Аполлион

Aiden insisted he wasn’t that tired, but it didn’t take more than a few moments before his breathing became deep and steady. I stayed in his arms, eyes glued to the entrance. I was still tired, and the headache had kicked back up the moment I’d awakened, spreading from my temples, but it was manageable.

Mulling over what Aiden had said, I had to give the idea there was something personal behind this some cred. But the only problem with that was the fact that all the gods probably had a damn good reason to cause discord. Apollo even had said once before that, after thousands of years of being together, they had nothing better to do than tick each other off.

We needed to figure out who it was behind this, but what could we do? Taking out a god was unheard of. Even the Titans had been entombed, not killed. The loss of any god carried cosmic consequences. The world wouldn’t stop spinning, but all the gods would be weakened if one fell. It was probably the only thing that kept them from outright killing one another, but…

One massive problem at a time…

Seth and Lucian were our biggest problem. Hopefully, we’d find Solaris and she held the answer to stopping him. Part of me hadn’t given up on the tiniest sliver of hope that somehow Seth could be saved—that he could be fixed. I sincerely believed that, without Lucian’s and the aether’s influence, he wouldn’t have done the things he had.

But who was I to say that absolved him of his sins? If a drug addict killed someone while under the influence, he was still guilty. Seth had done what he had done and it felt like there was no going back from that.

Sorrow was like slush in my blood, dirty and messy, because it felt misplaced. As if I felt bad for a killer…

Pushing thoughts of Seth aside, I stroked the length of Aiden’s fingers and wondered if I’d ever hear Aiden play the guitar again. I hoped so. Maybe even get him to sing, because he had a nice voice.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but it couldn’t have been more than an hour. The sky peeking through the holes in the roof of the cavern was still a deep blue and my headache… had steadily increased. Now it throbbed behind my eyes.

There was no fooling myself. I knew what it meant. Seth was on the other end of the bond and he was trying to reach me. The venom of panic gave me a sharp bite. Now was so not the time for him to pull this kind of crap. A freaking army of spiders could descend on us while I was with him. Worse yet, we could be discovered by Hades.

Carefully wiggling free of Aiden’s embrace, I pushed to my feet and went to the pool, scooping the jasmine-scented water up and splashing it over my face. It had seemed to help before, but I had a feeling I was beyond help.

I sat down, concentrating on my breathing. I could feel the cord now. It still slumbered, but the hum was louder, more powerful. Placing my head in my hands, I squeezed my eyes shut and waited. Part of me already knew there was no stopping this.

Seth was incredibly strong and hellishly determined when he wanted to be.

So I waited for pain to come, but it never did. Instead, the hum of the cord became louder and stronger, until it felt like my entire body vibrated. Then out of the white noise filling my head, a whisper grew until I could make out the words and recognize the voice.

Nice to see… or hear you again, Alex.

Seth.

My eyes snapped open and, unlike last time, I wasn’t mentally transported somewhere by Hermes. The spring was still in front of me. I could hear Aiden’s deep breaths and feel the slight chill in the air of the cavern.

I know you can hear me, Alex. I can feel it.

I groaned. I’m really starting to get annoyed with this.

Through the bond, I could feel his smugness. It was like before, when we’d been connected. His emotions flowed through to me and vice versa. I bet, if I closed my eyes, I could see him as clearly as he stood in front of me, but we weren’t connected.

Deep down you love it, he said.

Uh, no. Tucking my damp hair back, I let out a low breath. I don’t understand how you’re able to do this. We’re not connected.

After our last little social call, it’s easier to tap into the connection. Whenever you’re feeling really worn down or emotional, I can reach you. I guess it would be the same if you were in pain. There was a pause, and I swore I felt a flicker of concern. Are you in pain?

I rolled my eyes. Good news was that Apollo must’ve had a little talk with Hermes. No, but you’re a pain in my ass. Does that count?