Jennifer Armentrout - Apollyon

I opened my mouth, but he kept going. “And let’s pretend that’s not absurd and we’ll all be high on happy pills. The gods are never going to allow it. They will risk exposing themselves to the whole mortal world to stop you. Innocent people will die. You will die.”

My heart tripped up a little. “So I should do nothing?”

“No. Don’t you know? The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

“And whoever came up with that was a complete and utter idiot. To win the war, the enemy must be stripped down to their bare bones and destroyed.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re an idiot.”

My lips twitched. “Shut up.”

Caleb drifted over to me. “Alex, you have to break the bond with Seth. Break it and you will understand everything.”

“No.” I backed up, running my hands along my hips. “You told me to not give up on Seth. And now you want me to?”

“I don’t want you to give up on him,” he said, voice taking on a pleading edge. “There’s still hope for him, but only if you can truly reach him. And being the head of Seth’s fan club isn’t going to do it.”

I laughed then. “That was so you when you were… you know, around. You totally had a boy crush on him.”

“And I still do. He’s pretty awesome, but right now he’s high on power. Like a meth-head. No. Better yet. A crack-head and a meth-head rolled into one. He’s out of control. Good gods, he’s working with daimons! And if you get out of here and connect with him—transfer your power to him? It’s all over, Alex. He will drain you dry without even meaning to.”

I gasped. “He would never do that.”

“He wouldn’t mean to, Alex. But he would. And once he has, he’ll become the God Killer and no one needs you.” He shook his head sadly. “That’s if you even make it to him. Apollo will stop you. Every god will come down here to stop you.”

Shaking my head, I refused to believe this. My Seth would never drain me. He needed me, like I needed him. And together, we would be unstoppable. We could change things. As the Apollyon, I wouldn’t lose people like I’d lost Caleb and my mom.

I shook my head.

“Alex,” he pleaded softly.

“No. No! Because I’m powerful enough now that no one I love will ever die again!”

“Alex—”

Stupid, weak tears burned my eyes. “If I had been the Apollyon when we were attacked, I could’ve saved you!”

His form flickered. “No, Alex, you couldn’t have.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.” My chest was too tight. He faded a little. “What’s happening?”

“I have to go.” Caleb looked stricken. “Break the connection, Alex. It’s the only way to save you both.”

I shook my head so fast my hair slapped my cheeks. Before I could utter a word, he flickered out and was gone. I stood there for minutes, maybe hours, staring at the spot where he’d stood, fighting tears and everything he’d said. I didn’t—couldn’t believe what he’d said.

Caleb didn’t get it. He’d never lost people like I had—people like him. While he was in the Underworld playing Mario Go Kart , I was up here, knee-deep in the pain and anguish of losing him and my mom. I was dealing with the fact that my father was a damn servant.

He didn’t get it!

Being connected with my Seth was the only way to save us. By the time my Seth and I were done, there would be no more pain.

I had the distinct impression that Caleb had failed somehow after he’d left, and I hoped he wasn’t going to get punished. I didn’t think Apollo would do anything to him, but then again, what did I know?

Caleb’s visit left me tattered. Keyed up and with no way to expel the nervous energy, I paced the cell. Part of me wanted to rage and scream. A whole other side of me wanted to sit down and cry like a little baby. Seeing Caleb was like a gift, but all we’d done was argue. It left a stone in my stomach that just kept pulling me down, down.

When Aiden appeared with a bag of takeout food, I almost threw it back at him, but I was starving. And I… had the strangest urge to tell him about Caleb.

“Who’s here?” I asked between mouthfuls of mystery meat and soggy buns.

He didn’t answer.

I rolled my eyes, finishing off the burger. Rummaging around in the bag, I pulled out an extra-large order of fries. With all the exercise I was getting, my escape would involve me rolling out of here. “I know someone has shown up.”

A handful of fries went into my mouth, and then another. Salt and grease coated my fingertips. Yum. “Are you not going to talk? Just sit there and stare at me like a creeper?”

Aiden cracked a half smile. “You called me that once before.”

“Yeah, because you are a creeper.” I frowned at my almost-empty carton. There were never enough fries.

“Actually, I’d been watching to make sure you didn’t sneak off the island.”

I remembered. It had been the night of Zarak’s house party, back when things had at least seemed simpler. Zarak… I wondered what had happened to Zarak. I didn’t think he’d been on the island when Poseidon had pitched a fit, but I didn’t know.

Finished with the fries, I licked the salt off my finger as I lifted my gaze.

Aiden’s eyes flared silver, and something warm unfurled in my stomach. I put my other finger to my lips—

Holy baby daimons everywhere, what the hell was I doing? I grabbed a napkin, wiping furiously at my fingers. Across from me, heat roared off Aiden.

By the time I finally looked at Aiden again, he was all kinds of coolness—the master of impassivity. He even arched his brow at me. Good for him. Whatever. He’d totally checkmated me, but now I knew who was upstairs—Laadan and Olivia. I remembered then that while I’d been on the Elixir, Deacon had told Aiden they were coming. Then I’d hid in the closet because Aiden had raised his voice.

I’d actually hid in a closet .

“You look happy,” Aiden commented as he unwrapped a chicken sandwich.

Man, who scrapped the mayo off and only ate a sandwich on one bun? Aiden. That’s who. “Oh, I was just reminiscing about learning how to play chess and hiding in closets.”

He’d only taken two bites, but tossed the remainder in his bag. A muscle worked in his jaw. “Alex, I hated seeing you like that. As much as I hate seeing you like this. So if you want me to feel guilty, I do. If you want me to hate myself for making that decision, I do.”

I should’ve been doing a celebratory dance or something, because I’d gotten a nice little jab in there, but my shoulders sagged. Words were on the tip of my tongue, words I shouldn’t say. So I said nothing. We spent the rest of whatever time of day it was in silence. When he left, I didn’t reach out to Seth. Between Caleb’s surprise visit and the thing with Aiden, I was too out of it.

Sometime later, maybe a couple of hours, I heard the door open and shut quickly—way too quickly and quietly to be Aiden, who always came down the stairs like a warrior preparing for battle.

I popped up from the mattress, holding my breath.

Two slender, denim-clad legs came into view, and then a billowy white shirt tucked into the front of jeans. The knee-high boots gave my visitor away. They were great boots.

Olivia.

Opportunity had just come a-knocking.

She came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, her tight curls pulled back from her face. Olivia’s caramel-colored complexion was beautiful, even when it was pale. She looked like she was staring down a horde of daimons right now.

“Alex,” she whispered, swallowing.

Slowly, so I wouldn’t send her scurrying back up the steps, I approached the bars. I knew the moment she got a good look at my eyes, because she backed up, hitting the bottom step.