The Struggle

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  A half-grin appeared. “No, but you just . . . you look tired, Josie.”

  “Gee. Thanks.”

  He chuckled under his breath as he leaned over, brushing his lips along the curve of my cheek. “You look tired, but you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  “That sounds a lot better.”

  Kissing my temple, he pressed his forehead against mine. “How about I make you a deal?”

  “Depends on what the deal is.”

  He reached across me and placed his hand on my hip. “We are trying to find out where the Titans may be. Aiden has people he knows in the pure communities checking to see if there has been any pures that have gone missing. We’re not sitting here and doing nothing.”

  Then why did it feel like I was doing nothing but vacationing on a Greek island? Sighing, I flopped onto my back. “Okay. So what’s the deal?”

  “You stay where it’s safe until we at least figure out how to get the bands off,” he offered, stretching outside beside me. His thumb moved along my hip, inching my shirt up. “You don’t have your abilities right now. You’re as weak as a mortal. If you went out there now, it would be, frankly, stupid as hell. At least let us figure out how to get those bands off.”

  I didn’t like it, but he had a point. With my powers blocked, I was more hindrance than help. “Fine.”

  An almost painfully stunning smile appeared on his face, warming his otherworldly beauty. “Is it a deal then?”

  “It’s a deal, Sethie.”

  Chapter 23

  Seth

  The following evening, Josie fell asleep on the couch while waiting for Alex and Aiden to come back in after Aiden received a call from one of the communities in Georgia. They’d only been gone five minutes, and she was already fast asleep.

  Sitting at her hip, I brushed her hair back from her cheek. Her skin was too cool. Jaw working as frustration rose inside me, I looked over at a nearby cabinet. Lifting a hand, I willed the door open and tapped into the air element. A soft, thin blanket flew across the room. I snatched it up and then twisted back to Josie, draping it over her body.

  Restlessness stirred within me like a slow-moving storm coming ashore, a sure sign that I would need to feed in the next day or so. I could probably go longer, but I didn’t want to let my levels slip. Not when Josie was in such a vulnerable state.

  My gaze dropped to those damn bands. We had to get them off. Since the gods had created the damn bracelets, I suspected only they could remove them.

  Drawn by approaching footsteps, my gaze flickered to the doorway. A second later, Alex popped her head in through the doorway. I held up a hand. Turning back to Josie, I bent over and kissed her cheek. She didn’t stir as I rose and joined Alex just outside the living room.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Alex peeked into the living room once more. “She’s asleep again?”

  Rubbing a hand across my chest, I nodded. “She fell asleep about a minute after you guys walked out of the room.”

  Concern pinched Alex’s features. “She hasn’t gotten sick again, has she?”

  “Not since this afternoon.” I glanced into the living room as one of the white-robed servants bowed and then passed by in the hallway. Josie had eaten a late breakfast this morning and was sick again. She hadn’t vomited, but she’d been rocking cold-green for a while. “It has to be those bands on her wrists. I . . .” I trailed off, because what could I say? There was something wrong with Josie and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

  Alex placed a hand on my arm. “We’ll figure something out.”

  “So I’m guessing we haven’t heard from Marcus?” Last night, I’d had Alex call her uncle to see if he’d heard of these types of bands before. He hadn’t, but he had access to the massive library with a ton of ancient texts. There had to be something about the bands in there.

  She shook her head.

  Aiden rounded the corner, slipping his cell into his pocket. “You know I’ve been checking in with communities in the southern states. I just heard back from one outside of Atlanta. Other than sporadic daimon attacks, they haven’t noticed any suspicious missing persons.” He leaned against the wall, crossing his legs at the ankles. “I also heard back from the communities in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Thought to check this out since Josie said it was really hot.”

  Alex tilted her head to the side with a slight frown. “There are trees in Arizona?”

  Both Aiden and I turned and looked at her. He raised a brow. “Yes, babe. There are trees in Arizona.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I know there are trees, but she said it was heavily wooded.”

  Aiden’s lips twitched. “There are a couple of national forests there.”

  “Huh,” Alex murmured. “Learn something new every day.”

  I shook my head. “Anyway, any leads there?”

  “No, but I did speak to one of the guards in Baton Rouge. They haven’t had a lot of missing pures, but interestingly, they’ve had what I suspect were shade attacks.”

  That was something. “Where there are shades, there are Titans nearby.”

  “The thing is, though, that Josie said she felt like she was kept in a basement of some sort,” Aiden said. “I don’t think a lot of homes or businesses there would have basements.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t a basement,” Alex jumped in. “Maybe it just felt like one to her.”

  She had a point. “It needs to be checked out, but I’m not leaving Josie. She’s not going to like hearing that, but that’s not going to change.”

  Alex’s eyes narrowed. “You might want to try to discuss it with her in a less dickhead way, and she’d probably be more understanding.”

  I shrugged.

  “You could pop me there, couldn’t you?” Aiden asked. “Would only take a few seconds. Then I can see if I can catch me a shade and . . . convince it to talk.”

  That was doable.

  Alex shifted from one foot to the next. “Wait. I don’t like this.”

  Aiden opened his mouth.

  “You have no idea if the Titans are there are not, and I’m not doubting your badassery or anything, but the place could be teeming with shades. You can’t go alone.” She faced me. “Can’t you poof me there, too?”

  “I can, but that would mean Josie would be here unprotected.” I folded my arms. “I don’t care if it’s even for a couple of seconds. That’s all it would take if they figure out where we are.”

  Alex looked like she wanted to push the issue, but wisely snapped her mouth shut.

  Pushing off the wall, Aiden glanced into the room Josie was sleeping in. “I have to call them and let them know I’m coming in. Give them a chance to put a team together for me. Probably makes sense to wait a few hours.”

  “Works for me.” Turning to Alex, I could tell just by the tight lines of her face she was barely keeping her mouth shut. “Can you do me a favor? Stay with her in case she wakes up?”

  Her brows eyes formed into thin slits. “I remember what happened the last time you—”

  “Alex,” I warned.

  She sighed. “Yeah, I can keep an eye on her. Where are you going?”

  I arched a brow. “I have something I need to do.”

  “Like what?”

  Aiden circled an arm around Alex’s shoulders. He drew her in so she ended up face-planting his chest. Over her head, he shot me a look that said I owed him.

  Nodding curtly, I pivoted around and walked past the staircase, spying Basil waiting by the entryway to the kitchen. “Have you seen Karina?”

  “She is in the temple, Kýrios.”

  Gods.

  “Do you wish me to retrieve her?” he offered.

  Considering Alex was right down the hall and had eyeballed Karina like she wanted to body-slam her into the ocean, that wouldn’t be wise. “I’ll go to her.”

  Basil nodded.

  Since walking was overrated, I pictured the courtyard outside and a se
cond later there I was, standing just outside the courtyard. Flames rippled from the titanium urns. A priest and priestess stood on either side of the closed doors.

  Exhaling heavily, I stared at the sandstone temple, at the invincibility rune above the doors. The last thing I wanted to do was go in there, but I hadn’t approached them about the bracelets yet. I needed to feed soon, but it didn’t feel right bringing Karina into the same house as Josie. Then again, keeping Karina out here kind of felt like I was doing something shady.

  Really was a lose-lose situation.

  Each step I took toward the temple felt like I was walking through muddy water. I reached the wide steps and felt a charge of energy roll down my spine. I swallowed back a curse when the two by the door bowed. Willing the doors open, I caught sight of the inside of the temple for the first time.

  Cool air that smelled of frankincense washed over me. The inside was wide and open. No statues or odd religious artifacts decorated the walls. There were closed doors in the back, leading to the rooms where I assumed the priestesses and priestess resided.

  Only one person was in the temple.

  Karina stood before a white altar set upon a raised dais, and boy was I wrong. That was definitely a weird thing in the temple. A single candle cast its glow from the center of the altar. Beside it was the source of the smell. Incense burned. Beside the candle appeared to be a silver dagger much like the ones that the Covenant used. I didn’t want to know why they had one of those or what they used it for.

  She bowed deeply at the waist. “Kýrios, I’ve been waiting.”

  And yeah, that was fucking creepy.

  “What do you think of the temple?” she asked, clasping her hands in front of her. As usual, her dark hair was piled atop her head in a startling, intricate fashion.

  I looked around. “It’s . . . pretty unimpressive.”

  She tilted her head. “Have you’ve been inside many temples, Kýrios?”

  “Nope. This would be the first.”

  Karina gave a faint smile. “Then I can assure you that this is rather impressive by comparison.”

  I was going to have to take her word for it.

  “Do you wish to feed now?” she asked.

  Something clenched in my chest, and I found myself shaking my head even though I had planned on doing that. “Not . . . not right at this moment.”

  A look of understanding crossed her face and she nodded. “As you wish.”

  Well, this was a freaking awkward as hell conversation. “I’ve come to see if you know anything about these . . . bands that are circling Josie’s wrists. The Titans placed them on her to block her demigod abilities and they will not come off. I think they are preventing her from recovering completely and are making her sick.”

  “Kyría is ill?”

  “I . . . I think so.” I stepped forward, stopping a few feet from the high priestess. I could feel the aether in her—I could practically see it glowing brightly within her veins. “She’s a demigod. She shouldn’t be ill.”

  “No, she should not. I do not know these bands, but I am sure one of the Olympians would.”

  Frustration spiked. “Even her father is not answering our calls.”

  Picking up the skirt of her dress, Karina stepped down from the dais. “You should try summoning him again.”

  I held back a curse. “That would be useless.” And catastrophic, because when Apollo inevitably ignored my summons once again, I was going to want to blow something big up.

  “Did you know that temples are like conduits to Olympus?” she asked. “The gods can hear your prayers much more clearly here.” She stopped beside me. “Especially if you shed a little blood over fire.”

  My eyes narrowed. “What?”

  “You should try it.” She breezed on by. “I will await outside.”

  Turning, I watched her glide across the temple floor and out the door. My gaze moved upward, to the open panel that let the sunlight in. What she had just said sounded absolutely insane, but what could I lose in trying?

  If the Olympians created the bands, then Apollo had to know how to get them off. Going to him for help made me want to punch myself in the nuts, but I was willing to do anything for Josie.

  Striding across the floor, I stepped up on the dais and approached the altar. I seriously doubted this was going to work, but I picked up the dagger anyway. Spill blood over flame? Shaking my head, I drew the dagger down the center of my palm. A thin line of blood welled up. Fisting my hand over the flame, I squeezed until a few drops of blood seeped out of my hand.

  My brows lifted. “What the hell?”

  The blood was red, but there was a blue sheen to it. And it shimmered.

  My fucking blood shimmered now.

  Inhaling raggedly, I watched a few drops of blood hit the flame. Fire sizzled and crackled. Drawing my hand back, the smoke turned black and then gray. Cursing under my breath, I lifted my gaze to the ceiling. “Apollo? If you can hear me, you need to get your ass down here now. Your daughter needs you.”

  I waited.

  Nothing.

  Closing my eyes, I shook my head. What was I thinking? He wouldn’t even come for his own—

  A burst of pure power filled the temple, coasting over my skin like I had touched a live wire. My eyes flew open as the back of my neck tingled.

  “You called?”

  Chapter 24

  The sound of Apollo’s voice filled me with warring emotions. I was relieved that he finally, finally had answered because maybe he could help Josie. I was also infuriated by his mere presence.

  I turned slowly, facing him, and there he was.

  Apollo stood in the center of the temple, his all-white eyes glowing like two fucking light bulbs. There was a time, a very brief moment in time, when I’d actually reluctantly respected Apollo. That time occurred once when he was masquerading as Leon, a pure-blooded Sentinel. There might had been a time after I knew what he was, like when he made sure Alex had been taken care of when Ares had broken every bone in her body.

  Right now, I wanted nothing more than to knock his head off his shoulders.

  “It’s about time,” I said, jaw clenched. “Got to admit. Kind of surprised you had the balls to show up.”

  Apollo lifted his chin. “You cannot harm me inside a temple.”

  “So, what? You basically get to yell ‘safe’ in a temple?”

  “If we were playing a game of tag,” he replied. “Then yes.”

  My hands curled into fists.

  “The blood you shed on the flame nullifies our abilities while in the temple. I cannot harm you and you can only stand there and pout. And by the way, do not doubt whether or not I have the balls to do anything.”

  There were so many things I could say in response to that, but there were more important things to discuss. “Where in the fuck have you been? Your daughter was captured by Hyperion. Your daughter, Apollo. Do you even know what he—” I cut myself off as I took another step forward. “I summoned you. Alex summoned you. Where were you?”

  Apollo held still. “Where were you, Seth? The last I checked you weren’t there, either.”