Jennifer Armentrout - Apollyon

“Diana,” Marcus gasped, and then shot forward.

A wide, beautiful smile spread across the Minister’s face. I’d met her while I’d been at the Covenant in the Catskills, and she had been the Minister to stand against Telly by voting against me being placed into servitude.

So, yeah, I liked the woman.

Marcus clasped her hands in his and it seemed like he wished to do more—maybe pull her into his arms, hug her… kiss her like a man who’d never expected to see her again.

“I am so… thankful to see that you’ve made it here safely.” Marcus’ voice was gruff and heavy with unspoken emotion. He so had a thing for this woman. “So very thankful.”

Pink stained the woman’s cheeks. “As I am to see you here.”

The Dean cleared his throat. “I was unaware that you were familiar with my sister, Dean Andros.”

Sister ? Oh… oh , awkward.

Marcus let go of Diana’s hands and faced the man. “We are… friends, Dean Elders. She’s a lovely woman, but as much as I’d like to list her glowing attributes, that is not why we are here.”

My brows inched up my forehead.

The Dean’s lips twitched as if he wished to smile. “I am also grateful to see that you have made it here safely. Not many have recently.”

“That is what we have heard and seen.” Marcus clasped his hands behind his back, throwing me headfirst into memories of him in an office very similar to this, where he’d been about to lay into me for something stupid that I’d done.

He made a quick round of introductions. The Dean seemed measurably surprised when Marcus announced Aiden’s name. His head cocked to the side. “I have heard that name before—a pure-blood who used a compulsion against another pure to protect a half-blood?”

Crap. With everything going on, we’d forgotten that Aiden was Public Enemy Number Two.

My fingers inched toward my daggers, but Aiden spoke, his voice even and calm. “That would be me. And make no mistake, if you’re looking for remorse or guilt, I have none. I’d do it again.”

The Dean smiled then. “Ease yourself, Sentinel. At this moment, I could care less what you have done. It is not an issue… now. As I am sure most of the members of the Council would agree.”

The way he tacked on now did not make me all happy face.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Marcus said, obviously trying to diffuse the building tension. “Hopefully we will be able to repay you in some measure.”

My uncle was such a diplomat.

The dean of the University nodded. “Please start by explaining how you made it past the automatons.”

Between Marcus and Dominic, they filled the Dean and Diana in, for the most part, on how we made it here in one piece. The conversation quickly turned, though, when Dominic announced that I could stop the First.

I shifted restlessly, surprised to be so uncomfortable with all the eyes on me. Usually I loved being the center of attention. I had no idea when that had changed.

“I can stop Seth,” I said finally. “It won’t be easy, but I know how.”

“And how can you?” the Dean asked. “From what our history teaches us, the First has complete control over the Second, and if you two are around each other, he can transfer your power to his, therefore becoming the God Killer.”

Folding my arms, I met Dean Elders’ curious stare. “Well, obviously the First doesn’t have complete control over me. And there is a way for me to reverse the transfer, stopping him from becoming the God Killer. And if he’s not the God Killer, then Lucian has no real weapon protecting him.”

Diana leaned against the oak desk, her brows pinched. “But you would have to be near him to do this, correct?”

I nodded. “Yes. We came here hoping there would be others who would be willing to… to fight for this. There’s no way that just the eight of us can breach the army that Lucian has surrounding him, so that I can reach Seth. We need our own army.”

Dean Elders looked at Dominic, who shrugged. “We have many Sentinels and Guards here, plus half-bloods who are receiving advanced training. And we also wish for the same outcome. This needs to be stopped before more innocent people are lost, so you may recruit whomever wishes to join you.”

Well, that was surprisingly easy.

“There will be some, maybe even many,” the dean continued, “but none will be forced to join the cause, Apollyon.”

I found that funny considering how an entire race of halfs had been forced into either servitude or a certain early death, but somewhere along the line, I’d learned to keep my mouth shut. Kind of.

“Understood,” I said. “As a half-blood, I would never force people into something that would risk their lives.”

The dean’s brows rose. “Point taken.” He gazed over the rest of my group. “I imagine you all wish to meet with the Sentinels and Guards here as soon as possible, but all of you look like you could use showers, food, and clean beds. While you rest, Sentinel Hyperion and I will have time to set something up for you.”

“Okay,” I said, wondering when whether or not I agreed had started to matter. I wanted to talk to the Sentinels now, but I knew if I did, so would Aiden and most of the others. We all needed to rest; we were barely standing. “That will be fine.”

“There are many rooms available for your rest,” the dean said. “Sentinel Hyperion will show you to them.”

Unable to hold back the question any longer, I turned to Diana. “The Sentinels who have arrived from the Catskills… do you know any of their names?”

“Some I am familiar with,” she said.

Then it struck me. My father probably wouldn’t be known as a Sentinel, at least not any longer. “What about the servants?”

I couldn’t tell by Diana’s pained expression if she knew what I was getting at or if she was aware that my father had been a servant at the Catskills. “Things were in a state of chaos when we left there. Some servants were brought here, and those who no longer appeared to be under the influence of the Elixir escaped into the woods. Some remained behind. The servants could be anywhere.”

“Oh,” I whispered. They could be anywhere—my father could be anywhere. I felt Laadan’s hand on my back and I drew in a sharp breath. “What was the state of the Covenant when you left?”

A dark shadow crossed Diana’s face. “The walls had not been breached, but it was only a matter of time. Lucian and the First wish to take the Catskills. It does not matter that the bulk of the Council no longer resides there. It is the seat of power, and whoever sits upon the throne rules our society. It is the law.”

It was an incredibly stupid law that didn’t mean a damn thing to me.

“May I ask a question?” Diana countered. When I nodded, she went on. “If you were to succeed in transferring the power to you, what would happen?”

At the unexpected question, I blinked. “What would happen to Seth? He would still be alive. I guess he’d still be the Apollyon, but weaker. The tables would turn. The prophecies…” I shook my head. “The prophesies would change.”

“And what would it do to you?”

I could feel the eyes on me again, mainly Aiden’s. “I would become the God Killer.”

Her brows knitted in confusion. “Please do not take offense to this, but isn’t the God Killer the last thing the gods want?”

“I imagine so, with the exception of the god who is working with Lucian. That god obviously wants the God Killer for his own reasons. Speaking of which, it must be Hephaestus, considering he created the automatons,” I threw that out, hoping the topic would change. “I don’t know why he’d do this, though. I mean, he helped keep me away from the First, right?”