CHAPTER 17
Something crashing to the floor jarred me awake. I shot up in bed, clutching for the sheet as my eyes adapted to the darkness. The canopy was still, but my heart was racing and I felt…I felt ridiculously happy. Like everything in the world was right.
What Aiden and I had done into the late hours of the night had been earth-shattering, but this was different.
Aiden stirred, rising halfway up on his elbows. “What is it?”
Before I could utter a word, what sounded like a heavy body hitting the floor broke the silence.
“What the hell?” Aiden swung his legs off the bed.
I stood, finding his shirt in the darkness. It fell to my knees when I slipped it on. I grabbed the dagger off the nightstand, and by the time I made it to the bedroom door, Aiden already had his pants on and gun in hand.
But the pants were unbuttoned and hung low, and well, with his sleep-tousled hair and his cut abs all on display, I got a teeny tiny bit distracted for a second.
Aiden caught my stare and his lips tipped up. I forced my gaze away before I said screw it and jumped him.
Outside the bedroom, we headed for the door to the living room. He unlocked it and entered first, which was stupid considering I was the Apollyon, but he was a guy.
Flipping on the light, he drew to an abrupt halt and laughed—laughed deeply and loudly. Tension eased out of my muscles. Whatever was going on couldn’t be bad if he was laughing.
I peeked around him and my mouth dropped open.
Perses was sprawled on the floor, missing his jacket. There were red marks on his white slacks, some a dark crimson. Others were a deep red and more like smudges along the zipper.
A basket of meatballs was on his chest—half were in the carton, and half had rolled down his twenty-pack abs.
The Titan reached down, picked up a meatball from somewhere near his belly button, and popped it into his mouth. “These things are so damn good.”
There were no words.
Seth leaned against the couch. No shoes. No shirt. His amber eyes were glassy and unfocused. Now the half-stupid happiness I felt upon waking made sense.
“You two are completely trashed,” I said, eyes wide.
Seth raised a hand, busted knuckles bruised and raw. “We are…not drunk.”
“Really,” Aiden drew out the word.
Fighting the smile on my face, I loosened my grip on the blade. “What happened to your hands?”
“Nooothing,” Seth replied, chuckling.
Perses chewed loudly on another meatball.
I glanced at Aiden. “Is that blood on your pants, Perses?”
“Among other bloodily fluids,” he replied, and then he snorted.
“Gross.”
Aiden shoved the gun in the back of his pants and folded his arms. “I’m assuming it’s not your blood?”
The Titan laughed.
Okay. I was starting to get a little worried. “It’s not a mortal’s blood, is it?”
Seth pushed to his feet and swayed to the side. He sat—er, fell back—onto the couch. “No. We ran into some daimons.”
I stared at him. “And you decided to get into a hand-to-hand bitch fight with them? You could’ve just used one of the elements or akasha.”
“Your buddy has a lot of pent-up aggression,” Perses said, picking up a meatball. He sat halfway up and tossed the meatball. “I like him.”
Even drunk, Seth had ninja reflexes. He caught the meatball with a laugh. I had no idea what to say.
“All right, as entertaining as this is, make sure you two are sober enough by noon.” Aiden turned, catching my free hand. “Have fun.”
At the door to our room, I glanced over my shoulder. Seth was leaning way to the side, eyes drifting shut, expression slack. It was then when I noticed that, like Aiden, his pants were unbuttoned. Between him and Perses, I wondered how they’d even made it back to the hotel room.
Back inside the bedroom with the door locked, Aiden pulled the gun out and placed it on the nightstand.
“Wow,” I said, grinning.
He laughed. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
“Me neither.”
After relieving me of the dagger, he stepped back and eyed me. Even in the darkness, I could feel his intense stare. “I know I’ve said this before, but I like seeing you in my clothes.”
Warmth spread over my cheeks, and heat flooded my veins. “Good. I like wearing them.”
“But you know what I like better?”
I didn’t get a chance to say anything before he hooked his fingers under the hem of the borrowed shirt and tugged it over my head. The material fluttered to the floor as he clasped my hips, lifting me up.
Aiden’s lips brushed mine as he spoke, eliciting a series of shivers. “I like taking them off.”
* * *
Hades appeared exactly at noon, not a second early or late, and didn’t ask any questions. He popped us back to the middle of the University, and while I was a little woozy on my feet from the method of travel, Seth looked like he was going to hurl up everything he’d drunk the night before. That explained the way my stomach was churning. Bastard.
Which was confirmed a second later when Seth said, “I think I’m going to vomit.”
Aiden cast him an amused look. “Lightweight.”
“Shut up,” Seth moaned, clutching his stomach.
The air in front of us shimmered, and then Apollo appeared in front of us, startling me enough that I took a step back. My eyes narrowed on him. Couldn’t any of the gods just walk somewhere?
Okay. If I could pop in and out and avoid stairs, I’d do it, too.
And I’d probably get the same amount of sick pleasure Apollo got out of doing it.
Hades stepped forward, eyeing Perses before he turned to Apollo. “I hope you’re right and this idea works.” He tossed a sneer at the Titan, who scoffed loudly. “The son of a bitch doesn’t deserve a chance, and you know it.”
The sun seemed to soak through Apollo’s skin as he leveled a stare on the other god. “As I recall, you had no other suggestions.”
Hades smirked. “I did. Shut down the Underworld and let you guys battle it out.” He shrugged. “You didn’t like that idea.” With that, the god disappeared.
“I have never been a fan of Hades. Over-pompous asshole,” Apollo muttered.
I arched a brow. That was something coming from him.
The Titan’s lips curled up. “You’re still a glowing bundle of fun, Apollo.”
Apollo narrowed a gaze on Perses. “Do not start with me. You know what has to be done. And I promise you, if you cause us any problems, you’ll end up on Prometheus’ rock, except it won’t be an eagle pecking away at you.”
“What would it be, then?” Curiosity marked Seth’s tone.
Apollo’s smile was chilling. “I’ll do it. Personally. Strip by strip with a dull blade dipped in cobra venom. And then, when I’m done at the end of the day, I will sew you back together to just start all over the following day.”
“Wow,” I murmured. “Inventive.”
Perses didn’t look impressed. “I’ve heard worse threats.”
My eyes widened. Beside me, Aiden hid his smile while scrubbing at his chin with his palm. Seth had a far-off look on his face, as if picturing what Apollo had said. Didn’t think it was possible, but he turned even more pasty.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Seth waved one hand. “Yeah, perfect.”
“So where is the army I’m to train?” Impatience filled Perses’ tone. “All I see are buildings and a few children of demigods peeking around corners. I hope they aren’t your warriors.”
I snorted. “No, they’re not. They’re students. Our army is trained. They’re—”
“Trained as Guards and hunters, right?” Perses chuckled mockingly, and I sort of wanted to see Apollo break out the dull blade. “They may be skilled when comes to hunting daimons, but are they skilled enough to fight?”
“They won’t be fighting Ares,” Aiden explained, earning an interested look from the Titan. “Ares is heavily guarded by mortal soldiers, daimons, and automatons.”
Perses’ brows knitted. “Your army should be able to defend themselves against two of them. The automatons would be a problem, but they’ll just have to be quicker. I do not see what you need me for.”
“As Sentinel and Guards, we’ve never tried to work together in groups larger than three or four. We were never trained on war tactics. And I need you,” I said, hating myself for having to say that. “I need you to prepare me for facing Ares. You have already seen how that went the first time.”
Seth’s eyes tightened. “You also have to prepare me to fight Ares.”
The likelihood of me letting Seth near Ares was right up there with me actually cooking myself a dinner that was edible. I opened my mouth, but Aiden jumped in.
“And I need to be trained on how to fight him as well.”
“Guys, the last time I checked, I was becoming the God Killer, which would make me pretty badass as it is. And with Perses’ training, I’m going to also be kickass.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t need back-up,” Seth retorted.
I wished he’d just go puke somewhere. I swallowed hard against the sick feeling leaking through the bond.
“And you’re not facing Ares alone,” Aiden added.
And I wished Aiden would go hold his hair for him.
Apollo rolled his eyes. “Children, really, Alexandria is a big girl and doesn’t need two boys rushing to defend her.”
I smiled broadly. “Exactly.”
Neither Aiden or Seth looked like they agreed, and the look Aiden sent me promised that we’d talk about this later. Oh, we would. He wouldn’t like the outcome. There was no way in holy Hades Aiden was getting within a city block of Ares.
Perses exhaled roughly. “I can spend the mornings training your army and the afternoons working with one or three of you. I really don’t care how many, but I can tell you this. Ares would’ve sensed my presence the moment I stepped into the mortal realm. He knows I’m here. He will be unnerved by it, but the longer we take, the more time he will have to rebuild his confidence or bring in more reinforcements. We attack immediately, within the week, or we lose our advantage. Because if you have spies, so does he.”
I glanced at Apollo. Perses had a point. We couldn’t string this out. We would need to move fast, but would we be ready? Would I be ready?
Apollo’s jaw tensed, and then he nodded curtly. “A week from now, on Monday, we move on the Catskills. We take on Ares.”
* * *
Training with Perses was like running into a brick wall, getting back up, and face-planting into it again just for the fun of it.
We’d started immediately with our training. Of course, Aiden and Seth took part. It was a waste of breath to try to convince them otherwise.
Just like when Seth and I used to train, we drew an audience of Sentinels, students, and staff. Word got out quickly that there was a Titan on campus, something that most people never thought they’d see. I couldn’t blame them for gawking. Among those crowded around the largest training room in the athletics building were my friends.
Which was great, because there was nothing like having friends and strangers around to watch you get your ass kicked.
And we were getting our asses kicked.
I’d hit the padded floor more times than I could count, taking turns with Seth and Aiden, who were doing no better than me.
It was Seth’s turn, and I eased myself down, biting my lip when my tailbone hit the mat. “I think I broke my butt,” I moaned.
Sitting beside me, Aiden reached over, rubbing his hand along my lower back. The touch ached at first, but the steady burn started to ease my muscles. “Yeah, that was a pretty nasty landing you took.”
It had started out so perfect. I’d gotten behind Perses, who, by the way, was weaponless, and had sprung up and spun out, about to land a beauteous spin kick when he whipped around and caught my leg, throwing me down like a rag doll.
My butt had broken my fall.
Seth was currently backed into a corner by Perses, dodging the Titan’s vicious strikes. In theory, we had a week to train before leaving for the Catskills. It was a twenty-three hour drive, and Marcus was currently rounding up a billion vehicles for the trip.
The army mostly needed standard tactical training, but us? We had to actually knock Perses down and gain the upper hand before our training would be complete. Sounded easy until I realized that Perses was like Ares on steroids. Either way, by Monday morning, we were leaving, prepared or not.
I glanced over toward the door. Deacon spotted my gaze and winked. I grinned at him, and my gaze moved on. Several pures were staring at Aiden and me. Apparently, a pure-blood touching my back was more shocking than a Titan kicking an Apollyon’s ass.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the match in front of us.
Dipping under Perses’ outstretched arm, Seth came up behind the Titan, and just like I had, he prepared to deliver a vicious kick. Perses turned and dipped, catching Seth’s foot. Unable to keep his balance, Seth hit the mat on his side.
Perses tipped his head back and laughed. “Next.”
When one of us went down, it was the next one’s turn. Aiden dropped his hand and pushed himself up. Passing Seth on the mats, the two idiots exchanged smirks.
Seth dropped down beside me. I glanced at him. “I don’t know why you two are giving each other that ‘I’m superior’ look. Both of you are getting your asses kicked.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Doesn’t mean we have to hug it out.”
Turning my attention back to Aiden, I watched him beautifully execute an uppercut that did absolutely nothing to detour Perses’ brutal punch to the stomach. “You know this is pointless, right? Neither of you needs to be subjecting yourself to this. I’m going to become the God Killer. You won’t be fighting—”
“We will be fighting with you,” Seth argued, his voice low. He too watched Aiden and Perses. “Just because you’re the God Killer doesn’t mean you can go in there alone.”
“I won’t be.” I winced as Perses’ kick caught Aiden in the thigh. “I’ll be with Perses.”
“And that’s not really backup. Who knows what he’ll do in the end? You need someone there with you.” Seth leaned back, stretching out his legs. “And you and I both know Aiden would be a distraction.”
I clenched my jaw. “Aiden will not be with me.”
He snorted. “Does he know that?”
“He will.” I looked at him. “Seth, we need to talk about when we’ll transfer power.”
“That’s not what we’re talking about now. There’s no way I’m letting you go face-to-face with Ares with just Perses. It’s not going to happen, and I’m not going to argue with you. You’ll need me there to run interference, if anything,” he said, returning my stare. “Besides, we shouldn’t make the transfer until we’re in the Catskills.”
I opened my mouth, but Aiden hit the floor on his back and Perses yelled out, “Girl! Your turn!”
Sending Seth a quick glance, I pushed to my feet. “We’ll talk about this later.”
He arched a brow.
While passing Aiden on the mats, he reached over, tugged on the hem of my shirt, and then kept going. I stopped in front of the Titan, muscles locking up. Over at the door, Deacon whistled and shouted, “Show him what a girl is capable of!”
I took my eyes off Perses for a second to smile at Deacon, and that was all it took. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Perses’ hand zooming for my face. At the last moment, I dropped down. The speed in which Perses’ fist shot past my head, stirring wisps of my hair—gods. If that had connected with my head, he would’ve probably knocked me out cold.
“Never take your eyes off the opponent,” Perses said, chuckling.
How many times had Ares had said that when we knew him as Instructor Romvi? Nothing flipped my kill-and-maim switch like hearing those words.
I rolled forward and popped to my feet behind Perses. Spinning around, I dodged his second punch and dipped under his arm. I knew I was fast—faster than Aiden, who was like a freaking ninja, and faster than all other half-bloods. But Perses was like Ares. Fighting was bred into their blood. There was no one in this realm better than them. I could only hope to be their equal.
But I wasn’t Perses’ equal at the moment.
The second I shot up in front of him, he anticipated the move and kicked out, his booted foot connecting with my midsection. Pain exploded along my stomach, and I doubled over. His hand slammed into my shoulder, and I lost my balance. Toppling backward, I hit the mats on my back, hard.
Perses was suddenly in my face, looming over me. A smirk graced his lips. “God Killer or not, girl, he will own you if you fight like this. And as you know, he can’t kill you, but he can make you beg for death. Is that something you want to experience again?”
Anger burned through my veins like poison. “My name is not ‘girl,’ and no, that’s not something I want to experience again.”
The smirk slipped off his face. “Then get back up, girl.”
Meeting his stare, I rolled into a sitting position. Ignoring the slice of pain, I got back up.