Thick lashes lowered. “Okay. All right.” When she reopened her eyes, she was looking down. “I . . . Um, I have to go . . .” Josie’s voice trailed off and then she was hurrying away, rushing down the walkway and disappearing behind the vine-covered statues.
And I was standing there, holding her sweater in my tight grip when I wanted to be holding her.
Chapter 13
Josie
Whitish-red flames crackled over my knuckles, spitting tiny sparks into the air above my hand. I stared at the fire, a little awed over the fact that this was something I could create out of thin air and that I could actually control it.
And well, that was pretty damn amazing.
I wasn’t going to think about the fact that it had taken three weeks of working with Laadan to get to this point where I was now an official firestarter. Three. Long. Weeks.
Laadan was an excellent teacher and incredibly patient, even when I’d singed her eyelashes on more than one occasion. Deacon had been helping out on and off, and he wasn’t as terrible as he’d made it seem. Deacon could control fire. Marcus had been right. Working on controlling one element helped with the other three.
Two days ago was the last time I’d incorrectly summoned the wrong element, but that had been a fluke. I’d been distracted, because as I stood in front of Laadan, focusing on summoning the element of earth, I’d seen Seth on the closest walkway.
I’d accidentally knocked Laadan over.
Seth . . .
My chest ached and the flames faded out. I’d barely seen him since the day in the gardens. I couldn’t believe I’d even tried to talk to him after he’d been such a jackass, but I’d been desperate to know what had gone wrong between us. Sort of still was. What had I done wrong?
But he kept away and I didn’t give in to the urge to visit him. I’d thought that the pain would lessen as each day passed, but it hadn’t. The hurt was just as raw and brutal as day one.
But I was . . . I was going about my life. I was mastering the elements and I was getting really kick-ass at the whole hand-to-hand fighting thing, able to stand on my own against Solos and Luke. I hated myself for thinking this, because it was so lame, like the lamest of the lame, but Seth would’ve been proud if he’d seen how I’d taken Solos down yesterday, sweeping his legs right out from underneath him.
I’d done a little dance.
I’d looked like a chicken with its head cut off, but I’d rocked that dance and I was going to rub it Solos’s face every chance I got.
After practices, I avoided the garden. What once had been a brief respite from all the crap now made me feel uncomfortable, like I needed to bury my face in a pillow and never resurface. But Seth hadn’t scared off Colin.
Glancing over to where he sat, legs stretched out in front of him and his back against a tree, he was intent on whatever he was reading. On the other side, Luke was studying and Deacon, well, he was not even pretending to study. While Luke held the textbook open, pressed against his chest, Deacon had his head in Luke’s lap. For a few minutes, he’d napped. Now, every couple of seconds, he flicked his fingers off the back of the textbook. Luke had either the concentration of a cobra or the patience of a saint, because he hadn’t punched Deacon yet.
I looked down at the textbook I’d swiped from Deacon’s room a few days ago, after we did our daily librarian check. It was Myth and History 101, a true account of their history, which was pretty much a Lifetime movie with cheating couples who were immortal and had superpowers. Every one of the gods pretty much hooked up with anything that walked, and I mean, anything that walked.
Anything.
I shuddered just thinking about the section on my father. Good gods, I was traumatized. Like there had been this nymph who literally turned herself into a tree to get away from Apollo.
Turned. Herself. Into. A. Tree.
Then there was this poor guy who got turned into a bush or something, and that’s not even the worst of it.
Not even.
My father put the “who” in whore.
Speaking of less traumatizing things related to Apollo: he hadn’t shown up since appearing when Seth and I had . . . I cut the thought. There was no news. So no demigod bloodhound, but oddly, I was beginning to be able to sense the difference between pures and halfs. It was something that had started off as a barely noticeable ripple of energy, like a warmth I felt whenever I was around a pure-blood. I didn’t feel it around Luke or Colin or Solos. I’d mentioned it to Laadan and she felt that it was some of my demigod powers starting to kick in, slowly but surely, and she’d said there’d probably be more. Since I was sensing the aether in the pures, I wondered if eventually I would be able to find the other demigods. At this rate, I might have to, since Daddy Dearest was MIA.
The aether-sniffing thing was pretty cool.
But weird, really weird.
Things were rather calm, though. Actually, that wasn’t necessarily true. Things were calm for me. Everyone pretty much gave me a wide berth. Only a few brave souls came around when Colin was hanging out with us. They’d chat with him while trying to inconspicuously stare at me. Other than that, no one really seemed to be all that interested in having a demigod on campus.
What was going down between the halfs and pures, on the other hand, was not calm. From what I gathered there had been no leads on who had killed the half-blood or who had been responsible for the horrific things done to that girl, Felicia. Colin believed that the powers that were—the campus council—hadn’t tried hard even though half of the Council was made up of halfs. It was one of those things you didn’t want to believe, but had to accept as being true, because it was.
There had been two more rallies in the last week, with halfs calling for serious investigations into what was happening at the campus and in other communities. Deacon and I had joined Colin at the last one, and so far everything had remained peaceful. Probably had to do with Marcus and a crap-ton of Guards having been present.
Staring out over the quad, the division between the two sides was painfully obvious.
Since it was actually warm outside—not hot, just warm—a good portion of the school was hanging on the main quad, stretched out under the afternoon sun or playing a really weird version of Frisbee where they weren’t actually touching what looked like a much heavier and dangerous disc.
Halfs were grouped together on the other side of where we sat, closest to the dorms. It was a Saturday, and only a few were in their black training attire.
We weren’t the only ones who had a mixture of halfs and pures. There were other small groups clustered around us that had a mixture. I liked them.
My gaze tracked the silvery disc as it zoomed across the quad. A pure jumped up, throwing his hand out. The disc stopped before it reached his hand. The pure flicked his wrist and it flew back across the quad.
Why couldn’t they just, I don’t know, catch and throw it like normal people? Pain zinged behind my eyes.
Closing my eyes, I rubbed my temples with my fingers. The dull ache that had come and gone every day over the last week was back. You’d think with becoming a demigod I wouldn’t have to deal with things like headaches or periods. That would be nice.
“If you fall asleep again, I’m going to get a marker and draw a mustache on your face,” Luke announced.
Colin chuckled. “I hope that happens.”
“I’m not asleep,” protested Deacon. “I’m being all observant and shit.”
I continued rubbing my temples.
“Observing what?” Luke asked.
He huffed. “Look at me, noticing stuff that a trained Sentinel doesn’t notice.”
“I’m not really a Sentinel anymore,” Luke reminded him.
“Yeah, and I’m really not lying here thinking about getting that bag of weed and smoking it.”
I smiled tiredly.
“You’re always going to be a Sentinel, no matter what you say,” Deacon continued. “Anyway, see the group of pures over there?”<
br />
Opening my eyes, I looked over to where Deacon was pointing with his bare feet. There were five of them. All dudes. Two of them were fooling around with the Frisbee disc of doom.
“What about them?” Colin asked, closing his book.
Deacon rolled onto his side and shifted down so his cheek was resting on Luke’s thigh. “They’re up to something. They keep whispering and going over to the red-headed dude.” The redheaded dude was throwing the disc to the blond dude on the other side of the quad. “I’ve been watching them. Each time they throw that damn thing, they’re getting closer and closer to the halfs over there sitting with their backs to them.”
Colin set his book aside and leaned forward, bending one leg. “Good catch, Deacon.”
“Like I said, I’m observant.”
Luke snorted.
Shutting my eyes again, I increased the pressure on my temples. I had a bad feeling about the disc of doom.
“Oh crap,” muttered Colin. “I hope I don’t get threatened again.”
I started to frown, but my lips froze as I felt the shiver of awareness dance down my spine. A new sensation I’d felt several times in the recent days, but only once before, and that was when Seth had been nearby, waiting to speak with Solos after training.
And Colin’s reaction also made sense if it was Seth. Threatening the guy appeared to be a rather favorite pastime of Seth’s, and that was the only pastime I was aware of. I’m sure he had more fun ones, kinds I didn’t want to think about.
And that made the ache in my temples increase.
My heart started pounding as I kept my gaze focused on the grass between my legs. Wasn’t like Seth was actually going to come over here. He was avoiding me just as hardcore as I was avoiding him.
“Are you okay?”
Air in my lungs halted at the sound of Seth’s voice. Three weeks since the last time I’d really heard him speak. Three. Long. Weeks. I hadn’t forgotten his voice, but my memories did no justice. The slight accent was still there, hinting at some exotic background.
“Josie?” he asked.
“She’s gone mute,” Deacon quipped, and I heard him sit up. “Luke didn’t tell you that in your daily check-ins with him?”
Oh my God.
Heart pounding, I slowly lifted my head and my chest clenched when our gazes locked. Muscles tensed in my legs and the fight or flight response kicked in. I wanted to get up and run off. Weak, so very weak, but I’d been doing everything in my power to avoid Seth since the day in the garden.
Seeing him hurt.
Having him standing in front of me just killed me.
God, Seth was beautiful, so beautiful. Looking at him now, with the slightly arched brows a darker blond than the unruly strands atop his head, and the full lips, I had to wonder if I’d been smoking meth thinking he and I actually made sense. That he’d been that seriously wrapped up in me. My personality was only going to carry me so far.
Geez. Listen to me. I needed some daily affirmations or something.
The right eyebrow rose further.
Speaking would be smart. “Headache.”
He blinked. “Headache?”
Since I’d spoken one word, proving I was not in fact suddenly struck mute, I nodded.
Looking over at Luke, Seth’s brows furrowed together. “You haven’t mentioned she’d been having headaches.”
I frowned and found my voice. “Why would he? Not like you’d care anyway.”
Seth’s gaze shot back to mine and his eyes narrowed. Maybe no one else had heard that? “I care,” he stated, the two words punctuated clearly.
Awkward silence descended around us as Seth and I stared at each other. How weird would it be if I jumped up and threw my arms around him, clinging to him like a needy octopus? That would be weird. And pathetic. What about jumping up and punching him in the nuts? Also weird. And violent.
Colin stood slowly, drawing Seth’s attention as he brushed off the back of his jeans. “You again,” Seth stated.
“Yep,” Colin replied without looking up. “Me again.”
“Yay,” murmured Seth.
I sighed. “Did you need something?”
Seth’s attention shifted back to me. “Do I need something to walk over here?”
My fingers curled inward. “Yeah, I think you do.”
“I missed them together,” Deacon said, bending his knees and resting his arms on them. “They’re so warm and fuzzy, don’t you think? So cute.”
Seth ignored them. “I didn’t realize I needed a reason to say hello to my friends.”
“You have friends?” I shot back, and then sort of felt like a bitch immediately afterward.
His eyes narrowed. “Friends as real as yours.”
The very personal dig stung as I shot to my feet with a quickness that surprised us both.
“You’re an ass.” I bent over, picking up my borrowed book. Seth was quick, snatching it out of my hands. “Hey!”
Stepping back, he turned it over in his hands and his brows flew up. “Really? Myth and History 101? Are you reading this for fun?”
“So what if I am?” I made a grab for the book, but he sidestepped me. “Give it back.”
“Maybe I want to read it for fun.”
I stared at him. “Are you twelve or something?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Luke said, and Seth shot him a droll look. Deacon was grinning like the Mad Hatter.
Seth smirked as he lifted his gaze to mine. “Actually, come to think of it, reading this for fun is practically the lamest—”
“Oh, shit!” Colin shouted, his eyes widening as he stared across the quad.
As Seth and I turned, I reached over and ripped the book from his hands just as I caught sight of the disc of doom winging over the pure. Someone shouted, but it was too late. The Frisbee on steroids slammed into the back of a girl’s head with a sickening crack, knocking her over. She hit the ground, red mixing with her blonde hair. The people sitting around her flew to their feet. Several crowded around her. The book slipped from my fingers as the red-headed pure who’d controlled the disc laughed. The guy actually laughed.
One of the halfs from a nearby group stood and hit the ground running at full speed. He was as fast as a cheetah. One second he was by us, and the next, he was tackling the red-headed pure to the ground.
Chaos erupted.
It happened so fast, one side converging on the other, that scuffles broke out everywhere around us within a matter of seconds. Deacon sprung to his feet, right beside Luke just as a pure fell into Colin. They went down in a tangle of punches and kicks.
Oh man, someone was going to end up on fire.
Seth was suddenly in front of me. “You need to go back to the dorm now.” He took hold of my arm and spun me around, toward Deacon. “Make sure she is—”
“Are you freaking serious?” I tore my arm free from Seth. “I can fight and I—” My words were cut off as he shoved me to the side and snapped forward, catching a pure in the chest with a solid swipe of his arm, knocking him back.
Seth looked at me pointedly. “You can do what again?”
“I can fight, you giant jackass of jackass proportions.” Spying a pure who was going all firestarter a few feet to my left, I lifted my arm and opened my hand. Summoning the element of water, I grinned when lightning cracked overhead and a white glow surrounded my palm. Power left me, but it was akasha. As the bolt of energy streamed out, it turned into a jet of water. The liquid slammed into the pure, knocking him over, head over feet. Closing my hand, I spun around to Seth and lifted my middle finger. “How’s that?”
He arched a brow as he spun, catching a half-blood that had stumbled backward. Righting the younger kid on his feet, Seth gave him a gentle push. “You’re going to want to stay out of this.”
I was going to have to agree with Seth on that.
Things had escalated quickly, and there was no way I was staying out of it like I had done that day in the cafeteria, wh
ile innocent people had gotten so horrifyingly injured.
It wasn’t something I even thought twice about, and maybe later, I would look back and be a little shocked by how quickly I got in the middle of it, but right now, it was instinct.
Pures didn’t fight fair. That was for sure.
A pure had a half pinned against a tree with the air element. Leaving Seth’s side, I stalked up behind the pure. Clapping my hand on her shoulder, I spun her around. Surprise widened her eyes and she dropped the half-blood.
“That’s not very nice,” I told her.
Her lower lip trembled, and when I let go, I figured she was going to run off. She didn’t. Throwing out her hand in my direction, I knew she was going to summon the element.
“Not smart.” I caught her arm and twisted as I stepped behind her, bending her over as I did exactly how Seth and Solos had trained me in the beginning. I shoved my leg between hers and wrenched to the right. Down she went.
As she scrambled off, I lifted my head just as a pure guy bum-rushed me. Like, legitimate rushing at me like a linebacker. A moment of trepidation seized me and then I shut it off. Sidestepping the massive dude, I dipped down and kicked out, sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell backward, hitting the ground with a fleshy thud.
Spinning around, I saw the guys. Deacon had his phone in his hand, snapping pictures with a smirk on his face while Luke had two pures, one in each hand. He brought them toward each other, knocking their heads together. Colin had a cursing pure restrained on the ground and Seth . . .
Seth power-bombed a pure into the ground with one arm.
Whoa.
That was hot.
A hand snagged my ponytail, jerking my head back. I cried out, more in anger than in pain. I caught the slender arm and twisted around, bringing up my leg. I slammed my knee into the flat stomach of a pure. She dropped my hair and doubled over as I jumped back.
“Are they insane?” I asked, dodging a ball of flames that smacked into the tree above Deacon’s head. “I’m a demigod. For real?”
“And I’m the Apollyon, and yes, they are just that dumb.” Seth darted around me, catching a pure by the shoulders and taking him down to the ground. He raised a fist. “Really dumb.”
The Power (Titan #2) Page 12