Chapter 24
Seth
“Ask the gods?” I repeated.
Josie nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but what if we’re able to convince them?”
I opened my mouth, but I really had no idea what to say in response to that. Josie sounded like she was suggesting we ask Marcus if it was okay if we redecorated our rooms here. As if it was no big deal.
“What other option do we have? Look, I would love to find a way to entomb these Titans without fighting them, but so far we’re coming up with nothing.” Josie rose to her feet. “And we have to do something. I know that having three of us fully unlocked is not what we need, but it’s better than nothing and there’s only three Titans left.”
“And one of them is Cronus,” I reminded her. “You know, the Cronus.”
“I know,” she said, her gaze meeting mine as she popped her hands on her hips. “But what other choices do we have?”
“She might be onto something. Maybe you two can convince the gods to unlock their abilities,” Aiden said.
Alex had stopped pacing. She too stood with her hands on her waist. “The gods have never been all that helpful in the past. You really think we’re going to get two of them to agree to weaken themselves?”
“But things are different now,” Josie said.
Things were different now. Hell. Everything was, but would the gods really listen to us? When they never had before? But what had Apollo asked me? What would I do to make sure the world was a better place for my child?
I said anything.
Turning, I rubbed the heel of my palm over my chest. The thing was, I didn’t want Josie facing the Titans at all. We’d talked about this.
“Like I said, facing them is the last thing I want to do,” Josie repeated. “And I also know that only having the three of us is really not looking good, but we wouldn’t be alone. We have you, Seth. We have Alex and Aiden. And we have Luke.” She paused. “We even have Deacon.”
Aiden sighed. “As much as I hate having Deacon involved in something like that, he has gotten really good with the fire element. If anything, he’d definitely distract the hell out of the Titans.”
“True,” Alex laughed, but she quickly sobered. “But Cora and Gable are nowhere near ready. Not even remotely.”
“But do they have to fight the Titans? It’s something I’ve been thinking about. They have to get their icons, and maybe that’s the key.” Excitement thrummed through Josie’s tone, and I knew, once she felt like she was onto something, there was no stopping her. “We don’t know. Apollo sure as hell hasn’t told me or anyone else how exactly we entomb the Titans.”
“Even if the icons magically send the Titans to their tombs, they’re not going to stand there and let it happen,” I pointed out, my voice harsher than I intended.
“Gee, really? I thought they would get down on their knees and beg us to send them back.” Josie’s lips thinned. “But if Cora and Gable’s abilities are unlocked, then the only thing we really need to focus on is their ability to use akasha. Hand to hand combat needs to be taught, but it should be the last thing we expect them to use when fighting the Titans.”
“I hate to be Realistic Rachel, but even if you guys agree to go ask the gods, there’s one problem with that.” Alex lifted her brows as I faced her. “How are you going to get to Olympus?”
“That is an issue,” Aiden agreed. “I seriously doubt that Apollo will answer our summons and bop us over there.”
Slowly, I looked over at Aiden. “Did you just say bop?”
“Shut up,” he replied.
“I thought it was kind of cute.” Alex made her way over to Aiden’s side. “I like the word.” She threw her arms around Aiden’s waist. “Bop. Bop. Bop.”
Staring at her, my brows lowered. Sometimes I wondered if Alex was dropped on her head a lot as a small child. I knew she was as a teen. I’d seen it happen. Often. And it probably explained a lot.
“Guys.” Josie waited until all our attention was on her. “I know where there’s a gateway.”
~
Josie
“The library?” Alex pulled her arms free from Aiden and visibly shuddered. “I hate libraries.”
Aiden looked down at her fondly. “Not always.”
Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and I had a pretty good idea that something must’ve gone down between them in a library.
“The library? The one here?” Seth asked.
I nodded as I crossed one arm over my waist. I knew he wasn’t happy with me revisiting the path that led to a face-off with the Titans, but unless we figured out another way, this was the only path before us.
“When I met Medusa, she took me to this place that was underneath the library, but it was actually outside. Super weird, but that’s where I saw the Pegasus,” I said, and a faint smile curved Seth’s lips when I brought up the Pegasus. I’d been so excited to see one, I had talked about it for hours. “Medusa told me where we were. She said it was a gateway to Olympus.”
“Whoa,” Alex murmured.
“Wait.” Seth brushed a strand of his hair back from his face. “I thought the doorways leading to this place Medusa took you were gone?”
“They were.” That was the only wrinkle in my plan. “I didn’t see the doors and the librarian I saw acted like they’d never been there, but they have to be there.”
“We could always knock down the walls,” Aiden suggested.
Alex looked up at him. “I can totally see Marcus’s face when you ask him for permission to knock down walls in the library.”
Seth was quiet for a moment and then he said, “You know, I’m always of the mindset it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
~
Once Seth and I were alone in our room, I turned to him and immediately asked, “Are you really okay with this plan? Knocking down a wall? Going to Olympus?”
Seth walked into the small kitchen area. “I am always down for blowing stuff up and pissing people off in the process.”
I arched a brow. No big surprise there. “Besides that part, what are you thinking?”
“Honest?”
I nodded. “Yes. Honest.”
“You and I talked about facing the Titans. Both of us want that to be the last damn option.” Opening the fridge door, he grabbed a water. “But right now, it is the only option. Thirsty?”
“No.”
He paused, fridge door open as he looked over at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay. Yes. I’m thirsty.”
Seth winked as he grabbed another bottle. “I hate the idea of you having to do anything that puts you in danger.” Walking over to me, he handed me the bottle. “To be honest, it terrifies me, but if I would do anything to make sure our child grows up in a world not terrorized by Titans, I know you would do the same.”
The plastic bottle crinkled under my grip. “You know I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the baby.”
“I know.” Taking a drink, he then placed the bottle on the small, brown end table. “But that doesn’t mean at some point you’re not going to be in a situation where it’s dangerous. You stayed here and it wasn’t exactly safe.”
It hadn’t been. Not when you had jerk-face pures running around and Furies being unleashed. Unscrewing the cap, I then took a drink. “So, we should go ahead and do this. Alex and Aiden said they’d keep an eye on Erik, and we have Deacon and Luke with Cora and Gable. There’s no point in delaying this.”
“We should probably wait until the library closes before we head in there and try to blow up walls.”
“Good point.” I grinned, but it quickly faded. “And if there isn’t anything behind those walls? I honestly don’t know what to do at that point.”
Seth took my hand and led me over to the couch. “Then we come up with something else.” Sitting down, he pulled me into his lap. I held onto the water as I slid against his stomach. “That’s what we do.”
Sometimes Seth made things sound so simple. I took a drink of the water as I leaned against him, letting my head rest against his shoulder. “You know what I’ve been wondering?”
“How I’m so awesome?”
I laughed softly. “No. I already know why.” I ran my fingers along the label on the bottle. “Do you wonder why the Titans have been so quiet after taking control of Chicago? We haven’t heard a single thing. And when you guys went to get Erik, they didn’t show up.”
“I do wonder.” He looped an arm around my waist. “I think they’re scared after what happened to Hyperion.” His thick lashes shielded his eyes. “I’m not saying that to be cocky. I don’t think they expected me to be able to do what I can. Killing Hyperion caught them off-guard. They’ve entrenched themselves and are lying low.”
“Or they’re planning something other than laying waste to the city.” A shiver curled its way down my spine as I turned to put the water on the end table next to the couch and saw a red light blinking on the phone. “Hey, we have a message.”
Stretching over, I hit the play button and a female voice filled the room. “Good morning, this is Dr. Morales and this message is for Seth and Josie. I have good news for you. I’ve found an OBGYN who is ready to see you two as soon as you like. Give us a call back and we’ll give you the contact information.
The message ended, and my gaze found Seth’s. Those lashes had lifted, and the amber eyes churned with emotion. A slow grin tugged at my lips. “Our life is so…it’s so weird.”