Chapter 7
Blood drained from Josie’s face and then rushed back up from her neck, flooding her cheeks in scarlet.
“Don’t come in here!” she shrieked. Her hand tightened on my cock, which really wasn’t helping things. “Don’t you dare come in here!”
“Wasn’t planning to,” Apollo replied, and a second later, it sounded like he’d thrown himself onto the small couch.
Groaning, I eased her hand away from my dick and rolled to the side. I helped her fix her bra and top before pushing off the bed.
“You two are taking really long in there,” Apollo commented.
“Really? Do you have some kind of sick sense for this?” I tucked myself back in and pulled up my zipper. Apollo was the damn God of Cock Blocking, and one of his powers was delivering blue balls. “Gods.”
“It’s not my fault that every time I come to visit, you’re trying to get with my daughter.”
“Oh my God.” Josie shot to her feet and smacked her hands over her face. “This is so weird and so not cool. I’m going to need years of therapy because of this.”
“You and me both,” I muttered, fixing my belt.
Apollo snorted from the living room. “You could definitely benefit from therapy, Seth, and it has nothing to do with this.”
Lifting my head, my hands stilled at the belt while my lips pursed.
Josie grabbed her hooded sweatshirt and tugged it on over her head. She glanced at me. “I can still see your glyphs.” Her voice was low as she touched my chest with the tip of her finger, tracing the design. “It’s beautiful.”
I caught her hand and lifted it to my mouth. I kissed her palm. “As soon as he leaves, we’re starting over.”
“I heard that,” Apollo said, huffing. “And it makes me want to ensure that starting over leads nowhere for you.”
“Oh my God,” Josie whispered.
I rolled my eyes as I snatched up my shirt and pulled it on. “Ready?”
She looked like she wanted to say no, but she nodded. She was still getting used to the whole Apollo being her dad thing. It had to be weird for her, especially since she had known him briefly as a child. He’d gone by the name Bob then. Bob. For real. And used to bring her dolls and candy. Apparently Apollo wasn’t aware that he’d rate high on the “stranger danger” scale.
It also couldn’t help that Apollo didn’t look old enough to be her father, since he appeared to be in his mid to late twenties.
Placing my hand on her lower back, I walked with her into the living room. Apollo’s large frame took up the entire couch. He was a big guy. Almost seven feet tall and broad. He looked like himself today. Blond hair. Blue eyes identical to Josie’s.
In other words, he didn’t look like a freak.
Josie gave him an awkward little wave. “Hey.”
He smiled at her, and I was struck once more by the genuine warmth in his gaze and expression. Until Josie, I honestly didn’t think Apollo had a large emotional compass. It was obvious he cared about Alex, but even then it didn’t appear to run that deep.
Apollo rose fluidly. “I have not been able to visit you as much as I have wanted,” he said in way of an apology for his continued absentee parenting style.
“I understand.” Josie clasped her hands together. “I know being around me weakens you. And I . . . I know you’re busy doing, um, god stuff.”
I smirked. I was sure Apollo was busy screwing everything that walked, which was also how most of the gods spent their time, because if they were actually doing something useful, the world would end.
Then he looked at me, and his expression returned to the bored indifference I was familiar with. “Is there something you’d like to add, Seth?”
I arched a brow. “Nope.”
He eyed me in a way that made it obvious he was briefly considering knocking me through the wall. “I would love to stay, but I cannot be here for very long.” He turned his attention back to his daughter. “I do have news.”
That was surprising. Usually he just popped in and out for no real reason whatsoever.
“Good news or bad news?” Josie asked.
Apollo smiled faintly. “I would say it is good news.”
Tension eased out of her as she exhaled softly. “Well, that’s good to hear.”
“What’s up?” I asked, folding my arms and thinking it better be awesome good news considering what he interrupted.
“It is imperative that we find the remaining demigods before the Titans do, but until recently, it would have been like looking for a long-haired cat in a room full of Himalayan cats.”
Like looking for what in what?
Josie’s brow wrinkled as her mouth opened, and then she snapped it shut. She gave a little shake of her head.
He continued on. “Since most of my brethren had not kept . . . tabs on their offspring, it could take us years to locate them. We do not have the luxury.”
“I’m guessing you’ve discovered another way to locate them?”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t steal my thunder, Seth.”
I rolled my eyes. “By all means, please continue then.”
“Thank you for your permission,” he countered drolly. “I’ve discovered that there is something that can sense out a demigod, even if their abilities are locked and hidden away.”
“Really?” Josie sat on the arm of the chair next to the coffee table. “Please tell me it’s not something I need that librarian for, because I’m pretty sure she’s, like, left the country or something.”
His lips tipped up on the corners. “She is still around, but she is . . . how do I put this? Shy? Keep looking for her. You will find her.” He tilted his head to the side. “But no, you do not need her for this. What we need is another demigod.”
My brows inched up. “Wait. That isn’t particularly helpful. We don’t have another demigod other than Josie. Unless she can sense them out.”
“She can’t sense them out,” he replied.
“I couldn’t even sense you when you showed up,” she said, shoulders slumping. “Why don’t I get some kind of cool internal warning system?”
“You do.” Apollo turned the icy-blue stare on me. “But you’re new at this and I’m going to hazard a guess here and say you were too distracted to recognize what you were feeling.”
I smiled at him, the kind of smile I knew he hated.
“Oh,” Josie murmured from where she was perched. “That’s kind of awkward.”
“Anyway.” Impatience colored his tone, and of course, it was directed at me. Whatever. “An original demigod can sense other ones. They actually have some kind of internal homing signal. Has to do with the amount of aether and recognizing the similarity.”
“Huh.” Josie glanced over at me, her eyes widening as our gazes locked, and I did everything to hide my smile.
“Once we get a demigod down here, in this realm, it will take no time for the other demigods to be located,” Apollo explained. “The only hold-up is getting one of them here.”
“Of course,” I murmured.
He shot me a wry look. “It’s going to take some finagling. With the exception of our most recent offspring, demigods have been forbidden to enter the mortal realm for thousands of years. Their presence could have . . . consequences.”
“Of course.” It was Josie who murmured that this time.
“I do not like how similar you two are becoming,” Apollo stated.
Josie flushed. “What kind of consequences?”
“Thank you for asking,” he returned, and I started wondering how much longer this conversation was going to take. “As you know, all lesser beings tied to Olympus are no longer allowed in the mortal realm.”
“Except for pures, halfs, and Apollyons.” I paused. “And the occasional nymph and demigod.”
“Exactly.” The intensity of his blue eyes heightened. “If we allow one of them to come through, there’s a chance that other . . . things will too.”
“Like wha
t?” Josie asked.
“You know, the occasional Pegasus or Hydra. Maybe even a Minotaur. Ultimately nothing to be too concerned with.”
“Hydra?” she squeaked. “Nothing to be too concerned with. Okay.”
Apollo smiled as he nodded. “I should have the release of the demigod shortly. Still waiting on Hera to sign off on it, but she’s currently pissed at Zeus, and that’s slowing everything down.”
I decided not to comment on that. “Okay. So what demigod are we talking about here?”
His smile turned creepy, like hide-your-kids-level creepy. “You’ll see.” A shimmery blue light appeared over him. “Now I have to—”
“Wait just a second. Please?” Josie rose. “How is Erin?”
The shimmer around Apollo faded. “She is doing very well. I have a feeling you will be seeing her soon.”
“What—”
The blue shimmer increased around Apollo and within a heartbeat, he was gone.
“—about my mother?” Josie finished, throwing up her arms as she twisted toward me. “Why does he always do that?”
“I think it makes him feel cool or something.”
“Well, it is kind of cool. I mean, he can pop in and out of, like, anywhere, but I really wish he had better timing.”
I snorted. “You and me both. He’s the king of bad timing.”
Josie smiled a little as she sat back down on the arm of the chair. “I wish he actually hung around so that I could ask him about Erin and my mom.” She paused, and her shoulders slumped. “Or, you know, spend time with me.”
Watching her, I tried to think of something . . . supportive to say, but what could you say in a situation like this? Her father was a dick and he was on the absentee list. It was obvious to anyone with a functioning brain that it bothered Josie. The fact that he didn’t actively try to fix that somehow confirmed the first fact.
“Who do you think the demigod is going to be?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” I rubbed my fingers through my hair. “But knowing Apollo, it’s going to be the most annoying demigod he can get his hands on.”
Chapter 8
Josie
I had another nightmare last night.
This time I’d been training with Seth, hand-to-hand combat. He’d taken me to the ground, except it hadn’t been Seth I stared up at.
It had been the same unfamiliar face.
And he’d said the same thing he’d said in every dream. I’m going to find you. But this time, I was so lucky and got four extra words of warm and fuzzy. I’m coming for you.
I’d woken up in a cold sweat, with a scream stuck in my throat, and somehow I’d managed to not wake up Seth this time, but my entire day was off. I didn’t think it was just the dream throwing me off, though.
I was also rocking some hardcore daddy issues.
And some mommy issues too.
Part of me was thrilled that I’d gotten to see Apollo yesterday, even if he’d only been there for a few minutes. I was like a sponge when it came to him, soaking up every precious second, because except for that one summer, he’d been gone all my life. I was like a puppy. Any attention was good attention. It was still hard processing that I had a dad that was in the picture, albeit not often. And even more crazy to process that said dad was Apollo, the Sun God.
There was the other half of me that was pissed every time he left, because he was leaving yet again. We never really got to talk. There was no chatter over coffee or lunch. Nothing personal. I’d gotten a chance to ask him about Erin but not my mom. And you’d think Apollo would, oh, I don’t know, start the conversation off with news about my mother, because hello, she was my mother, but there was nothing.
Training had been flipped around today. Solos worked with me on the more physical stuff in the morning, which sucked, because I’d gotten used to not having my ass kicked first thing in the morning, and the day was ending outside with Seth.
And I wanted to throat punch him.
“Concentrate, Josie. That’s all you have to do.” He paced in front of me, obviously at his wits’ end with the whole thing. “That’s it.”
“If that was all that it was, don’t you think I’d have done that by now?” I fired back.
He shot me a look. “You’re not concentrating.”
“I am too!”
“That is one thing you definitely got from your father.” He stopped to my right, eyes flashing. “A bird flies by and you’re staring at it for the next minute, no matter what you’re doing. ADD must run in the family.”
My mouth dropped open. “That is not true.”
“Really?” Incredulity filled his expression. “Because a couple of minutes ago, when you were supposed to be concentrating on summoning the water element, you were staring at an eagle.”
“It was a bald eagle!” I argued, unsure if that was the kind of eagle I’d actually seen or not. “And it was perched on that statue.” I pointed at the gigantic marble thing. “Artemis’s statue! I mean, what a coincidence.”
His brows lowered. “You do realize she uses hawks, right? Not eagles.”
“Oh, whatever. It was still pretty cool.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay. What about when we first started? The clouds?”
Frustrated, I threw up my arms. “It was like for five seconds and it was because the clouds looked like boobs. Giant boobs.”
Seth stared at me.
“I don’t like you.”
He stalked toward me. “You don’t have to like me right now, but you need to concentrate. You need to get better at this, because if you don’t, you’re never going to leave this campus. You understand that?”
Pressing my lips together, I refused to respond.
“Do you, Josie? Because if you can’t summon the elements and harness them, how will you ever be able to control akasha? The most powerful and deadliest of all the elements.” Seth got all up in my face. What he was saying was true. That also didn’t mean I had to like it. “And if you can’t harness akasha, you’ll never be able to face down the Titans.”
My hands curled into fists. “I know that.”
“I don’t think you do.” His voice was low, deadly calm. His gaze met mine. “I won’t let you leave here if I don’t think you can actually defend yourself.”
“Oh? What? You think you can stop me? Oh, my gods!” I shrieked.
I didn’t think. I spun around and threw my arm out toward the dummy, palm open. He wanted me to concentrate? Well, I wanted to throw the damn dummy through some walls and into next year. Maybe even throw him along with it. Energy coursed through me, and the wind picked up. I opened up my hand, and I felt it—the lick of power.
A gust of wind rattled the benches as it rushed out from my palm and struck the dummy. It lifted the stupid thing up in the air, tossing it several feet backward. The dummy landed just in front of the low marble wall surrounding the cemetery, arms and legs askew.
“There.” I turned to Seth, folding my arms. “Happy?”
His ultra-bright gaze roamed over me. “First off,” he said, shifting back a step, “you just used ‘gods’ for the first time ever. Secondly, I just need to get you angry and you can do it. No problem. And finally, your eyes are glowing, Josie.”
“They are?”
Seth nodded. “Glowing like Apollo’s do when he wants to punch me.” He walked over to where the dummy had landed, near the wall. He stood it up. “Now do it again.”
Do it again? Like I was some dog learning a new trick.