Аполлион

I pushed off the wall, but all that succeeded in doing was bringing our bodies flush. Anger deepened the hue of his eyes, as did something else—interest and lust. And even though that made my skin crawl, I realized something important. The cord wasn’t snapping alive like it usually did when I was around him, especially when he was practically on top of me. It rested dormant in the pit of my stomach.

This was real… but it wasn’t real. Still, I wasn’t thrilled with what was happening.

“You’re in my personal space.” My jaw ached from how hard I was grinding my molars. “Let go.”

“No.” His eyes widened. “You might hit me again.”

“You can count on it!” Rage boiled inside me, swallowing the confusion and terror that had held such a tight grip on me. “How could you do that to me?” I kicked off the wall, but Seth pushed back. “You promised you wouldn’t use our bond against me, and you did! You turned me into the president of the Seth Fan Club.”

His lips twitched. “I see nothing wrong with that.”

I seethed. “I referred to you as mySeth!”

“Again, I see nothing wrong with that.”

Hands curling into fists, I glared at him. “It was wrong, Seth! What you’re doing is wrong! Don’t you understand that? Dammit!” Throwing my hand back, it cracked against the wall. Very real pain exploded up my arm. “Shit!”

“Now, calm down. You’re just going to hurt yourself.” Mischief sparkled in his golden eyes, and for an instant, I was reminded of Seth—Seth before he went crazy on aether power, who ticked me off just as much as he made me laugh—the boy who had stolen a piece of my heart.

I stared into his eyes, feeling some of the rage seep away. “What happened to you?”

He blinked. “What?”

Slumping against the wall, I lowered my gaze. “You’ve always been arrogant as hell and crazy, but…”

“Thanks,” he said dryly, but the grip around my wrists loosened.

“But you never would’ve done this to me—used the bond against me.” I lifted my gaze. “You never would’ve attacked the Council or sided with Lucian. Whathappened to you?”

A muscle popped out in Seth’s jaw. “I got smart, Alex. What happened to youis the better question. The girl I met would’ve gone against the Council without a second thought. She would’ve still hated Lucian, but she would’ve seen that what he was trying to do was the right thing.”

“No.” I turned my head, swallowing hard.

Yes!” Moving my wrists to one hand, he caught my chin in his other, forcing me to look at him, and I hated the near-feverish gleam to his eyes. “He wants to change the world.”

“He wants to rule it, Seth! There’s a big difference. And you’re nothing but a pawn.” I dug into that fury in me, clinging to it. “He’s usingyou, Seth. You used to be stronger than that, but you’re weak—weak on power.”

Anger flashed across his face like lightning as his grip tightened on my chin. “I am not weak.”

“You are! You’re so weak that you can’t even see what Lucian is doing to you! Don’t you ever care about what’s happening to the world? Innocent people are dying, Seth.” Meeting his furious gaze, I willed him to understand, to see where everything went wrong. “How can you be okay with that? You have to stop this.”

His silence was stony.

“Do you understand what I’m going to have to do?” Tears welled in my eyes at the same moment I heard the whisper of my name being called from what sounded like miles away.

Seth heard it too, and he recognized the voice. His lips pulled back in a snarl.

“I’m going to have to kill you, Seth.” My voice gave out.

He jerked back, letting go of me so quickly that I nearly fell. Something a lot like disbelief flickered across his features and there was more. A look I couldn’t figure out, and then his expression went cold. “You can’t kill me.”

The sound of Aiden’s voice calling for me tugged at every cell in my body. “I will find a way, because I can’t let you do this.”

Seth folded his arms. “You’ll fail.”

My heart tripped over itself. “What do I have to do to make you stop? Tell me!”

His lips twisted in a cruel smile. “There is nothing you can do, Alex. You need to accept what’s happening—accept our Fate. You were made for me, and I willfind you. And if anyone stands in my way, I won’t think twice about taking them down.”

I gasped, sickened, saddened, and a whole lot disturbed to hear him say that. He’d done so many hideous things, but to hear that, to see how truly far gone he was, cut deep into me. “Seth…”

He shot forward, clasping the sides of my head. “So go ahead and shield me out all you want. As you can see, I can still get to you.” Pressing his forehead against mine, he dragged in a deep breath. “We’ll be seeing each other again real soon.”

Seth shifted again and I felt his lips brush my forehead a second before light exploded in and around me.

CHAPTER 16

Lungs burning as if I’d been underwater, I sucked in a deep breath and jerked. When the light receded this time, gunmetal gray eyes stared into mine.