The Power

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  beg Seth. I was feeling pretty pathetic, but that was a hard pass. I had my limit.

  Or at least that was what I kept telling myself every time I passed his room or when I thought I saw him on campus. Like yesterday, when I was leaving the garden, I thought I saw him when I stepped out, but when I looked again, no one was there. I had seen him on Tuesday, talking to Luke as they were walking toward the main Council building. I wanted to give chase, to corner him, and demand to know exactly what had happened—what I’d done to initiate this change in him.

  Because I had to have done something.

  That was the only thing that made sense. I just had a hard time figuring out what it was. Could he have just gotten so frustrated with me, because I wasn’t getting the hang of using the elements, that he started thinking I was weak? I knew Seth valued strength. Without having ever met Alex, I knew that was what had drawn him to her, besides the freaking Apollyon connection thing. Or was it because the relationship sometimes felt . . . one-sided. Like what had happened on Friday, after training. It had been all about him giving me pleasure and nothing for him. Should I’ve been more aggressive in my attempts to please him? I didn’t know. I’d never been in a relationship before. What did I know? Seth could’ve just grown bored.

  Or maybe he’d found someone else.

  A slice of pain lit up my chest. God, it was possible. There were so many beautiful girls here—willowy and flawless, stunning pures and halfs. Seth probably had a damn fan club on this campus and there was no shortage of willing partners.

  He could be with someone else now.

  He could’ve already been with someone. Someone stronger, more experienced and who didn’t lurch around like Big Foot after six beers—

  Cutting off those thoughts before I ended up wailing like an angry baby, I forced my thoughts to other things. Before I headed back to my room, I needed to swing by the library and do my daily stalking—

  Something snagged my attention, and I looked to my right, seeing nothing at first. I wasn’t even sure what I—there! Leaning forward, I squinted as I stared through the thick leaves, swearing I saw something . . . shimmer? Glitter maybe? What the . . . ? I scooted forward on the bench. A handful of seconds later, I saw it again. I had no idea what I was seeing. The leafy vines climbing up the statues and spreading from one to another were thick and tall—taller than me, but something was behind them. I was sure of it. Whatever it was, it was flesh-colored. Bronzed and it—

  “What are you doing?”

  Jerking back in surprise, I straightened as I lifted my gaze. So focused on what I was seeing, I hadn’t heard someone approaching me. I hadn’t expected anyone, to be honest. No one seemed to ever come into the garden, but now I was staring at Colin.

  “Nothing.” I glanced back at the vines. No movement. No glimmer. Whatever was there, it was gone now. My gaze shot back to the half. I hadn’t seen him since the night with the two pure guys. “What are you doing? Following me around again?”

  His brows rose. “Um. No. Not really. I actually come in here once a week. It’s a good place to chill and clear the mind after training.”

  “Oh.” Warmth poured into my cheeks. This was awkward. “I . . . uh, haven’t seen you in here before.”

  “It’s a pretty big garden. You could roam around here and never run into anyone, but that doesn’t mean others aren’t in here.” Colin lifted a hand and ran it through his black hair. He lowered his arm as he glanced around. “Do you come in here a lot?”

  Holding my hoodie in my lap, I shrugged. “Sometimes.”

  There was a beat of silence. “Like I said, it’s a good place to think.”

  “Yeah,” I murmured. Goodness, I was a stellar conversationalist. It was kind of embarrassing, but I was just so . . . so drained—physically, mentally, and definitely emotionally. I mustered up some energy though. “So, you come in here . . . to think?”

  Colin nodded and his brows knitted as the balmy breeze stirred the leaves. “I started coming in here a while ago, after Ares first came here.” He paused, glancing at the bench. “May I?”

  I nodded.

  He sat down beside me, resting his arms on his thighs. “My uncle on the pure side of the family used to be the Dean here. Pretty cool guy. Didn’t go along with all the bullshit politics, and my older brother was one of his personal Guards.” Clapping his hands together, he tilted his head to the side, gaze trained forward. “Ares got into the University disguised as another Covenant Instructor. He killed my uncle and brother in seconds. Literally ended their lives in seconds.”

  “Oh my God, I’m sorry.” I blinked as I swallowed hard. “I know it doesn’t change anything, but I really am sorry to hear that.”

  “It’s okay.” His lips kicked up in a faint, sad smile. “Sorry works, because you mean it. Anyway,” he said after a moment. “My uncle loved these gardens. Walked every evening in them. Coming in here is like . . . like being close to him, you know?”

  “Makes sense,” I whispered. If I was still around anything that reminded me of my grandparents, I’d be there every day.

  He straightened as he stared down at his hands. “I never did thank you for that night.”

  “Thank me for what?” Genuinely curious, I looked over at him.

  Colin grinned again. “You stepped in, stopping things before they could get really ugly. Those pures could’ve done some damage and I would’ve been forced to defend myself. Even though the laws have changed, the mentality that pures can do whatever they want is still there and that they are better than us—that their lives matter more.”

  “That’s stupid,” I stated. “And I don’t think Marcus would’ve allowed them to do whatever they want.”

  “He might not, but there’s a lot of people here that would’ve protected their asses and hung me out to dry if I’d done something to them. But you scared them off. Had them running.” He laughed. “You scared me a little bit. Wasn’t expecting that.”

  My brows rose.

  “Anyway, thanks. I figured you all were trying to keep what you are quiet and you risked that. Thank you.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so we sat there in silence for a couple of moments.

  “So . . .” He bit down on his lip as he stared ahead. “Are you going to tell me to leave now, or would you like the company? I mean, I can be quiet and sit here, stare at some plants.”

  A begrudging smile formed on my lips. Honestly, I wasn’t up for much conversation, but what else was I really doing other than staring at some plants and feeling sorry for myself?

  So I took a deep breath and said, “You can stay.”

  “Huh.” There was a pause and those midnight blue eyes met mine. “Do I have to be quiet and stare at plants?”

  I coughed out a laugh. “No. You don’t have to do that.”

  “Good,” Colin replied. “Because I have all these questions about you I’ve been dying to ask, you know? I’ve never met a demigod before. You cool with that?”

  Was I? I shrugged. I had a feeling Colin was going to be disappointed with my answers considering I’d never met a demigod either, and I really didn’t consider myself one. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

  Seth

  I was in full creep mode.

  Which wasn’t any different from the last four days that I’d been keeping an eye on Josie. Some would probably call it stalking. I would call it making sure she was safe.

  The last couple of days, she’d gone to the garden after training with Laadan. Today had been no different. She’d headed straight for the enclosed area and I followed like I had every other time.

  Deep down I knew I didn’t need to do this. Wasn’t like she was going to be attacked by a rogue rose bush, but I didn’t like this. Her going to this quiet place, sitting for an hour on a damn bench, staring off into nothing, looking . . . looking so damn sad, it took everything for me not to go to her. Cross the small distance between us and pull her into my arms. Comfort her. I didn’t want this for h
er.

  There was a lot I didn’t want for her. Namely my fucked-up ass.

  Staying away from her wasn’t easy. Every night I fought against the draw to go to her, and practically every night ended with my hand on my dick and the image of her branded in my mind.

  Sick thing was I wasn’t sure what was constantly drawing me to her more—her, or what was in her. Maybe a mixture of both. It didn’t matter.

  Josie didn’t have to be here. She could be with Luke and Deacon. There was no reason for her to be alone.

  I passed the ancient caretaker who was probably older than the dirt she was digging around in, my steps soundless as I followed the now familiar path. Josie never knew I was here. It would stay that way. I would remain in the background, waiting until she left, and then I would make sure she got back to the dorm. Then I—

  Josie’s soft laugh stopped me dead in my tracks. “It’s not really that exciting,” she said. “I hardly know what I’m doing most of the time.”

  What the hell? I stepped over a low stone wall, going where no man had probably gone before. Careful not to trample the cluster of peonies, I unlocked a whole new level of creepiness by peering through the thick vines at her. My gut immediately tightened.

  What the fuck?

  Sitting on the bench beside her was not Luke or Deacon. It was that guy again, the one that had been with her when she’d used the air element. Colin was his name.

  “It’s still awesome,” he said, and, oh yeah, real fucking awesome. His entire body was twisted toward her. “Your father is Apollo. That’s pretty amazing.”

  My jaw locked down. What was she telling this douche? She didn’t know him. I didn’t know him.

  One of her shoulders rose as she fiddled with the sweater in her lap. She was always moving some part of her body. Fingers. Legs. Feet. “I guess so. I’ve only seen him a couple times. He’s busy doing . . . god stuff.”

  Colin shook his head. “What about your mother?”

  My eyes narrowed as Josie really started twisting the sweater between her hands. “She’s not here,” she replied after a beat of silence. “I mean, she’s with Apollo. With everything going on with the Titans, it’s not safe for her here.”

  “Understandable.” He finally looked away from her, and that was a good thing, because I was beginning to think those blue eyes would look excellent on the ground, lying among the damn peonies. “I was kind of lucky, you know? My mom was mortal, and she knew the truth. My father—a pure-blood—loved her. He didn’t care that she was mortal.”

  I didn’t give two shits if his mother was Hera.

  Behind me, a throat cleared.

  Looking over my shoulder, I spied the ancient, knocking-on-death’s-door caretaker. I could barely see the face under the wide brim straw hat, but I could feel the disapproving glare in every cell of my being.

  I stared the caretaker down until the little body threw up its arms and shuffled off, muttering under its breath in what sounded like ancient Greek.

  Whatever. I turned back to Josie and Dickface.

  “My father was . . . he tried to keep the relationship hidden. He would leave the community and visit me and Mom every weekend—always a long weekend. Friday through Monday. When I was younger, I didn’t realize we were different. Mom was always honest about what Dad was. I didn’t realize that he had another family in his community—a pure one. Wife. Another son. I think my mom knew. I’m pretty sure she did, and I don’t think she cared. She loved him that much that she didn’t care that when he left us, he went to another family, one that his kind approved of.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Josie murmured.

  Colin was quiet for only a damn moment. “When she got pregnant with my older brother, things changed. My father ended up moving in with us. For a couple of years, I guess we were like normal mortal families. At least it felt that way to me.”

  Now Josie was staring at him and I could see the sympathy all but pouring out of her. Fuck me. “What happened?”

  Colin glanced up at the sky. “I was young. Daimons tracked my father home one night. They got hold of my mom and killed her just for sport. My father was able to stop them from getting to us, but my mom . . . she died defending my brother and me. She wasn’t trained or anything. She knew what they were, and she went down fighting. Because of her actions, it gave my father a chance to fight.”

  “Sounds very brave.”

  “She was brave.” He smiled faintly.

  Josie looked like she was seconds away from pulling him into a bear hug. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you.” He turned to her. “Anyway, that’s some depressing shit right there and you look like that’s the last thing you need right now.”

  Oh, like he knew what she needed right now? The hand at my side closed into a fist. I was going to rip out Colin’s tongue and shove it up his ass. Possibly an excessive reaction, but what the fuck ever, it was going to make me feel real good.

  Her hands stilled. “Is it that obvious?”

  Colin tipped his head back. “Ah, you just look . . . like you could use a friend.”

  Josie pressed her lips together and didn’t respond. I tensed, preparing myself for her to agree. She did need friends. Luke and Deacon were great, but the more the merrier or some shit. Though, couldn’t she find another chick? I was moving before I realized what I was doing. Stepping back from the vines and onto the walkway, there was a moment when I could’ve done the right thing, but nope. Apparently I could only half-ass one right thing. I was stalking right toward them.

  “I haven’t seen you with the . . . with Seth.” The words were quietly spoken, but oh, I heard them. “It’s weird. Usually, I don’t see you without him and—”

  “And I’m right here.”

  Josie squeaked as her head swung toward me. Her eyes, those endless eyes, widened in surprise. “Seth?”

  I stopped in front of them, eyeballing the little punk bitch on the bench. “You say my name, Josie, like you aren’t sure who I am, but considering how you normally scream my name, I’m a bit surprised.”

  “What?” she gasped, and I could tell she was locking up. “What did you just say?”

  “I think you heard me,” I replied, my attention focused solely on the tool. “This is the second time I’ve found you like this. Third time’s not going to be a charm.”

  Josie’s chest—that remarkable, lovely chest—rose sharply. “This is not really happening,” she said. “This is not seriously happening right now.”

  “Whoa.” Colin raised his hands. “I don’t know what you think is going on here, but it’s not.”

  “It’s not?” I laughed, the sound biting and harsh as I told myself to stop and walk away.

  “Colin, you don’t need to respond to any of that,” Josie said, cheeks pink. “Seth can be delusional—”

  “Look, delusional or not, I don’t have a death wish,” Colin said, shaking his head. “I’m not trying to get with what’s yours.”

  “Yours?” Josie repeated slowly. “His?”

  “Good to hear,” I said smugly.

  Colin lowered his hands to his knees. “I think she’s a pretty cool girl, and I like talking to her.” He looked over at her. “I like talking with you and this has been great—”

  “Oh my God.” Josie squeezed her eyes shut. “This really cannot be happening.”

  “I mean, I want to hang out with you and—”

  “You should’ve stopped talking while you were ahead,” I advised, stepping toward him. The toes of my boots brushed his. “Because, you see, I don’t like—”

  “Colin doesn’t care what you like.” Josie shot to her feet, dumping the sweater to the ground. “And I don’t even know what you’re doing here. Did you follow me in here?”

  Well . . .

  I turned to her. Our eyes locked, and damn, it was like a punch right through my chest wall.

  Colin rose and stepped aside. “Obviously, you two need to talk.” He paused. “I’ll see you late
r, Josie.”

  Much to my amusement, she barely acknowledged the guy with a nod. Her gaze was on me, and while she was angry, pissed really, she couldn’t look away. Neither could I.

  “Did you follow me in here?” she repeated, and when I didn’t answer, she slowly shook her head. “You did, didn’t you? Have you been following me since—?”

  “It’s not what you think.” I stepped back.

  Josie blinked rapidly. “You don’t know what I think! I just want you to answer—”

  “You need to be more careful,” I interrupted.

  “More careful of what?”

  I gestured to where Colin had walked off. “Of trusting random