Deity

The Sun God sighed. “For now, you win, but if I so much as think that this will end badly—”

“How can things end badly?” I asked.

“Besides the obvious?” Apollo frowned. “If Seth does what is feared, the gods would bring their wrath down upon all pures and halfs to make a point. And as I was saying, if it was even to get to that point, you will have no choice.”

“Then why don’t you just let the Order kill me? That would solve all your problems, wouldn’t it?” Not that I wanted to die, but it did make sense. Even I could see that. “Seth wouldn’t become the God Killer then.”

“Like I said, it is complicated.” Then Apollo simply vanished.

“I hate when he does that,” I glanced at Aiden. He stared back at me, brows furrowed jaw tight. I sighed. “Don’t look at me like I’ve kicked a baby pegasus into the street.”

Aiden exhaled slowly. “Alex, I don’t agree with this. You have to know that we are only looking out for what is best for you.”

Hot or not, there went my tenuous grip on my temper. “I don’t need you looking out for what’s best for me, Aiden. I’m not a child!”

His eyes narrowed. “I of all people know you’re not a child, Alex. And I sure as hell didn’t treat you like one last night.”

My cheeks flushed a hot mix of embarrassment and something far, far different. “Then don’t make decisions for me.”

“We’re trying to help you. Why can’t you see that?” Then his eyes deepened to a tumultuous gray. “I will not lose you again.”

“You haven’t lost me, Aiden. I promise you.” Some of the anger seeped out of me. Fear was behind his fury. I could understand that. It was what drove my tantrums on a regular basis. “You haven’t and you won’t.”

“That’s not a promise you can make. Not when there are so many things that could go wrong.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Aiden crossed the room, sweeping me up in a tight embrace. There wasn’t a word spoken for several moments just the ragged rise and fall of his chest.

“I know you’re mad,” he began, “and that you hate the idea of anyone trying to control you or force you into doing something.”

“I’m not mad.”

He pulled back, arching a brow.

“Okay. I’m mad, but I understand why you think I should go into hiding.”

He led me back to the couch. “But you’re not going to go along with this.”

“No.”

Aiden pulled me into his lap, circling his arms around me. My heart did a flip and it took me a few seconds to get accustomed to this openly affectionate Aiden who didn’t pull away and keep his distance.

“You are the most frustrating person I know,” he said.

I rested my head on his shoulder, smiling. “None of you are giving Seth a chance. He hasn’t done anything, and I don’t have any reason to fear him.”

“He’s lied to you, Alex.”

“Who hasn’t lied to me?” I pointed out. “Look, I know that’s not a great excuse, and you’re right, he has lied to me. I know that, but he hasn’t done anything that warrants me ru

“And what if we take that risk and you were wrong, Alex? Then what?”

I hoped that wouldn’t be the case. “Then I’ll have to deal with it.”

His shoulder tensed under my cheek. “I’m not okay with that. I’ve already failed you once and—”

“Don’t say that.” Twisting in his embrace, I met his gaze and cupped his cheeks. “You had no idea Linard was working for the Order. You are not at fault for that.”

He pressed his forehead against mine. “I should’ve been able to protect you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me, Aiden. I need you to do what you’re doing now.”

“Hold you?” His lips twitched. “I can do that.”

I kissed him, and my chest squeezed. Never in a million years would I get used to being able to kiss him. “Yes, that, but I just need… your love and your trust. I know you can fight for me, but I don’t need you to do that. These problems—they’re mine, not yours, Aiden.”

His arms tightened around me, so tight, I found it hard to breathe. “Because I love you, we share each other’s problems. When we fight, we fight together. I’m going to be by your side no matter what, whether you like it or not. That’s what love is, Alex. You never have to face anything alone again. And I get what you’re saying. I don’t agree with it, but I will support you in any way I can.”

I was struck silent. There was really nothing I could say to that. I wasn’t that great with words, not those kinds of words. So I wrapped myself around him like a super-friendly octopus. When he leaned back, I settled over him, not caring that he was still in his Sentinel gear, daggers and all. Quite some time passed before either of us spoke.

“Seth’s not really a bad guy,” I said. “He can be prone to moments of great douchery, but he wouldn’t do something like take out the Council.”

Aiden’s fingers slipped over my cheek. “I wouldn’t put anything past Seth.”

I decided not to respond to that. Since the phone call after Linard’s attack, I hadn’t even heard from Seth. And now that I had calmed down a bit, I started to think logically about what Apollo had said. “Everyone fears Seth—the gods, the pures, and the Order—because he’ll become the God Killer, right?”

“Right,” he murmured. His hand drifted to my shoulder, brushing my hair back.

“Well, what if he doesn’t become the God Killer?”

His hand stilled. “You mean if we stop the transfer of power? That’s what we’re trying to do by keeping you away from Seth.”

“I seriously doubt that’s the sole purpose of keeping me away from Seth.”

“You got me there,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

Tipping my head up, I decided it was way past time to clear the air. Aiden first… and then Seth, because the last thing I wanted was for anyone to be hurt over this. “I care about Seth—I do. He’s important to me, but it’s not the same. You know you don’t have anything to worry about, right? What Seth and I had… well, I don’t even know what we had. It wasn’t a relationship, not really. He asked to try and see what happens. And this is what happened.”

Aiden caught a strand of my hair between his fingers. “I know. I trust you, Alex. But that doesn’t mean I trust him.”

There was no wi

“And you think he’ll go along with that?”

“I do. Seth won’t force me into anything by using the… co

“Huh, he actually said that?” His eyes burned silver. “Maybe he’s not so bad.”

“He’s not.”

“I don’t like this, but like I said, I will support you any way that I can.”

“Thank you.” I kissed his cheek again.

A sigh shuddered through him. “Alex?”

“What?”

He leaned back, watching me through heavy lashes. “Did you guys eat all the cookie dough last night or did you actually make any cookies?”

I laughed at the turn in conversation. “We made some. I think there might be a few left.”

“Good.” He placed his hands on my hips and tugged me forward, pressing our bodies together. “What’s Valentine’s Day without cookies?”

“I think the mortals put a lot of emphasis on chocolate this time of the year.” I placed my hands on his shoulders, and the stuff with angry gods, Order members, Seth, and everything else took the back seat. “But cookies work.”

One hand slid up the curve of my spin, slipping under the mass of tangled hair and sending a fine shiver over my skin. “So there’s no lame Christmas tree involved?”

“There’s no such thing as a Mortal Holiday Tree.” My breath caught as he guided my mouth toward his, stopping just as our lips brushed. “But… but I’m sure the mortals would appreciate the thought of that kind of tree.”