The Power

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  focusing on Herc.

  Turning toward us, Apollo eyed the arm around my shoulder, and I silently dared him to say something about it. “It’s fairly simple. I see you’ve found the Librarian. Otherwise I’m not sure how you would have a vial of Pegasus blood.”

  “I did.” I kept my voice level. “I also found the icons.”

  “Perfect. I knew you would.” His smile was brief, not nearly as enormous as it had been when Alex squeal-tackled him. “Now, all we need are the demigods.”

  “And that is where I come in. It’s why I am incredibly useful.” Herc looked around the room, as if he was making sure everyone was focused on him. Over his shoulder, I saw Luke roll his eyes. “I can sense other demigods—”

  “Yes,” Seth cut in, sounding bored. “We know. Your super-special spidey senses allow you to sniff out other demigods.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I am super-special.”

  Aiden closed his eyes as he scratched his fingers through his dark hair. Beside him, Alex bit down on her lip.

  I stepped in before the conversation derailed. “But how are we going to use that now? Can you sense where the demigods are now?”

  Herc smiled as he checked me out, and he didn’t even try to hide it. His gaze lingered in areas that made me feel like I was standing there nude. “Why don’t you and I take this conversation—”

  “Do you want to die?” Seth asked casually. “For real this time?”

  “I wasn’t talking to you.” Herc winked at me, and I couldn’t tell if this dude was for real or not. “I’m not sure if you know this or not, but I’ve slayed many beasts—the Nemean lion, the nine-headed hydra, a fire-breathing Cacus. I could keep going—”

  “Please don’t,” Apollo said with a sigh, and I placed my hand on the back of Seth, balling my fingers around his shirt. “No one cares.”

  Herc snorted. “Everyone cares.”

  “I kind of care,” Deacon suggested. “I mean, I want to hear about the nine-headed—”

  “Shut up, Deacon,” Aiden said.

  Looking over his shoulder, Herc grinned. “We’ll talk later.”

  Deacon beamed.

  “I didn’t bring him here first,” Apollo explained. “That’s what’s been taking so long. I took him around the whole damn globe—”

  “It was a lot of fun,” Herc added.

  “It was horrible,” Apollo replied stoically, and my lips twitched. “We were able to find the locations of three of the demigods—ones not captured by the Titans. We couldn’t locate the captured ones.”

  “Huh. Not so special then,” murmured Seth.

  Luke choked on what sounded like a laugh.

  Apollo’s irises disappeared, replaced by fathomless white orbs that spit tiny bolts of light.

  “Uh-oh,” whispered Alex.

  “One of the demigods is in Canada, near the city of Thunder Bay. Another is located in a small village called Pluckley. It’s in Britain. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.”

  “Actually,” Luke drawled, “it’s supposedly one of the most haunted villages in all of Britain, so that’s kind of ironic that a demigod . . . Okay,” he said, eyes widening when Apollo faced him with a less than impressed pinch to his face. “Never mind.”

  “The other demigod is in southern California, in the area of Malibu,” Apollo continued. “I don’t care which one you start with first, but those are the three who need to be found.” There was a pause and he turned to me. Or at least I thought he did. I couldn’t tell since he didn’t have normal eyeballs. “I must leave. I will return when I can.”

  Then Apollo—my father—was gone, simply disappearing as if he was never there. Gone without so much as a handshake.

  Let alone a hug.

  And before I could ask him anything about my mom or Erin.

  Seth

  “Herc is sort of a douchebag.”

  “Sort of?” I laughed as Josie and I walked across the north quad. The only sign of the earlier fight was the missing statue. “He’s a giant bag of dicks. Small dicks, too.”

  She laughed as she scanned the grounds. The late-afternoon sun was already beginning to fade and the warmer temps were dropping. “He seems very full of himself, but if he’s able to lead us to the other demigods then we need to tolerate him.”

  “I can’t make any promises.”

  Glancing over at me, she grinned. “You think Solos is going to be able to make use of the Pegasus blood?”

  Solos had shown back up after Apollo had left. Once he got past the unexpectedness of finding Hercules, Josie had shown Solos the vial. The older Sentinel was going to lace weapons with the toxin. Not the Covenant daggers, though, since that was way too dangerous. He was going to use the blades that were shaped like icicles once released. At least with them, we didn’t have to worry about accidentally nicking someone.

  “I’ve never been to California,” Josie said, arms swinging at her sides. “I’m glad we picked there first. Is it wrong that I’m kind of excited?”

  “No. Why would it be?”

  Her shoulders rose as she glanced up at the sky. “Because it’s not like we’re going on vacation. I know it’s going to be dangerous out there, or it could be. We have to convince some random person that they’re a demigod.”

  “That’s probably going to go over well,” I remarked.

  She laughed again. “Yeah. Plus, there’s so much going on. The issues with the halfs and pures. I haven’t heard anything about my mom or Erin. We have no idea how to find the demigods that the Titans have captured or what’s happening to them, and I—”

  “I get what you’re saying. We’ve got a lot to deal with and focus on, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life a little.”

  “Huh.” Her lips pursed.

  “What does that mean?”

  Josie stopped and turned to me. The wind tossed a few strands that had escaped her ponytail across her cheeks. “It’s just strange coming from you.”

  I arched a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I don’t think you live life by that motto.” She poked my chest with her finger. “I don’t think you’ve really been enjoying life until recently.”

  Opening my mouth, I started to argue that, but what in the hell could I say? She was right. “Touché.”

  Her grin spread as she pivoted back around and started walking again. “I really wish you’d seen that Pegasus. Seth, it was amazing.”

  “It’s just a horse with wings.”

  Gasping, she shot me an arched look over her shoulder. “I don’t think we can be friends anymore.”

  “That’s okay. I have no intentions of being just friends with you.”

  Josie rolled her eyes. “Are you going to start training me again?”

  “Why not?” I could do the hand-to-hand stuff, but the elements? I really didn’t think I should be pushing it. “But we’re leaving in two days, so that’s going to make training hard.”

  “True.”

  We didn’t talk for a few moments as we neared the dorm, and I figured we wouldn’t have a lot of alone time in the next two days. Right now, Deacon was fanboying all over Hercules. Man, I felt for Luke, who looked like he wanted to gouge his own eardrums out and throw them on the floor, stomping on them, when we left. It wouldn’t be long before everyone reconvened to make plans for our trip. There was something I wanted to talk to Josie about.

  “Hey.” I caught her hand and hauled her back to me. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Of course.” She placed her hand on my chest and tilted her head back. “Why do you ask?”

  “Really?”

  Her nose wrinkled. “Really.”

  “Okay.” Guiding her off to the bench, I sat and tugged her into my lap. She tensed for a moment and then relaxed. “I saw the way you looked when Alex and Apollo saw each other.”

  Josie’s eyes met mine for a moment and then skittered away. I wasn’t having that. I caught her chin, forcing her gaze back to mine. She si
ghed. “Was it that obvious?”

  “No.” My gaze searched hers. When Josie had locked up earlier, watching her father get all friendly with Alex, I found myself wanting to hit Apollo with akasha for the hundredth time. “It wasn’t noticeable.”

  “But you noticed.”

  I looped my arm around her hips. “That’s because I’m always watching you. If you knew how much, you would probably think it was creepy.”

  “Seth,” she laughed.

  “Truth? I stared at your ass the whole way to this bench.”

  “Oh my God.” She shook her head. “You’re ridiculous, Sethie.”

  “I’m honest.” Sometimes.

  “Yeah . . .” Another sigh shuttled through her. “I just . . . He barely even addresses me, you know? And I never get to ask him anything. He pops in and out without any real discussion. He seemed . . . he seemed really happy to see Alex. Like they hugged and I . . .”

  I wanted to hurt Apollo.

  She exhaled roughly. “I don’t have my grandparents anymore. Or my mom, and he’s my father, but he doesn’t act like it. I just feel like I’m an orphan sometimes. I mean, I really am.”

  “I feel you,” I said. Josie leaned in, resting her cheek on my shoulder. I lifted my arm, folding my hand around the nape of her neck. “You’re not alone in that. I understand.”

  “You do,” she murmured.

  I smiled slightly as I looked down at her. Those beautiful eyes were closed and long lashes fanned her upper cheeks. Then she lifted her head. Curving her hand along my cheek, she raised her mouth to mine.

  The brush of her lips against mine was tentative at first, nothing more than a sweep of her lips, but it hit me hard. I knew she felt the swift reaction to her. There was no hiding what was pressing against her ass or how my hand tightened along the back of her neck.

  “I like kissing you,” she said. “Thought I’d share that.”

  I caught the corner of her lip, nipping lightly. “Well, whenever you want to do that, have at it.”

  “Any time?”

  Tilting my head, I took the kiss deeper, and Josie eagerly met it. It was like we weren’t even sitting outside, where anyone could walk right up to us. It didn’t matter. She squirmed in my lap, restless and seeking more. My hands joined in, sliding down her body, stroking over the curves waiting under her clothes. I wanted to explore her. Wasn’t going to happen right then, though.

  Sensing Alex, I pulled away. “We’re about to have company.”

  “Huh.” Josie blinked and then shifted her gaze over my shoulder. “Oh. That is so weird.”

  I said nothing as I shifted on the bench, turning Josie so her legs dropped between mine. I expected her to get up and put some distance between us. I wasn’t sure if she was okay with the very obvious state of our relationship being out there given . . . well, given my past with these two.

  Aiden’s steps slowed as they approached us. Clearly, the expression on my face was not exactly a welcoming one. “Sorry,” he said, looking up to the sky. “We don’t mean to interrupt.”

  “But you’re going to?” I replied.

  “Yeah.” Alex’s grin was weak. “We just left them. I’m not sure how any of us are going to survive long in Herc’s presence. He’s a giant douchebag.”

  Josie giggled. “That’s what I said.”

  “Great minds think alike.” Alex’s smile warmed. “We just want to make sure you guys are okay with us going along with you all.”

  “Of course,” Josie said, leaning back into me. She wasn’t getting up or moving away from me. Not a single part of her was . . . ashamed or worried about what anyone thought.

  Damn.

  “Good,” Alex replied.

  I smoothed my hand over Josie’s hip. “Not like we really had a choice if we said we didn’t want you two going along.”

  “Nope,” Aiden responded with a smirk.

  My gaze met his. “Just like old times.”

  There was a pause and those gray eyes burned silver as he said, “Hopefully not.”

  Chapter 23

  Josie

  “You can’t stop me,” Deacon stated firmly, probably in the most serious voice I’d ever heard him use. “I’m a grown adult.”

  Aiden took a deep breath, but it didn’t help. “I can stop you. Easily.”

  “I’ll like to see you try.”

  Watching the two brothers argue was like having front-row seats at a tennis match. I had no idea who was going to win. Deacon wanted to go with us to find the other demigods. Aiden was not having it.

  “You don’t want to see me try.” Aiden was sitting on the couch inside of the room he and Alex were sharing, which was actually a pretty decent-size room. Bigger than mine or Seth’s. It had a real living room—an actual couch, two papasan chairs, and an ottoman that Alex was sitting on. I honestly had no idea how I’d ended up here.

  After Alex and Aiden found Seth and me on the bench, the four of us had walked back to the dorm. We entered their room, and while I’d been gaping at the size of the thing, Seth left to go find Solos. He’d said he’d be back.

  That was an hour ago.

  I was really hoping he hadn’t run into Hercules, because I was sure that wouldn’t end well at all.

  “You probably think I want to go with you because of Luke.” Deacon stood in front of the couch, his cheeks flushed with frustration. “It’s not because of him.” He glanced at Luke. “No offense, babe.”

  “None taken,” Luke said from the other side of the couch.

  “But I also would like to take a moment to point out that he is also missing classes to go on this demigod scavenger hunt.”

  “That’s different,” Aiden reasoned calmly. “He’s trained, Deacon. You know that. This trip could be dangerous.”

  “I know that, and it’s not like we haven’t had this conversation a million times. I get that you want to protect me. I appreciate that, but I’m not a kid anymore.”

  My gaze connected with Alex’s as she winced. I totally got where Deacon was coming from. I also understood why Aiden wanted him to stay here, where it was measurably safe. We had no idea what would happen out there.

  “I know you’re not a kid, Deacon.”

  Deacon shook his head. “You don’t get it. I know how to protect myself, but it’s more than that. I don’t get to see you for half a year, Aiden. That’s six months. You’re unreachable to me,” he said, and his voice dropped. “It’s like you’re dead.”

  Luke leaned forward as Aiden winced.

  Aiden said, “Deacon—”

  “No. You need to hear this. Both of you do. I’m happy that you guys are okay. That you’re going to have eternity and you’re together, but it’s not easy on me,” he said, eyes glistening, and I felt like I shouldn’t be here to witness the very raw pain Deacon was expressing. “I miss you, and this is my time. I have six months to see you. That’s it before you have to go back. And who knows how long this is going to take? You could be gone the entire six months. I want to see you. That’s fair.”

  His brother lowered his gaze as he shoved his hand through his thick hair. He didn’t say anything as Luke rose, walked over to where Deacon stood, and wrapped his arm around Deacon’s shoulder, drawing him to his chest. He kissed the top of Deacon’s blond curls.

  “Damn.” Aiden dropped his arm and looked up. “I didn’t think of it that way.”

  “Of course not,” muttered Deacon. “That’s why you need me around. I think of all things.”

  Aiden laughed hoarsely and then glanced over at Alex. She smiled reassuringly at him, and it was so apparent that those two were on the same page, as if their minds and souls were linked.