“You’re not going to be the reason.” I placed my hand on his cheek, lifting his chin so his eyes met mine. “And I know you’re never going to hurt me.”
A muscle flickered along his jaw. “How did I . . . ?”
When he trailed off and didn’t finish, I ran my finger under his lower lip, smoothing out the skin. “How did you what?”
Those eyes met mine again. “How did I get so lucky with you?”
“Good question,” I murmured.
He laughed, but the light sound quickly faded, as if it was never there. “I know that sounds stupid, saying something like that, but I . . . I never expected you, Josie. Not once did I ever think any of this was going to happen.” He paused, dragging his hand down, over my stomach. “I’ve never been in a serious relationship.”
“And this is serious?” I asked, wanting to squeeze my eyes shut.
“More serious than I’ve ever been about anything in my life,” he said, and there wasn’t a part of me that doubted what he said. He shifted his palm against his cheek. “But you know that this . . . this won’t last.”
Ice drenched my skin.
“No matter how badly I want it to, and I do, Josie.” His eyes closed briefly. “I want it more than anything, but I made a deal, and at some point they will come to collect.”
“And I’ll be there to stop them,” I stated.
His eyes flew open. Surprise flickered over his face. “Josie—”
“If I have to fight every god, including my father, to get you out of that deal, I will.” Determination filled me. “That’s a check you can take to the bank and cash.”
“Wait. Did you just say that’s ‘a check you can take to the bank?’”
Heat hit my cheeks. “My granny used to always say that.”
Seth looked at me a moment and then dipped his head to mine. He didn’t kiss me, just rested his lips against the curve of my cheek. “You are still so very mortal.”
“And you still like that about me?”
“Yes.” He kissed my cheek then, sliding his hand further south. He cupped me, squeezing. “I also really like this about you.”
“Perv.”
“Believe it.” His hand drifted away though, and he grinned as he stared down at me, but that smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“You need to learn to trust yourself more,” I told him, patting his cheek. “Like start some kind of daily affirmations or something.”
“Oh yeah, Joe, I’ll start doing that in the morning. Immediately.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” I grinned.
“Whatever.” He laughed as his hand drifted across my belly.
Relieved that he was joking and laughing again, I let my gaze roam over his striking face. His lashes were lowered and the corners of his lips were curled up on one side. As I watched him, I thought about what Alex had said earlier. I pushed those thoughts aside and another thought surfaced, something I’d forgotten about with the arrival of Hercules and . . . well, Seth being Seth . . .
“Hey,” I said, and his lashes lifted. “Do you think it’s possible that Alex is still the God Killer?”
One eyebrow rose. “No. It was why the gods insisted that . . . that she had to die a mortal death. That way, she would no longer be the God Killer.”
I frowned. What in the heck was Medusa talking about then?
“Why are you asking that?”
I shrugged. “Just wondering.”
Seth curled his hand over my hip. “Alex isn’t the God Killer. She’s still an Apollyon somehow. A demigod and an Apollyon.”
My frown increased. “How can she be both . . . ?” I trailed off as I realized what that meant. My stomach seized. “Are you two still connected?”
His gaze flicked up to mine. “Yes.”
Every muscle locked up. I lay there, unable to move. I couldn’t think around the knowledge that Alex and Seth were connected, joined in a way that I could never fathom, couldn’t—
“Josie.” His hand left my hip and curled around my cheek. “Alex and I are connected still, but not like it was before. Nowhere near as powerful.”
I drew in a shallow breath as I grabbed his wrist. My stomach churned, and I felt like I might vomit. “Are you just telling me that to make me feel better about it?”
“No. I swear. I can barely pick up anything from her and when I do, it’s faint.” He dipped his head and kissed the tip of my nose. “Trust me, I’m not overly thrilled about it, but compared to before, it’s not a big deal.”
Not a big deal. I kept repeating that, over and over, but knowing the man you loved was connected to another woman on a mystical, cellular level was totally a big deal!
Seth smoothed his thumb along my lower lip. “It doesn’t affect us, Josie. Never has. Never will. What I have with you—”
“It’s okay.” It had to be, and I could be cool about this. Alex was in love with Aiden, and Seth cared about me in a way he never cared about someone before. I knew that. I turned my cheek and kissed his palm. “It’s okay.”
He slid his hand off my cheek and gripped the back of my neck. “You sure?”
“Positive.” I let go of his wrist and placed my hand on his chest, feeling his warm, hard skin. Honestly, I wasn’t all that okay, but I had to deal with this, and maybe after we found the demigod in California, I could have a minor freak-out session.
“You ready to do this? It’s going to be a long-ass day,” Seth said after a few moments. “Over a twenty-hour ride between here and Malibu.”
“Yeah.” I stretched, wiggling my fingers and toes. “But I refuse to be in the same vehicle as Hercules.”
“Cosign,” he replied. “Fucking cosign.”
Chapter 25
Seth
Shit rolled downhill the moment we all were standing by the outer wall, preparing to climb into two Covenant SUVs.
First off, it was too early, and Josie and I hadn’t spent the night sleeping and being all responsible, getting rest or anything. Maybe dozing here and there, but definitely not being restful.
More like ridiculously active.
But the things she said last night, about fighting the gods, including her father, weighed on me. Fighting those twisted fuckers usually ended with someone being dead or getting turned into some kind of sedentary object for their enjoyment.
I didn’t want her fighting for me.
And I also didn’t want the faint connection between Alex and me to bother her. I couldn’t blame her for being upset though. Honestly, I admired her for how she was dealing with it.
The second thing that warned me this trip was going to be full of potholes was the fact that Deacon was out here. Why in the hell he was tagging along was beyond me, but he was not going to be my problem.
“I call shotgun,” Hercules called out.
And there was the third and final giant pain in my ass. I turned around, squinting as I stared into the glare of the morning sun.
“Oh my gosh,” murmured Josie, her wide eyes moving from him to me. She did a double take. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Hercules was dressed like me. Sporting faded jeans and a gray Henley pushed up to his elbows. He had a cup of coffee that smelled like . . . vanilla and mint?
“We’re wearing the same shirt,” he pointed out with a smirk.
“Except I’m wearing it better,” I remarked.
Josie made a soft choking sound as the demigod tilted his head to the side, expression perplexed. “That’s not possible. You do not have the body that I do. I’m a ten.”
I stared at him, brow rising. “Are you for real?”
“Am I not standing here?” Hercules chuckled, lifting the coffee cup. “I know. I know. Seeing me, the Hercules, is hard to believe, that such a legend could be—”
“I know this part is hard to believe,” I said, reaching down and clasping Josie’s hand. “But I don’t care, and if you could, like, I don’t know, eat shit and shut the fuck up, I’d be forever grateful.”
I pulled Josie around to the back of the SUV, letting go of her hand to throw open the hatch. Slipping her bag off her shoulder, I tossed it into the back and added mine with it.
“I think he likes you.” Aiden leaned against the bumper.
Alex snorted as she walked by.
I snatched the aviator sunglasses off his head and slipped them on. “I’d also like it if you’d eat shit—”
“Seth.” Josie smacked my arm and then smiled apologetically. “Sorry. He’s not much of a morning person today.”
“Would’ve never guessed that.” Aiden folded his arms. “I was thinking we’d stop near Vegas for the night. That’d leave us about five hours and get us to Malibu sometime in the afternoon, depending on when we leave.”
Luke stopped by, his gray beanie pulled low. “We just need to keep our eyes open for daimons. We’ll be super-close to a huge colony out there.”
I nodded.
“We got this.” Alex bumped her hip against Aiden’s. “Nothing like taking out a few daimons to break up the boredom of a long drive.”
“Like old times.” Aiden lowered his head, kissing her. “But let’s try not to have a repeat of that.”
“True.” Luke backed off, walking over to where Deacon was rummaging through the back of the SUV, which reminded me of something.
I grabbed my bag and opened it. Reaching inside, I found the slender tablet and pulled it out. “You forgot this.”
Josie’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Ah, I totally forgot my e-reader. Awesome.” She popped forward, kissing my cheek as she clutched it close to her chest. “Thank you. I’d go crazy without this.”
“That’s sweet,” Alex teased, punching my arm. “You’re such a sweetie, a big old ball of sweetness.”
“People are really annoying this morning,” I grumbled.
Alex laughed as Aiden dragged her over to the other SUV. “It is very sweet of you,” Josie said, stepping back from the rear door. “Thank you.”
“Uh-huh,” I muttered.
Marcus appeared outside the wall, flanked by several Guards. He spoke to Aiden and Solos first, and then frowned at something Hercules said. Only gods knew what it was. Probably something about the size of his muscles.
I turned, brushing the dust off my hands, as Marcus and crew made their way over to us. The dean smiled tightly at Josie and then those cool emerald eyes landed on me. “We’ll be waiting to hear from you all once you arrive in California and locate the first demigod.”
I nodded as Marcus spoke to Alex and Aiden. The game plan was to take the demigod to the University and then head to Canada. Bending over, I picked up another duffel bag. This one was loaded with enough guns and weapons to bring Homeland Security screaming down on us. Several of the blades inside were wrapped and protected after being dipped in the Pegasus blood.
Which made flying a bit tricky.
We could use compulsion on a few mortals, but all of TSA and everyone nearby? Yeah, that would be a pain.
“You’ll be seeing us again, sooner than you expect.” Hercules paused long enough to slug down some coffee. “It will take no matter of time for me to zero in on who you’re looking for.”
“That’s good to hear.” Marcus’s tone was bland.
“All right. We’re ready to head out,” I announced before Hercules could launch into a massive speech on how awesome he was.
Hercules tossed his cup aside. It hit the ground, breaking into four large sections. A vein popped along Marcus’s temple as Hercules headed for our SUV. “I’m riding with you guys.”
Solos stopped, bag in hand, and veered around sharply, heading for where Aiden stood.
“Oh, no,” I called out, smacking my hand on the rear door. “You’re going with us, buddy. Oh yeah, you’re going down in a ball of flames right along with us.”
Josie giggled as Hercules yanked open the back passenger door. The SUV shook and groaned under his sudden weight.
“You aren’t going to be laughing in an hour,” I warned her.
Prowling around to the back of the SUV, Solos tossed his bag in. “You’re lucky I like you.”
I closed the rear door. If I was going to have to deal with Herc-The-Dickface, I wasn’t going to suffer alone. Oh no, my kind of misery demanded company.
Alex darted over to her father as I walked around to the passenger side of the SUV and opened the door for Josie, who already had her nose buried in her e-reader. She barely looked up as she murmured her thanks. Shutting the door, I turned and caught Aiden’s gaze.
He wasn’t exactly smiling. That damn look was on his face, one I’d seen a dozen times, usually back then, before Ares. Before Alex Awakened on her eighteenth birthday. The same look he gave me whenever he saw me with Alex.
Like he trusted me as much as he did a daimon starved for aether. Didn’t blame him either. He wasn’t like his brother, who seemed to see puppies spewing rainbows in everyone. He wasn’t like Josie, who didn’t know me back then. Who only knew the Seth she wanted me to be.
He stared at me like he knew I was wearing a mask and he was waiting for it to shatter, revealing what truly existed underneath.
Is it possible that Alex is still the God Killer?
What an odd question for Josie to ask. What an odd thing for me to think about right now.
Aiden pivoted around, hand clenching the car keys as I closed the door behind Josie. Solos got in the back, and once I was behind the wheel I pushed Aiden out of my thoughts. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the disposable phone we’d gotten the night before. I placed it in the cup holder.
Behind me, Hercules lurched forward, grasping the back of my seat. “You know, this is the first time I’ve been in a SUV. Apollo just kept popping me around every place, so please don’t ruin my first experience with less than stellar driving.”
I clenched the steering wheel.
“You haven’t been in the mortal realm in a while, have you?” Solos asked.
“No, but I’ve been watching a lot of TV and movies. I know all about California,” he explained sagely. “I watched all the episodes of the old and new Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, and Laguna Beach.”
This guy was not for real.
I glanced over at Josie. Her lips were pressed together as she stared down. A second passed and she peeked up. Her eyes danced with amusement.
Solos sighed. “This is going to be so much fun.”
“Oh, everything is fun when I’m around.” Hercules’s knees knocked into the back of my seat as he leaned back. “This one time, when I was ordered by the gods to . . .”
I could only think of three words.
Fuck. My. Life.
Chapter 26
“You should drive, because I’m going to end it all. Once we’re on the freeway, I’m going to jump out of this vehicle and throw myself in front of a Mack truck.”
Josie’s laugh cut off her yawn. “That’s a little excessive.”
Adjusting the sunglasses I’d stolen from Aiden yesterday morning, I smirked. “I do not think anything is excessive when it comes to him.”
“But that won’t even kill you.”
I sighed. “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure it’ll knock me unconscious for the time being.”
She laughed again and glanced out the window. Heat rolled off the cracked asphalt. The temps were nothing like South Dakota. “Oh, geez.”