Jennifer Armentrout - Sentinel

Tears fell from my eyes as I burrowed against his chest, squeezing him so tightly I was surprised I wasn’t hurting him. Though he held me the same way, whispering in my ear words I couldn’t understand above my sobs. And I was speaking, but the words didn’t make much sense.

But finally, his hand slid up to my cheek, leaving a trail of fire in its wake, and he made this deep sound in his chest a second before his lips brushed across mine. Another cry came from the depths of my soul, and the kiss deepened. The kiss reached into me, wrapped its way around my heart, and jump-started it in a way that it never had when I was alive. And I kissed him back, tasting the salt of my tears and of the sea on his lips.

Apollo cleared his throat.

Slowly, as if we had all the time in the world and didn’t have an audience, Aiden slowed the kiss down at his own pace, nipping at my lower lip as he lifted my head. I was breathless as I opened my eyes.

He kissed my forehead and then eased me down onto my feet. Keeping an arm around my waist and tucking me close to his body, he turned us toward Apollo and we waded back to the sand.

The god was smiling. Not the creepy smile that he usually graced the world with, but a real one.

“How?” I asked, clutching the front of Aiden’s shirt as if I planned to hold him there. “How is this possible? Is he visiting me? Is he—?”

Aiden chuckled as he smoothed his free hand under my chin. “I’m not visiting.”

My heart almost imploded at that, but I didn’t understand.

Apollo took pity on me. “Remember when I told you that I would take care of you? It was a promise I wasn’t going to break, but this—this is not all me.”

“It’s not?” I still held onto Aiden’s shirt.

“I knew that this could be the outcome long before you agreed to it,” he explained. “A lot of things in life aren’t fair, and there are lessons to be learned from that, but there was no lesson to be gained in your death. So when I took you to Olympus after your first fight with Ares, I made sure that, no matter what happened, you would be rewarded.”

“By giving me Aiden?” I asked, and well, while I really appreciated that, it didn’t seem fair to Aiden. Elysian Fields was nice and all, but it was the Underworld.

“No,” Apollo said. “I gave your mother a drink to give you. Remember? I told her it would help you heal?”

I remembered that. “It tasted good, but…strange.”

That smile was back, tipping his lips up at the corner. “It wasn’t a normal drink. It was ambrosia.”

My lips slowly parted as I stared at him. Ambrosia? The nectar of the gods? Those who were gifted with ambrosia became immortal. “I don’t understand. I’m dead. That couldn’t—”

“You had a mortal death, Alexandria, but you are not truly dead, not like those around you. By setting the spirit boat free, you set the next stage of your existence into play. You are immortal. To get technical, you are now a demigod.”

My jaw was on the sand. There were no words. None at all.

“But for every gift, there has to be an exchange,” Apollo continued. “You did have a mortal death, and my brethren were not aware of what I’d done. They say it will upset the strands of Fate if there is not an exchange. Follow me?”

Uh, no , but I nodded.

“You will have to spend six months in the Underworld—six months Underworld time—and then you will be allowed to spend six months—six months mortal time—in the mortal realm.”

“Like Persephone?” I shook my head when he nodded. “Holy gods, I don’t know what to say. Thank you and—wait!” My heart jumped as I looked up at Aiden. “If I’m immortal, then what about Aiden? He can’t stay in the Underworld for six months. I don’t understand.” Not that I was ungrateful. If I could see him and my dad and friends just for six months topside, I’d take that, but I was thoroughly confused. Aiden had said he wasn’t visiting, and I knew I was missing something. “Someone help me out here.”

“That’s the other half,” Aiden said, dropping his chin and kissing the top of my head.

“And that had nothing to do with me,” Apollo said. “I would’ve made sure that Aiden could visit you when he could and for however long he could be here, but this…this is all because of Seth.”

I blinked. “Seth?”

“If you’re surprised, just imagine how I felt.” Aiden’s arm tightened. “Seth made a deal with Apollo and Hades before I even knew what was going down.”

“What deal?” I looked at Apollo. “What deal did Seth make?”

“First, you must understand that Seth never should’ve been, Alexandria. You were always meant to be the Apollyon, and Seth knew that. To him, for you to be the one who died, he couldn’t live with that,” Apollo explained, and my skin chilled. “When he came to me, I told him that you would be fine. I told him that you’d been given ambrosia, and I explained the exchange to him. I even told him that you would see Aiden again, and that in the end, you were being taken care of and you would be happy, but that wasn’t enough for him.

“He knew that, when Aiden died, his soul would go to Hades, and who knows what mood Hades would be in when that day came. And in the end, you would out-live Aiden. You would have to watch him grow old and die while you stayed the same during those years he aged. Seth didn’t want that for you.”

Aiden’s hand smoothed over my hip as he spoke next. “Seth offered an exchange. He offered his servitude to the gods, which is needed, since no one can find Perses and none of the Olympians can kill Seth.”

“We need him on our side, so we were willing to deal,” Apollo confirmed. “He offered his servitude and obedience in exchange for ambrosia for Aiden. And then he offered to Hades to take Aiden’s place once he died. And as you would guess, Hades was over the moon with the prospect. We accepted.”

My eyes widened. I didn’t know what to say. Seth…oh my gods, that little punk…that wonderful little punk. “He gave up his life to the gods, basically? You’ll be able to call on him whenever.” And knowing Seth, that would drive him absolutely crazy. “And when he dies?” I shook my head, beyond words.

What Seth had done was unbelievable. He’d sacrificed so much. My heart was pumping fast. I wanted to cry again. I probably would. And I wanted to laugh, and I wanted to find Seth and shake him because he hadn’t needed to do this. He shouldn’t have. My future with Aiden wasn’t more important than his future, no matter how badly I wanted that.

I was blown away.

“Seth didn’t want you to know he did this, and while I have honored most of his requests, I felt you needed to know what he has done for you. He gave you this, Alexandria. He gave Aiden this. And I know it is hard for you to accept. And it was hard for Aiden to fully accept, surprisingly,” Apollo added dryly. “But it was Seth’s decision, and it cannot be undone. And when you go topside in six months, you should find him and thank him.”

I was actually going to hug and squeeze and love the dude. Then smack him. And then hug and squeeze and love him again.

“We are not sure what it does with your connection. You are no longer the God Killer, as you did die a mortal death, but this has never been done before.” Apollo shrugged. “You may still be connected once you’re in the mortal realm. You may not be. We don’t know.”

There was so much I wanted to say. My head was spinning. I hadn’t expected any of this, especially not what Seth had done. He had given us everything. I couldn’t imagine how I could repay him, but I would find a way one day.

Apollo’s smile was soft then, the most human thing I’d ever seen from the god. “His journey is not over, Alexandria. And neither is yours. Or Aiden’s. Remember that.”