Deity

“They didn’t react until the daimon attack.”

Rubbing my temples, I closed my eyes. This was all giving me a headache. “There are just so many things that don’t add up—the Order, the furies, Seth. Why did they go after me instead of him?”

Aiden closed the book. “I need to tell Marcus about this. If the Order is still alive and well, then this is serious. And if Telly is a member, then we need to be careful.”

I nodded, prying my eyes open. I could feel his gaze on me again. “Okay.”

“And I don’t want you going to Romvi’s class anymore,” he continued. “I’ll talk to Marcus and I’m sure he’ll agree with that.”

“That shouldn’t be hard. Tomorrow is the last day of classes before break, so I’ll skip.” I shivered. “Do you think the ‘eyes of Thanatos’ part is something literal? And daggers actually dipped in real honest-to-gods Titan blood?”

“Knowing the gods, I’d go with ayes.” There was a pause, and Aiden reached over, capturing my chin with the tips of his fingers. He slowly turned my head toward him. “What are you not telling me, Alex?”

A frisson of heat shot through me. “Nothing,” I whispered, and tried to turn my head, but he kept me still.

“You know you can tell me anything, right? And I know there is something you’re keeping from me.”

Seth’s warning to keep the Apollyon marks quiet was overwhelmed by the desire to tell someone what was happening. And who better to tell than Aiden? He was the one person in this world that I trusted, especially considering how much he’d risked to keep me safe. Seth wouldn’t be happy if he knew, but then again, I wasn’t particularly happy with Seth at the moment.

“It’s happening,” I said finally.

Aiden’s eyes searched mine. “What’s happening?”

“This—the freaky stuff.” I lifted my hands, palms up. His gaze dropped without releasing my chin, and when his eyes met mine again, they were questioning. “I’ve started getting the marks of the Apollyon. You can’t see them, but they’re there, on both of my palms. And there’s one on my stomach.”

He seemed taken aback by this, releasing my chin but not moving away. “When did this start happening?”

I looked away. “The first happened while we were in the Catskills. Seth and I were training one day and I got mad. Somehow, I blew up a rock and then the next thing I know there was this cord coming from Seth and I got a rune.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, we really weren’t getting along then and you were busy. And Seth asked me not to say anything until we knew what was going on.” Sighing, I told him about the rest of the times and how I’d seen my own cord. Displeasure rolled off Aiden by the time I finished telling him. “It happens when we’re… touching sometimes. Seth thinks that, if I get the fourth mark on the back of my neck, then I’ll Awaken. Maybe ahead of schedule, and he’s all thrilled by that prospect.”

“Alex,” he breathed unsteadily.

“Yeah, I know. I’m a huge freak even by Apollyon standards.” I laughed. “I don’t want the fourth mark. You know, I’d kind of like to ride out the rest of being seventeen and not be the Apollyon. But Seth is all like, ‘this would be the best thing ever’.”

“Best thing for who?” he asked quietly. “You or Seth?”

I laughed again, but my weird humor dried up when I recalled how I suspected Seth of doing the rune things on purpose.

“Alex?”

“Seth says it would be best for me because I’d be stronger, but I think he’s… I think he’s jonesing for a power boost. Reminds me of Super Mario Brothers power up or something, because I can feel it—akasha—going from me to…” My mouth dropped open. “Son of a bitch.”

“What?” Aiden frowned.

My stomach rolled. “The second time I got a mark, I was exhausted for days.” I sat up straighter, staring at Aiden as it clicked into place. “Remember the night we all met in Marcus’ office? Another rune had appeared right before then and that time had been different than any other time.” I felt heat crawl over my cheeks as I remembered how much I’d been down with the whole thing while it was happening. “Anyway, I was really tired and just off after that for days.”

Aiden nodded. “I remember. You were pretty crabby.”

My crabbiness had led to the sensory deprivation room… and Aiden’s whispered fear. “Well, you didn’t get it as bad as Seth. I threw a sub at him.”

He was trying to fight a smile, but his eyes lightened. “He probably deserved it.”

“He did, but gods, is that what’s going to happen when I Awaken?” Dread traced icy fingers over my skin. “He’s going to drain me. I don’t even think he realizes that.”

Anger flared in his eyes, dispelling the softness that had gathered in them. His hands curled into fists. “Whatever it is that… you two are doing that’s causing those runes to show up, you need to stop.”

I looked at him blandly. “I’ve already decided that, but that isn’t going to stop it from happening eventually. And you know what the really messed up thing is? My mom warned me that the First would drain me. I just thought she was being all daimon crazy.”

Aiden reclaimed the little distance I’d been able to put between us. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Alex. That goes for Seth, too.”

Whoa. My heart did a crazy thing there. And he really sounded like he believed he could. “Aiden, you can’t stop this. No one can.”

“We can’t stop you from Awakening, but the power transfer will only happen if you touch after you turn eighteen, right? Then you don’t touch.”

I couldn’t possibly imagine Seth being down with the whole “not-touching” part, but he’d understand once he knew what it could possibly do. “He’ll understand,” I said. “I’ll talk to him when he gets back. This is probably something better to discuss face to face.”

Aiden didn’t look convinced. “I don’t like this.”

“You don’t like him,” I pointed out gently.

“You’re right. I don’t like Seth, but there’s something more to this.”

“Isn’t there always?” I moved slightly and felt his breath over my lips. If I moved an inch, our lips would touch. And Aiden was suddenly staring at my mouth.

“I’ll talk to Marcus,” Aiden said, voice gruff.

“You already said that.”

“I did?” His head angled slightly. “We should head back.”

I swallowed. Aiden wasn’t moving and every muscle in my body demanded that I cross that tiny space between us. But I pushed back the chair, making a horrible scratching noise. I stood. There didn’t seem to be enough air in the little room with faded, pea-green walls. I started toward the door, but stopped when I realized I’d left my bag on the table. I turned around.

Aiden stood in front of me. I hadn’t heard him rise or move toward me. He had my bag in hand, book already tucked inside. And he was standing so close that the tips of his shoes brushed mine. My heart was racing and it felt like a dozen butterflies had exploded in my stomach. I was half-afraid to breathe, to feel what I knew I wasn’t allowed.

He placed the strap of my bag over my shoulder and then he tucked my hair back behind my ear. I thought that maybe he was going to hug me—or shake me, because that was always a possibility. But then his hand slid over my cheek and his thumb smoothed over my lower lip, careful with the faint scar over the center, even though the pain had long since ceased.

I sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes were liquid silver. My pulse pounded through me. I knew he wanted to kiss me, maybe do other stuff. My skin was tingling with excitement, anticipation, and so much want. And I think he was feeling what I was. I didn’t need a stupid cord to tell me that.

But Aiden wouldn’t act on it. He had the kind of self-control that rivaled those of the virgin priestesses who’d served in Artemis’ temples. And there were all the other reasons why he shouldn’t—why I shouldn’t.

Aiden closed his eyes and exhaled roughly. When his eyes reopened, he dropped his hand and shot me a quick smile. “Ready?” he asked.