you just weren’t surprised at all.”
Seth sighed. “Nothing surprises me anymore.”
I thought of something else. “Do you know which of your parents was a half-blood?”
“I guess it had to be my father. Mother was a pure through and through.”
I didn’t know that. Then again, there was very little I knew about Seth. Sure, he liked to talk about himself, but it was all on a superficial level. Then there was the greatest mystery of all. “What’s your last name?”
“Alex, Alex, Alex,” he chided softly, rising to his knees.
I squeezed my hands together, recognizing the calculated edge to his gaze. He was so up to something. “What?”
“I want to try something.”
Since we were on my bed and Seth was a pervert most of the time, my suspicion level was pretty high. It showed in my voice. “Like what?”
Seth pressed me back until I was lying flat. He hovered above, a slight tilt to his lips. “Give me your left hand.”
“Why?”
“Why are you so damn inquisitive?”
I arched a brow. “Why do you always have to invade my personal space?”
“Because I like to.” He patted my stomach. “And deep down you like it when I do.”
My lips pressed together. I was pretty sure the bond between us liked it when he did. I could feel it right now. It practically purred. Whether I liked it was something I was still trying to figure out.
“Give me your left hand,” he ordered again. “We’re going to work on your blocking technique.”
“And we have to be holding hands to do this?” In my bed, I wanted to add.
“Alex.”
Sighing loudly, I gave him my hand. “Are we going to sing songs now?”
“You wish.” He straddled my thighs, placing a knee on either side. “I have a lovely singing voice.”
“Do we have to do this right now? I’m not really feeling it after everything.” Practicing blocking techniques of the mental kind required concentration and determination—two things I was lacking right now. Well, to be honest, concentration was something I usually lacked on most days.
“Now is the best time. Your emotions are all over the place. You need to learn how to push through that.” Seth grabbed my other hand, threading his fingers through mine. He bent so far that the edges of his hair brushed my cheeks. “Close your eyes. Picture the walls.”
Closing my eyes was something I did not want to do with Seth sitting on me. The bond between us had been growing stronger every day. I could feel it moving low in my tummy, thrumming to the surface. My toes curled inside my fuzzy socks. The same feeling I had the day I blew up the boulder swamped me. I wanted to touch him. Or the bond wanted me to touch him.
Seth tipped his head to the side. “I know what you’re feeling right now. I totally approve of it.”
My cheeks burned. “Gods, I hate you.”
He chuckled. “Picture the walls. They’re solid, cannot be breached.”
I pictured the brick walls. In my mind, they were neon pink. With sparkles. I gave the walls sparkles because they gave me something to focus on. Seth had said the technique could work against compulsions if done correctly, but when dealing with emotions, the walls weren’t built around the mind, they were built through the stomach and over the heart. The walls formed in my mind first and then I shifted them down, giving myself a body of armor.
“I can still feel it,” Seth said, shifting restlessly above me.
This really must suck for him, I realized. He could tell I was still obsessed with Aiden, upset over my dad, and conflicted over him. And the only thing I got to pick up from him was when he was feeling randy.
The damn cord inside me—my connection to Seth—started to hum, demanding that I pay attention. It was like an annoying pet… or like Seth. I wondered if I could use the cord to block my emotions. Opening my eyes, I started to ask but then shut my mouth.
Seth had his eyes closed and he looked like he was really concentrating on something. His lids fluttered every so often, lips drawn into a tight, tense line. Then the marks flowed over his skin, moving so fast that the glyphs were nothing more than a blur as they raced down his neck, under the collar ofhis shirt.
My heart jumped. So did the cord inside me. I tried to pull my hand free before those marks reached my skin. “Seth.”
His eyes snapped open, glazed over. The marks glided over his skin. A burst of crackling amber light radiated from his forearm. Struggling to get out from underneath him and away from that damn cord, I only succeeded in having my hands pinned down.
Panic unfurled, ripping through me. “Seth!”
“It’s okay,” he said.
But it wasn’t okay. I didn’t want that cord to do what I knew it was going to do. And then it was doing it. The amber cord wrapped around our hands, snapping and sparking, spreading down my arm. I jerked back, trying to scoot sway, but Seth held on, his eyes locked with mine.
“The cord—it’s the purest power. Akasha,” he said. Akasha was the fifth and final element, and it could only be harnessed by the gods and the Apollyon. The hue of Seth’s eyes turned luminous. They almost looked crazy. “Hold on.”
He wasn’t giving me much of a choice. My gaze fell to our hands. Pulsating, the cord tightened and flared a brilliant amber. A blue cord wiggled out from underneath the amber cord, spilling drops of incandescent light onto the bedspread. Vaguely, I hoped we didn’t catch the bed on fire. That would be hard to explain.
The blue cord flickered in and out, fluttering. Vaguely, I realized it was mine and weaker than the amber one. Then the blue jumped and pulsed. My left hand started to burn as the skin pricked. Recognizing the feeling, I freaked.
I squirmed, trying to scoot back. I didn’t want another rune, and we hadn’t held on this long last time. Something was very different about this. “Seth, this doesn’t feel—” My body jerked, cutting off my own words.
Seth’s body tensed. “Good gods…”
And then I felt it—akasha—shifting through the cords, leaving me and entering Seth. It was kind of like a daimon tag, but not painful. No… this was nice, heady. I stopped struggling, letting the glorious tug and pull lift me away. I didn’t think about anything. There were no concerns or fears. The pain in my hand melted away, leaving only a dull ache that was spreading elsewhere. There was just this… and Seth. My eyes drifted shut and a sigh leaked out. Why had I been so afraid of this?
There was a flash of light that I could still see even though my eyes were closed. Seth dropped my hand and it fell limply to my side. The bed dipped beside my head from where he placed his hands. I felt his breath on my cheek, and it felt like warm, salty air rolling off the ocean.
“Alex?”
“Hmm…?”
“You okay?” He placed his lips to my cheek.
I smiled.
Seth chuckled, and then his mouth was making its way to mine, and I opened for him. The edges of his hair tickled my cheeks as the kiss deepened. His fingers drifted down the front of my blouse and then they were sliding over the bare skin of my stomach. I wrapped my leg around his, and we were moving together on the bed. His lips were dancing all over my flushed skin as his hands slid down, fingers finding the button on my jeans.
A second later, there was a knock on my door and a booming voice. “Alexandria?”
Seth stilled above me, panting. “You have got to be freaking kidding me.”
Leon knocked again. “Alexandria, I know you’re in there.”
Dazed, I blinked several times. The room slowly came back into focus, as did Seth’s disgruntled expression. I almost laughed, except I felt… off.
“You better answer him, angel, before he barges in here.”
I tried, but failed. I took a deep breath. “Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m in here.”
There was a pause. “Lucian is requesting your presence immediately.” Another gap of silence followed. “He is also requesting to see you, Seth.”
Seth frowned as the gleam in his eyes faded. “How in the world does he know I’m in here?”
“Leon… just knows.” I pushed at him weakly. “Get off.”
“I was trying to.” Seth rolled over, running his hands down his face.
I scowled at him and sat up. A wave of dizziness swept over me. My gaze moved from Seth to my curled hand. Slowly, I opened it. Glowing in iridescent blue was a glyph that was shaped like a staple. Both of my hands were marked.
He leaned over my shoulder. “Hey, you got another one.”
I swung at him and missed by a mile. “You did that on purpose.”
Seth shrugged as he straightened his shirt. “You didn’t mind, now did you?”
“That’s not the point, you douchenozzle. I shouldn’t have these.”
He glanced up, brows arched. “Look, I didn’t do it on purpose. I have no idea how or why it happens. Maybe it’s happening because it’s supposed to.”
“People are waiting,” Leon called from the hallway. “Time is of the essence.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “They couldn’t have waited another thirty or sixty minutes?”
“I don’t know what you think you were going to get accomplished in that extra time.”
Still feeling a little dizzy, I swayed when I stood and looked down at my unbuttoned shirt and bra. Now how did that happen?
Seth grinned at me.
I fumbled with the buttons, turning a thousand shades of red. My anger with Seth smoldered inside me, but I was too tired to get into a verbal smackdown. And then there was Lucian. What the hell could he want?
“You missed one.” Seth sprung to his feet and clasped the button above my navel. “And stop blushing. Everyone is going to think we weren’t training.”
“We were?”
His grin spread, and I wanted to smack him upside the head. But I took the time to smooth my hair and tug out the wrinkles in my shirt. By the time we met Leon in the hall, I felt like I looked pretty decent.
Leon eyed me like he knew exactly what had been going on in the dorm. “Nice of you two to finally join me.”
Seth shoved his hands into his pockets. “We take training really seriously. Sometimes we get so caught up in it, it takes a few minutes for us to come down.”
My mouth dropped open. Now I really wanted to hit him.
Leon’s eyes narrowed on Seth then he turned stiffly, gesturing for us to follow him. I trailed behind the two, wondering why Leon would care what I was doing in the room. Everyone wanted us to embrace our Apollyon goodness. Then I thought of Aiden and my heart seized.
Well, probably not everyone.
A weird, twisty feeling took over my stomach. What’d just happened in there? We’d gone from talking to full-on making out when nothing like that had occurred since the Catskills. I glanced down at my hands.
The super-special cord had happened.
I felt sort of sick when I looked up and watched Seth swagger down the hall. Cheeks glowing, he looked like he could barely contain the energy rushing through him. Confusion swept through me. The whole energy transfer thing had actually felt good, and so had the stuff afterward, but Aiden’s face haunted me.
Seth glanced over his shoulder at me as Leon opened the door. Darkness had already started to fall, but the shadow that crept over Seth’s face was no product of the night.
I tried to build up the wall around me.
And I failed.