It was, but when had anything in my life been completely sane? I wiggled closer to him. “But it has to be done, Aiden. Even if we manage to stop Lucian and Seth, this god will try something again. Look at all the people who have died.”
“I don’t—” He cut himself off.
“You don’t what?”
He looked up, features rigid. “I was going to say that I don’t care. Not when you could die doing this. I don’t care.”
I had no idea what to say to that, and I knew that it took a lot for Aiden to admit that. Hell, it would take a lot for anyone to admit that. But it was the truth, and sometimes the truth wasn’t pretty or ethical or fair. It just was.
Aiden tipped his head back and sighed. “What if I asked you not to do this?”
My mouth opened in surprise, but no words came out.
He shook his head. “I know I can’t ask you that. I know it’s incredibly selfish. Don’t answer it, okay?”
Tears moved up the back of my throat so quickly I didn’t think I’d be able to hold them back. By some miracle I did. I knew I needed to tell him that there was a good chance I wouldn’t survive this in the end. It wasn’t like I was giving up, because Deacon had sort of given me the kick in the rear that I needed, but it didn’t change the possibility.
Aiden made a sound in the back of his throat and he reached for me. I went, climbing into his lap. As his arms circled me, squeezing me so tight against him that I could feel his heartbeat, I couldn’t tell him that now. I didn’t think I could ever tell him.
And that was the thing about truths and secrets. Sometimes the truth didn’t need to be known. The lie was healthier than the truth and, while some secrets could set people free, other secrets could destroy them.
I didn’t feel good about it as I closed my eyes. Guilt settled in my stomach like a handful of sharp stones, but this secret wasn’t meant to be shared.
Finally, Aiden’s grip loosened and his hands moved from my shoulders. He held me back, his gaze searching my face. “Have you been having any headaches recently?”
Grateful for the change in topic, I shook my head. “Not since… Lea died. Seth was there afterward, but he’s gone. I mean, I can still feel the cord, but it’s weird. It’s like he’s taken a vacation.”
Aiden arched a brow. “He’s up to something.”
A small grin pulled my lips. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
“Great minds think alike.” With one hand, he smoothed his thumb over my lower lip. “You have to be exhausted.”
I shrugged. “So do you.”
“We should get some rest.” His hand fell back to my shoulder.
“Marcus isn’t going to be happy with you sleeping in here.”
“I know.” He leaned back against the headboard, his eyes hooded. “We’re probably going to have to cut the whole sleeping together thing back.”
I pouted.
Aiden chuckled. “I said sleeping together, Alex. What I have in mind doesn’t involve sleeping.”
“Oh.” Warmth spread through me like I was back in the steaming shower. “Oh.”
A slow grin tugged at his lips as his hands spread down my arms to my hips. That dizzying warmth stole into the marrow of my bones. “Little slow on the uptake, huh?”
I laughed and it felt… okay to laugh. Bending forward, I pressed my forehead to his. “Sorry. My mind isn’t in the gutter, like some people I could name.”
“So you say.” His hands tightened. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
Aiden moved so quickly that one second I was in his lap, and the next I was on my back and he was hovering above me. He lowered his head so that his lips brushed mine softly. That one all-too-quick touch nearly undid me.
“I love you,” he said, and those were the last words spoken for quite some time.
CHAPTER 36
Aiden hadn’t left the bed, so I guess cutting back on the whole sleeping arrangement thing wasn’t going to start today. Not that I was complaining. After… well, not sleeping and then sleeping for several hours, and some more of the “not sleeping” thing, we were summoned by a knock on the door.
We exchanged a quick look. “Uh, should I be answering the door, since this is my room?”
Aiden nodded and I started to rise, but he caught my arm. “You might want to put some clothes on first.”
“Oh. Ha.” I giggled as I started searching for my clothes. “Good call.”
“Uh-huh.”
Hopping around the room, I shoved my legs into thejeans. “Be right there!”
I was sure Aiden got an entertaining eyeful, and my face was blood-red by the time I reached the door. Opening it wide enough for me to slip through, I saw Dominic.
“Hey,” I said, hoping I didn’t have a mad case of naughty-in-bed hair.
His expression remained bland. “I’m sorry that I’ve woken you, but we have new arrivals. One of them, I do believe, was an Instructor at Deity Island.”
“Really? Wow. Where are they?”
“Currently with the Dean,” he replied. “Your uncle is already aware. I stopped by Sentinel St. Delphi’s room, but…”
“Oh. Yeah, um…” I was pretty sure I matched a fire truck. “He’s a heavy sleeper.”
“I’m sure he is.” Dominic stepped back. “If you wish to join your uncle, I’ll be waiting outside. You should have time to get ready. Your uncle is a… heavy sleeper, also.”
Whaaaa… and then it hit me. Ew. Ew. Ew.
Hurrying back into the room, I closed the door, and then leaned on it. “Dear gods, that was awkward. You heard?”
Aiden stood beside the bed, buttoning his pants. My eyes got hung up on his fingers and then that stomach. “Yes. He didn’t say who it was?”
I wasn’t thirsty, but my mouth sure was dry. “No. Just that it was an Instructor. Do you think we should check it out?”
“Sure.” Muscles popped as he reached over his head, pulling a shirt on. “I think it’ll be good to see a familiar face.”
I thought it would be good for him to take off that shirt, but what did I know? After running a brush through my mass of hair, I grabbed a slender dagger, slipped it into my back pocket, and tugged my shirt down over the handle.
Daggers. Never leave home without them.
It was late evening and the air seemed unseasonably chilly when we joined Dominic and my uncle. Then again, we were pretty high up in the mountains, but I was pretty positive it was the beginning of May and made a mental note to find a calendar pronto.
“I wonder who it is,” I said, feeling a little high-strung. A bad case of the hyperactivity disorder was probably about to occur.
“I do not know,” Marcus said.
I increased my step to stay in line with the long-legged freaks. “Do you know of any Instructors who had escaped?”
“Many were not at the campus when Poseidon attacked.”
“That’s right. They were away on break.” I shoved my hands into my jean pockets. “So it really could be anyone.”
Marcus glanced down at me, a single brow arched. “It really could be.”
I pulled my hands out of my pockets. “Why didn’t Diana come?”
My uncle shot me a look and I grinned.
“Anyway, I hope it’s someone I know.” I started to shove my hands back into my pockets, but Aiden grabbed my wrist.
He frowned. “What is your deal?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re acting like a little spaz right now.”
I pulled my hand free. “I don’t know. I’m just hyper.”
“Oh, great,” Marcus muttered.
Shooting him a look, I tried to keep my jittery movements to a minimum. It wasn’t hyperactivity. More like nervousness, but I didn’t have any reason to be nervous. Well, besides the obvious, but this was different. The marks of the Apollyon were bleeding though my skin, moving sluggishly into glyphs.
The stairs weren’t as killer this time around. As always, two G
uards were posted at the end of the hall, outside the Dean’s doors. They stepped aside as they opened the door and in we went. Curiosity had begun to outweigh the edginess somewhere on the stairs.
My gaze drifted over the room, finding Dean Elders first, and then to the far side of the room, to the oval-shaped window and the figure who stood in the light, his back to us.
Aiden and I hung back as Marcus strode to the desk. I wasn’t sure if Dean Elders really wanted us here.
“Dean Andros,” Dean Elders said, bowing slightly. “Thank you for joining us. Our newest arrival was most pleased to hear that some of his colleagues from the Deity Island Covenant had reached our campus.”
The man by the window turned slowly, and I recognized the thinning dark hair, olive skin tone, and near obsidian-colored eyes. My mouth dropped all the way to the floor.
“You have got to be freaking kidding me,” I said.
Instructor Romvi smiled tightly. “I am happy to see you too, Miss Andros.”
Well, I guess I knew my suspicious about some Order members escaping Seth and the Sentinels. One of them was now standing in front of me.
Aiden and Marcus both moved toward me, withdrawing daggers. The poor Dean of the University looked like he was about to have a coronary.
“Guards!” he yelled, moving behind his desk as if that could somehow protect him in case the poo was about to hit the fan.
The doors behind us flew open and the two stepped in, eyes darting around the room. Dominic held his dagger out too. “What the hell is going on?”
All of this wasn’t necessary. I was no longer the student in class. I was the Apollyon and fully charged. Let Romvi try something. I’d seriously look forward to throwing his monkey ass out the window.
“He is a member of the Order of Thanatos, which tried to kill Alex.” Fury rolled off Aiden, and I expected something to catch fire. “He is not what we’d consider a friendly acquaintance.”
Instructor Romvi clasped his hands in front of him. “As I remember, I was not the one who carried out the deed, which was successful, might I add.”
Oh, that was the wrong thing to say.
Aiden’s stance said he was about to break all kinds of bad. “That is correct, but you are a member of the Order and you—”
“Have the ability to kill the Apollyon?” interrupted Romvi. “Yes. I do. But I am many things. Stupid is not one of them. It appears Miss Andros has many gods on her side, and the Order’s only real mission is to serve the gods.”
“And that meant killing me?” I said, folding my arms.
His eyes met mine. “It did at the time.”
“And not anymore? We’re supposed to believe that?”
Romvi cocked his head to the side. “We are on the same side, Miss Andros.”
That nervous, too-much-caffeine feeling was back, tying my stomach up in knots. The runes were really going crazy now. “And what side is that, Romvi?”
“The only side there is to stand on,” he replied. “In war, there is only one side to truly stand on, and that is on the side that wins. And make no mistake, Miss Andros, we are at war.”
“You never seemed like the philosophical type,” Aiden said.
Romvi’s smile didn’t slip. “I’m sure I didn’t seem like much to you, St. Delphi.”
Aiden replied, but I wasn’t listening. I was getting a weird feeling again, the one I had had while standing in the War Room in Hade’s palace. That odd, nagging feeling, like there was something I should remember, that I should see. It was much stronger now.
“In times like these, we must let go of mutual dislike.” Romvi still hadn’t moved closer, but I felt… choked by his presence. “We must work together.”
“We are always at war,” I murmured, feeling very, very odd.
Romvi arched a cool brow. “You remember my teachings. That pleases me.”
I thought of the strangest thing then. When Romvi and I had sparred once, what had he told me? I should cut my hair. Something to do with vanity, but I recalled that War Room all too easily and what Persephone had said.
He likes to cut the hair of those he’s conquered and then strings them up for all to see.
I slowly unfolded my arms. My heart sped up. Romvi was watching me curiously, as if he was waiting for something. Memories of what Persephone had said pieced themselves together rapidly. To him, everything is about war and its spoils… What had she said about him? Without war, there was nothing.
“One should never turn their back on war,” I said, moving my hand behind me. “I also remember you saying that.”
And I also remember Persephone saying that about…
Romvi’s gaze dropped. “No. One should never turn his back on war. I believe that is why we are where we are today. The fools have turned their back on it, even though war always exists.”
Suddenly, the weird, edgy feeling and the marks made sense. It wasn’t nervousness or hyperactivity. No, not at all. And the automatons. There was one other god who could wield control over them—they were creatures created to fight. There were the mortal armies that were backing Lucian. That made sense now.
Son of a daimon donkey.
Moving lightning quick, I pulled the Covenant dagger from my back pocket. With speed and perfect precision, I threw the blade across the room.
The pointy end embedded deep into Romvi’s chest before he could take his next breath.
“What the hell?” Marcus exploded, whirling on me. “What is wrong—?”
Aiden turned wide eyes on me. “Alex…? Holy crap…”
The Dean of the University started toward Romvi, but drew up short. And Marcus and Aiden quieted down, because Romvi was still standing.
And he was laughing.
Marcus took a step back. “What the…?”
The Guards and Dominic exchanged looks, and then moved toward the Dean, surrounding him and edging him toward the door.
Romvi’s laughter faded. “I was beginning to think you weren’t that clever, Miss Andros.”
Then a blue shimmery cast surrounded Romvi’s body, swirling around him until we couldn’t see the man behind the eerie, god-like glow. Then it receded, revealing what stood behind it.
Ares was impressive.
Well over seven feet tall, he neared Godzilla-size with his height and bulk. He had more muscles than a pro wrestler, like Apollo on steroids.
He wore leather pants and a tunic that was punctured by the Covenant dagger still in his chest. Snakelike bands covered his biceps, but as he lifted an arm, I realized they weren’t bands at all.
They were bronze snakes, pulsing and slithering around his arms.
“Holy crap,” I whispered.
Reaching up, Ares wrapped a meaty hand around the handle of the hilt and pulled the dagger free. It turned to dust in his hands. “That wasn’t very nice, Miss Andros. The gods and the Council fear the First, but who’s the one lobbing daggers at a god?”
To say I wasn’t scared would be a bald-faced lie. Ares was the god of war and discord. Armies trembled at his feet and nations fell under his wrath. His children were gods of terror and misery. There wasn’t a single thing about him that didn’t send a spike of fear straight through me or any other living, breathing creature.
This must be the god who was a part of Seth’s bloodline, the one who’d been working behind the scenes with Lucian.
We were so screwed.
At least now I could understand how Romvi could kick my ass day, night, and on Sundays. It struck me then. I’d been sparring with Ares. Dear gods…
His cold, apathetic gaze drifted over us. “Silence? No one is going to cower before me? Beg for mercy, like thousands have before you? How disappointing. But there will be time for that in the future.”
“How?” Marcus choked out.
“How what?” Ares’ dark brows rose. “How have I been right under your noses this entire time? The same way apparently Apollo was, I assume. I avoided him whenever he was around, and therefore
he never sensed me. The Golden Boy had his suspicions, I am sure, but… well, he just isn’t that smart, is he?”
“What do you want?” I was proud that my voice didn’t shake.
Ares brushed the dust off his hand. “Oh, you know. Just… everything. And to get everything, I need you to connect with the First.”
Aware that Marcus and Aiden were moving in behind me, I tipped my chin up. “That’s not going to happen.”
He sighed. “I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to tack on the ever cliché ‘or else’ at the end of that, but I see that I do. You can make this very easy, very painless. You know what I am, what I am capable of. Apollyon or not, you cannot even begin to hope to defeat me. I am the god of war. Connect with the First or else.”
I held my ground. “Or else what? You’re going to stand there and glare me to death? You can’t kill me. And you can’t force me to connect with the First.”
The smile that etched over his lips sent an icy Shockwave through me. “You are right and wrong. I may not be able to kill you, but I can bend you to my will and I can make you wish for death. And I can kill all those you love.”
Ares threw out his arm, and several things happened within a matter of seconds. The Guard closest to him was flung across the room and through the window I’d wanted to toss Romvi/Ares out of. The second Guard moved toward him and Ares closed his fist. The Guard crumbled to the floor, blood streaming from his nose, mouth, and ears. Dominic was next. He was thrown back, his body contorting and twisting in air. Bones snapped through skin. He was nothing but a mangled mess when he hit the floor. Then, Ares turned on the Dean of the University.
Ares turned his wrist and the man’s head twisted to the side. The crack of bone echoed through the room.
Aiden started around me and true terror stole my breath. In a flash of horror, I saw him taking the place of Dominic, as would Marcus. Ares would kill them. Everything was happening too fast, but there was no way I could allow this.
I did the only thing I could do.
Throwing my arm toward the door, I summoned the element of air and I used it against Aiden and Marcus. The gust of wind was so strong there was nothing they could do but submit to it.
Apollyon (Covenant #4) Page 33
