Аполлион

“Alex?” Relief tinged Aiden’s tone, making his voice deep and tight. His eyes were shadowed by concern, but there was a twinge of anger way in the back of them. “Gods, Alex, I thought…”

I blinked a couple of times as the small den came into focus around me. It was the one Lea and I had been in. Aiden’s arms were around me, and I was half on the floor, half in his lap. I started to sit up, but he placed his hand on my cheek, pressing my head against his own.

“Hold on there for a few minutes,” he said, shifting so that his back was against the lower part of the couch. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I cleared my throat, willing the pounding of my heart to slow. “That… that was trippy. Where’s Lea?”

“Outside the room with everyone else.” His thumb traced a soothing circle over my cheekbone. “She came and found me when you passed out. She said you complained about a headache before you dropped. It… it freaked her out. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I dropped? Geez, not only could Seth just reach out and touch me, but he could cause me to faint like a wuss? “Yeah, the headache is gone. I just feel a little out of it.”

Pushing into a sitting position, I twisted to face Aiden in his embrace. “How long have I been out?”

“A few minutes.” His eyes searched mine. “Alex, you… you said Seth’s name. I thought…” He shook his head and his lashes swept down, hiding his eyes.

“What?” I placed my hand on his smooth cheek, and then it hit me. My breath hitched in my throat. “You thought I connected with Seth again?”

He didn’t immediately respond. “I thought it—yes, especially when I heard you say his name. I got everyone out of the room.” Aiden looked up, his gaze meeting mine. “I didn’t know what I was going to do…”

Elixir wouldn’t have been an option. He’d tossed the last of that down the drain. What would he have done? The look in his eyes shattered me.

I leaned in, pressing my forehead against his. The act reminded me of Seth, but it was so much different, meant so much more. “I did see Seth, but I didn’t connect with him.”

Aiden reached with both hands, placing them on either side of my face. There was a faint tremble in his powerful arms. Neither of us spoke for a long second. My heart raced in a different kind of pounding. “What happened?” he asked finally.

“Hermes—freaking Hermes,” I said. “I really don’t understand how he did it, but he followed the connection between Seth and me and pulled me into Seth’s subconscious, or some kind of junk like that.”

I was sure Aiden was quiet because he was so angry he couldn’t form words.

Taking a deep breath, I wrapped my hands around his wrists and told him everything. With each word, Aiden’s fury increased until it became a tangible thing in the room, thick like smoke.

I ended up lowering his hands, keeping mine wrapped around his. “It was real… but not real. I don’t know if he’ll be able to do it again, or if Hermes will help him again. Or if there was something I was doing or not doing that made it easier.”

“You got a headache before it happened?” When I nodded, his eyes turned as cool as steel. “When you were on the Elixir, do you remember getting headaches?”

I shook my head.

He let out a low curse. “You would get a headache when the Elixir was starting to wear off. You would also start to hear Seth’s voice. It was him trying to connect with you. I think the same kind of thing is happening here with Hermes.”

“Crap,” I said, stunned. Then I thought of the nightmare. Moving faster than Aiden could track, I stood and backed away. “I had a nightmare a few nights ago.”

He rose fluidly. “I remember.”

“I dreamt that Seth was in the room, but maybe it wasn’t a nightmare. Maybe it was him testing out our freaking long-distance calling feature with Hermes?” I cursed, fighting the urge to pick up and throw something. “Well, the good thing is he couldn’t get anything through the bond. He can’t pick at my thoughts or take control.”

“There’s nothing good about this,” Aiden all but growled.

“Well, I wastrying to be Positive Polly.”

His hands clenched at his sides. “You could hit him, so that means he can hit back, Alex. Yeah, he may not find out where you are, but that is a huge violation.”

I nodded numbly. Aiden was right. There was no telling if Seth could do it again.

“And there’s nothing I can do if he does this again. I swear to the gods…” Spinning quickly, Aiden picked up a small figurine and threw it across the room. It shattered off the wall, an explosion of plaster and glass.

The door to the room swung open and Solos peeked in, brows raised. “Is—”

“Leave us!” Aiden ordered sharply, then he took a shuddering breath. “Alex is fine. We’re both fine.”

Solos looked like he was about to disagree, but he took another look at Aiden and decided against it. He shut the door.

I slid Aiden a look. “Did that make you feel better?”

“No,” he shot back, taking a deep breath as he gestured at the dent in the wall. “I wish that was Seth’s head.”