Jennifer Armentrout - Apollyon

“Don’t go,” I said, gripping the bars. Pale blue light flickered. “Please don’t go.”

Her throat worked again and she glanced behind her quickly before her gaze swung back to me. “Dear gods, it’s true. Your eyes…”

I smiled wryly. “They take a little getting used to.”

“No doubt.” She took a deep breath and stepped closer. “Aiden… he’s going to kill me if he finds out I’m down here, but I just had to see you for myself. He… they’re saying you have to stay down here—that you’re dangerous.”

For once, someone else’s impulsivity was a benefit to me. “I’m not dangerous.”

“They’ve said you’ve threatened to make a crown out of Deacon’s ribcage.”

Aw, hell… “I haven’t done anything.”

She looked doubtful.

“Okay. You know me. I say mean things when I’m mad.”

Her lips twitched. “Yeah, you do. Alex…” Her gaze flickered over the bars. “Damn…”

I had to proceed with caution, but I had to do it quickly. Who knew how much time we had before Aiden realized Olivia was down here and ruined all my fun? Using a compulsion would be easy and the quickest way to deal with this, but… but a part of me, that stupid, stupid part of me, wanted to talk to her… my friend.

And there was something I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell her, something important.

Olivia inched closer to the cell. “You look… you look terrible.”

I frowned. “I do?”

“Have you been sleeping?” Her gaze drifted over me. “You’ve lost weight.”

Sort of relieved to hear I hadn’t packed on the pounds, I shrugged. “You look great.”

She touched her cheek. “I don’t feel great. You have no idea what’s going on out there. Everyone is freaked out, because of…”

“Because of us.”

“Us?”

“Seth and me.” I leaned my head against the bars. “You went to New York, right?”

Olivia shook her head. “We started to, but it’s real bad there. They’re not letting anyone in. The place is on lockdown, but there’s a lot of fighting inside, I hear.”

The Elixir had stopped working there, courtesy of Lucian, and my father… my father was there.

“The gods, they have these things surrounding the Covenants.” She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her slender waist.

My interested piqued. “What things?”

“I don’t know. They’re like half-bull, half-man—but machines. We ran into them when we were heading to New York. My mother continued on, but she didn’t want me there. She sent me here with Laadan.”

A foggy memory resurfaced, one of Apollo and Aiden talking about those creatures. I wondered if my Seth knew about them. Probably. I let go of the bars and tucked my tangled hair back. The ends curled halfway down my chest and probably were in need of a cut. Around Olivia, I couldn’t help but compare myself.

“Alex, things are going to get worse. You—”

“I saw Caleb.”

Her mouth dropped open, and whatever sales pitch she had was forgotten. “What?”

“I’ve seen Caleb twice since he… passed.” I needed to get this out, and then I’d do what I had to. My Seth would call this need a weakness and it was, because I was wasting precious time, but Olivia needed to know. I’d promised Caleb I’d tell her, and after I escaped I had no idea if I would see her again. “The Order attacked me while I was still at the Covenant. One of their members killed me. I went to the Underworld—”

“You died ?”

I winced at the shrill pitch. “Yeah, I was dead, and then I wasn’t. Long story. But I saw Caleb.”

A hand fluttered to her chest. “Are you messing with me, because I swear to the gods, Alex, I will hurt you.”

Cute, considering she couldn’t touch me, but I grinned. “Caleb’s okay. He’s really okay. He spends most of his time playing Wii, and he looked great. Nothing like…” The back of my throat burned. “He’s really good.”

Her eyes glistened in the dim light. “You really saw him?”

I nodded. “He wanted me to tell you something. I didn’t get a chance, with everything that’s going on.”

“Understandable.” She choked out a laugh. “What… what did he tell you?”

Olivia had always had manicured hands, but the nail polish was chipped and old. I kept my eyes on them. “I don’t know what this means, but he said to tell you that he would’ve picked Los Angeles.”

There was a sharp inhale, and the silence stretched out so long I eventually had to look, and when I did, I almost wished I hadn’t.

Tears streaked down Olivia’s cheeks, running over the fingers now pressed to her lips. An answering emotion rose in my throat and I bit down on my lip. Los Angeles must’ve meant something really important. I wished I were on the other side of these bars, not to escape, but to hug her. But I needed to be on the other side of these bars, and I needed to escape. There was no more time.

“Olivia,” I said, and my voice was different, even to my own ears—softer, lyrical. Power hummed.

She stiffened, and then her hands left her mouth as her eyes locked onto mine. Tears clung to her thick lashes, but they weren’t what made her eyes glossy now. It was the compulsion in my voice, an ability that had become innate upon Awakening. Part of me abhorred what I was doing. Olivia was my friend. Using a compulsion on her was wrong, but there was no other way. I had to get to my Seth. She would understand eventually.

“Do you know where the keys are, Olivia?”

She nodded slowly.

“Good. That’s really good.” I reached through the bars, motioning her toward me. When she placed her cool hand in mine, I squeezed gently. “Where are they?”

“With Aiden.” Her words were slow.

Dammit. That wasn’t good. “And where is Aiden?”

“He’s with your uncle and Laadan.” A soft sigh leaked from her lips.

Crap. There was no way she could get the keys. My gaze slipped to the cage door and an idea took hold. Letting go of her hand, I gripped the bars and watched the flare of light. It was weak and didn’t reach the Titan mark on the ceiling.

“Olivia, will you help me?” I threw as much power as I had into my voice, and her eyes widened. “You’ll help me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Great.” I smiled as I hurried to the door. The weakest point was where the lock was; if both of us worked it at the same time, it might just be enough. “I need you to pull on this door, Olivia, as hard as you can.”

She walked to the door in a daze, obediently placing her hands on the handle.

“Put everything into it,” I urged softly. “Pull. Pull hard.”

And she did. Half-bloods were unbelievably strong, and metal ground as the bars rattled. Olivia bent at the waist, digging in with her boots. I stepped back, wishing I had some shoes, because this was seriously going to hurt.

“Keep pulling,” I ordered, and then I took a deep breath.

Turning halfway, I spun and planted my heel into the bars around the lock. Pain splintered into my foot as shimmery blue light flared and faded quickly. An inch-wide gap appeared between the door and the bars.

“Pull really hard, Olivia.”

She grunted, bearing down.

Caleb was going to haunt me for this.

Leaning back, I hit the door again. Another gap appeared. With my foot going numb, I gave it one more kick. Metal groaned and gave way. The sudden force sent Olivia to the floor and the door… it was open.

Not wasting time, I bolted through the gap, half-expecting to be cut down by some unknown defense, but then I was on the other side of the bars.

I wanted to do a victory dance and shout, but I dropped down and clasped Olivia’s cheeks. She stared into my eyes, completely under my control. “Stay here, okay? Stay here until someone comes and gets you.”