Chapter 7
Seth
The fact that Zeus knew about Josie being pregnant unsettled the hell out of me. No joke. He was one of the last beings on this earth, and in Olympus, that I would want to know, but…
Hell.
As shocking as this was to even admit, I didn’t sense a threat to Josie or our child from him. I wasn’t worried about Zeus when it came to my child.
That was something I never thought I’d believe. Then again, there was a whole lot of shit that had changed in a matter of minutes.
I stayed after Zeus left, helping where I could. It wasn’t out of a sense of reluctant obligation. Not that I didn’t feel responsible.
I did.
I stayed to help, because I should. Because I had caused this—this destruction and loss of life. I didn’t hurt these people with my own hands or by my own will, but I had set the domino in motion.
Killing Hyperion had caused a ripple effect, one that had ended so many innocent lives. And damn, I’d been here…I’d been here before, with Ares. I thought I’d learned then that every choice I made triggered a chain reaction, good or bad.
Obviously, I hadn’t learned.
I was faced with that reality.
And it burned through my skin, knocked my ass down a peg or two that it took Zeus of all damn people to drive that point home. Fucking Zeus. But what he’d said to me was true. All of it. Especially how I didn’t want to follow in their footsteps. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes they had.
I didn’t want to become them, making decisions that ruthlessly slaughtered others.
And I was starting right then. I had no idea how many people I helped pull out of the rubble, but I knew exactly how many of them were beyond help.
Fifty-six.
Fifty-six of them were dead and four of them… Gods, four of them couldn’t have been out of elementary school. Their faces were forever imprinted in my mind.
By the time I was done in what used to be Long Beach, I was covered in dirt, sand, and a healthy amount of dried blood. My skin and clothes were streaked with the mixture, and all I wanted to do was get back to Josie, to just…hold her and talk to her.
I should’ve popped my dirty ass right to the bathroom to shower first, but I closed my eyes and focused on Josie’s face, letting myself slip into the void. I found her, and I felt the strange tingle of my cells scattering and fusing back together.
I heard her startled gasp before I saw her. “Seth.”
Josie came into view a heartbeat before she threw herself on me. Folding my arms around her as I stumbled back a second, I buried my face in the crook of her neck and breathed deeply. Her smell. It was the lotion she used. Winterberries? Whatever it was, I loved it and right then I needed it to erase the scent of death. A shudder rolled through me.
“Hey,” she whispered, curling her hands through my hair. “You okay?”
Tightening my hold on her, I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I’m perfect now.”
She kissed the space just below my ear as she pulled back. Gently, she guided my head up. Then her eyes widened. “Why are you covered in dirt—wait, is that blood?” She leaned back. “Are you hurt?”
“No, babe. I’m not hurt. I’m—what the hell?” The rest of the room came into view. We weren’t alone. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
Colin whatever the hell his last name was sat on the couch in our room. Had to give it to the guy. He didn’t run out of the room in response. There was only a slight widening of his nostrils.
But man, I didn’t like that guy.
“Something happened while you were gone,” Josie answered, guiding my gaze back to hers. “A girl—a half—was killed. We were all together when she was found in the lobby.”
“Her neck was broken,” Colin added. “Alex and Aiden are with Marcus and some of the Guards. You just missed Luke.”
“He left to go find Deacon.” Josie stepped to the side, threading her arm around mine. “Deacon’s giving Cora a tour.”
“Cora came out of her room?”
Josie nodded.
Shit, what else happened while I was gone? “I’m guessing it was a pure who did it?”
Colin exhaled roughly. “Looks to be.”
Shit. Shoving the hair that had escaped the leather tie back from my face, I shook my head. These fucking pure-bloods. “Did you know her?”
“No. She was a new student. Started summer classes,” Colin answered, a muscle flexing along his jaw. “Completely screwed up. Gains her freedom. Comes here where she should be safe, and then she’s fucking murdered because she has less aether in her blood? Gods.”
There were a lot of things wrong in our world, but this was one of the worst. “No idea who did it?”
“I don’t think so. Apparently the cameras in the lobby were destroyed and no one noticed it, so there’s no video to check.” Josie glanced at my torn shirt and pressed her lips together. “She was just…dumped there, right by the furies. At their feet, actually.”
My brows lifted. That sounded almost like someone was taunting the gods.
“But there was something with her body,” Colin spoke up. “There was a mask—a bronze one. Typical Greek mask, but there was a symbol carved into it.”
Josie’s arm tightened around mine, and I had a bad feeling about this. “What kind of symbol?”
Colin took a deep breath, and I prepared for whatever fuckery was about to come out of his mouth. “It was Ares’s symbol.”
Josie
I really had no idea how Seth would take the news of Ares’s symbol being carved on a mask left with the body of a dead half-blood. And we hadn’t even told him what Deacon and Luke suspected about the yet to be retrieved demigod.
And I still had no idea why he was covered in dirt…and blood, but I could only focus on one issue at a time.
Seth stared at Colin with such intensity that for a second I feared he might cause the poor guy to spontaneously combust.
“Are you sure?” Seth asked, finally speaking in a voice that was unnervingly flat.
Colin nodded. “I know what the symbols look like. That was definitely Ares.”
A muscle along Seth’s jaw thrummed. “Ares is dead.”
“I know—we know that.” I squeezed his arm. “What we don’t know is why his symbol would be on this mask.”
Seth slipped free from my grasp. Walking to the small fridge in the dinette area, he grabbed a water. The back of him didn’t look any cleaner than the front. “Do you know why Ares’s symbol would be on that mask?” Colin asked, and I whipped toward him. “You spent time with him. I figure…”
Colin trailed off as I shot him a look of warning. He sat back, propping one ankle on his knee as he lifted his hands.
With his back to us, Seth took a long drink, finishing the bottle of water off in record time. “I did spend time with him. Not a lot, but enough.”
I tensed. Part of me wanted to tell him he didn’t have to go into this. His time spent with Ares was a dark shadow on Seth. It wasn’t a place I wanted him to go to, but I stayed quiet, because if Seth possibly knew why Ares’s symbol was on this creepy as hell mask, he needed to talk.
“Ares wanted…destruction. It wasn’t something I realized at first. To be honest, back then, I’m not sure if I would’ve cared or not. He wanted to see the mortal world burn, thinking by causing men to kill one another, it would be easier for him to take over Olympus.” Seth turned and leaned against the counter. “It was a shit plan, obviously, but we already know that.”
My fingers found their way to the ends of my hair. I started twisting the strands.
Seth tipped his head back. “In the beginning, I fell for Ares’s bullshit. That he wanted equality when it came to the halfs and pures. After all, that was how he got some of the halfs to side with him, but once he set things in motion, it became clear he viewed them the same way he did mortals. Less than. The pures who got close to him saw that. Many of the old-school leaders agreed. Council members. Some of them agreed so they wouldn’t be killed and others, well, they agreed because of decades of their own prejudices.”
He stretched his neck from left to right. “If Ares had won, he wouldn’t have just stopped with the mortals. He would’ve slaughtered the halfs, even those who helped him achieve victory. Those deaths would’ve given him the greatest pleasure, to watch their faith and trust turn to fear and hopelessness.”
Sickened, I sat on the couch. I had no idea what to say. Seth didn’t talk a lot about Ares, and I knew this couldn’t be easy. I wanted to go to him, but I sensed that right now he needed his space.
On the other hand, Colin knew what to say. “What a twisted fuck.”
I thought that summed things up quite nicely.
A smirk twisted Seth’s perfect lips as he met Colin’s gaze. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
Colin swallowed. “So, you think that whoever left that mask supported Ares?”
“I took out a lot of people who sided with Ares,” he replied dispassionately, and my heart squeezed. “Obviously, I wasn’t able to get all of them. Some of them are still out there.”
“So, it’s possible? That whoever is doing this could’ve been a supporter of Ares?” I asked.
Seth folded his arms. “Could be.”
“This isn’t an isolated event,” I pointed out, letting go of my hair as I twisted toward Colin. “Right? There have been multiple attacks.”
“There have.” Colin nodded. “A lot of them are resistant to change. Shit. Many of their families have lost all their servants and have to do their own shit now. No more free labor, so a lot of them are angry. But angry enough to kill? I don’t know. There could be more behind this.”
Seth was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “It’s entirely possible that one of his supporters is somehow goading these younger pures into this, or that some pissed off pure-blood is cherry-picking Ares’s beliefs to back what they’re doing.”
“Either way, we need to find out who is responsible here and stop them.” I saw the girl’s face in my head and I remembered everything else that had happened. “This has to stop. It’s not okay. It’s not something we can look away from and pretend it doesn’t involve us.”
Seth was still for a moment and then he nodded in agreement.
“Shit,” Colin repeated, and then he stood. “I need to find Marcus and fill him in. I’ll see you guys later.” Colin nodded at me and then Seth, who had no response other than to open the door before Colin had reached it.
Colin halted for a minute, glancing over at Seth.
Seth winked.
“Thanks,” Colin murmured, and then skedaddled out of the room.
I sighed. “You love messing with him, don’t you?”
“Is answering that question honestly going to get me in trouble?”
I stared at him.
Seth grinned, but it quickly faded. “I’m sorry you had to see that girl.”
“I’m sorry it happened to her. She was young, Seth. She just started going here and…this is how it ends for her. Why? Because she was a half-blood?” Disgust rolled through me. “It isn’t right.”
“No,” he said quietly. “It’s not.”
And I still had to tell him about the demigod. “What happened to her isn’t the only thing. Luke and Deacon think they’ve figured out who the last demigod is.”
Tiredness settled into his features. “Am I going to want to hear this?”
“Probably not.”
“Then pull it off like a Band-Aid.”
I scooted to the edge of the couch. “They think it’s Ares’s son.”
Seth’s brows lifted. A moment passed. “You’re shitting me?”
“No. I’m not.”
“Why? Why do they think this?”
“There have been a lot of fights in the town he lives in. Like way too many, and they think it’s his presence. Take Cora, for example. Even though her abilities haven’t been unlocked, she was able to bring back dead plants.” I paused, remembering what happened today. “Oh, and by the way, she can tell when someone is sick or pregnant. Luke and Deacon and Gable now know.”
Seth stared at me.
“She didn’t mean to do it. She looked at me and saw that I was pregnant, and kind of blurted it out.” I shrugged. “Kind of freaky if you think about it.”
He gave a little shake of his head. “All righty then. Hell, I don’t know what to think.” Pushing away from the counter, he walked over to the couch and sat next to me. “I don’t care about them knowing. The other stuff? Strange how the dead still have a way of screwing things up.” His head fell back and his gaze slid to me. “I’m guessing Alex heard about the demigod. How did she take it?”
“It freaked her out a little.” Shifting toward him, I drew one leg up onto the couch. “I don’t think she was expecting that.”
Seth closed his eyes. At that moment, he looked so incredibly young. Dirty. But young. There was a vulnerability in the lines of his face that I knew he didn’t let anyone else see.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” he said after a moment. “I mean, it’s like fate just keeps on screwing with everyone for shits and giggles.”
My gaze dropped to his ruined shirt. “I’m sure Aiden or Marcus or someone is going to want to talk to you about Ares, but before then, what…what happened today? I know you saw Zeus. Aiden said so. Did you two…fight?”
Rolling his lower lip between his teeth, he turned his head away from me. “We didn’t fight.”
Shock rendered me speechless for several moments. “You didn’t?”
“Sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. Zeus didn’t even attempt to go at me.”
I leaned forward. “And you?”
“I didn’t try anything. He wanted to talk.”
My brows furrowed. “But then why do you look like you went toe to toe with a pile of dirt?”
The quick twist of his lips was good. “That came after Zeus left.”
Reaching out, I poked his thigh. “You’re going to have to give more detail.”
His chest rose with a heavy breath. “Have you seen the news today?”
That wasn’t a question I was expecting. “No, I haven’t. Why?”
A second went by and Seth opened his eyes. “Zeus just wanted to talk. Well, it was more like he wanted to give advice, and I saw some things.”
None of that was making sense. “What did you see?”
A muscle worked along his jaw, and I began to get really, really worried. “Death. A lot of unnecessary, preventable death.”
I stilled. “What…do you mean?”
“Tethys caused a tsunami and destroyed Long Beach,” he said, and my breath caught. “She was apparently angry over Hyperion getting killed, so she absolutely destroyed the area. Killed hundreds, if not more. That was what Zeus showed me.”
I opened my mouth, but I was once again struck silent.
Seth lowered his head and looked over at me. “I know I didn’t kill those people myself, but my actions caused their deaths. Some of them…they were kids, Josie. I pulled children out of broken and half-washed-away homes.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, all I could do was stare.
“I know I didn’t do that to them, but I caused that and I…” He exhaled roughly. “Zeus said something to me that was so damn right.”
“What?” I whispered.
“He said I didn’t want to follow in their footsteps, and I don’t. They’ve spent thousands of years screwing things up by acting selfish or rash.” His haunted gaze held mine. “And I did the same thing.”
I stiffened. “Seth—”
“I did, Josie. We can all be honest here. With Atlas, I get a pass. I reacted right then and there, having no idea what I was at that time. I wasn’t in the…right mind, but Hyperion? I knew what I was doing. I was getting revenge. I’m man enough to admit that. And the most messed up thing? I still don’t regret killing him. I regret what my actions have caused, but I…” Leaning forward, he folded his hands under his chin and stared straight ahead. “Zeus knows you’re pregnant.”
I gasped. “Is that bad? That sounds bad.”
“I don’t think it is. I don’t think he wants to cause either of us harm. At least not right now,” he added, and I wasn’t sure if I should feel relief or not. “And he asked me a question, Josie. He asked me if this was a world I wanted to bring a child into.”
Closing my eyes, I sank into the couch. That was a horrible question to pose to Seth after showing him what Tethys had done because of Hyperion’s death.
“And I don’t want to bring our child into a world like that, but most importantly I don’t want our child to grow up and have to learn what I’ve done. Who I am.”
My eyes flew up. “You’re an amazing—”
“I’ve done a lot of bad, Josie.” He was still looking at me, his pupils slightly dilated. “A lot of bad shit, and I wanted to be better for you. Killing Hyperion may make you safer, but it didn’t make me better.”
“I know you have done bad stuff, but that isn’t the sum of who you are.” My heart was cracking for him. “You are making amends. You have made amends. You’re not a bad person, and I know, without a doubt, that our child will never be ashamed of who his father is.”
His throat worked on a visible swallow and when he spoke, his voice was hoarse. “I want that to be true. I need that to be true.”
Tears scalded the back of my throat as I rose. Seth opened his arms, and I didn’t care that he was dirty and covered with God knew what. I clambered into his lap, wriggling my arms behind him. He folded one hand behind my head, his fingers curling through my hair. He tugged me tight against his chest, so close I could feel his heart pounding. A deep shudder rolled through him, and my breath caught.
I wanted nothing more than to make him feel better, but how could I? What could I say? Any niceties would just be lies, and Seth would know that. No matter what, his actions had caused what happened in Long Beach and in L.A., and even if it was indirectly, it didn’t matter.
Actions had reactions, and he knew this.
It was something he was going to have to live with. All I could do was lessen what I knew he was already doing to himself. All I could do was help him.
I kissed his dirty cheek and then his sweat-covered brow. Tears dampened my eyelashes as he tilted his head up and I brought my lips to his, kissing him deeply as I dragged my hands free from behind his back. I clasped his cheeks.
“There’s only one option, then,” I said, drawing back so we were eye to eye. “We’ll make that true.”