Apollyon (Covenant #4)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Busts of the Olympian Twelve were carved into the marble and sandstone structure. It was circular, like an indoor amphitheater, and a cold shiver rolled down my spine. I don’t know what it was about the Council buildings that always freaked me out, but they did.

  As we climbed up the steps, I saw the statue of Themis and almost laughed. Her scales were balanced, but in whose favor?

  There seemed to be no one else moving around as we entered the brightly lit lobby. Students were probably still asleep, if they were even continuing with classes. Hell, I didn’t even know what day it was. It might’ve been the weekend for all I knew.

  Dominic led us around another cluster of statues, and by then I was so getting tired of seeing them and, of course, we headed up a never-ending flight of stairs. Not even the damn University could throw some money at an elevator.

  It was when we were heading down a wide hallway, and I saw the Guards standing before double doors sheathed in titanium, that I knew where we were heading.

  “The dean’s office,” I said.

  Dominic nodded at the Guards, and then they moved as a unit, opening the heavy doors. My first glimpse of the office really struck home. It was nearly identical to Marcus’. Lush. Spacious. Tons of expensive-looking leather furniture, including a big old desk that probably made someone feel powerful and all kinds of special. There was even an aquarium built into the wall behind the desk, with vibrant fish zooming back and forth.

  I glanced at Marcus and saw that his face was impressively blank. Months ago I would’ve believed that Marcus just didn’t feel anything, but now I knew better. Seeing this office had to bring forth memories both good and a buttload of bad, and I sincerely felt for him.

  A door opened to our left, and a tall man with ice-blond hair and startling blue eyes entered the room. He was dressed like Marcus used to—a poster child for Golf Club of the Month. Behind him, a smaller figure entered and my mouth dropped open.

  “Diana,” Marcus gasped, and then shot forward.

  A wide, beautiful smile spread across the Minister’s face. I’d met her while I’d been at the Covenant in the Catskills, and she had been the Minister to stand against Telly by voting against me being placed into servitude.

  So, yeah, I liked the woman.

  Marcus clasped her hands in his and it seemed like he wished to do more—maybe pull her into his arms, hug her… kiss her like a man who’d never expected to see her again.

  “I am so… thankful to see that you’ve made it here safely.” Marcus’ voice was gruff and heavy with unspoken emotion. He so had a thing for this woman. “So very thankful.”

  Pink stained the woman’s cheeks. “As I am to see you here.”

  The Dean cleared his throat. “I was unaware that you were familiar with my sister, Dean Andros.”

  Sister? Oh… oh, awkward.

  Marcus let go of Diana’s hands and faced the man. “We are… friends, Dean Elders. She’s a lovely woman, but as much as I’d like to list her glowing attributes, that is not why we are here.”

  My brows inched up my forehead.

  The Dean’s lips twitched as if he wished to smile. “I am also grateful to see that you have made it here safely. Not many have recently.”

  “That is what we have heard and seen.” Marcus clasped his hands behind his back, throwing me headfirst into memories of him in an office very similar to this, where he’d been about to lay into me for something stupid that I’d done.

  He made a quick round of introductions. The Dean seemed measurably surprised when Marcus announced Aiden’s name. His head cocked to the side. “I have heard that name before—a pure-blood who used a compulsion against another pure to protect a half-blood?”

  Crap. With everything going on, we’d forgotten that Aiden was Public Enemy Number Two.

  My fingers inched toward my daggers, but Aiden spoke, his voice even and calm. “That would be me. And make no mistake, if you’re looking for remorse or guilt, I have none. I’d do it again.”

  The Dean smiled then. “Ease yourself, Sentinel. At this moment, I could care less what you have done. It is not an issue… now. As I am sure most of the members of the Council would agree.”

  The way he tacked on now did not make me all happy face.

  “Thank you for your hospitality,” Marcus said, obviously trying to diffuse the building tension. “Hopefully we will be able to repay you in some measure.”

  My uncle was such a diplomat.

  The dean of the University nodded. “Please start by explaining how you made it past the automatons.”

  Between Marcus and Dominic, they filled the Dean and Diana in, for the most part, on how we made it here in one piece. The conversation quickly turned, though, when Dominic announced that I could stop the First.

  I shifted restlessly, surprised to be so uncomfortable with all the eyes on me. Usually I loved being the center of attention. I had no idea when that had changed.

  “I can stop Seth,” I said finally. “It won’t be easy, but I know how.”

  “And how can you?” the Dean asked. “From what our history teaches us, the First has complete control over the Second, and if you two are around each other, he can transfer your power to his, therefore becoming the God Killer.”

  Folding my arms, I met Dean Elders’ curious stare. “Well, obviously the First doesn’t have complete control over me. And there is a way for me to reverse the transfer, stopping him from becoming the God Killer. And if he’s not the God Killer, then Lucian has no real weapon protecting him.”

  Diana leaned against the oak desk, her brows pinched. “But you would have to be near him to do this, correct?”

  I nodded. “Yes. We came here hoping there would be others who would be willing to… to fight for this. There’s no way that just the eight of us can breach the army that Lucian has surrounding him, so that I can reach Seth. We need our own army.”

  Dean Elders looked at Dominic, who shrugged. “We have many Sentinels and Guards here, plus half-bloods who are receiving advanced training. And we also wish for the same outcome. This needs to be stopped before more innocent people are lost, so you may recruit whomever wishes to join you.”

  Well, that was surprisingly easy.

  “There will be some, maybe even many,” the dean continued, “but none will be forced to join the cause, Apollyon.”

  I found that funny considering how an entire race of halfs had been forced into either servitude or a certain early death, but somewhere along the line, I’d learned to keep my mouth shut. Kind of.

  “Understood,” I said. “As a half-blood, I would never force people into something that would risk their lives.”

  The dean’s brows rose. “Point taken.” He gazed over the rest of my group. “I imagine you all wish to meet with the Sentinels and Guards here as soon as possible, but all of you look like you could use showers, food, and clean beds. While you rest, Sentinel Hyperion and I will have time to set something up for you.”

  “Okay,” I said, wondering when whether or not I agreed had started to matter. I wanted to talk to the Sentinels now, but I knew if I did, so would Aiden and most of the others. We all needed to rest; we were barely standing. “That will be fine.”

  “There are many rooms available for your rest,” the dean said. “Sentinel Hyperion will show you to them.”

  Unable to hold back the question any longer, I turned to Diana. “The Sentinels who have arrived from the Catskills… do you know any of their names?”

  “Some I am familiar with,” she said.

  Then it struck me. My father probably wouldn’t be known as a Sentinel, at least not any longer. “What about the servants?”

  I couldn’t tell by Diana’s pained expression if she knew what I was getting at or if she was aware that my father had been a servant at the Catskills. “Things were in a state of chaos when we left there. Some servants were brought here, and those who no longer appeared to be under the influence of the Elixir escaped into the woods.
Some remained behind. The servants could be anywhere.”

  “Oh,” I whispered. They could be anywhere—my father could be anywhere. I felt Laadan’s hand on my back and I drew in a sharp breath. “What was the state of the Covenant when you left?”

  A dark shadow crossed Diana’s face. “The walls had not been breached, but it was only a matter of time. Lucian and the First wish to take the Catskills. It does not matter that the bulk of the Council no longer resides there. It is the seat of power, and whoever sits upon the throne rules our society. It is the law.”

  It was an incredibly stupid law that didn’t mean a damn thing to me.

  “May I ask a question?” Diana countered. When I nodded, she went on. “If you were to succeed in transferring the power to you, what would happen?”

  At the unexpected question, I blinked. “What would happen to Seth? He would still be alive. I guess he’d still be the Apollyon, but weaker. The tables would turn. The prophecies…” I shook my head. “The prophesies would change.”

  “And what would it do to you?”

  I could feel the eyes on me again, mainly Aiden’s. “I would become the God Killer.”

  Her brows knitted in confusion. “Please do not take offense to this, but isn’t the God Killer the last thing the gods want?”

  “I imagine so, with the exception of the god who is working with Lucian. That god obviously wants the God Killer for his own reasons. Speaking of which, it must be Hephaestus, considering he created the automatons,” I threw that out, hoping the topic would change. “I don’t know why he’d do this, though. I mean, he helped keep me away from the First, right?”

  Aiden nodded. “He did.”

  “It doesn’t make sense, but when do the gods ever make sense?” I forced out a laugh. “I guess he was tired of being known as the gimpy one.”

  “But what about the other gods?” she persisted. “They cannot be pleased with the idea.”

  Seeing no way around this other than ignoring her question, I sighed. “It is what Apollo wants. And it is what the gods want.”

  Aiden turned completely toward me, as did half the room. I felt like slinking under the desk. “After I become the God Killer, they want me to take out the god responsible.” I looked up, my gaze settling on a marble bust of Zeus. “The Olympians want me to kill one of their own.”

  CHAPTER 35

  That little ditty went over like the Titanic. Everyone was pretty stunned. There were a couple of ripe curses from Aiden and Marcus, and some surprised gasps from the rest of the peanut gallery.

  I got the whole “Holy crap-a-roo” thing going on. The gods had fought on and off for millennia, but had never seriously wanted one another dead, not since the Titans fell. But things were different now. This god, surprisingly one whom no one would’ve expected, had gone too far. Although many mortals had died, the gods were most likely more concerned with the fact that Hephaestus hoped to use the God Killer against them.

  So, yeah, things were different now.

  Once the shock died down, Dominic led us to the first dorm and showed us inside. They were nothing like the ones in Deity Island. These rooms were suites—two bedrooms joined by a shared living room and bathroom.

  We were left to figure out the sleeping arrangements ourselves. Before Marcus could go all parental on us again, Aiden claimed one of the suites for the two of us, practically dragging me inside. Before he’d even shut the door, he leaned down so that our faces were only inches apart. I knew he was mad—the steely, thundercloud-colored eyes, the rigid line of his jaw, and his stiff movements pretty much gave him away. That and the fact he hadn’t so much as looked in my direction since we’d left the Dean’s office. “Take the shower first, and then we need to talk,” he said, his voice low, leaving no room for argument. He disappeared into his room before I could even agree.

  Olivia’s lips pursed. “Someone’s not a happy camper.”

  “Can I bunk with you?” I was only half-joking.

  She leaned against the door of the suite across from mine, smiling slightly. The tight curls drooped around her face. Shadows bloomed under her eyes. “My room is your room, but seriously, you do need to talk to him. It’s obvious he didn’t know about what you’d been asked to do. None of us did.”

  I scrubbed my grimy cheek. “I… I wasn’t even sure I was supposed to say anything.”

  “Does that matter?”

  “I guess not. I just didn’t want anyone to worry.”

  “I get that. I’m sure he does too, but there are some things you shouldn’t keep from those who love you.” Olivia turned, opening her door. “Talk to him.”

  Not like I had a choice when it came to talking to him. “Thanks.”

  She nodded and then slipped into her room. Letting out a loud and largely obnoxious sigh, I went into my room. My gaze immediately went to the full-size bed and I groaned.

  “Shower first. Epic bitch-out session second, sincere apology third, and then sleep.”

  Freshly showered, I was thrilled to find someone had dug up a pair of jeans and a clean shirt that fit me. Most likely Aiden had done so while I was hogging all the hot water. It was so like him, even when he was mad at me. Alone for a few moments, I sat on the bed and crossed my legs. The bedroom walls were a nice shade of buttercup, while the door and window frames were trimmed with titanium, as were the headboard and the small end table. On the far wall, a picture of Artemis hunting with her bow and arrows was framed in titanium as well.

  It was like these people expected daimons to pop out from under their beds.

  But studying the décor wasn’t the whole point of me sitting on the bed like a Buddha knock-off. Ever since Seth’s appearance after Lea’s death, he had been oddly quiet. As if he was gone, actually. The cord was still there, but his unmistakable presence was absent. Like before I’d Awakened, when my head and body had been my own.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the cord. It was there, humming softly and barely discernible.

  But there was no Seth.

  I screwed my face up in concentration. This wacky long-distance internal phone call crap should be able to work both ways. Maybe I was crazy to be the one initiating contact, but a quiet Seth made for a really nervous Alex. It wasn’t like him. He was up to something. He had to be.

  Seth? I called his name again… and again. At some point, I heard the low hiss of the shower and then it turned off. The muted sound of a door closing followed minutes later. That was how long I sat there, looking like an epic fail at meditation.

  The door to the living area opened, and Aiden came in carrying a plate of fruit and roasted turkey slices. “I bring gifts in the form of food—what are you doing?”

  “Nothing.” I flushed as I patted the spot beside me. “I’m starving. Thank you.” And I was also surprised that he was bringing me food.

  Aiden sat beside me, placing the plate between us. He smelled of clean soap and spice. Moving a few slices out of the way, he found a thick piece of dark meat.

  “Aiden—”

  “Eat first.”

  I frowned at him, but he held the turkey way too close and my mouth watered. Taking it from him, we spent the next several minutes gorging on the meat and fruit. As I chased a ripe strawberry across the bowl, he leaned over and tucked a damp strand of hair back behind my ear. I looked up and our eyes locked. All the air fled my lungs. Aiden was probably ready to throttle me, but that look in his silvery eyes…wow, simply wow.

  Aiden leaned back, observing me, studying the blush I knew was spreading like a fever across my cheeks. “Before this goes any further, what you did with the automatons was nothing short of amazing. I haven’t had a chance to tell you, but I wanted you to know.”

  I blinked. “Really?”

  “Yes. That kind of power—it was epic and graceful. It was pretty amazing.”

  My gaze fell to the empty plate. “If I hadn’t worn myself out, I could’ve saved Lea.”

  His fingers found my chin, tippin
g it up. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened to her. Her death was not your fault. And if you hadn’t used your power, all of us would’ve died.”

  I nodded. Those words weren’t as easy to swallow as they were to say.

  “Done?” Aiden gestured at the plate and bowl. He placed them on the table when I nodded again. There was a stretch of silence where he just looked at me until I squirmed. He sighed. “How could you not tell me, Alex?”

  “I didn’t want you to worry,” I said lamely.

  His eyes narrowed. “That’s bullshit, Alex.”

  I jumped, eyes going wide.

  “We’re in this… this screwed-up situation together, right? Both of us would do anything for each other, am I correct?” He didn’t give me a chance to answer. He was really on a roll. “We love each other. And call me stupid or old-fashioned, but I think all of that means we don’t keep secrets from one another, especially potentially dangerous secrets that the other party really should know about.”

  My cheeks were burning for a whole different reason now. Everything he said was true. Keeping him in the dark had sprouted from the best of intentions, but he was right.

  “I’m sorry and I mean it. I should’ve told you when I figured it out.”

  His brows lowered. “When did you figure it out? Wait. While we were in the Underworld, right? You were different when we came back.”

  Damn. He was good. “It was when I was talking with Solaris. Things sort of clicked, and then I confronted Apollo. He confirmed that the gods wanted me to become the God Killer so that I could stop the god responsible.”

  Aiden cursed under his breath. “Sometimes I want to hit that bastard.”

  “Join the club.”

  He was silent for a couple of moments. “They expect you to fight Seth and have the power transferred to you. Then they expect you to fight this god?”

  I nodded.

  “I don’t like this—I don’t want you to do this.” Anger burned in his gaze. “This is too dangerous—every part of it. Besides the fact that Seth could transfer the power from you, no god is going to go down easy. It’s insane.”