Текст книги "Apollyon"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

He hesitated, and then I felt his hand on my shoulder. I pulled free and walked ahead, dragging in deep breaths even though they didn’t seem to be pulling enough air into my lungs. I couldn’t afford to lose it like I had after Caleb’s death. I couldn’t disconnect from this or self-destruct. I had to deal, but…

Godsdammit. I bent over, placing my hands on my knees. The urge to vomit was strong, but there was nothing coming up.

Had I apologized to her about what a douchebag I’d been to her when we were kids? I didn’t think so. I squeezed my eyes shut and saw her body lying on the ground back there.

Alex? There was a pause and the bond pulled taut. What’s happening!

I sat down—probably fell down—for the second time that night. Keeping my eyes closed, I kept the shields up but followed the bond to Seth. I didn’t know how to feel about that. Maybe it was all the anger taking up too much room to feel anything else. Is this what you wanted?I asked.

Seth didn’t respond immediately. I’m not sure what you mean. I can feel your emotions. Something has happened.

Shut up!I’m not sure what did it—the almost-sincere quality to his voice, or the fact that he had taken Lea’s sister and my mom had taken her family and, because of what Seth and I were, she had lost her life. I broke wide open in an instant. Shut up! Just shut up! Are you happy, Seth? Is that what you wanted from this?

Tears tracked down my cheeks, fast and furious. My arms shook—my entire body trembled to keep the shields up. I couldn’t let them down, not when Seth was inside my head like this. He’d know where I was and there’d be more death.

I threw my head back and there were no words, just sorrow, guilt, and rage. They poured from me in a scream that made no sound outside my body.

Stop, he said, and there was a pressure around me, almost like Seth was wrapping his arms around me, holding me still. You need to calm down because you’re bursting a lot of my brain cells. Take a couple of deep breaths. Just calm down. Okay?

Several moments passed, and I breathed heavily through them. I sat there, eyes closed, seeing nothing and feeling nothing. None of this seemed real.

Who’s dead? Seth asked, and I could tell by his tone that he expected the worst.

Lea. Even the voice inside my head sounded numb. She’s dead, like her whole family.

Seth said nothing. Maybe he knew the significance. After all, when we’d been connected before, he’d seen a lot of my past, and he probably could guess that I had no idea how to deal with this. Perhaps he was even thinking the same thing I had—that our connection had taken everything from Lea, including her life. I doubted that, even if he was thinking that, it would make any difference. Seth would continue doing what he was doing. And so would I. He didn’t say anything as I pulled my legs to my chest and balled up, desperately not wanting to feel the biting loss again. And he said nothing as the odd pressure inside me increased.

We were enemies to the core, more so now than ever, but my loss was his. When I suffered, he suffered. It was the way we were built, and even the death that he had indirectly caused couldn’t breach that or shatter what lay between us.

Nothing could.

CHAPTER 33

I don’t know how long I sat there, but when I opened my eyes again, the sky was still dark and Seth’s presence was gone. At some point, I’d felt him ease away. I thought he had whispered something before the connection faded, but I had to be hearing things, because it couldn’t be right.

I’d thought I’d heard him say he was sorry.

Obviously I was losing my mind. Seth rarely apologized, and given his needs for power and acceptance that had driven him toward this end game, I doubted he felt remorse.

Taking a deep breath, I almost choked on the bitter remnants of smoke. I knew what I needed to do—pick myself up and get moving. Sitting out here in the open, waiting for more automatons to come along, wasn’t safe.

I stood and turned, brushing the dirt off my tactical pants. The group was still around Lea’s body. Olivia was sitting beside the fallen half-blood, her head in her hands. Deacon and Luke flanked her, the half cradling his injured arm.

Wiping my hands across my cheeks, I stopped beside Aiden.

Olivia looked up, her eyes shiny in the moonlight. “She didn’t feel it, right?”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t think so.”

She nodded, and then picked up Lea’s blade, holding it close as she stood. “What do we… what do we do from here?”

It was Solos who spoke. “We need to move quickly. There’s no telling if more will come along, and we’re sitting ducks out here.”

“Do you still think the University is a safe place?” Marcus asked, rubbing his chin. The palm of his hand came back red. I realized then he was bleeding.

I started toward Marcus, but he waved me off. “I’m okay. It’s just a scratch,” he said gruffly. “How do we know that the University is still standing? The automatons could’ve torched it and…”

And all those people. My head swam as I glanced down at Lea. Someone had closed her eyes. Mine burned.

“We have to find out.” Aiden thrust a hand through his hair. “We’re about a mile from the campus.”

Luke shook his head. “There could be more of them. Hell, there could be a dozen or more over the next damn hill and we’d be walking into that blind.”

“Or there could be nothing but open land and the damn University,” Aiden countered, his jaw set hard. “As far as we know, these automatons may’ve been here to stop anyone from reaching the campus… or to stop people from leaving.”

“Or the campus could be gone.” Deacon backed up, running his hands down his sides.

Solos stepped forward, clapping a hand on Deacon’s shoulder. “I cannot believe the whole campus is gone.”

“With all those automatons, anything is possible.” Luke straightened his injured arm as he stared in the general direction of where I assumed the campus was. “But we have to see. We’ve come this—”

“Wait!” Olivia’s voice rose above the guys’. “I wasn’t asking about going to the University or not. I was talking about what we were going to do with Lea.”

Silence fell again and I turned to Aiden. “We can’t leave her here.”

Pain flickered in those deep gray eyes. He reached out, extending his hand, and I went, pressing myself against his side. My fingers dug into his singed shirt, finding tiny burnt holes in the material. “We can’t,” I whispered.

His arm tightened around me. “I know.”

“We can’t… take her with us,” Solos said. “We have no idea what we’ll be facing.”

Olivia went off like a nuclear bomb, holding that dagger like she was considering impaling it between Solos’ eyes. “We can’t leave her here like this. That’s so wrong I don’t even need to explain.”

Sympathy shone in Solos’ scarred face. “I know, but we—”

“We bury our dead—our warriors.” Olivia’s lower lip trembled. “We don’t just leave them here to rot.”

Laadan placed a pale hand on Olivia’s arm, but Olivia was beyond consoling. “I don’t care what we have to face or what is waiting for us! We can’t just leave her here.” Her gaze swung to me. “We need to bury her.”

“With what?” Solos asked gently. “We don’t have shovels and this ground is rock hard.”

Olivia sucked in a sharp breath and turned. Her slim shoulders shook as Luke wrapped his good arm around her.

“Aiden, we have to do something,” Deacon pleaded. “I don’t know what, but something.”

Pulling away from Aiden, I glanced down at my hands. I wasn’t sure how much juice I had left in me, or even if I could use the earth element to create… to create a grave, but I would try. There was no way we could leave Lea out here.

“I don’t know if this will work.” I tucked my hair back, having no idea what’d happened to my ponytail.

Aiden’s brows slammed down as concern flared. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

I nodded. “Where do you think we should do it, Olivia?”

It took her a couple of seconds to pull away from Luke and process what I was asking. She looked around and seemed to recognize that there really wasn’t a suitable place. She headed off and I followed her. We stopped near two juniper trees that had remained unscathed from the fire and battle, their sweet scent so at odds with the lingering acidic and metallic smells.

“This should work,” she said, clearing her throat. “It’s not much, but the trees… she’d like the trees.”

I looked at her.

Olivia slowly turned to me and she let out a choked, hoarse laugh. “Okay. Lea really wasn’t big on nature or trees.”

“No.” I smiled and it hurt. “She’s probably thinking what the hellright now.”

She blinked. “You think?”

“Yeah, I mean, when I was down there waiting, I couldn’t tell what was going on up here, but maybe it’s different for her.” I thought of the oracle I had met, and then the old woman. “It seemed different for everyone, but I know she’s not in pain.”

Olivia nodded slowly. “That’s the thing about death, I’ve realized. They’re gone to us, but not really, you know? There islife after death, just a different kind of life.” There was a pause. “I wish we’d become friends before all of this crap. Lea… she was pretty cool if you got past the bitchiness.”

I rubbed my temple, feeling an incredible empty place in my chest. “I wish I hadn’t been such a bitch to her.”

“What?”

Shaking my head, I lowered my gaze. “It’s a long story.”

Olivia looked like she wanted to push it, but didn’t. “She’ll see her family again.”

“Yeah, she wanted that.” My eyes were starting to burn again and I knew, if I let the tears fall once more, they wouldn’t stop and I’d be utterly useless. “Okay. I can do this.”

Taking a deep breath, I got down on my knees and placed my hands on the dirt. I closed my eyes, wiggling my fingers into the leaf litter until I found the topsoil. I’d made the ground move before, when I’d fought Aiden, so I imagined I could do this.

I pictured the soil loosening and giving way under my fingertips. The ground trembled slightly and my confidence bloomed. I created an image of the ground cracking open, deep—deep enough for a decent burial. In my head, the soil was darker—a rich brown—the deeper I went. Inhaling, I caught the damp, earthy scent of disturbed soil.

When I opened my eyes, the ground really was split open. Mounds of fresh dirt lay on either side of the circular six-foot hole. Seeing that it was deep enough, I sat back and wiped my shaking hands along my thighs. I felt dry inside and a little brittle. And I was definitely not going to stand anytime soon.

Everyone started doing their own part. Someone found a blanket in one of our backpacks and Lea was wrapped in it. When her body was lowered into the grave, Marcus helped me up. He handed me a bottle of water, along with the daggers I’d dropped.

“Thanks,” I murmured, gulping the water down before sheathing the daggers. And then something struck me. “Wait. Does anyone have any coins?”

Aiden patted his pockets, as did the rest of the guys. They came up empty and my stomach sank. “Burying her doesn’t really make a difference,” I said. “That’s for us. But she needs passage for Charon or she’ll be stuck there.”

“We can bring back coins,” Solos suggested.

“No.” Panic bubbled. “We have to have something. Trust me, she needs the coins now.”

Laadan stepped forward, reaching behind her neck. “I have this,” she said, unclasping a necklace and pulling it from underneath her shirt. “The embellishments are gold coins, ancient ones. They will be worth more than enough.”

My muscles relaxed, full of relief. “Thank you.”

She smiled as she handed the necklace to Marcus, who then snapped off two of the gold coins. Parting the blanket, he placed them in Lea’s hands.

I took a breath, trying to ease the burning and the ever-increasing knot in my throat. Aiden came to my side, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I turned into him, resting my cheek against his chest. The steady rise and fall of his breathing soothed my frayed edges.

Solos had found two thick branches, and shoved them into the ground above the disturbed earth after Laaden and Marcus had used air to push the dirt back into the grave. Deacon and Luke had gathered up a few rocks, which they placed around the branches. It wasn’t much of a tombstone, but it would have to do for now.

We stood around Lea’s makeshift grave as Laadan murmured a prayer in the old language. I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt Aiden’s thumb brushing the tears away. I couldn’t help but wonder how many more times we would be doing this before it was over—and who would brush Aiden’s tears away if it were my grave they ended up standing over.

The sun had begun to rise by the time we reached the outer wall of the University campus, casting a sliver of orangey light that stretched across the mountain meadow. We’d spent the last mile of the trip in solemn silence. There was no conversation, no joking or laughter. Talking seemed inappropriate after the loss we’d all suffered. I knew I wasn’t alone in convincing myself that Lea was, or would be, in a much better place—a place where the fighting could no longer reach her, where the future was no longer precarious, and where she was reunited with her loved ones.

It helped a little.

But when the outer stone wall came into view, we pretty much knew things were going to suck daimon butt.

Entire sections of the marble-encased outer structure were either gone completely or in the process of crumbling down. It looked like someone had brought in a wrecking ball and played yo-yo with it.

“Gods,” Marcus muttered. “This could be a problem.”

I arched a brow at my uncle. “Really?”

The eeriest part of it all was the hundreds of trees just inside the outer wall. They were all tipped over at the trunks, the limbs reaching the ground, roots exposed and ash-white, like they had succumbed to a powerful wind.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Laadan said, her head moving slowly from side to side. “It’s like a great unseen hand forced them all to the ground.”

I walked up to one, placing my hand on it. I half-expected the tree to fall over, but it was stable. “So weird.” I turned to Aiden. “Any idea what could’ve done this?”

“No clue.” He frowned at the rising sun. “But hopefully we’ll get an answer to this. We need to move on.”

We continued on, the eight of us weary and desperately hoping that the University was safe and in one piece. It almost seemed like too much to ask for.

The second wall looked better. Damage showed in places, but the gate was still standing and locked. Kind of good news, I guessed. But how in the hell were we supposed to get over a twenty-foot wall?

I folded my aching arms. “Before anyone gets any ideas, I am so not knocking a hole through this.”

Aiden sent a wry grin over his shoulder as he joined Marcus and Solos approaching the titanium gates. The sharp spikes along the top caught my eye, and my imagination placed decapitated heads on the things.

I shuddered.

Luke dropped an arm over my shoulders. “You hanging in there?”

“Of course.”

His brows rose. “You’ve been running like the little Apollyon Energizer Bunny.”

I almost laughed. “Hopefully, we’ll all get to recharge soon. How’s your arm?”

“Not as bad as I initially thought.” Luke squeezed my shoulders and let go. “I think Deacon’s getting blisters on his feet.”

At the sound of his name, Deacon scowled over his shoulder. “My feet arecovered in blisters.”

“Your poor precious feet,” Luke teased.

From the gate, Solos raised his hand, silencing us. My heart sped up as I grabbed the daggers strapped to my thighs. Luke moved Laadan and Deacon behind us as I inched forward.

“What’s going on?” I asked in a low voice.

Dawn had yet to crack the darkness beyond the gate, and all I could see were the shadows of more twisted trees.

Marcus cleared his throat. “Hello!” he called out, and his voice echoed on for what seemed like forever. “We… we come in peace.”

I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Wow.”

My uncle shot me a dark look and then continued. “I am Marcus Andros, the Dean of the Deity Island Covenant. I have Sentinels with me and the—”

The sound of guns being locked into place was a rat-a-tat-tat that shut Marcus up and probably stopped everyone’s hearts. Not a single shadow had moved beyond the gate.

“Turn around and lower your weapons now,” came a dark voice from behind us.

Oh, crap on a cracker.

My eyes flicked up, meeting Aiden’s for a brief second, and then, because I really didn’t want to be pumped full of titanium, I turned and hoped I hadn’t tapped that well of power inside me completely dry.

Two Sentinels stood behind Deacon and Laadan, guns pressed against their pale cheeks. But there were more than two Sentinels. Over a dozen surrounded us, forming a half-circle. They all held Glocks and looked more than ready to use them.

We were surrounded.

CHAPTER 34

“Lower your weapons,” the one Sentinel said again. He was tall and older, maybe in his forties, and apparently was used to being listened to.

Gods, it was truly possible for a crappy situation to get even crappier.

Aiden was the first to lower his daggers, placing them on the ground beside his feet. Then he rose slowly, lifting his hands. I knew he carried more weapons on him, and I hoped the other men didn’t realize that. Following suit, I got rid of my daggers, but left the gun shoved in the back of my waistband just in case.

The Sentinel in charge stalked forward, keeping his gun leveled on Solos, which I thought was kind of funny. Out of the four of us, he really should’ve had that gun pointed on me.

Then I realized he didn’t know who I was. Part of me relaxed, because if they were playing for Team Evil, I was sure they would have had pictures of my face plastered across their bedroom walls.

Marcus prepared to speak again, but the Sentinel’s eyes narrowed in warning. “I heard where you said you were from and that you mean no harm, but please tell me how we’re supposed to believe that.”

Good question. I glanced at my uncle, brows raised.

“We were a part of the group that escaped Deity Island,” Marcus said.

“Well, obviously,” replied the Sentinel.

I sort of liked this dude, gun pointed in our faces notwithstanding. A muscle flexed in Marcus’ jaw. “We are not working with Lucian or the First. I am not sure how to prove that to your standards, but we have traveled far to come here and have lost one of our own, courtesy of the automatons guarding this place. We are not your enemy here. We want the same thing, to stop Lucian and the First. Sentinel Mathias was on his way here. He should’ve arrived with news of our travels.”

“If this Sentinel was set to reach here within the last twenty-four hours, then he’s among the poor souls beyond the wall.” The leader’s gaze drifted over us. “No one has made it past them for over a day, which makes me curious how your group has.”

I hadn’t met the Sentinel who’d arrived while Aiden and I had been in the Underworld, but it sucked to hear that he was now among the dead.

“They turned on you then?” Aiden asked calmly. “They weren’t guarding the campus?”

At first I didn’t think the half-blood was going to answer, but he did. “The automatons were guarding the campus up until about a day ago, and then they started firing upon those seeking sanctuary here. We tried to stop them, and we ended losing half of the first wall and many lives. So again, I am curious to how a group consisting of teenagers and two untrained pure-bloods could’ve made it past them.”

“I’m the Apollyon,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “That might have something to do with it.”

Every damn gun went straight to me, and I wondered if that’d been the best thing to say. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden start to move toward me.

“It’s okay,” I added quickly, keeping my hands out in front of me. “I’m the good Apollyon, as in the one who doesn’twant to take out the Council and kill the gods.”

The Sentinel in charge didn’t look relieved or awed. Instead, he appeared ticked off and like he really wanted to put a bullet between my eyes. Which wasn’t good, because I was pretty sure Aiden was already calculating the time it would take for him to pull his gun and take out this Sentinel.

Bullets were about to fly—just as the sun started to crest, too, and wouldn’t that really gore up a beautiful sunrise?

“Half of the Sentinels and Guards who have sided with the First are looking for you, and you came here?” Anger flashed in the Sentinel’s eyes. “Do you have a death wish?”

Good thing I hadn’t mentioned that Seth and I were still sort of connected. “Actually, I don’t have a death wish. And you can shoot me if it makes you feel better, but it’s not going to kill me.”

He looked like he was seconds from finding out.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep a grip on my temper. “Look, I get your unwillingness to house me. I understand that, but you need me—you need us—because we took out those automatons and we can protect you. Not to mention I’m the only one who can stop any of this. So if you throw us out to the wolves, you’re sealing your own fates.”

The Sentinel stiffened but said nothing.

“And you have to realize this isn’t about a pure-blood’s thirst for power. This is bigger than that. Only a god could’ve turned those automatons. Not Lucian, and not the First. And that god is going to wipe out anyone who stands in his way.”

I gave my best smile, the one that usually got me out of trouble or ticked off those on the receiving end of it. “And that god isn’t the only one you’re going to have to worry about. There’s another one who goes by the name Apollo—yeah, thatApollo—and he’s going to be pretty pissed if you turn us away. See, we’re kind of related and he sort of likes me.”

Someone swore under his breath.

My smile tipped higher. “Just one more thing—you hurt any of my friends, you’re going to seriously regret doing so. Get my drift? So let’s all play nice and become best friends forever.”

“I think we should let them in,” one of the Sentinels said.

“Sounds like a smart idea.” Dark humor laced Aiden’s tone. “You might want to get your gun off my brother’s face while you’re at it.”

No one moved for a second, and I seriously hoped this guy didn’t call my bluff. I wasn’t sure I could do much in terms of the Apollyon thing, but luckily he raised a hand and the guns disappeared.

I let out a relieved breath.

“I hope I don’t regret this,” the Sentinel said, slipping his gun back into his holster. Then he extended a hand, much to my surprise. “My name is Dominic Hyperion.”

My brows rose as I took his hand. He had a firm shake.

“Hyperion?” said Marcus. “Interesting last name.”

Dominic grinned wryly. “I guess someone had a sense of humor, taking the surname of a Titan.”

“I guess so,” I murmured, relieved to see my friends no longer had guns pointed at their heads.

Stalking past me, Dominic stopped at the gate. “So you guys really took out the automatons?”

“Unless they send more, you should be free of them,” Solos answered.

“That is good.” The half paused. “You say you lost one?”

Olivia cleared her throat. “Yes. She was only eighteen, training to be a Sentinel. Her name was Lea.”

Dominic’s chin tipped down. “I am sorry for what you all have lost. The gods know we can sympathize with what you’re feeling.” With that said, he turned back to the gate. “Please follow me.”

“So you really can stop the First?” another Sentinel asked. He was younger than Dominic, around Aiden’s age. A certain gleam filled his eyes when I nodded. “Well, I’m sure there’re a lot of people beyond these gates who’ll be happy to hear that.”

“Do tell?” asked Aiden, who suddenly was by my side. He placed an arm over my shoulders, and I sent him a curious look.

The Sentinel’s eyes about popped out of his face as they landed on the overly possessive arm of Aiden’s. “You’re a—and you are a—”

Oh, dear.

Aiden smiled, his eyes a dark gray. “We’re what?”

“No. No. It’s just…” The Sentinel looked back at equally flabbergasted halfs. No one came to his aid. “It’s nothing. Never mind. Bigger problems, eh?”

“Yeah, biggerproblems…” There was a clear, cold warning in Aiden’s voice as he steered me around.

The gate was opening as Aiden’s arm slid off my shoulder, drifting across my back, leaving a wave of shivers in its wake. Dominic went through first, followed by Marcus and then Solos.

I stopped, twisting back to the bug-eyed Sentinel. “You said others would be happy to hear that I knew how to… stop the First? Who would that be?”

Dear gods, the guy looked at Aiden first before answering. “Before the automatons went crazy, a handful of groups made it in from other locations, including the Catskills.”

My heart stopped. “Council members and Sentinels?”

When he nodded, I was close to doing the Muppet arm-thing. I hadn’t let myself consider was that my father could have been one of those burnt corpses lining the road, but knowing that some had made it to the University safely sparked hope deep in my chest. It didn’t ease the tight pain of Lea’s loss, but it was something to go on.

It was something, and that was better than nothing.

As dawn crept across the lush meadow, throwing light over the tiny blue wildflowers, we reached our destination. The University campus was large, spreading between two mountain peaks like its own little town in a hammock. I imagined it was like any other college in size and atmosphere, but that was where the similarities ended.

Early-morning light reflected off the large sandstone buildings modeled after the ancient coliseums. Courtyards were filled with what seemed like every flower and tree known to man, scenting the air. Statues of the Muses guarded one academic building, while sculptures of the Olympian Twelve lined the road. Dorms that looked like mini-skyscrapers rose in the background, housing potentially thousands of students.

It was so like Deity Island, but on a much larger scale, that there was a pang in my chest.

In the center of the campus was what I assumed was their Council building, and that was where we were heading. Muscles in my legs ached, and visions of beds were dancing in my head, but I forced myself to keep going instead of sitting down in the middle of the road and going to sleep.

Busts of the Olympian Twelve were carved into the marble and sandstone structure. It was circular, like an indoor amphitheater, and a cold shiver rolled down my spine. I don’t know what it was about the Council buildings that always freaked me out, but they did.

As we climbed up the steps, I saw the statue of Themis and almost laughed. Her scales were balanced, but in whose favor?

There seemed to be no one else moving around as we entered the brightly lit lobby. Students were probably still asleep, if they were even continuing with classes. Hell, I didn’t even know what day it was. It might’ve been the weekend for all I knew.

Dominic led us around another cluster of statues, and by then I was so getting tired of seeing them and, of course, we headed up a never-ending flight of stairs. Not even the damn University could throw some money at an elevator.

It was when we were heading down a wide hallway, and I saw the Guards standing before double doors sheathed in titanium, that I knew where we were heading.

“The dean’s office,” I said.

Dominic nodded at the Guards, and then they moved as a unit, opening the heavy doors. My first glimpse of the office really struck home. It was nearly identical to Marcus’. Lush. Spacious. Tons of expensive-looking leather furniture, including a big old desk that probably made someone feel powerful and all kinds of special. There was even an aquarium built into the wall behind the desk, with vibrant fish zooming back and forth.

I glanced at Marcus and saw that his face was impressively blank. Months ago I would’ve believed that Marcus just didn’t feel anything, but now I knew better. Seeing this office had to bring forth memories both good and a buttload of bad, and I sincerely felt for him.

A door opened to our left, and a tall man with ice-blond hair and startling blue eyes entered the room. He was dressed like Marcus used to—a poster child for Golf Club of the Month. Behind him, a smaller figure entered and my mouth dropped open.

“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.”