His voice cut through her, sending goose bumps across her skin. Instead of running to him like she normally did, Persephone forced herself to remain where she was.
Adrastos straightened. His dark eyes bored into her, and her traitorous heart beat faster, apparently not getting the message she was supposed to be unaffected by him now. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
A couple of large strides and he was standing right in front of her, reaching for her.
Persephone took a step back. “I can’t do this anymore.” The air felt thick in her throat as she struggled to get the words out. “I’m…I’m with someone else.”
The muscles along his jaw went rigid. “You’re with me.”
Her pulse pounded through her head, the noise making it hard to think. “He’s here in New Orleans with me, Adrastos. We can really be together. Not just at night or in my dreams, but—” The pain in his expression made her stop. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. “I’ll always care for you, but I need someone who can actually wrap his arms around me.”
In one quick movement, his arms were around her, drawing her to him. “I can do that, too.”
Persephone closed her eyes, trying not to think about how good it felt to be next to him again. Thoughts were getting fuzzy, and her arms longed to be around him, hugging him back. “You’ll be gone in minutes, maybe for days, or weeks. It’s not the same.”
She dared to open her eyes.
It was a mistake.
His eyes locked onto hers, and her heart knotted. It took all her strength to finish her thought. “So I’m…with him…now.”
She tried to step back, but his grip around her tightened. “You’re with me,” he said. “You’ll always be with me.”
“But I’m not. You’re…wherever you are, and I’m somewhere else. I need him. I can’t be with you right now.”
“See, there you said it. ‘Right now.’ He’s temporary, and you know it. So don’t do this. Not now, when we’re so close to being together.”
Breathing became impossible.
“Does he know you like I do?” Adrastos asked. “Does he know about your family, your dreams and fears, the demon blood that courses through your veins?”
Biting her lip, Persephone dropped her gaze
Adrastos cupped her chin and tilted her face back up to his. “I know you, Persephone. I know you and I love you.”
Tears filled her eyes.
And then he ran his thumb across her bottom lip, completely undoing her. Her emotions tore at her, part of her desperate to believe him, the other part screaming it was too late. She was with Jax now.
Adrastos let go of her chin and ran his fingers along the top of her collarbone. “I’ll be with you soon, and then we’ll never have to be apart again.”
His hand slipped behind her neck and he leaned in, his lips moving toward hers.
Persephone put her hand on his chest, keeping him back. “I can’t. Not while—”
He yanked her to him and captured her mouth. She started to push him away…
Heat filled her, and she started pulling him to her instead. He shoved her against the tree and pressed into her, driving her wild with desire.
Her breath caught as he sucked at the base of her neck.
And then he was kissing her mouth again. She wound her fingers through his hair, wanting to hold him there—to keep him with her forever.
“You belong with me,” he whispered against her lips. “You’ll always belong with me.”
One last kiss that made the world spin, and then he gave her a smile that made her warm all over. “Soon, my love. I’ll see you soon.”
Persephone’s eyes popped open and she glanced around the dark room. Her heart hammered against her ribs and her breath came out in ragged bursts. She rolled to look at Jax, guilt already filling her.
But he wasn’t there.
Persephone stared up at the ceiling. She felt dizzy and warm. Feverish. She got out of bed, glanced down the hall, and hurried into the bathroom, flipping on the light on her way in.
Thirsty. She was so thirsty. She walked to the sink, cupped water in her hands and drank. Then she splashed the cool water on her face.
Taking deep breaths to calm her racing pulse, she glanced up, into the mirror. Her lips were red, still tingling from Adrastos’s kisses. Red caught her eye and she leaned closer. A strawberry mark was on the base of her neck.
Footsteps sounded down the hall and stopped outside the bathroom. “Persephone?” Jax’s voice was filled with concern, and she hated herself.
She pulled her hair forward, flipped off the light, and stepped out of the bathroom.
Jax reached out and ran his hand down her arm. “You have a nightmare?”
The memory of her dream sent heat through her, and her throat went dry. “No. Just…” She swallowed, trying to come up with a good excuse. If only it wasn’t so hard to think clearly right now. “Couldn’t sleep. You?”
“I woke up and was starving, so I grabbed a snack.”
Looking at him made her want to cry. Faking a yawn, she covered her mouth and turned toward the bedroom. “Okay, well, I’m going back to bed.”
“Right behind you.”
The words sent a fresh pang of guilt through her chest. Worried Jax would see the hickey, she dug a high-neck, long sleeved T-shirt out of her drawer and pulled it over her tank top, even though she was already way too warm.
She was about to climb back in bed, when Jax’s arms came around her. He pressed a light kiss on her temple.
Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any worse.
Every gesture showed her how much she didn’t deserve him.
It was just a dream. It’s not like—
She stopped that thought short. Hard to argue it was only a dream when she had the proof on the base of her neck.
I don’t have to deal with it right now. Jax is here, and I need him. Everything else can wait.
But when Adrastos did come, and she knew he would, she was going to be totally and utterly screwed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Persephone was about to enter Mr. Ramsey’s classroom when Jax tugged on her hand, pulling her away from the door. “I tried to hold it back all morning, but I can tell something’s wrong.”
Persephone’s stomach clenched. “Nothing’s wrong.”
His eyebrows shot up, his expression saying he didn’t buy it. Probably because she’d avoided eye contact all morning. Not to mention the kiss she dodged, making the excuse they needed to get to school.
“Every time I think I’m making progress with you, you pull away again.” He put his hand on the wall behind her and leaned closer. “It’s driving me crazy.”
Crazy. That was something she knew way too much about.
“I mean last night you were…” His gaze landed on her lips and desire lit his eyes.
Heat flooded her cheeks, at first because she was embarrassed at how forward she’d been, then because she was remembering how amazing it felt to be pressed against him, kissing him.
Only she’d experienced a similar situation with Adrastos a few minutes—hours, she hoped, like that made a difference—later.
How can I feel so strongly for two people? Two people who happen to be nothing alike.
“Everything okay here?” Miss Nelson asked.
Jax straightened. “It’s fine.”
Miss Nelson looked at Persephone, eyebrows raised, apparently wanting the answer from her.
“Yeah,” Persephone said, nodding her head. “Everything’s okay.”
Miss Nelson crossed her arms. “Don’t you two have a class to get to?”
“We were just about to go in.” Persephone turned and walked into Mr. Ramsey’s room.
Great. On top of feeling guilty and confused, I still haven’t figured out what to do about Miss Nelson’s request for a meeting with Gran.
Any more problems and my head’s going to explode.
The day did get worse, b
ut luckily, her head didn’t actually explode—it just hurt like hell. World History hit a snag about the time Mr. Ramsey caught her daydreaming; Danielle seemed upset all day, and although Persephone tried to find out why, she’d gotten the cold shoulder. On top of that, things with Jax were tense, and as she walked up to Miss Nelson’s desk at the end of Literature class, Persephone was sure her lie was about to go bad.
“My gran’s sick right now,” Persephone blurted out as soon as Miss Nelson looked up. “She can’t meet you. In fact, she can’t even talk on the phone much.”
“Then it sounds like we need to get someone over to check on you.”
“No!” Persephone realized she’d yelled, and tried to calm her voice. “I mean, you can call her, and I can manage. We don’t need any help.”
Miss Nelson looked over Persephone’s shoulder. “Jax, you need to wait in the hall while I talk to Persephone.”
He hesitated for a moment and then trudged out of the classroom.
“The bruise on your arm.” Miss Nelson pointed. “It looks like finger marks.”
Persephone glanced down. She’d been so concerned about hiding the hickey—which hadn’t faded at all overnight, unfortunately—she hadn’t noticed the bruise on her arm from where the demon had grabbed her.
“Look, I wanted to talk about this with your grandmother here, but since she can’t come” —Miss Nelson raised an eyebrow, the doubt on her face clear— “I need you to listen to me. Really listen. It’s not okay for someone to hurt you. Not even if they say they love you. Do you understand what I’m saying?” She glanced toward the doorway, in the direction Jax had gone.
A light bulb went off in her head, and Persephone did understand what she was implying. “This isn’t from Jax. He’d never hurt me.”
“Where’d you get it then?”
Something told her a demon was trying to pull me out of my car wouldn’t get Miss Nelson off her back. “Um, soccer. I play soccer with the boys, you can ask anyone. One of the guys got a little aggressive on defense yesterday.”
“And the red bump on your cheek? The one you had about the same time Jax showed up?”
Well, that one had been Jax’s fault. Not that she was going to admit that, because as good as Miss Nelson’s intentions were, they were misplaced. “I told you, I ran into a door.”
“In fact, ever since Jax entered the picture, you seem to have a lot of bruises. I can’t help but notice how possessive he is, too, hovering over you in the halls, never letting you out of his sight.”
“You’re wrong about this, and I wish you’d just stay out of my personal life. Gran and I are fine. Jax and I are fine.” Actually, that was a lie. Not only was Gran gone, leaving a big empty hole in Persephone’s heart, things with Jax were a mess, too, and she didn’t know if they’d ever be fine again. That wasn’t the point, though. “Anyway, thanks for your concern. I’ll try harder in class and all that, but I’m good.” Hugging her books to her chest, she charged out of the room.
Jax caught up to her in the hall. “She buy the sick story?”
“I don’t think so.” Telling him the truth might make him upset, but she supposed she should let him know. Maybe he could cool off the protective vibe when Miss Nelson was around. “Our literature teacher thinks you’re getting violent with me—that you’re an overly possessive, jealous guy. I guess she’s noticed bruises, probably from all the training we’ve been doing, and I got this yesterday…” She held up her arm to show him.
“She thinks I did that to you?”
“And the red mark on my cheek, which was pretty much your fault, since I got it the night you broke into my house.”
“I don’t suppose she’d be okay with it if I told her you started that one?”
“I doubt it.” Persephone looked into his face. This was the first normal conversation they’d had all day—well, not normal, but not strained. “I told her you’d never hurt me.”
Jax grabbed her hand and rubbed a circle over her pulse point with his thumb. “Tell me what’s going on with you today.”
She hated when he looked at her like that. Like he’d do anything for her. It made her hate herself for not being stronger last night, dream or not. Now wasn’t the time or place to get into this—too many eyes and ears.
“We’re going to be late for soccer.” She started to turn, but he kept hold of her hand.
“So we’ll be late.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Miss Nelson, standing, arms crossed, watching them.
Jax must’ve seen her, too, because he dropped Persephone’s hand. “This isn’t over.”
Not yet. But once you find out the truth, it will be.
After playing a quick game of soccer, Persephone and Jax took the Mazda to get the broken window fixed. The shop was blasting music, which made for a seemingly innocent way to stall the big talk with Jax—she just said, “huh?” every time he attempted a conversation. But as they walked up the sidewalk to her house, the knot in her stomach got tighter and tighter.
Jax was expecting something, an explanation for why she’d been distant all day. She still hadn’t decided if he was going to get the truth. Maybe parts.
She glanced at him.
He deserves the truth.
The first porch step was closer than she thought. She stumbled, catching herself on the flickering railing. She focused, counting her steps to the door. Her hand shook, jingling the keys as she lifted them to the doorknob.
After two failed attempts at lining up the key, Jax put his hand over hers. “Do you need me to try?”
“I got it,” she said, elbowing him off her. The third time, the key slid in and Persephone opened the door.
Turtle greeted her, rubbing against her legs, and she bent down to pet him. “You hungry?”
He mewed.
“Let’s get you some food then.” She picked him up and went to the cupboard for cat food, glad for the distraction.
Persephone filled his food and water bowl, then continued to stand in the kitchen, staring at her mangy cat, hoping Jax would give up. But she could feel him standing behind her and knew he wasn’t going to give up or let it go this time.
The floorboards creaked as he moved toward her. His hand came on her shoulder and his breath hit her ear. “If you changed your mind about me, just tell me. You know I’ll still stay and protect you.”
Without turning around, she said, “I talked to Adrastos last night. I tried to tell him I was with you, but…” Her throat tightened and she shook her head.
He tensed and his fingers dug into her shoulder. “Don’t leave me hanging. But what?”
“He’s going to come for me, and when he does, I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt.”
“By him or by you?”
She squeezed her eyes closed, fighting tears. “You deserve someone better than me.”
He slid his hand down her arm and gently twisted her to face him. His eyes implored her, raw and vulnerable. “What I need to know is if you changed your mind about me.” The muscles along his jaw tightened, and his voice was an open wound. “Are you choosing him?”
The pain on his face echoed through her, stabbing at her already aching chest.
A couple weeks ago, the answer would’ve been easy—no second guesses, just a resounding yes. But now the thought of losing Jax made her heart feel like it was ripping in two. Speaking was difficult, but she managed a scratchy, “No.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly to him. For a moment, everything seemed right again.
Then she wished she wouldn’t have let him hug her. It made what she needed to say next that much harder.
“Now, you’ve got a decision to make,” Persephone said. “I need to tell you something, and then you’ve got to decide if you still want me.”
“I’ve never wanted anything more.”
She wished he wouldn’t say things like that. It only made this more difficult. “That’s because you don’t
know everything about me.”
“Whatever it is, it won’t change the way I feel.”
Her heart pounded out a painful, rapid rhythm. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to do this. She didn’t want to, but she had to. She had to know. “Haven’t you ever wondered how I can handle the dagger?”
“Back when the demons were taking over, Athena came down and blessed Sentries with the power to touch it. You told me, the super-speed healing power and all that.”
“It took more than a simple blessing, and the healing power is more of a side effect. It took changing who we were.” Fear cramped her stomach, her pulse pounded through her head, and she almost lost her nerve. “You know the thing you fight, the thing that appalls you more than anything else in the world?”
His eyebrows drew together as confusion flickered across his features.
Finally, she forced the words past her lips, hating that everything would forever be different between them. “Jax, I have demon blood in me.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jax jerked his arms away like she’d burned him. He took a giant step back, bumping into one of the kitchen chairs.
It crashed to the ground, the noise echoing through the room, ringing through her ears again and again, until no sound remained.
The affection in Jax’s eyes turned to revulsion, and his head moved side to side. Like a bobble head. Only they nod, and he was most definitely shaking it, the meaning clear. No. No. No.
The silence pressed against Persephone. Her lungs turned to stone.
And still he shook his head. His hand hovered near his belt, twitching, like it wanted to go for his sword.
Persephone knew telling him the truth would hurt, but she didn’t expect it to hurt this much.
Now she knew.
Only now she wished she didn’t. The distance between them felt unbearable, and she wanted to go back in time and undo it all. To go back to the way things were yesterday. Earlier today. Five minutes ago.
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