Deity

Apollo faced me. “He is one of those who do not believe that half-bloods should be forced into servitude if they do not fit the mold of a Sentinel or Guard.”

“Well, you have no one to blame for that rule but yourself.” Anger sparked inside of me. “You’re responsible for the way we’ve been treated.”

Apollo frowned. “We have had nothing to do with that.”

“What?” Surprise colored Aiden’s voice.

“We are not responsible for the subjugation of half-bloods,” Apollo said. “That was all the pure-bloods. They decreed the separation of the two breeds into castes centuries and centuries ago. All we asked was that pures and halfs not mix.”

Those words pulled the world out from underneath my feet. Everything I’d been taught to believe was no longer true. Since I was a small child, I’d been told that the gods saw us as lesser and our society acted on that belief. “Then why… why haven’t you guys done anything?”

“It was not our problem,” Apollo responded blithely.

Rage whipped through me like a red-hot bullet and I shot to my feet. “It wasn’t your problem? The pure-bloods are your children! Just like we are. You all could’ve done something years ago.”

Aiden caught my arm. “Alex.”

“What did you expect us to do, Alexandria?” Apollo said. “The lives of half-bloods are literally a step—a small step—above those of mortals. We ca

The slavery of thousands and thousands of halfs was a trivial thing?

Breaking free of Aiden, I charged Apollo. Looking back, not a good idea, but I was so angry, so shocked that the gods had stood by since the begi

“Alex!” Aiden yelled, reaching for me.

I was so much faster when I wanted to be. He couldn’t stop me. I made it about a foot in front of Apollo before he held up his hand. I smacked off an invisible wall. The force blew my hair back.

Apollo smiled. “I do like your feisty temper.”

I kicked the shield. Pain fired through my foot. I hobbled back. “Ouch! Dammit, that hurt!”

Aiden got a secure grip around me. “Alex, you need to calm down.”

“I am calm!”

“Alex,” Aiden chided, obviously trying not to laugh.

Apollo lowered his hand, appearing contrite. “I do… understand your anger, Alexandria. The half-bloods were not treated fairly.”

I took several deep, calming breaths.

“By the way,” Apollo said, “the next time you charge a god, and it is not me, you will be destroyed. If not by that god, then by the furies. You are lucky the furies and I do not get along. They would love to see my entrails strung upon the rafters—”

“Okay. I get the picture.” I eased my aching foot down. “But I don’t think you really understand. That’s the problem with you gods. You created all of this and then just left it. Taking no responsibility for what happened. You guys take ‘self-centered’ to a whole new epic level. And all of our problems—the daimons and even the Apollyon crap—are the gods’ fault. You said it yourself! If you ask me, you guys are freaking useless 99% of the time.”

Aiden placed his hand on the small of my back. I expected him to tell me to shut up, because I was yelling at a god, but that’s not what he did. “Alex has a point, Apollo. I didn’t even know… the truth. Even we are taught that the gods decreed the separation of the two breeds.”

“I do not know what to say,” Apollo said.

I smoothed my hair down. “Please don’t say you’re sorry, because I know it wouldn’t be true.”

Apollo nodded.

“Okay. Now that we’ve gotten this out of our systems, let’s get back to the point of this visit.” Aiden pulled me to the couch, forcing me to sit down. “And seriously, Alex, no hitting.”

I rolled my eyes. “Or what? You’re going to put me in a time out?”

Aiden’s grin was daring, as if he was up for the challenge and might even enjoy it.

“Solos and his father will be assets in making sure Telly is removed from the Head Minster position and that an extensive investigation is done to determine how many Order members may be out there. And before you ask me why, as a god, I ca

“Why were you guys worried about how I’d react to that?” I asked, confused. “Sounds like a good thing.”

“It’s not everything.” Aiden took a deep breath. “Solos’ father owns extensive property throughout the states, places where we can hide you until all the Order members are uncovered.”

“Not just that,” Apollo added. “We can keep you safe until we know how to deal with Seth and your Awakening.”

I blinked, positive I hadn’t heard them right. “What?”

“The worst thing that can happen right now is for Seth to take on your power and become the God Killer.” Apollo folded his arms. “Therefore, we need to make sure you are far enough away that when you do Awaken, the bond is severed by distance and you ca

“Why? Why can’t he be trusted? What has he done?”

“He’s lied to you about a lot of things,” Aiden pointed out.

I shook my head. “Besides the lying about the Apollyon stuff, what has he done?”

“It is not what he has done, Alexandria, but what he will do. The oracle has seen it.”

“You’re talking about that whole ‘one to save and one to destroy’ crap? Why? Why would that be the case with Seth and me, when we aren’t the first set of Apollyons?” I tucked my hair back, frustrated and full of the need to… protect Seth’s name. Not like he had a good name, but come on.

Suddenly, Apollo was kneeling in front of me at eye level. Aiden stiffened beside me. “I did not waste my time trying to keep you safe, and argue with Hades over your soul, only to have you throw it away based on foolish and naïve trust.”

I squeezed my hands into balls. “Why do you even care, Apollo?”

“It’s complicated,” was all he said.

“If all you can say is that ‘it’s complicated’ then you can forget that. What about school?”

“Marcus ensured us that you’d graduate on time,” Aiden said.

“You knew about this?”

He nodded. “Alex, I think it’s the smart thing to do.”

“Ru

Aiden’s lips thi

I knew what he meant and I hurt for that. I ached, because he had to worry about me, but that still didn’t completely extinguish my anger. “You should’ve told me this was what you guys were pla

“Alexandria—”

“No.” I cut Apollo off and stood before Aiden could stop me. “I’m not going into hiding because there’s a chancethat Seth might do something.”

“Then forget the issue with Seth.” Aiden stood, folding his arms. “You need to be protected from the Order.”

“We can’t forget about Seth.” I started pacing, wanting to pull out my hair. “If I up and disappear, what do you think Seth’s going to do? Especially if we don’t tell him, which I know is what you guys are thinking.”

Apollo rose to his feet and tipped his head back. “This would be so much easier if you had an agreeable personality.”

“Sorry, buddy.” I stopped, meeting Aiden’s steely eyes. “But I can’t go along with this. And if you really think that the Order is going to try something again, then we need Seth’s help.”

Aiden turned halfway, his broad shoulders tensed as he growled under his breath. Typically, I’d be a