Sentinel c-5

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Athena was his favorite child.

  “That means squat to me, and you know that. Zeus has no power over my realm. And before this conversation proceeds any further, I want everyone to fully grasp what they are agreeing to.”

  “We understand,” Seth said, gaining the boss of the Underworld’s attention.

  “Do you?” Hades turned to him, head cocked to the side. “You’ve been around Ares. Let me ask you a question. What does Ares thrive on the most?”

  “More than one thing—war and fear,” Seth responded blithely, and I flinched. “But most of all, he loves winning.”

  “Correct, but Perses thrived on the bloodshed of battle. He used to bathe in the entrails of those he’d defeated.”

  Olivia turned green.

  “Not only that, Perses fought to destroy—not to win. There’s a big difference there.” Hades paused, and it felt like cold wind had circled its way down my spine. “And what has happened since Ares decided to play in the mortal realm?”

  Aiden shifted his weight, his jaw set in a tight, grim line. “There’s been conflict—countries everywhere on the verge of war. His presence affects mortals. We know.”

  “And what do you think will happen if you add Perses to the mix?” Hades asked. “His influence is stronger than Ares’. Those countries on the verge may make war just because we’ve released him. Is that another risk you’re willing to take?”

  No one answered, because seriously, we could be exchanging one apocalyptic situation for another. “We have to take that risk,” I said finally, meeting the all-white eyes of Hades. “And we’ll make sure he behaves.” Hopefully.

  “You think he’ll behave because I’ll release him into Elysian Fields afterward? Do you have any idea what crimes Perses was responsible for?”

  I could only imagine.

  Apparently Hades didn’t want me to use my imagination. “He created the term ‘rape and pillage.’ He wiped out entire generations and civilizations for the fun of it. He killed our brethren just to hear them scream and plead for their lives. He took our children and ripped them apart because he could. That is what you are releasing into the mortal realm. That is what you’re asking me to give paradise to.”

  My heart rate kicked up. I got what Hades was saying. It was like allowing Hitler into Heaven or something, but I wondered if Hades had ever heard of the whole throwing stones and glass houses thing. “And how is that any different than what you guys have been responsible for throughout history?”

  Hades took a step toward me, and over his shoulder I saw Aiden and Seth stiffen, but I didn’t need them. I held my ground and lifted my chin. The god stopped a few feet in front of me.

  Akasha, the fifth and final element, simmered in the pit of my stomach. The marks on my skin tingled in warning, but I refused to look away from his unflinching stare. “What? It’s the truth. How is a Titan truly any worse than an Olympian running amok? Any worse than what Ares is already doing?”

  A slow, almost-reluctant smile graced Hades’ lips. “You want to know the difference?”

  “Yes.” Did he know how creepy his eyes were? Probably.

  Hades leaned down, coming so close that we shared the same breathing space. “A God Killer can kill an Olympian. Not a Titan. And a Titan can kill an Apollyon.”

  My brows shot up. “Oh.” Well, then…

  “Yeah, ‘oh.’” Hades wheeled around, eyeing Aiden, who had made it halfway across the room before Apollo had intercepted and blocked him. “So does everyone still want to hold a welcoming party for a bloodthirsty Titan that no one can kill if he decides to not play along?”

  Unrest filled the room. Luke and Solos shifted their gazes, no doubt having second thoughts. Deacon looked like he had no idea how he’d ended up in this room, and Olivia was slowly shaking her head. Only Aiden, Marcus and Seth looked resolute.

  “You’ve stopped the Titans before,” Aiden said, voice level and calm despite the rising tension. “And there were many more than one at that time.”

  “It took all of us to stop the Titans, one at a time. And if we manage to stop Ares, we will be down one,” Hades responded. “So it wouldn’t be easy.”

  Apollo squared his shoulders. “You offer him paradise. He will behave.”

  “You think?” Hades folded his arms again. “And I thought you weren’t really down with this plan?”

  “It’s not the best thing, but it is all we have, and you know that’s true, so stop posturing. What do you want in return for releasing Perses?”

  Hades’ jaw worked like he was crunching bone. “And for offering him paradise?”

  The Sun god looked like he wanted to toss Hades at the sun. “Yes. And for that.”

  Here it comes, I thought. What could Hades possibly want that we could give him in return for his assistance? The souls of our firstborn children? A giggle rose, but I squelched it, because it seriously could be that.

  Seconds turned into an eternity, and then Hades finally spoke. “You.”

  I blinked, at first having no idea who he was speaking to, but then I saw his attention fixed on Aiden. My heart thumped against my chest like a caged bird.

  “What?” I demanded, my voice too thin.

  Hades’ lips curled into a smirk. “I want him.”

  A flash of bewilderment raced across Aiden’s features. “You want me?”

  I had no idea where this was going, but I did not like it.

  “He doesn’t swing that way,” Apollo commented, his blue eyes alive with amusement. “And I didn’t think you did, either.”

  Someone, I suspected Seth, choked on a laugh.

  Hades shot the other god a scathing look. “I want his soul.”

  CHAPTER 13

  I was seconds away from discovering what would happen when an Apollyon hit a god with a bolt of anger-fueled akasha. Seth sensed my fury. Hell, he had to be drowning in it. He was edging along the wall, coming closer and closer to me.

  Or the exit.

  “No,” I said, and then louder, “Hell to the no, you cannot have his soul.”

  Hades whipped toward me, and the tense pull to his lips told me he didn’t like my tone. Well, he wasn’t going to like my foot up his ass, either. “I would’ve asked for yours, but Apollo wouldn’t have allowed that.”

  I so did not care. “You cannot have his soul. I don’t care what we need you for.”

  Apollo heaved a heavy breath. “Alex.”

  “No!” I spun on the god. “No way.”

  Hades’ smirk infuriated me. “But you haven’t even heard the details.”

  I stormed up to the god, already tasting his blood. “You can take your details and shove them up your fake British—”

  “Alex!”

  Clamping my mouth shut, I tensed my shoulders as I turned to the one person in this world who could get me to shut up. Aiden stood to my right, and the moment our gazes locked, I saw it. He wanted to hear Hades out. Knots spiraled tightly in my stomach.

  “No,” I said again, my voice a pitiful whisper. “I don’t want to even hear it.”

  He held my gaze for a second longer and then turned to Hades. “What are the details?”

  The god oozed smugness. “I want your soul.”

  “I think we’ve covered that,” I snapped.

  Hades ignored me. “Your soul would belong to me once you’ve died to use however I see fit.”

  I took a breath, but it got stuck. However he saw fit? My hands itched to get around his thick neck.

  “I could always use a guard with your boldness and skill,” Hades continued.

  Images of the guards of Hell, in leather and astride giant warhorses, flashed through my mind. I couldn’t—wouldn’t picture Aiden as one of them.

  “And I wouldn’t take your life,” Hades went on while I started to picture myself lopping his head off with a giant sword. “When you die, not by my hand or through any trickery on my part, I will have your soul. I give my word.”

  I thought of what So
los had told me. Snakes. “And we’re supposed to believe that?”

  “He’s not lying,” Apollo said, eyes narrowed. “He gave his word. It’s unbreakable.”

  I laughed, and the sound was coarse. Trust a god’s word? Were they on meth? I twisted halfway and saw Deacon’s expression as he stared at his brother. Stark. Accepting. Oh gods, he knew. I whirled on Aiden. “No! We’ll find another way.”

  “There is no other way.” Aiden crossed the short distance between us and gently placed his big hands on my cheeks. “You know that.”

  “No.” I gripped his wrists. “There has to be something else.”

  “Is there? Minutes ago, Perses was our only option,” Hades oh-so pleasantly reminded me.

  Outrage caused the akasha in my veins to start begging to be used. Loudly. “It’s your soul, Aiden. When you die, you will have to go to work for him or worse. You won’t go to the Elysian Fields. You…” I broke off, unable to say what was so selfish but true.

  We wouldn’t have eternity together.

  When I died, barring I didn’t kill Hades right now, I’d go to Elysia, and Aiden would not be there. He’d never be there, not until Hades allowed it. And he would never allow it.

  Tears filled my eyes as Aiden lowered his forehead to mine. “I don’t plan on dying for a long time, agapi mou. We have today, and we’ll have many tomorrows, but only if we get Hades’ help. We won’t have any of that if we don’t stop Ares.”

  “But—”

  “This is bigger than both of us.” His thumb caught a tear that had snuck out, wiping it away before anyone besides Seth noticed. And there was no hiding how I felt from the First. He was standing close to us, his expression devoid of its usual smirk. Aiden smiled, but it hurt. “We have to do anything and everything to stop this.”

  “I don’t care,” I whispered.

  “Yes, you do.”

  I shook my head. “Not if it means this, I don’t. I don’t care.”

  It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that we had to keep making sacrifices. We could possibly face losing a mortal life together, and now we wouldn’t even have an afterlife? Sorrow rose in me swiftly. “You wouldn’t want this for me.”

  “I wouldn’t,” he admitted, “but that’s not the situation, and we need this.”

  “You do,” Hades cajoled, and I wanted to claw his face into tiny, bloody pieces.

  Seth shifted closer. I didn’t see him, because I couldn’t look away from Aiden, but I felt him. “Aiden is right,” Seth said quietly, but it was still intrusive. “You know there’s no other choice.”

  “I don’t want you to have to make this choice,” I insisted. Yes, I was being selfish, but it didn’t just affect me. It also affected his brother and his family. If Hades didn’t allow it, he’d never see his mother and father again. This was too much.

  Aiden’s striking face blurred through the haze of tears. “I know.” His lips brushed the corner of my lips. “But we have to.”

  I opened my mouth to protest more, but he took advantage of that moment. He deepened the kiss and kissed me like we were the only two people in the room, in the world. Tingles shot up and down my spine in a wave of electricity. I leaned into him, kissing him back with everything I felt. Aiden tasted of salt, of mint, and of love.

  Someone, maybe my uncle, cleared his throat.

  Aiden slowly lifted his head, and the room came back into focus. My cheeks burned. “By doing this, we are giving ourselves a future together. Okay? We have to do this. I have to do this, and there’s nothing that can be done to change that.”

  “Oh, this conversation is so not over,” I promised, blinking back tears. “I’m going to spin-kick you in the head for this one later, but okay. Okay.”

  Aiden chuckled, but he wisely stepped back and turned to Hades. “Okay. You have my soul when I die.”

  “See?” Hades eyed me over Aiden’s shoulder. “Was that so hard?”

  “I hate you,” I hissed.

  “It’s nothing personal, Love.”

  “Yeah, and the last time you said that to me you wanted to kill me.” My hands curled into fists.

  The god of the Underworld shrugged. “Okay.”

  “That’s it?” Seth asked, the hollows of his cheeks more pronounced. “You’re not going to even shake on it? He says ‘you can have my soul’ and you say okay?”

  I shot Seth a glare.

  Hades smiled again. “That’s all I need.”

  Seth’s amber eyes rolled. “That’s anticlimactic.”

  The god was unbothered by that as he settled his attention on Aiden and me. “You two will be responsible for Perses, meaning you will come with me and take him out of Tartarus.”

  My spine stiffened. “We have to go to Tartarus?”

  Static crackled around Hades’ eyes. “I think showing you two what could possibly lie in store for your pure-blood may incline both of you to work extra-hard to ensure that Perses sticks to the plan.”

  I gasped.

  “Wait.” Seth stepped forward. “I’m going with them.”

  Aiden opened his mouth, mostly like to passionately disagree, but Hades cut him off. “I think that is a great idea. Then the three of you will be responsible for Perses and what role Aiden takes on in the afterlife.”

  My stomach dropped, and I felt like I was falling. Before I could protest, Hades was already making plans. We would leave for Tartarus within the hour. He would take us straight there, no need for finding a gate or facing any of the guards. It was all happening too fast. Aiden was talking to Deacon in low, hushed tones, and Solos was with Marcus, surrounded by Olivia and Luke.

  My unease about the deal settled in me like sour food. My heart pounded in my chest way too fast, and if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn Phobos and Deimos were back, but they weren’t. Fear formed an icy knot under my breastbone.

  Alex…

  I didn’t turn to Seth. What if Perses doesn’t do what we need him to? What if he runs off and slaughters an entire nation? Hades will put that on Aiden. He’ll have his soul and—

  We’ll make sure that won’t happen. The confidence in Seth’s words pushed through our bond. St. Delphi won’t end up in Tartarus, I promise you.

  The fact that Seth would promise something like that didn’t go unnoticed. Either way, he’ll own Aiden. No matter what happens. Aiden will be like a half-blood, nothing more than…

  Air leaked out of my lungs. Aiden would be like a slave, like every half-blood was now and would be, even after we took care of Ares. Aiden’s own words came back to me in that moment. This is bigger than us. Realization whirled, and an opportunity presented itself. Hell, the opportunity had always been there, but I’d been too self-absorbed to realize it, too caught up in my own problems to…

  To use the power I held in my hands to change things.

  “Wait!” I called out.

  “Alex,” Seth said in a quiet voice.

  I shook my head, breathing deeply. Apollo turned to me, inclining his head. I readied myself. “Wait. There’s something I want before we do this.”

  Hades chuckled deeply. “What position are you in to bargain, Love?”

  If he called me “Love” one more time… I reeled in my temper and focused on Apollo. “You want us to go down into Tartarus and fetch Perses, watch over him while he helps us, and then you want me to become the God Killer and take out Ares, right?”

  Apollo shifted his weight. “That sounds about right.”

  My heart turned over heavily. “I will only do this if you do something for me.”

  Hades scuffed. “Again, Love, what position are you in to bargain with us?”

  I slid my gaze toward Mr. Tall, Dark, and About to be Missing an Eyeball. “Without me, you don’t have a God Killer. You can’t make me become it, and you can’t make me fight Ares.”

  “We can be very persuasive,” Hades growled.

  “Yeah, and Ares tried to be persuasive, and I still didn’t give in.” I looked at Apollo.
“I know you guys can’t make Seth or me do it. We could leave you guys to this mess. You need us willing.”

  Apollo’s lips twitched as if he wished to smile. “What do you want, Alex?”

  “I want you to free the half-bloods. I want you to get rid of the laws requiring them to either become Sentinels, or Guards, or servants. I want you to give them the same rights as pure-bloods. I want the Breed Order revoked.”

  Silence.

  It was so quiet that you could hear a fly run into a wall. Everyone was staring at me like I’d just pulled up my shirt and asked for some beads.

  And then Seth chuckled deeply. “Clever, Angel.”

  I ignored the nickname. I also ignored the way Aiden’s eyes went from the purest color of gray to silver in a nanosecond. “I know you can do it, Apollo. I know you can make the other gods agree. You do this for me, and I’ll be all about taking a tour of Tartarus.”

  Apollo stared at me as he slowly shook his head. “There was so much more you could’ve asked for, Alex.”

  My brows knitted. “Like what? What could be more important than that?”

  His gaze held mine, and suddenly I knew what he meant. I could’ve asked for his protection, because once I took care of Ares, it would be open season on my arse. I knew Apollo would already do what he could to ensure that I walked away, but it seemed useless to waste this opportunity on something that Apollo might not be able to stop.

  The god nodded curtly. “Okay. Once everything has settled, we will change the laws and the Elixir will be no more. You have my word, no matter the outcome.”

  No matter the outcome. Meaning if Ares kicks our asses into the next generation. I wanted Apollo to do it now, because I had the patience of a hyena, but I could understand why he couldn’t. The last thing we needed was more half-bloods, thousands of them, coming off the effects of the Elixir in the middle of this mess.

  My gaze traveled across the room, skipping over the shocked expressions of Luke and Olivia. I think, in that moment, they realized the same thing Solos must have by the look in his wide eyes. After all this was said and done, they would have something they’d never had before.