The Power

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  having gone there with him,” I admitted, and when she opened her mouth, I continued. “Look, what he and I were at one point doesn’t matter now.”

  “Yes. It does.” She stopped twisting her hair. “As long as I knew Seth, he didn’t get involved seriously with anyone. Like, no one would’ve been under the misconception that it was serious if it wasn’t. Seth didn’t do relationships.”

  Seth apparently still didn’t do relationships, and as jealous as I was when it came to Alex, she wasn’t the problem. She was in love with Aiden, but that didn’t mean Seth hadn’t harbored those kinds of feelings for her. It was obvious that he had.

  And still did.

  And I really did not want to be talking about this with her.

  Scrubbing my temples, I tried to come up with a way to say that without being completely rude to the myth, the legend known as Alexandria Andros.

  “You really don’t want to talk about Seth with me, do you?” she asked.

  I glanced over at her, frowning. “Can you read minds?”

  Alex tipped her head to the side and laughed. “Nope. But I feel you. I just want to say one thing. I hope that things aren’t really over between you two, because Seth . . .” She sat back, exhaling softly. “Seth is . . . he deserves some happiness.”

  Tears immediately rushed my throat and burned the back of my eyes. I believed the same thing, but I wasn’t his source of happiness. I didn’t even know what I was to him, but it wasn’t that.

  “I haven’t talked to him. He’s avoiding me. I’m not surprised,” she said, and then let go of her hair. The thick strands were slow to unwind. “Sorry. You don’t want to hear about that.”

  I sort of, kind of wanted to hear about her and Seth and his avoidance, even though I didn’t, but I was a glutton for punishment, so I did.

  “So.” She scooted forward, dropping her hands to her knees. “Apollo is your father, and he’s kind of like my great-great-great-times a million grandfather, so we’re kind of, like, related in a really weird, this shouldn’t happen in real life sort of way?”

  I laughed, unable to help myself. “Yeah, something like that, I guess.”

  Alex smoothed her palms over denim-clad knees. “So, Deacon and Luke were saying you had no idea what you were until Seth showed—”

  An ear-piercingly shrill alarm sounded, silencing Alex. My head jerked up, and Alex was on her feet, her hand snaking around her back. A second later she held a dagger in her hand. I had no idea where she’d gotten it from. Thin air? A nifty hidden pouch? It didn’t matter, because I knew what the blaring horn meant.

  The Covenant was under attack.

  Chapter 16

  Seth

  Pacing the length of my room, I tried to work off the pent-up restlessness that was crawling through my system like an army of fire ants. I’d already run five miles, boxed with Solos, showered—rubbed one off in the shower while my mind conjured up a stream of things I’d done with Josie and things I’d never gotten the chance to—and I still couldn’t sit still.

  Not when I wanted to be across the hall. Not when I wanted to go find Colin and remove his balls with a dull dagger, centimeter by fucking centimeter, because I knew he’d gone to breakfast with her this morning. Wasn’t the first time, but usually Deacon and Luke were with them, and that made it different.

  And not when I knew Alex and Aiden were roaming this very dorm.

  I could feel Alex.

  She was a faint hum in the back of my subconscious, like a light far off in the distance, visible but not bright. It was nothing like it had been before, much more muted and a hell of a lot more tolerable. Thank the gods I couldn’t feel what she was feeling, because damn, I would need to give myself a lobotomy. Or she and Aiden weren’t currently screwing like an Olympian god after a dry spell and that was why I wasn’t feeling much. Gods, I hoped that wasn’t the case. If I started feeling what was going on with them, I was going to have to—

  Sirens blasted, breaking the silence and spinning me around. The shrill sound was all too familiar, and I snapped into action. Vicious excitement replaced the restlessness, and I knew just how screwed up that was, but right then? Oh yeah, I could use a fight. Yesterday in the quad had been child’s play.

  Grabbing the Glock loaded with titanium bullets, I hooked it into the holster and fit it around my thigh. I snatched the daggers off the dresser and headed out the door, not even bothering with grabbing a shirt.

  I came to a complete stop as Josie’s door swung open.

  What in the holy fuck were Alex and Josie doing together? For just a few seconds, the three of us were literally frozen, staring at each other as the sirens blared overhead.

  And then Alex broke the silence.

  “Really?” she said dryly, eyeing me with a smirk. “You’re going to fight with the awesomeness of your six-pack as a weapon?”

  I arched a brow. “Yeah, you know, I was going to test out the whole abs of steel theory thing. The gun attached to my thigh and the daggers in my hands are just props. Mainly for show. Don’t want to take away from the gloriousness that is my body, though.”

  Her smirk flipped into a grin. “Whatever.” She started forward. Up ahead, a tall figure stepped out in the hall, and light glinted off the titanium daggers in his hands. Aiden. Of course their room had to be close to mine.

  Of. Course.

  My gaze shot to Josie. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  She was in the process of closing the door when she frowned. “I’m going to help—”

  “You are going to help by staying safe in your dorm and not answering the door to anyone but me or one of the guys.”

  “I can fight,” she insisted, her cheeks flushing pink. “You saw me yesterday. I know what—”

  “Do you hear those sirens?” I lifted my chin to the ceiling. “This isn’t a fight between halfs and pures. That means something has gotten inside that shouldn’t be inside.”

  Her blue eyes deepened to storm clouds. “I know that. I can—”

  “Do you remember what happened last time?” I stepped to her, my chest and stomach clenching at the memory. “I’m not going to end the night searching you down and finding you like I did last time.”

  Blood drained from her face. “And last time, I was taken from your room. You know, the safe place!”

  Well. Shit. She had a point. I shook my head. Time was of the essence here. “Then you don’t answer the door unless it’s me.”

  “Seth—”

  “Just stay in your room, Josie. You’ll be safe there.”

  “I don’t see you telling Alex to stay in her room,” she fired back. “Nor did Aiden seem to stop her.”

  “That’s because I know Alex can hold her own.” And truth? I also wouldn’t lose my shit if Alex got hurt. Josie? I would go nuclear on this gods-damned Covenant and level the place.

  Josie stepped back, bumping into the door, and I could tell I’d said something very, very wrong to her. I wasn’t quite sure what it was. I’d said a lot of bad shit to her recently, but I didn’t have time to really question it. She turned around stiffly and went back into her room.

  At least she was staying put.

  Hooking the daggers on to the belt, I took off down the hall. When I hit the lobby, I spotted Colin standing with a group of halfs. I started to order him to keep watch over Josie, but I trusted that she’d only open the door for me. I didn’t trust that of Colin. He was a young half, susceptible to compulsions, and I had no idea what was going on out there.

  Bursting out the front doors and into the cooler evening air, I made my way past the small army of Guards. They had already begun setting up a line in front of the dorm.

  I stopped, grabbing the collar of one of the older Guard members. His eyes widened with surprise as I lifted him up on the tips of his toes. “Try actually defending the students this time. If this line is broken when I get back, I’m not going to be happy, and that means you’re not going to be walking for the next
week or month. Feel me?”

  The older man swallowed hard and nodded. Letting him go, I sure as hell hoped, for his sake, he got the message. Last time, the possessed Guards and Sentinels had gotten right into the dorm and right to Josie.

  That knowledge ate at me as I forged forward. After what had happened that night, I’d told myself I wouldn’t put duty before Josie, and I was doing it again. A ball of dread settled in my stomach like lead. The nymph’s words floated through my thoughts as I cut across the quad, heading for the walls. Was I going down the same path again?

  Up ahead, I could see Sentinels racing forward. Smoke billowed from the vicinity of the main wall and spilled into the courtyard. Shadows moved inside the dense smoke, and from a distance it looked like a macabre dance. In about ten seconds, I caught up to Alex and Aiden, and it was more than a little bizarre falling into step beside them. As we drew closer, the scent of burnt trees and something far more pungent filled the air.

  Aiden glanced over at me. “Lose your shirt, man?”

  Back in the day, that question would’ve opened the door for the perfect comeback, one that usually involved Alex. Now? I lifted my hand and flipped him off. “Anyone know what’s going—?”

  A white-garbed Guard staggered out of the smoke, the front of his outfit splashed with red. His throat was torn open, revealing the pink, congealed tissue and shattered bone. The Guard went down on one knee and then crumpled.

  “Daimons,” Alex said, flipping the dagger in her hand. “Or a mountain lion.”

  Reaching to my side, I unhooked one of the daggers. “I’m going to go with a daimon.”

  “That’s a relief.” Alex slowed her step. “Because I really don’t want to kill a kitty.”

  I paused long enough to look at her. She tossed a grin in my direction.

  Aiden moved ahead, throwing up a hand, stopping us. “Hold on a second.” He moved his arm, holding his palm out toward the thick smoke. A slight ripple of power sparked. Wind picked up behind us, turning into a heavy, churning gust. The stream moved over the courtyard, lifting the smoke and blowing it back.

  Holy shit, there were daimons everywhere, and the titanium gate was open. A few bodies littered the ground and as the wind settled, I realized all those still standing were halfs, which explained why no one had summoned wind yet, and on the ground . . .

  Shit.

  Dead and/or dying pures.

  Some still being fed on, like a scene straight out of a zombie horror.

  Aiden looked over his shoulder. “Being able to control all the elements has its bennies.”

  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 w
as, 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.