I wasn’t sure how we went from arguing to this, or what he was really thanking me for, but I wasn’t complaining, and in a really twisted way it seemed normal. Aiden worshipped me as if I’d been born worthy of such a beautiful, complicated man, and over the course of that night, he truly showed me that we were okay, that he was okay, and, for now, that was what I needed to face tomorrow.

CHAPTER 17

I had a stupid grin on my face for the most of the next day. Even though I was chilly, covered in mud from training in the warded area, and tired from using akasha and the elements, I looked like I’d been smacked with a silly stick.

Only a few times did it slip, and that was when I thought about Seth and the stunt he’d managed to pull yesterday. After Aiden and I… well, when we’d started actually using our mouths for words again, we agreed to keep what had happened between us and Marcus. There was no reason to freak everyone else out, and going by the way Marcus had reacted, it’d been a smart decision.

Marcus hadn’t thrown anything, but he’d been as angry as Aiden.

And I knew that was why Marcus had switched out with Solos when it came to training today. But it was weird beating up my uncle.

Whenever our ragtag group took a break, Aiden was by my side. There were moments when he’d become unbearably quiet and Broody McBroodsters, and I knew he was thinking about what he had done with the Elixir. He was trying though, and that was what mattered.

We ended the day and hobbled back inside, greeted by the scent of the stew Laadan had cooked up. I went upstairs to wash the day’s worth of grime off, and Aiden followed.

Once inside the room, I tossed him a coy look over my shoulder. At least, I thought it was coy, but I probably looked like I had something in my eye.

Aiden grinned nonetheless.

“Are you following me?” I asked, kicking off my boots.

He prowled forward, moving like one of those caged panthers we’d seen at the zoo. “I’m just being here for you, and I think you really need me right now.”

“Ha. Ha.” Out of my shoes, Aiden towered over me, I felt like a hobbit standing in front of him.

Aiden’s grin spread and a dimple in his left cheek appeared. He tucked a strand of my hair back, then his hands dropped and he tugged the shirt out of my cargos. “I think you called it ‘manning up’.”

This wasn’t the kind of manning up I’d been talking about the night before, because even with my limited knowledge of such things, he excelled in that department. But I said nothing as I stared up at him.

Lowering his head, his lips brushed over mine. I was sure I tasted of dirt and sour apple, courtesy of the Blow Pop I’d been nursing earlier, but he made this sound against my mouth, part growl and part something deeper. As the kiss deepened, like he could just devour the taste and feel, I melted against him.

“I really like your idea of manning up,” I murmured, clutching at the front of his shirt.

Aiden chuckled as the tips of his fingers skimmed over my stomach. Heat followed, chasing away the chill in my skin. I reached up, wanting more, always needing more—

“Don’t stop on my account.”

I shrieked at the sound of Apollo’s voice and jerked back, tripping over my feet. Aiden caught my arm, steadying me before I face-planted the floor.

“Gods,” I muttered, placing a hand over my pounding heart. I’d been so caught up in Aiden I hadn’t even sensed Apollo’s presence.

Apollo sat on the edge of the bed, head cocked to the side, one leg crossed over the other. His blond hair was loose, framing a face that was eerily perfect. Vibrant blue eyes stared back at me instead of the creepy all-white eyes of a god. I was surprised that he remembered how much they freaked me out.

Aiden recovered first, moving to stand in front of me. He stiffened at the sound of Apollo’s amused chuckle. “How did you get in here?”

“The wards on the house faded about three hours ago. Luckily, none of the other gods have realized that and, for the most part, they don’t want Alex dead.” And then he tacked on, “…right at this moment.”

I looked at him blandly. “Good to know.”

“Maybe next time you’d want to knock?” Aiden suggested, relaxing a fraction of an inch.

Apollo’s shoulders lifted. “Where is the fun in that?” But he stood, his head inclining to the side. “We need to talk, but both of you look like you’ve been wrestling in mud.”

“We’ve been training,” I pointed out. “Like you suggested.”

If he was grateful that we’d actually followed instructions, it didn’t show. “I will be waiting downstairs. Try not to take ten years.”

With that, he simply blinked out of existence. A moment later, I heard a startled yelp downstairs. Glad we weren’t the only ones he liked to do that to.

I slumped against the wall. “I think he took a few years off my life.”

Aiden’s brow arched. “I still think we need to put a bell on him.”

My lips twitched. “And I still think that’s a good idea.”

He glanced at the door and then took my hand, tugging me toward the bathroom. “We only have a few minutes. Let’s make them worth our while.”

More than a few minutes later, Aiden and I stood in the large living room with everyone else. Apollo was busying himself with a bowl of the stew Laadan and Deacon had made.

“Hungry?” I asked, after several moments of awkward silence stretched out.

He looked up. “Not really, but this is delicious.”

Laadan all but beamed from the couch. “Thank you.”

“We wouldn’t know,” Aiden said. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

Apollo’s lips spread into a smile. “Sorry. I’ll try to come after dinner next time.” The bowl disappeared from his hands, and I wondered where it went. “Well, it’s good to see the Scooby gang all in one piece. Warms my heart and all thatjazz, but let’s get to the point.”

“Let’s do that,” I murmured as I hopped up on the desk, letting my feet dangle off the edge. “You said we needed to talk.”

“We do.” Apollo drifted toward where Olivia and Deacon sat primly beside Laadan. He looked at them a long moment, as if he could see something beyond what our eyes were capable of, and then turned around. “First, I need you to fill me in on everything the First has shared with you.”

Kicking my legs off the side of the desk, I gave him the quick and dirty version of events. There wasn’t much to tell, and Apollo didn’t pass over that fact.

“That’s it?” He didn’t even attempt to hide his irritation and disappointment. “You guys have this unbreakable bond that nearly destroyed the entire world, and all you can tell me is that you think he’s heading north, which is something I already know?”

My lips pursed. Way to make me feel like an epic failure of an Apollyon.

“It’s not her fault,” Aiden snapped, eyes flashing like quicksilver. “He kept most of his plans to himself.”

“Probably because he feared that she might eventually break the bond,” Marcus said. “So the question remains—what do we do with the knowledge that we have?”

“And hopefully you have some knowledge to bring to the table?” I fixed an innocent look on my face. “That would be a nice change of pace.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Can you tell us how Thanatos was able to discover us?” Marcus asked.

“Yes, that’s rather easy. Alex’s little display of akasha while fighting Aiden drew Thanatos to her.”

I frowned at the reminder. “But I’ve been practicing with it since then.”

“Practicing with akasha is one thing, Alex. It doesn’t even register on our scale, especially if you stayed within the wards I sensed outside.” His eyes slid toward Aiden. “Using it to try to kill someone is like throwing up a homing beacon.”

Flinching, I looked away. “So you’re saying not to use akasha then?”

“I have a work-around for that.” Apollo held out his hand and the air around it shimmered an electric blue. A second later, a small medallion appeared in his palm, connected to a chain that dangled from his fingers. A smug, satisfied grin stretched Apollo’s lips. “I took Hermes’ helmet, melted the mother down, and here you go. An invisibility charm just for you.”

Apollo dropped the necklace into my palm. It was a reddish-gold color, and a crudely shaped wing was etched into it. “Ha,” I said. “It’s like Harry Potter and the invisibility cloak.”

Everyone stared at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. So I’m invisible if I wear this?”

Apollo laughed like I’d asked the stupidest question ever. “No. Your energy will just be hidden from the gods—all except me—even if you use akasha.”

“Oh,” I said, holding up the necklace. “Handy.”

As Aiden came over and helped clasp the necklace, he asked, “What else have you been able to find out?”

“Oh, you know, I’ve been doing nothing.” Apollo glared at us. “I’ve managed to convince my brothers and sisters to stop their destruction long enough to give us a chance to make this right, but they will not be held back for long. With every moment, Lucian and the First draw closer to overthrowing the Council. And with daimons attacking humans in droves, they will risk millions of innocent lives to put a stop to it.”

“Not because they’re actually concerned about the mortals.” I tucked the necklace under my shirt, ignoring how oddly warm the metal was. It hung about an inch below the crystal rose. “But because if Lucian and Seth overthrow the Council in the Catskills, then they’ll be one step away from overthrowing the gods, right? Because whoever controls those seats are the rulers.”

Apollo said nothing.

“You know, that’s what I don’t get.” Deacon stretched out his long legs from the chair, wiggling his toes. “I know that, if Seth and Lucian overthrow the Council, it’s a big deal for the Hematoi, but the gods can’t be that frightened.”

Without saying a word, Apollo faced Aiden’s brother. I knew that he was probably giving the boy one of his Leon/Apollo looks that said do I really need to explain this?

Deacon fidgeted. “I mean, you guys can just hide in Olympus and call it a day.”

“He has a point,” Luke said carefully. “Not like Seth can storm Olympus—not really.”

I rifled through the memories of the other Apollyons, and nervousness moved through me, quick and slithery like a snake.

“Well…” Apollo sighed. “There is a way to get to Olympus.”

My jaw smacked off my knee. “Portals?”

He nodded. “They are headed there. It’s how we move between Olympus and the mortal world.”

“You know,” Aiden said. “This kind of information would’ve been helpful weeks ago. We could have had Sentinels we trust guarding these portals.”

“And what Sentinels can you truly trust?” Apollo asked evenly. “Lucian’s offer is enticing enough to sway them to his side. Most of the Sentinels have turned on the Council, turned on the gods. Besides, it wasn’t necessary for any of you to know that.”

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