We went into a smal room with glass wal s. I practical y col apsed in the white wicker chair. The Guards fol owed us, but Lucian waved them off. “Please notify Dean Andros that Seth and Alexandria are here. He wil understand.” The Guards hesitated but Lucian assured them with a dismissive nod. When they left, he faced Seth. “Sit?”
“I prefer to stand.”
“Um… there’s a boat on fire outside.” My voice sounded tight and too high. “Someone might want to check it out.”
“It wil be taken care of.” Lucian sat in one of the chairs beside me. “Alexandria, I have not been entirely forthcoming with you.”
A tiny scoff huffed out of me. “Real y.”
He leaned forward, resting his hands against his checkered pajama bottoms. “Three years ago, the oracle told your mother that, on your eighteenth birthday, you would become the Apol yon.”
I laughed out loud. “That. Is. Ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Seth turned to face me. He looked like he wanted to shake me.
“Um… yes!” My eyes widened. “There’s only one of you guys… ” My voice trailed off as I remembered what I’d read in the book Aiden had loaned me. Al at once, I felt hot and cold.
“Before Rachel e left, she confided in Marcus. He didn’t agree with her decisions, but she felt she needed to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?” As soon as those words left my mouth, I already knew the answer. Protect me from what’d happened to Solaris. I shook my head. “No. This is just too crazy. The oracle didn’t tel Mom that!”
“You are referencing the other part, the one where she said you wil kil the ones you love? That is not the important part. What is important is you wil become another Apol yon.” He turned to Seth, smiling. “Having Seth here was the best way to discover if what the oracle had said was correct.”
Seth paced the length of the sitting room. “It makes perfect sense. Why I… sensed you the first day. No wonder your mother left here. She probably thought she could somehow hide you among the mortals.” He turned and eyed Lucian. “Why would you want to bring us together?
You know what wil happen.”
“We do not know what wil happen.” Lucian returned his gaze. “There have not been two of you in over four hundred years. Things have changed since then. So have the gods.”
My eyes bounced between them. “Guys… I know what you’re saying, but you’re wrong. There’s no way I’m what he is. There’s no way.”
“Then how do you explain what happened outside?” Seth glared at me.
Taking a deep breath, I ignored him. “It’s not possible.”
“What did happen?” Lucian sounded curious.
Lucian’s eyes danced between us as Seth explained about the blue cord and how, for a few seconds, we’d heard each other’s thoughts.
It was clear he wasn’t surprised.
“It is real y nothing to be concerned about. What you experienced was just a way of recognizing one another.
This is the reason I assigned you here, Seth. We had to see if she was the other half. The possibility—it was too great an opportunity to pass up. I just didn’t expect it to take this long for you two to come together.”
“Is it worth the risk?” Seth frowned. “If the gods didn’t know about her before, they wil soon. You could have just let this be. Is her life nothing to you?”
My stepfather leaned forward, his eyes meeting Seth’s.
“Do you understand what this means? Not just for you, but our kind? Two of you wil change everything, Seth. Yes.
You’re powerful now, but when she turns eighteen your power wil become limitless.”
That seemed to perk Seth’s interest. “But the gods—they won’t al ow that to happen.”
Lucian leaned back. “The gods… have not spoken to us in ages, Seth.”
“What?” Seth and I both shouted. That was some serious stuff right there.
Lucian flicked his wrist in a dismissive manner. “They have removed themselves, and the Council does not believe they wil intervene on anything. Besides, if the gods are curious or concerned, they already know about Alexandria. If the oracle has seen it then the gods already know. They have to be aware of her.”
I didn’t believe Lucian. Not for one second. “They weren’t aware of Solaris!”
Both of them looked at me. A line formed between Lucian’s brows. “How do you know of Solaris?”
“I… I read about her. They kil ed both of the Apol yons.”
Lucian shook his head. “You do not know the whole truth behind that. The other Apol yon attacked the Council and Solaris was obligated to stop him. She did not. That is why they were executed.”
I frowned. The book hadn’t said anything like that.
Seth final y sat. “What do you have to gain from this?”
Lucian’s eyes went wide. “With you two, we can eliminate the daimons without risking so many lives. We could change the rules—the laws surrounding half-bloods, the marriage decrees, the Council. Why, anything could be possible.”
I wanted to punch him in the gut. Lucian didn’t care about halfs.
“What rules of the Council do you wish to see changed?”
Seth watched Lucian’s face.
“These are things best discussed later, Seth.” He waved his hand at me, smiling that weird, icky smile again. “She’s fated to be your other half.”
Seth turned and gave me a long look. “Could be worse, I suppose.”
Okay, that creeped me out. “What do you mean by that?”
“You two are like puzzle pieces. You fit together. Your power wil feed his… and vice versa.” Lucian smiled.
“Real y, it is amazing. You are his other half, Alexandria.
You are fated to be with him. You belong to him.”
It felt like something heavy sat on my chest. “Oh. Oh. No.”
Seth frowned at me. “You don’t have to sound so disgusted.”
The other day I’d felt compel ed to touch him, I’d thought it was just because of what he was, but could it be because of what we were? I shuddered. “Disgusted? It’s… revolting!
Do you hear yourselves?”
Seth sighed. “Now you’re just being insulting.”
I ignored that, ignored him. “I… don’t belong to anyone.”
Lucian met my stare, and I was struck by the intensity.
“But you do.”
“This is insane!”
“When she turns eighteen,” Seth pursed his lips, “the power—her power shifts to me.”
“Yes.” Lucian nodded eagerly. “Once she goes through the palingenesis—the Awakening—at eighteen, al you have to do is touch her.”
“Then… ” He didn’t need to say it. We al knew.
Seth would become a God Kil er.
He turned to Lucian. “Who knows about this?”
“Marcus knows, as does Alexandria’s mother.”
My heart dropped.
Seth glanced at me, his expression unreadable. “It explains why she has come so close to the Covenant when most daimons wouldn’t dare, but why? A half can’t be turned.”
“Why else would a daimon want to get their hands on an Apol yon? Even now, the aether in Alexandria could feed them for months.” Lucian gestured at me. “What do you think wil happen if her mother has her after she goes through the palingenesis?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You think she’s here so I can be like some sort of meal plan for her?”
He glanced up. “Why else would she be here, Alexandria? It is why I was against you being in the Covenant, as was Marcus. It had nothing to do with the time you’ve lost or your previous behavior. There was a chance we could not stop Rachel e by the time you would graduate.
The risk was too great that you would come face to face with her and falter in your duty. I cannot al ow a daimon to get their hands on an Apol yon.”
“But now it’s different?” I asked.
“Yes.” Lu
cian stood, placing his hands on my shoulders.
“With her so close, we wil be able to find her. You wil never have to face her. This is a good thing, Alexandria.”
“A good thing?” I gave a harsh laugh and shrugged off his hands. “This is al twisted and… sick.”
Seth whipped his head in my direction. “Alex, you can’t just ignore this. Ignore what you are. What we are—”
I threw my hand up between us. “Oh, don’t even go there, buddy. We aren’t anything! We wil never be anything!
Okay?”
He rol ed his eyes, clearly bored with my protests.
I started backing out of the room. “I seriously don’t want to hear about any of this again. I’m just going to pretend this conversation didn’t take place.”
“Alex. Stop.” Seth stepped toward me.
I glared at him. “Don’t fol ow me! I mean it, Seth. I don’t care if you can throw me through the air. If you fol ow me, I’l jump off a freaking bridge and take you with me!”
“Let her go.” Lucian gave an elegant wave of his hand.
“She needs time to… come to grips with this.”
Surprisingly, Seth listened. I left then, slamming the front door behind me. My thoughts bounced around my head in a chaotic mess on the way back to the island. I barely noticed the air was no longer thick with smoke. Someone had taken care of the boat fire. The Guards at the bridge looked bored when they waved me through.
Minutes later, I crossed the campus and the section of sandy beach separating the faculty and guest lodging from the rest of campus. Under no circumstance was I—or any student for that matter—al owed to wander around their housing, but I needed to talk to someone—I needed Aiden.
Aiden could make sense out of this. He would know what to do.
Since most of the little houses were empty for the summer, it was easy to figure out which one was his. Only one of the nearly identical cottages had a light on inside. I stopped in front of the door and hesitated. Coming here—
not only would I get in trouble, but so would Aiden. I couldn’t even begin to wonder what they’d do if I were discovered in a pure-blood’s cabin at this time of night. But I needed him, and that was more important than consequences.
Aiden answered after a few seconds, taking seeing me standing at his door remarkably wel . “What’s wrong?”
It wasn’t late, but he stood there dressed as if he’d been in bed. The low-slung pajama bottoms looked better on him than Lucian. So did the tank top. “I need to talk to you.”
His gaze dropped the length of me. “Where are your shoes? Why are you covered in sand? Alex, talk to me now.
What happened?”
I looked down dumbly—my sandals? They were lost somewhere on the main island, never to be seen again.
Sighing, I pushed the tangled strands of hair back. “I know I shouldn’t be here, but I didn’t know who else to go to.”
Aiden reached out and took hold of my arms in a gentle grasp. Without saying a word, he led me into his cottage.
CHAPTER 16
AS AIDEN GUIDED ME TO HIS COUCH AND SAT ME
DOWN, he had this look about him. It was sort of dangerous and comforting at the same time. “Let me… get you a glass of water.”
My gaze crawled over his living room. It wasn’t much bigger than my room back in the dorm, and much like mine, it was devoid of anything decorative. There were no pictures, favorite paintings, or artwork cluttering the wal s.
Instead, books and comics lay scattered across the coffee table, lined the numerous bookshelves, and sat stacked on his smal computer desk. No television. He was a reader—
probably even read the comics in ancient Greek. For some reason, that made me smile.
Then I noticed the corner of the room, between the bookshelf and the desk. A guitar leaned against the wal , and several colorful guitar picks formed a line on one of the shelves—every color except black. I knew it—those hands were used for something graceful and artsy. I wondered if I could ever get him to play for me. I’d always had a thing for guys who played guitars.
“You play?” I tipped my chin toward the guitar.
“Occasional y.” He handed me a glass of water, and I downed it before he sat beside me. “Thirsty?”
“Mmm.” I wiped away a few drops off my lips. “Thanks.
What’s up with the picks?”
He glanced at the guitar. “I col ect them. A weird habit of mine, I guess.”
“You need a black one.”
“I guess I do.” Aiden took the glass and set it on the coffee table, frowning when he noticed the tremble in my hands. “Alex, what happened?”
My laugh hitched in my throat. “It’s going to sound crazy.” I stole a quick peek at him, and seeing the concern for me on his face was nearly my undoing.
“Alex… you can tel me. I won’t judge you.”
I kind of wondered what he’d thought happened.
His hand came out and wrapped around mine. “You trust me, right?”
I stared at our hands, those fingers. You are fated to be with him. Those words had a shattering effect on me. I pul ed my hands free and stood. “Yes. I did. I do. This is just so crazy.”
Aiden remained seated, but his eyes fol owed my erratic pacing. “Try starting at the beginning.”
I nodded, smoothing my hands over my dress. I started with the party. The look on Aiden’s face hardened when I told him what Cody had said and turned even more dangerous when I explained how Seth had kil ed someone’s boat. I told him everything, even the skeevy part with Seth, and how we were “two halves” or whatever.
Aiden was a remarkable listener. He didn’t ask any questions, but I knew he caught everything I threw down.
“So, it can’t be true, right? I mean, none of this is real.” I returned to prowling the length of his living room. “Lucian said it was why Mom left. The oracle told her that I was the second Apol yon and that she was afraid that the gods would… kil me, I guess.” My laugh sounded a little shril .
Aiden ran a hand through his hair. “I suspected something strange when Lucian wanted to bring you back to his house. And when you said you’d seen Seth’s markings… I can’t believe I’ve been around someone so rare this entire time. When do you turn eighteen, Alex?”
I slid my hands down my sides nervously. “March fourth.”
Less than a year from now.
Aiden rubbed his chin. “When you spoke to the oracle, did she say anything like this?”
“No, she only said I would kil the ones I love. Nothing about this, but she said so much crazy stuff.” I swal owed, hearing the blood rushing in my veins. “I mean, looking back, some of the things she said made sense, but I just didn’t understand.”
“How could you understand?” He came around the smal wooden table. “Now we know why your mother would take such a risk in leaving the safety of the island. She wanted to protect you. The story of Solaris is truly tragic, but she stood against the Council and the gods. That’s what sealed their fate. Not what was written about them in the books.”
“Why would Solaris do that? Didn’t she know what would happen?”
“Some say she fel in love with the First. When he stood against the Council, she defended him.”
“That’s so stupid.” I rol ed my eyes. “She basical y committed suicide. That isn’t love.”
Aiden gave the briefest of smiles. “People do the damndest things when they’re in love, Alex. Look at what your mother did. It’s a different kind of love, but she left everything because she loved you.”
“I never understood why she left.” My voice sounded young and fragile. “Now I know. She real y did leave to protect me.” The knowledge sat like curdled milk in my stomach. “You know, I kinda hated her for pul ing me away from here. I never understood why she would do something so risky and stupid, but she did it to protect me.”
“It must bring you some sort of peace to know why, doesn’t it?”
&nbs
p; “Peace? I don’t know. Al I can think is if I wasn’t some kind of giant freak, she’d stil be alive.”
My words caused a flicker of pain to cross his face. “You can’t blame yourself for this. I wil not al ow it, Alex. You’ve come too far for this.”
I nodded, looking away. Aiden could believe whatever he wanted, but if I hadn’t been the second coming of the Apol yon then none of this would’ve happened. “I hate this. I hate not having control.”
“But you do have control, Alex. What you are gives you more control than anyone else.”
“How so? According to Lucian, I’m Seth’s own personal electrical outlet or something. Who knows? No one does.”
“You’re right. No one knows. When you turn eighteen—”
“I’l be a giant freak.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
I raised my eyebrows and looked at him. “Okay. When I turn
eighteen the gods are going to kil me in my sleep? That’s what Seth said.”
Anger turned his eyes dark gray. “The gods have to be aware of you. I know this doesn’t make you feel better, but if they wanted to… get rid of you, they would have already. So when you turn eighteen, anything wil be possible.”
“You’re acting like this is a good thing.”
“It could be, Alex. With two of you—”
“You sound like Lucian!” I moved away from him. “Next you’re going to be tel ing me I’m Seth’s super-special other half and I belong to him, as if I’m some sort of object instead of a person!”
“I’m not saying that.” He closed the distance, putting his hands on my shoulders. I shivered under the weight of his hands. “Do you remember what I said about fate?” I shook my head. I remembered how he’d found my shorts distracting. I had that wonderful subjective memory feature.
“Only you have control over your future, Alex. Only you have control over what you want.”
“You real y think so?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
I shook my head, doubtful that I could believe in anything at this point, and started to slip away, but Aiden’s hands tightened around my shoulders. An instant later, he gathered me close to him. I hesitated, because being this close to him was possibly the sweetest kind of torture.
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