Аполлион

Aiden recovered first, moving to stand in front of me. He stiffened at the sound of Apollo’s amused chuckle. “How did you get in here?”

“The wards on the house faded about three hours ago. Luckily, none of the other gods have realized that and, for the most part, they don’t want Alex dead.” And then he tacked on, “…right at this moment.”

I looked at him blandly. “Good to know.”

“Maybe next time you’d want to knock?” Aiden suggested, relaxing a fraction of an inch.

Apollo’s shoulders lifted. “Where is the fun in that?” But he stood, his head inclining to the side. “We need to talk, but both of you look like you’ve been wrestling in mud.”

“We’ve been training,” I pointed out. “Like you suggested.”

If he was grateful that we’d actually followed instructions, it didn’t show. “I will be waiting downstairs. Try not to take ten years.”

With that, he simply blinked out of existence. A moment later, I heard a startled yelp downstairs. Glad we weren’t the only ones he liked to do that to.

I slumped against the wall. “I think he took a few years off my life.”

Aiden’s brow arched. “I still think we need to put a bell on him.”

My lips twitched. “And I still think that’s a good idea.”

He glanced at the door and then took my hand, tugging me toward the bathroom. “We only have a few minutes. Let’s make them worth our while.”

More than a few minutes later, Aiden and I stood in the large living room with everyone else. Apollo was busying himself with a bowl of the stew Laadan and Deacon had made.

“Hungry?” I asked, after several moments of awkward silence stretched out.

He looked up. “Not really, but this is delicious.”

Laadan all but beamed from the couch. “Thank you.”

“We wouldn’t know,” Aiden said. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

Apollo’s lips spread into a smile. “Sorry. I’ll try to come after dinner next time.” The bowl disappeared from his hands, and I wondered where it went. “Well, it’s good to see the Scooby gang all in one piece. Warms my heart and all thatjazz, but let’s get to the point.”

“Let’s do that,” I murmured as I hopped up on the desk, letting my feet dangle off the edge. “You said we needed to talk.”

“We do.” Apollo drifted toward where Olivia and Deacon sat primly beside Laadan. He looked at them a long moment, as if he could see something beyond what our eyes were capable of, and then turned around. “First, I need you to fill me in on everything the First has shared with you.”

Kicking my legs off the side of the desk, I gave him the quick and dirty version of events. There wasn’t much to tell, and Apollo didn’t pass over that fact.

“That’s it?” He didn’t even attempt to hide his irritation and disappointment. “You guys have this unbreakable bond that nearly destroyed the entire world, and all you can tell me is that you thinkhe’s heading north, which is something I already know?”

My lips pursed. Way to make me feel like an epic failure of an Apollyon.

“It’s not her fault,” Aiden snapped, eyes flashing like quicksilver. “He kept most of his plans to himself.”

“Probably because he feared that she might eventually break the bond,” Marcus said. “So the question remains—what do we do with the knowledge that we have?”

“And hopefully you have some knowledge to bring to the table?” I fixed an innocent look on my face. “That would be a nice change of pace.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Can you tell us how Thanatos was able to discover us?” Marcus asked.

“Yes, that’s rather easy. Alex’s little display of akasha while fighting Aiden drew Thanatos to her.”

I frowned at the reminder. “But I’ve been practicing with it since then.”

“Practicing with akasha is one thing, Alex. It doesn’t even register on our scale, especially if you stayed within the wards I sensed outside.” His eyes slid toward Aiden. “Using it to try to kill someone is like throwing up a homing beacon.”

Flinching, I looked away. “So you’re saying not to use akasha then?”

“I have a work-around for that.” Apollo held out his hand and the air around it shimmered an electric blue. A second later, a small medallion appeared in his palm, connected to a chain that dangled from his fingers. A smug, satisfied grin stretched Apollo’s lips. “I took Hermes’ helmet, melted the mother down, and here you go. An invisibility charm just for you.”

Apollo dropped the necklace into my palm. It was a reddish-gold color, and a crudely shaped wing was etched into it. “Ha,” I said. “It’s like Harry Potter and the invisibility cloak.”

Everyone stared at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. So I’m invisible if I wear this?”

Apollo laughed like I’d asked the stupidest question ever. “No. Your energy will just be hidden from the gods—all except me—even if you use akasha.”

“Oh,” I said, holding up the necklace. “Handy.”

As Aiden came over and helped clasp the necklace, he asked, “What else have you been able to find out?”