The Prophecy

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  I wanted to make Josie my wife.

  And I was going to.

  Chapter 3

  Josie

  Freshly showered, I toweled my hair dry and then changed into a pair of sleep shorts and one of Seth’s shirts, because I didn’t expect to be leaving the room and peopling any time soon.

  Roaming through the small bedroom, I made my way to the window and pulled the curtain back. Night had fallen and stars blanketed the sky. It really was beautiful out here, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but I actually missed Andros, the island Seth had grown up on.

  I wanted to go back there. Soon. Hopefully.

  Resting my forehead against the cool glass, I closed my eyes. I…I missed my mom. I missed my grandparents. And I missed Erin, my best friend.

  I wished they were here. Not a day went by that I didn’t think about them. They’re in a better place. That’s what I kept telling myself. My mom and my grandparents were in a better place, and Erin… Had she recovered from Hyperion’s attack yet? I had no way of knowing. My father never hung around long enough for me to ask him. He was in and out, disappearing before I could really say much of anything.

  Stepping back from the window, I sat on the edge of the bed. I could really use a talk with my granny right about now. Granted, she wouldn’t know much about a demigod pregnancy, but she would be able to, I don’t know, tell me everything would be okay.

  That I could do this.

  That I could give birth and raise a child. That I was responsible and mature enough to handle all of this.

  And Erin would be right here with me, freaking out alongside me, and she…she would tell me I’ve got this.

  Who knew? Maybe Erin would know something about this pregnancy. After all, she was a furie.

  Looking down at myself, I lifted the hem of my borrowed shirt, exposing my stomach. It looked like it had before I was pregnant. Well, not exactly. I did lose some weight while I’d been held captive, but my stomach was still soft and it had never been flat. Ever. But it looked normal.

  Which was no surprise. Duh. I couldn’t be more than five weeks unless it had been before. Seth and I had always used condoms except for that one time, but condoms didn’t always work.

  But in a couple of months I would start showing. I poked at my stomach—

  The hallway door opened and Seth called out, “Josie?”

  Feeling my cheeks heat, I dropped my shirt and hopped to my feet. I skirted around the edge of the bed, hurrying to the sitting room that came complete with a little dinette.

  “Hey.” Placing a large brown paper bag on the table, Seth grinned when he spotted me in the doorway. “You took a shower?”

  I leaned against the doorframe. “Yeah.”

  “Without me?”

  I grinned. “Well, I actually wanted to get the shower accomplished.”

  “That wouldn’t have happened if I was in there with you.” Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a basket of food and then another…and another. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want, so I picked up a few things. Chicken tenders. Fries. I got some mozzarella sticks, because I know you like cheese. I thought you could use some red meat, so that’s why I ended up grabbing a hamburger too.”

  My eyes widened as I stared at the buffet of food that was appearing, spread out on the coffee table. Good Lord.

  Yet another basket came out, followed by a small white bowl. “And then I know how much you love their bacon, so I got that lady to make a plate. She wasn’t at all happy about that, but you know, I can be super convincing—oh, and I figured you needed something green in there, so that’s why there’s a bowl of steamed broccoli.”

  Fighting a grin, I lifted my gaze from the many, many baskets of food to startling amber-colored eyes. “Seth…”

  “What?” He knocked a strand of hair out of his face. “Is there something else you want?” He took a step back, toward the door. “I can run back to the cafeteria and—”

  “No. This is more than enough.” Laughing, I pushed away from the door and made my way around the coffee table. “I feel like I’m in an eating competition.”

  “You’d win if that was the case.”

  I shot him a narrowed glare, but he was right. I would win. Happily so.

  Seth chuckled as he picked up the glass bottle of Coke and unscrewed the lid. There was also a glass of water and orange juice. How he’d gotten all this food and drinks here was beyond me.

  Must have been another godly talent.

  “I don’t expect you to eat all of it,” he said, glancing up at me through the strand of hair that had slipped free and fallen across his cheek again. “But I do expect you to eat a little of all of it. I don’t want you going hungry.”

  The amount of food he’d brought me could feed a small village and then some. It was a bit excessive, but I understood why he’d brought so much food. Keeping me fed while I was being held captive by Hyperion hadn’t been a priority of the Titans.

  Seth knew this.

  And I knew that was something that had continuously preyed on the back of his mind, as did a hefty amount of guilt. He hadn’t known right away that I’d been captured.

  Walking to his side, I wrapped my arms around his waist and stretched up, kissing his smooth cheek. “Thank you.”

  Seth twisted, dipping his chin and kissing me as he caught the end of my ponytail. He tugged on it. “I know you’re starving.”

  Settling back on my feet, I pulled my ponytail free from his grasp. “And how do you know that?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Well, it could be that your stomach was growling like one of Hades’s prized hounds while you were napping.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Was not!”

  “Yeah, it was. It scared me, to be quite honest. I’d thought that one of those hounds had made it into our room and was about—”

  “Ass.” I punched his arm.

  Chuckling, he stepped around me and sat down on the small couch. “Seriously, though, this is good, right? If you want anything else, I could go and get it.”

  Turning back to the selection, I nodded as my stomach rumbled. “This is more than good.” I bent, picking up a fry and popping it in my mouth. “I didn’t mean to fall back asleep, by the way. Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay.” He caught my hand and pulled me down so I was sitting in his lap. “When you’re tired, you need to sleep.”

  “I think it was the whole ‘working with elements’ thing. I was out there for a while.”

  “You sure that’s okay to be doing?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t see why not.”

  Reaching around me, he picked up a chicken tender and handed it to me. “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay.” And that was the truth. Mostly. “I mean, I’m tired, but I think that’s normal with the whole being pregnant thing, even if I wasn’t working with the elements earlier.”

  Seth was quiet as he picked up one of the tenders and bit down on it. “I want you to get checked out. I know you said it’s probably too early for a check-up, but how do we really know that?” he asked, squeezing his arm around me. “We don’t. So I don’t think it’ll hurt to talk to the doctor here and see what they suggest.”

  I nibbled on my tender. “You have a point.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re just full of yourself today, aren’t you?”

  He winked as he finished off the tender. “Full of love for you.”

  Shaking my head, I reached for the soda. “I was thinking the same thing, but I’m not sure they’ll be much help. There’s no OBGYNs here. We’re going to have to go somewhere else and that means we’re going to be out there.”

  Where the Titans could possibly locate me. It was a risk I was willing to take, because I had to. We needed to find someone who could at least guide us on what to expect with this pregnancy.

  “I’m sure the doctor will be able to give us basic information, talk about any other situation like ours.”
>
  “There has to be another god and demigod who got together and had a baby.” Josie pursed her lips. “I mean, from everything I know about the gods, they were pretty horny.”

  I chuckled. “Understatement of the year.”

  Josie grinned at me.

  “Anyway, I’ll go with you, and then we’ll take it from there.” He smoothed his hand up and down my upper thigh. “We could go in the morning.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Reaching for the hamburger, I took a bite. A glob of ketchup slid out, but Seth caught it with the tip of his finger. Arching his brow, he licked it off his finger.

  “You’re like my own personal napkin.”

  “Yeah.” He kissed the side of my neck. “I’m useful like that.”

  I moved on to the bacon, eating all the crispy slices, because it was the most amazing combination of salty and sweet I’d ever had. I had no idea how they made their bacon here, but eating it was a magical experience.

  Seth ate another tender and I even forced a few pieces of broccoli down my throat before I went back to the fries. It was time for these few precious moments of normalcy to end. “So, are we going to talk about it?”

  “About?”

  I slid him a long look. “About finding the other demigod and figuring out how to entomb these Titans…if that’s what we decide to do.”

  “I thought Deacon and Luke were focusing on the other demigod?”

  “They are, but they can’t just pop themselves to England to look around for this guy. We really don’t want them taking a commercial flight, all things considered.”

  “Then I can bring them over.” His hand stilled on my leg. “And you can stay right here, safe—”

  “Seth, I know I’m safe here, but I can’t stay here forever.” I paused, watching his face. “You know that.”

  Seth lifted his hand, and a napkin flew out the bag and into his grasp. “I know you can stay here until the Titans have been dealt with,” he said, and I stiffened. “Which brings me to your word usage. What do you mean by if we entomb them?”

  For a moment, I didn’t know what he was talking about, and then I realized what I had said. My stomach dropped. There was no “if” involved here. We had to entomb the Titans. Killing them wasn’t an option even if Seth had already taken out two of them.

  Was that a Freudian slip?

  Seth handed me the napkin, and I wiped my fingers off. “Are you aware of another option?”

  Tossing the napkin onto the table, I slipped out of his loose grasp and stood. “There is no other option. We have to entomb the Titans. We just need to figure out how.”

  Seth leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “I’m going to be real with you, Josie. I don’t want you anywhere near the Titans.”

  I tossed the ponytail over my shoulder. “Because I’m pregnant?”

  “Because you’re pregnant with our child and because I don’t want you to get hurt,” he clarified, watching me. “And I’m not trying to be an overprotective jerk here.”

  “I know.” And I did know that. I started pacing in front of the food-covered coffee table. “Trust me, running out there and fighting the Titans isn’t something I’m looking forward to doing, but it’s…”

  “Your duty,” he answered for me, his shoulders tensing. “Fuck this duty shit.”

  I turned to him, brows lifting.

  “No. Seriously. You’re a demigod. Great. You were created as some kind of fail-safe, but you control your life.” Seth rose fluidly, his arms lax at his sides but his eyes burning with intensity. “This duty thing is utter bullshit.”

  “Seth—”

  “It’s the same thing with the halfs. They were born into a world that controlled every step they took, but not any longer. They are free to do with their future as they wish. Why can’t that be the same for you? For the other demigods.”

  “It’s different, though.” I folded my arms across my chest as I paced in the small space. “Only we have the ability to stop the Titans.”

  “That’s not true.” He lifted his chin. “I can stop them.”

  “Yeah, you stopping them results in massive earthquakes where charred-up daimons climb out of them.” I turned, walking to the little kitchen area to expand my pacing path. “That’s not an option. You can’t continue killing them.”

  Seth said nothing.

  I faced him, my heart suddenly pounding fast, because I was thinking about what I had said moments earlier. Was there a little part of me that wanted Seth to just take them out? Even knowing the potential consequences?

  If so, that was incredibly selfish of me.

  People would die, innocent people, in the fallout. Wanting to keep my child safe was paramount, but could I live with the knowledge that I had sentenced hundreds, if not thousands, to death?

  “There has to be another way,” I said, getting my feet moving once again. “One that doesn’t require the demigods to go toe to toe with the Titans or doesn’t end with you taking them out.”

  “And how are we going to figure that out exactly?” Seth waved his hand, and the empty baskets ended up in the bag.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe Medusa? She’s old and seems to know stuff. I went by the library today to see if I could find her.”

  “No luck?”

  “Nope.” I sighed. “But I have a feeling she’s only able to be found when she wants to be. Anyway, back to the whole finding the other demigod thing. I think we still need to do that, just in case we don’t come up with Plan C.”

  All the food was cleaned up in moments. “What are the first two plans, just so we’re on the same page?”

  “Plan A is we entomb the Titans. Plan B is you kill the Titans, and hopefully Plan C will be the perfect plan that doesn’t involve either of those things,” I explained.

  His lips twitched. “I’m hoping we find a Plan C, but let’s talk about Plan A for a moment. You don’t need to go find this demigod.”

  Letting my head fall back, I groaned. “And again, I’m just supposed to stay here? Like I said before, you do realize going to an OBGYN will require me to be present there.”

  “Or it requires me to find said doctor and bring them here.”

  “Seth.”

  “What?” He came around the coffee table. “We could get the equipment here and, as you know, I can be very, very convincing.”

  I unfolded my arms. “Are you suggesting kidnapping a doctor?”

  Seth grinned, and it was the bad kind of grin. The one that told me he was up to absolutely no good. “I wouldn’t say kidnap. More like convince.”

  “Seth.”

  “Josie.” His grin spread as he stopped in front of me. “I’m not going to kidnap a doctor. In all honesty, I think we’ll be okay with leaving here for short periods of time. Plus, you’ll be with me. But going to this town in England? That isn’t necessary and it is dangerous. The Titans may lie low for a little while, but they are still going to be looking for demigods.”

  I exhaled roughly. “Especially since they no longer have a food source.”

  Seth nodded. “You being in the same location as another demigod outside these walls, or Andros Island, isn’t smart.”

  “Is it smart for Alex and Aiden to go, then? Because if Deacon goes, you know they will be with him.”

  He rubbed his hands up and down my arms. “That’s not our problem.”

  I stared at him.

  “I know that makes me sound like an ass, but if Deacon goes, he knows the risk. So do Alex and Aiden.” Seth’s hands stopped just below my shoulders as his eyes searched mine. “I know you want to be a part of this and you want to be out there, fighting the good fight, but—”

  “I really don’t,” I whispered.

  Seth blinked, obviously caught off-guard.

  Heat climbed up my throat and splashed against my cheeks. “That’s a really terrible thing to admit, isn’t it?” I tried to pull free, but Seth wouldn’t let me. My shoulders slumped. “In the movies
and books, the badass woman is still a hardcore warrior even if she’s pregnant. Like Maggie from The Walking Dead! She was pregnant, but she still led the Hilltop to battle. With only a revolver. Or maybe it was a different gun. I don’t know. But I have super powers, so whatever.”

  His jaw softened. “Josie, that’s a TV show and not real life.”

  “I know it’s a TV show, but if it were a real zombie apocalypse—”

  “But a zombie apocalypse isn’t real.”

  “Ugh! I know, but what I’m saying is that the Titans are the zombies and I must lead the—”

  “The Hilltop to battle?” His lips twitched.

  “I’m seriously going to hit you in like five seconds.”

  “Sorry,” he replied demurely.

  I drew in a deep, patient breath. “I mean, a part of me does want to still be that badass. I want to be out there, rounding up demigods, and I want to bitch slap the Titans back into their tombs.”

  One eyebrow crept up. “Bitch slap them back into their tombs?”

  “Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “But I also don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes this baby. I know we didn’t plan this and the whole idea of being pregnant is, frankly, terrifying, but I love it already.”

  Those eyes of his turned a brilliant amber as he cupped my cheek. “So do I, babe. This wasn’t something either of us planned, but I love it with every part of my being.”

  I drew in a deep, patient breath. “People are going to think I’m weak.”

  He blinked once and then twice. “Josie, I don’t give a fuck what people think.”

  I opened my mouth.

  Seth wasn’t done. “And you shouldn’t give a fuck what people think. You’re not backing down from this fight. You’re being smart. You’re trying to come up with different options and you’re picking your battles. That’s not being weak. That’s being wise.”

  Pressing my lips together, I closed my eyes as I head-butted his chest. I groaned.

  Seth laughed as he slid his hand back to my arm. “What are you doing, Josie?”