“I wonder why they do, but you guys don’t.” We headed through the first row. All we’d be doing was roaming aimlessly until dinner, hoping we came across the mysterious librarian. “You all have more aether in you.”
Deacon shrugged as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “It’s the same thing with them being able to see through a daimon’s glamour. To us, the pure-bloods, they look normal. But to halfs? Daimons look like they really do, which is something straight out of a damn horror movie.” He paused. “Now that you are all full demigod, I wonder if you can see through a daimon’s glamour.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Is it weak of me to hope I never find out?”
“No.” He laughed as he knocked me with his shoulder. “It makes you sane.”
Relieved he didn’t think I was a giant wuss, we roamed the stacks, passing several students clustered at the large tables, their heads bent over their textbooks.
Sigh.
I kind of missed school.
And I really missed my old roommate, who’d turned out to be a furie. Erin had suffered a horrible injury by Hyperion, and Apollo—my father—said she was healing in Olympus. He’d told me she was okay, but I needed to see that for myself.
We neared the back of the library, and somewhere in a section full of books I was pretty sure were all written in Greek, the temps dropped significantly. Even in my sweater, goosebumps spread across my arms. “Did you guys know the . . . the half-blood who was killed yesterday?”
He shook his head as we hung a left, passing a series of closed doors. “No. I’ve heard he was a Sentinel. Was supposed to graduate this semester. Luke knows one of his friends. Said he was transferring to Vegas after this, to work near a pure community.”
“That’s so sad.” I folded my arms across my chest. “And so damn wrong. I can’t even imagine.”
“Yeah,” he breathed. “It had to be a compulsion. There’s no other way a pure would’ve gotten the upper hand on someone who was practically a fully trained Sentinel. Not even a pure who really knows how to handle an element.”
“I just don’t understand, and it’s not even because I don’t get the politics around here,” I explained, glancing up at the wrought-iron spiral staircase that led to the second level. “We’ve had the same problems in the, um, mortal world. We still do, and I didn’t even understand it then. How people can hate someone else for really superficial differences so deeply that they hurt and kill them.”
Deacon was quiet as we climbed the stairs. When we reached the top, his lips were curled. “It’s always been like this for our kind. For probably freaking eons, the pures have treated the halfs like shit.”
A librarian hurried past us, shooting Deacon a nasty look.
He smiled as he waved his middle finger, causing me to grin. “I’m kind of surprised that the halfs aren’t rebelling.”
“Yet,” I whispered, scanning the stacks up here. “Couldn’t blame them if they did.”
“Nope.” His hands went back into his pockets. “Two years ago, Luke would’ve been put on the Elixir or killed if it got out that he was in a relationship with a pure. And you know what would’ve happened to me?”
I shook my head.
“I would’ve gotten a wink, wink and maybe a smack on a hand.” His lips pursed. “That’s it. They would’ve most likely killed Luke and secretly applauded me for getting it on with the help.”
My stomach churned. “That’s messed up.”
Deacon nodded slowly. “You know what’s even more messed up? That mindset hasn’t changed, Josie. Not after what happened with Ares or what’s happening now with the Titans. Bigotry is literally the Twinkie of human emotions. Shit will survive the apocalypse.”
I shuddered, because the terrifying thing about what he said was, he was probably correct.
I was starving.
Night had fallen and Seth was currently MIA. Okay, he wasn’t exactly missing in action. During training, he’d said that he’d probably be late since he was going to do some outside patrols with Solos. I had no idea what he was patrolling since there really wasn’t anything out there except trees.
And more trees.
I figured he just wanted to get outside these walls, and I couldn’t exactly blame him for that. While the University campus was beautiful and so much of it was still fresh and oh-so-new to me, I got restless. A lot. And I was sure it was the same for Seth, especially since he wasn’t used to being confined in one spot.
But I was legit starving. My hips were about to start eating each other.
Roaming the campus by myself wasn’t necessarily something Seth had warned me against, and I didn’t feel unsafe doing so. The students and most of the staff thought I was some pet mortal, but I wasn’t and I knew I could defend myself if necessary.
I pushed myself off the small sofa and grabbed my hoodie. Pulling it on over my head, I tugged my damp hair out from underneath, letting it fall down my back. I snatched my keys off the coffee table and then I was off.
Students lounged in the spacious, really cool lobby of the dorm, surrounding a TV that was about the size of a Hummer. We didn’t have anything like that in my own dorm back at Radford. Neither did we have such great, comfy couches. I’d sat in the red one. Once. I wanted to marry it.
Of course, no one really paid attention to me as I walked out the doors that had been fixed from when the shades had gotten inside. No one really ever paid attention to me unless Seth was with me, and honestly, they were just staring at him. I was kind of like a side item, the French fries to the Big Mac.
Mmm. French fries.
I knew what I was getting from the cafeteria.
I’d probably lose weight if, for once, I ate something leafy and green or grilled, but their bacon was like an orgasm of the mouth and their fries were the really awesome shoestring kind that were so hard to find. Honestly, I think the food here was made with some kind of magic, because everything tasted better.
The night air was chilly, as usual, as I cut across the lawn and hit the pathway. The cafeteria wasn’t far from the dorm, and since they’d be serving food until midnight, I was pretty confident I could get myself a plate of fries.
And maybe even a thick, juicy—
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
My breath caught in response to the unexpected voice and I spun around, immediately finding the source of the voice. Even startled, I recognized that six months ago I would’ve fallen over if I’d turned around that fast back then.
Ninja status halfway there.
The guy stepped out of the shadows of an olive tree—a tree that I had no idea how it was still alive in these conditions. I immediately recognized him from yesterday.
Colin.
My heart slowed down. All right, he wasn’t going to be a problem. At least, I didn’t think so. “I’m okay. Just heading to the cafeteria.”
He slowly approached me, as if he was worried he was going to send me running in the opposite direction. “Where is the Apollyon?”
Yep. I was the fries to the Big Mac. “He’s out patrolling, so I’m going to get something to eat.”
“I’ll go with you then.”
I raised a brow. “Thanks, but that’s not necessary.”
“Look, I’m not trying to be domineering, but it really isn’t safe for you to be out here by yourself.” Closer, he passed under one of the lampposts. His black hair was shiny, an odd and, of course, majorly attractive contrast to his sapphire-blue eyes. “You saw what happened yesterday. A lot of the pures around here don’t view mortals as any better than they view halfs.”
See, the thing was, I wasn’t a mortal. But since we were keeping that on the down low and no one seemed to sense my demigod goodness, it was my ace up the sleeve.
“If the Apollyon isn’t around, then maybe you should get Deacon or Luke,” he offered. “You’ve been hanging around them a lot.”
Okay. This dude was kind of observant. Then again, everyone did thi
nk I was a mortal, so they were probably aware of who I hung out with. “His name is Seth, and like I said, I’m okay.”
“All right,” he said after a moment. “Can’t say I didn’t try.”
I smiled tightly. “Good night.” Pivoting around, I walked a couple of feet and realized he was right behind me. I looked over my shoulder. “You’re seriously going to follow me, aren’t you?”
His grin was sheepish. “I was just heading to the cafeteria myself when I saw you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So, I figured we could walk together.” When I didn’t respond and started walking again, he easily caught up to me, keeping an arm’s length distance between us. “By the way, my name is—”
“Colin,” I answered, grinning when surprise flickered across his face. “I heard Solos call you that yesterday.”
“Cool.” There was a beat of silence. “I’m training to be a—”
“Sentinel?” This time I laughed when he frowned at me. “I just figured that was what you’re doing.”
He glanced at me. “The Apolly—I mean, Seth has been training you?”
I nodded.
Colin didn’t respond immediately. “It’s kind of odd that anyone, especially the—um, Seth would be training a mortal or that a mortal would even know about us.”
A fine shiver of unease danced across my skin. “I’m sure I’m not the only mortal who knows about you all.”
“True, but . . .”
“It’s a long story,” I said after a moment, and then I hoped he’d drop it.
Colin sort of did. “Since you’re being trained is probably why you’re not worried about being out here, but you’ve got to know that, no matter how well he trains you, you’re no match for a pure or a half when it comes down to it.”
Another laugh escaped me. “Is that so?”
His frown deepened and he didn’t say anything as we started around the corner of a building. “And I know none of this is my business.”
“But making sure I get some French fries safely is?”
He chuckled. “Well—”
A flash of reddish light lit up the quad, shooting out from the shadows. With incredible speed, Colin jumped back as the ball of light—no, fire—smacked into the building, extinguishing on contact. The smell of burnt ozone filled the air.
What the what?
“Oh, you missed.” A tall guy stepped forward. “You need to work on your aim.”
“Shit,” muttered Colin, moving so that he was halfway in front of me.
“I didn’t miss.” Another voice floated out of the darkness. A spark of red light formed, casting the holder in an eerie red glow. “That was just a warning.”
Then I saw the second guy, and my stomach dropped all the way to my toes. It was him—the guy Seth had knocked the hell out. Even in the poor light, I could see that his jaw was a brutal shade of purple and swollen. And there was no mistaking the fury and promise of retribution in his expression.
I could only think of two words.
Oh. Crap.
Chapter 6
My heart pounded in my chest, and a sliver of fear mingled with unease as I stared at the two pure-bloods. The one Seth had punched into next week tossed around the ball of abnormally bright flames like a mortal would play with a baseball.
Keeping an eye on him, I took a small step back and to the side, out from behind Colin. Deep down, I knew reasoning with them was going to be pointless, but I had to try. “We don’t want any problems. We’re just getting something to eat.”
“Does it look like we care what you want to do?” Icy Blond asked.
“You should,” Colin challenged. At his sides, his hands curled into hefty fists. There was no missing them. “I don’t think you want to piss off the Apollyon again. Messing with her will do that.”
“Fuck the Apollyon,” Icy Blond shot back, and the ball of flames hovering above his palm pulsed. “He’s still just a fucking half-blood when it’s all said and done. He isn’t worth shit.”
The other pure-blood shot a nervous glance in Icy Blond’s direction. It didn’t look like he was that on board with what was going down.
“You’re a bigoted idiot,” Colin spat. “And you’re—”
Everything happened so fast, and I just reacted without thinking. Icy Blond cocked his arm back, and I knew he was about to let the ball of fire go. There was a chance that Colin wouldn’t be able to move out of its way as fast as he had the last time. I just really didn’t think.
I threw out my arm, tapping into the power coursing through my veins. Figuring that putting the flames out would render the least amount of damage, I summoned the water element. The immediate buzz of energy was magnificent. It lit up every cell in my body as if they had been starving for it. Tapping into the aether, well, it was like coming home at the end of the day and finally being able to take a bra off.
It was that good.
Energy burst out of me, lifting the strands of my hair. There was a second where I saw the shock flickering over Icy Blond’s face, his response wholly comical. Mouth dropped open. Eyes widened. I sort of wished I had a camera to capture the moment. The ball of flames disappeared.
Of course, I blew all of them in different directions.
Icy Blond and his friend flew up in the air, knocked off their feet by a hurricane-force gust. Colin slammed back into the building. I’d meant to use water and that was not what had come out of me. Wind worked too, I guessed.
I winced when the two pures hit the ground a good distance away, their impact rattling the nearby trees. The wind settled around us. A handful of seconds later, the two pures were up on their feet and they were . . . they were running.
I felt like a total badass.
Colin stumbled to his feet, eyeing me as he gasped, “Holy shit.”
Grinning, I bounced a little as I lowered my arm and turned to Colin. I watched him straighten, relieved to see that he didn’t appear to be injured.
“How did you do that?” he asked, shaking his head.
“I told you I would be fine without Seth,” I said.
He blinked once and then twice. “You are so not a mortal. What . . . what are you?”
I wasn’t sure what I could say at this point. Colin knew I wasn’t a pure or a half, and he’d just seen me use the element of air. There was only the truth at this point. I drew in a shallow breath and met his gaze. “I’m a demigod.”
Seth
The moment Solos and I walked back through the inner walls, I knew something was up. Marcus was standing near the first set of tall statues. For a moment, I wondered if there were more nymphs appearing, spouting random crap, but that wasn’t it.
Behind him, sitting on a bench lit by one of the lampposts, was Josie, along with the half from yesterday. What was his name? Cole? Ben? Hell if I knew.
I frowned as we neared them. Josie looked way too innocent sitting there with her hands folded primly in her lap and her knees pressed together. I don’t think I’d ever seen her so . . . still. Or her face so perfectly blank.
Something was definitely up.
And why was she with Cole-Ben-whatever-the-fuck his name was?
“What’s going on?” Solos asked, slowing down.
I eyed them as I crossed my arms over my chest. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like what I’m about to hear.” I paused, letting my gaze slide to the half next to Josie. “Sitting a little close to her, aren’t you, bud?” The guy immediately scooted to the right while Josie frowned. He moved so far I thought he was going to slide right off the damn thing.
Marcus arched a brow as he glanced back at the two on the bench. “There was an altercation between them and two pure-bloods.”
I didn’t care what it looked like or what anyone thought. One second I was standing near Solos, and then I was in front of Josie, kneeling down so we were eye level. “Are you okay?”
She glanced toward Marcus and then slowly nodded. “I’m fine.”
Scan
ning every inch of visible skin, I wasn’t sure I entirely believed her. Yes, she was training and she could fight, but there was this illogical fear brewing deep in my gut.
“What happened?”
Josie bit down on her lip. “Well . . .”
“She was going to the cafeteria to get something to eat,” the guy said, standing. He took one look at my face and moved behind the bench, like that would help him if I wanted to do something to him. “I was heading back to my dorm when I saw her. Alone. And with everything going on, I didn’t think it was safe for her to be out here and I . . .” He trailed off, swallowing hard.
“I don’t think I asked you.”
Josie sighed. “Seth.”
“Why don’t you just piss around her?” Solos suggested.
Raising a hand, I flipped him off without looking back at him. “I’m also not talking to you.”
Standing, Josie punched me lightly on the arm. “Knock it off. It’s not a big deal. These two guys were being jerks and one of them threw a ball of fire at Colin.”
“He missed me,” Colin added.
My eyes narrowed.
Josie continued as she grabbed hold of her hair and started twisting it in a thick rope. “Anyway, the one guy started to throw the ball of fire again, and I sort of didn’t think, you know? I kind of just acted.”
And now I knew where this was heading.
“She used the air element,” Marcus explained. “They know she’s not a mortal anymore.”
A muscle began to tick alongside my temple. “Who are they? Besides this guy over here?”
“The two pure-bloods, who Colin was able to identify, have been rounded up, and they will be dealt with for instigating violence,” Marcus stated, his voice even. “You do not need to know who they were.”
I twisted toward him. “Is that so? I’m going to have to disagree.”
“Doesn’t matter what you agree with, Seth.” Marcus paused. “I remember what happened to Jackson after he took training too far. This is my call.”
My lips thinned as the blast from the past slammed into me. I hadn’t thought about Jackson for a long time. Had no idea if that overconfident jackass was even still alive. He had not been a fan of Alex, and during training one day he literally stomped her in the ribs. I’d paid him back for that. Ten-fold.
The Power (Titan #2) Page 5
