The Power (Titan #2)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Huh. Look at Aiden, being all demigod and stuff. “Cute,” I said, stepping over a fallen Sentinel. “But can you still fight?”

  Alex snorted as a daimon lifted its head from the neck of some damn pure who should’ve never been out here, thinking he stood a chance. The daimon was a half. There were no razor-sharp teeth or creepy-ass black eyes. The male looked normal. Well, with the exception of the blood pouring from its mouth and the skin stuck between its teeth.

  Daimons were such messy eaters.

  They chewed and bit to get at the aether in the blood and they weren’t exactly particular about what area they went for. This one was as cliché as the last one. Had gone straight for the throat. Daimons were drawn to pures because they had more aether.

  The male tilted its head to the side and sniffed the air. A slow smile split across its gruesome face, and a second later it sprang to its feet. Behind him, several daimons turned toward us.

  But demigods and an Apollyon? We were chock-full of aether goodness and our appearance was like ringing the damn dinner bell.

  “Can I still fight?” Aiden asked, smirking.

  Flipping the dagger in my hand, I rolled my eyes. A second later the half daimon rushed Aiden’s back, and in the last moment, Aiden spun, kicking his leg out. His booted foot caught the daimon just below the knee, the impact shattering the bone. The daimon went down, and oh yeah, that fucker was going to be out for the count. It started to climb back up, but Aiden caught it in the chest, with a dagger.

  Daimons who used to be half-bloods didn’t implode in a shimmery dust. When they died, they died like the rest of us. A pile of flesh and bone that looked like any number of dead bodies. This one fell backward, eyes clouding over.

  “Yeah,” Aiden said. “I can still fight.”

  “Lucky us,” I drawled, moving forward. “What would we do without you?”

  However Aiden responded was lost in the shrill, annoying-as-hell scream of an oncoming daimon. It was a pure, and this one looked jacked the hell up. Skin leached of all color. Eyes nothing but black pits. Teeth like a damn shark’s.

  And it was time to play.

  Meeting the daimon head-on, I slipped under its widespread arms and popped up behind it. Landing a kick in the back, I jumped on top of it as it fell, then slammed the dagger deep into its back. The daimon froze and then imploded like a mini-glitter bomb.

  I threw myself into the fight. Could’ve taken that dumbass out with one jab, but nah. I needed to work out the pent-up frustration. I needed to get it out of my system.

  So I toyed with them. Pure daimons I took out with a dagger quickly, but I waited for the halfs that were turned—the ones who were trained Guards and Sentinels. They knew how to fight. I went hand-to-hand with them, exchanging blows until each punch started knocking around the bitter emotions gnawing away at my heart. Every so often I caught a burst of power—Alex or Aiden using the elements—and each small surge of energy fueled me.

  I turned, coming face to face with a female half with blood smeared across her mouth. One eye was gouged out, probably from coming face to face with another Sentinel. Real attractive.

  Grinning, I lowered the daggers.

  The half daimon opened her mouth just as blood burst from her chest. The pointed end of a Covenant dagger appeared and then retracted, and the half daimon dropped.

  Solos stood behind her. Scratches cut deep into his left cheek. “Sorry. I owed her that.” He gestured at his cheek with the bloody end of the dagger. “Not looking to have a matching set.”

  “No doubt.” Wiping my arm across my forehead, I glanced down at my chest. Flecks of blood covered me. “What the hell happened?”

  “That cell outside of Rapid City grew—shit.” Solos dipped down as a daimon launched itself at him. He rose, slamming the dagger up. “As I was saying,” he said, shaking out his damp hair. “Fucking pure Guards couldn’t tell when they came to the gate—they were turned Sentinels. Let them right in and then the rest came out of the woods.”

  Over his shoulder, Alex delivered a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking the teeth out of one of the daimons. “What about the outer walls?”

  “Overrun.” He grunted, catching a daimon and tossing him my way. “Complete loss, man. Complete loss.”

  Catching the daimon with one hand on the shoulder, I introduced chest to dagger. Glitter bomb ensued.

  “Oh, shit,” Solos said.

  I lifted my head, unable to figure out his expression as he wiped at the blood on his face with the back of his hand. Yanking the dagger out, I spun around and jerked to a stop. Nearly fell the fuck over. No way. My fucking eyes were deceiving me, because there was no way Josie was standing right in front of me.

  Josie

  My grip tightened on the dagger I’d picked up from the . . . the man in white. The man who lay unmoving on the ground with his throat absolutely ripped apart. I could see his trachea. I didn’t even know what a trachea looked like, but I was pretty sure I could see it. Or his larynx. It had only been after I walked past him that I realized he had daggers and I needed daggers.

  I felt bad poaching the dagger from him, but it was heavy and warm in my hand as I forced myself forward, knowing I was making the right choice. I was not a weakness that needed to be hidden away.

  I was a mother-freaking demigod.

  Like a real demigod, not a ready-made microwave dinner like Alex and Aiden. I was, like, a casserole that took all day to be slow-cooked in a Crock-Pot kind of demigod.

  I could fight.

  I was not weak.

  I could hold my own.

  As I stared at the bodies on the ground, some moving or crawling, and some with the pallor of death seeping into their skin, I wasn’t entirely sure this was wise, because I . . . I’d never seen anything like this. It was a war zone. Shouts rattled my bones. The metallic scent of blood mingled with smoke. Cries followed my footsteps as my heart pounded.

  This wasn’t training. This was real. This was what these people lived under the threat of.

  Smoke plumed from burnt patches in the soil. I could see Alex and Aiden, fighting side by side, a dynamic duo—an extremely attractive and agile dynamic duo—and further up, there was a half-naked Seth, standing beside Solos. I twisted to the right, my heart stuttering in my chest. Something stared at me.

  Something as white as a sheet of paper, with all-black eyes and teeth that looked like they belonged on a demonic dog.

  Holy crap, what in the hell was that? I stumbled back out of surprise and then understanding struck me. A daimon—holy crap, that’s what a pure-blooded daimon looked like! I could see a daimon for what it was now, and oh my gods, they were not pretty.

  It sniffed the air like a dog, legs tensing. Then the thing launched off the ground like it had rockets under its feet, coming right at me.

  Darting to the side, I spun around as its bare feet kicked up loose soil and dirt. The thing twisted and shot toward me.

  This isn’t training. This isn’t training.

  Air froze in my lungs as I planted my left leg behind me. I’m not weak. The daimon landed right in front of me. I can hold my own. I sprang forward, using my back leg to propel me. Pulse pounding, I held tight onto the dagger as I whipped around the daimon. Our arms brushed, and I dipped down, swiping out with my legs.

  The daimon went down, sprawling onto its back as I popped up. Instinct took over, and I raised the dagger. I didn’t think as I brought it down, slamming it into the chest. The dagger went through the torn shirt and into the chest cavity as if the daimon’s skin was made of water. There was little or no effort behind it. I couldn’t believe it. The dagger went clean through, nearly to the ground.

  It jerked, back bowing, and then imploded in a shower of glittering dust. It happened so fast I nearly fell forward, catching my balance before I stumbled through whatever was left of the daimon.

  “Holy crap,” I whispered, and then coughed out a startled laugh. I did it. I totally did it, and Seth—he tho
ught I couldn’t do this, take out a daimon. But I did it!

  Empowered by my proven badassery, I headed toward the group, where they were still fighting the remaining daimons. Seth took out a daimon, and like the one I got, it exploded into a strange shimmer. My gaze connected with Solos’s.

  “Oh shit,” Solos said.

  Seth spun around, and I swear he almost fell over. Shock splashed across his face, and then his eyes went luminous, a deep burning tawny.

  Uh-oh.

  Bare-chested and speckled with blood and God knows what else, Seth prowled toward me. “Please tell me I was knocked over the head and I’m seeing shit, because—”

  A blood-curdling scream raised the hairs all over my body. I spun around, and inhaled sharply. A female Sentinel rushed me. Blood covered her face like a gruesome smear of red lipstick. Her blue eyes were unfocused, glazed over. There were no daggers in her hands. She shrieked again, and a part of me knew she wasn’t friendly, but she didn’t look like the—

  “Josie!” Seth shouted, springing forward, and it all happened so fast.

  Stepping into her attack, like I’d done before, I started to dip down to take her legs out, but she spun on me, forcing me back a step. Her arm cocked and she screamed again, swinging like a pro—like she knew exactly how to deliver a debilitating blow. I dodged the blow and thrust my arm back, about to shove the dagger forward, but I . . .

  I hesitated.

  Oh my gods, I froze for a second. Wrong, totally bad move, but she looked like any other Sentinel. She looked mortal. Human. Not some deranged Greek creature hell-bent on gnawing on me like a chew toy.

  A dagger exploded out of the center of her chest, cutting off her chilling scream. Blood sprayed the front of my shirt. I didn’t move, couldn’t, as she fell forward, and all I heard was the sickening suctioning sound of the dagger being yanked out.

  Alex stood there, her wavy hair a wild halo around her. “Were you going to hug her or something?”

  “I’m done,” Seth growled.

  I had no idea what Seth meant, but he sheathed his daggers and then stepped forward, raising his right arm. An amber glow surrounded his bicep as the glyphs rushed to the surface of his skin. The light, the color of his eyes, wrapped down his arm like a shining cord. Energy filled the air as he summoned akasha.

  Seth was deadly and quick with dispatching the remaining daimons. Spinning as fluidly as any trained dancer, he moved his arm like he was tossing a baseball, hitting each remaining daimon wicked fast. The moment the amber light hit them, they ceased to exist. There a second, gone the next. Nothing, not even a shimmery dust. Same for the half daimons.

  “Well, that works too,” Alex said dryly, “but less fun.”

  Seth’s expression was locked down as he faced us, walking back to Aiden and Solos. He said nothing as he curled his hand around mine, the grip tight but not painful. Our eyes met.

  No words were necessary to convey the message.

  I was in so much trouble.

  Chapter 17

  Seth

  Never in my life had I wanted to lock a woman up in a titanium-encased room with an army of Hades’s Guards. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. I’d wanted to do that a time or two with Alex, something Aiden would’ve been a hundred percent behind.

  But it was different this time, because it was . . .

  It was Josie.

  “You guys got this handled from here?” I asked.

  Aiden glanced down at where my hand was wrapped firmly around Josie’s. “There isn’t much left to do except . . .” He glanced around, frowning. “Clean up.”

  “We got this,” Alex confirmed, her gaze darting to Josie. She shifted her weight from one foot to the next. “You okay with this?”

  I cocked my head to the side. Did she legit just ask Josie if she was okay with this?

  “Yeah.” Josie started to turn away but stopped. She extended her arm, offering the dagger. “I, um, took this from a Guard who . . . didn’t need it anymore. It’s not mine.”

  Solos looked up from where he was checking out a fallen Sentinel. “You take out a daimon with it?”

  She glanced down at the dagger and then nodded, surprising me. “Yeah, I . . . I took out a daimon with it.”

  “Then it’s yours,” he said, sighing as he rose, brushing his hands off on his pants.

  “Oh,” she whispered, and for a moment I was sort of struck stupid by the fact that she had managed to kill a daimon. And as I stared at Josie, her expression said she was also a bit surprised by it too.

  The dread that had formed in my gut earlier now churned viciously. Completely stupid, but there was a huge part of me that didn’t like that she had killed a daimon, that she was even in the situation where it had to go down. Damn stupid. Because Josie had been created to be a weapon. There’d be a lot of killing in her future.

  “Well, there you go.” I steered Josie around. “Check you guys later.”

  Josie grumbled something under her breath when I started walking, tugging her along with me.

  “Seth, this isn’t—”

  “Not yet.” My voice was a low warning. “I don’t really trust myself to speak to you right now.”

  Her gasp of outrage was audible as I led her around a dead daimon. “I think you’re completely overreacting!”

  “And I think you don’t understand the words I just spoke to you.”

  She tried to pull her hand free. She didn’t get anywhere. “You do realize that I’ve been training to fight? And that I’m a demigod? Oh, yeah, that’s right! You haven’t been around to know—”

  “Gods,” I stopped suddenly, causing Josie to stumble. I caught her other arm, steadying her. “Do you have any idea what I felt when I turned around and saw you standing there with a damn dagger in your hand?”

  Her gaze searched mine intently. “But that’s my duty.”

  “I don’t care.” And the moment the words were out, they were the damn truth. “You’re not ready for this.” I dropped her arm and gestured to the mess around us. “And you could’ve been hurt. Or worse yet, this could’ve been a trap and one of the damn Titans could have been blowing through the Covenant right now, and if that had happened again, I would’ve—” I cut myself off, unable to go there. My heart felt like it had stopped when I saw her, and it still felt like it was trying to recuperate.

  “You what?” She sucked in a soft breath. “Why do you even care? You—”

  “You don’t get it.” Twisting around, I started walking again, pulling her along behind me. We made it past the main Covenant building before she spoke again.

  “You don’t need to hold my hand.”

  I shot her a look. “Apparently I need to. If not, who knows where you might end up?”

  “I’m not a child,” she spat. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, I beg to differ on that account.”

  Josie tried to pull her hand free again. The end result was the same as before. “You lost your hand-holding privileges, Seth.”

  “Holding hands is a privilege?”

  “Damn straight it is.” Her hand squeezed mine until the bones in my hand started to grind together. “Especially with me, and if I remember correctly, you said you were done with me.”

  I sighed. “Josie—”

  “And you told me not to embarrass myself,” she continued, her voice rising as we passed a group of Guards. “You’ve said that you didn’t want to do any of this with me anymore. So, you don’t—”

  Stopping suddenly, I faced her as I pulled her to me, chest to chest. I wasn’t thinking as I cupped her cheek with my free hand and tilted her head back. Not a single thought occurred when I lowered my mouth to hers.

  I kissed Josie.

  She stiffened against me, and I marveled at the softness of her lips, the sweet taste of her mouth. Fuck. It had been weeks since I’d held her like this. Kissed her. Tasted her. Her chest rose sharply against mine, and in the back of my head, I knew this w
asn’t right. My chest was covered with blood. So was hers. People moved around us, and I’d hurt her once before, in ways she didn’t even realize.

  None of that stopped me.

  The tip of her tongue touched mine and the punch of arousal nearly took my knees out from under me. I groaned into her mouth as I slid my hand back into her hair. The kiss deepened, and it was a nearby shout that brought me to my senses. I lifted my mouth from hers, leaving a hairsbreadth between us.

  “What . . . ?” she murmured.

  My lips brushed hers as I spoke. “It was the only thing I could think of to get you to stop talking.”

  Tension locked up her muscles. “That . . . that is really wrong.”

  Yeah, she was right.

  Drawing back, I realized how lucky I was that she hadn’t stabbed me with the dagger she now clenched in her right hand.

  Lips tingling, walking was a bit harder now, but I kept hold of her left hand, and she was quiet. Kissing worked. But at what cost? I shouldn’t have done that. I’d hurt her again.

  And I was as hard as a titanium dagger.

  Gods.

  The dorm came into view, thank the gods, and the Guard I’d threatened on the way out looked relieved when I passed him by without introducing his head to his own asshole. Lifting my free hand, I tapped into the wind element and opened the doors for us. The act didn’t draw attention from the halfs and pures congregating in the lobby, separated by a—oh shit.

  I stopped short. So did Josie, and she stared at the same thing I did. A very new addition to the lobby, in the form of three statues. Each of them was about seven feet tall, made of pure marble. They looked like three angels praying, hands folded demurely under their chins and wings tucked close to their backs. Expressions serene for now, but I knew if that stone started to crack, the looks on their faces would be far from that.

  “What . . . what are those?” Josie breathed.

  “Furies,” I said. “A problem we really don’t need right now.”

  Josie blinked. “Furies? Is Erin in there?”

  “I don’t think so. Probably three of her million sisters.” I led her around the statues, giving them a wide berth. “They appear whenever the gods are displeased with something. They serve as a warning even though they are entombed for right now.”