Sentinel

CHAPTER 25

Each step I took was filled with purpose and steely determination. My hands itched for a fight, but my blood sang for the release of the akasha brimming in my veins.

Ares was so about to get knocked down a peg or five.

In the back of my mind, I realized this was how Seth must’ve felt most of the time—the cockiness, the knowledge that nothing in this realm was more powerful than the First.

Until now.

I stopped in front of the closed ballroom doors and raised my hands, summoning akasha. Releasing it took nothing. Energy pulsed out from me. I blew the titanium doors right off their hinges, throwing them clear across the ballroom.

“Gods,” Seth muttered.

Ares and Perses whipped around. Several feet separated them. The Titan’s eyes widened. One of the doors hit the floor and slid, tearing up the marble. The other slammed into Ares, throwing him back against the wall.

My lips curled into a wide smile as I stepped into the room. “Whoops. Didn’t see you standing there.”

Perses chuckled as he tipped his head back. “And here is the God Killer.”

With a battle roar, Ares threw the door off him. It winged through the air, catching Perses in the back and smashing him into the opposite wall. The marble cracked, and half of the wall came down, burying the Titan.

I wasn’t worried. Perses was a big boy. He’d get back up. Eventually.

Ares wiped his hand over his mouth and scowled, but I could sense the unease in him in that fraction of a second. Perses’ presence had done what we needed—knocking him off his game. “Well, look. The girl is the God Killer.” His all-white eyes spit electricity. “I always knew you were whipped, Seth.”

Seth flipped him off.

The god laughed as he moved his head to the side, cracking the bone. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy killing you, pretty boy.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Seth stepped forward so that he stood side by side with me.

“You look lovely,” Ares remarked, turning back to me. “All juiced up, but oh, your face and body look like a road map. Sexy.”

Seth stiffened beside me, but I laughed. “Sticks and stones, Ares. I thought you were more mature than that. And more clever. It’s kind of disappointing.”

“Disappointing?” Ares gave me a wide smile, but it wasn’t as confident as it had been that day in the dean’s office. “Oh, little girl, God Killer or not, you can’t defeat me. This world will be mine.”

“Really?’ I took a step forward, skin tingling. “Is there anything else you want to say? Because I know how you like to give long, boring, and clichéd evil-villain speeches. Can we skip it this time and just get to killing you?”

He snarled and threw out his hand. White light pulsed from his palm, arcing straight for me. I spun, moving quicker than I ever had, avoiding the god bolt. He sent another at Seth, but he too was quick on his feet.

So over the smack talk, my muscles tensed and I charged the god. He averted my attack at the last minute, but Seth was on him, too. He deflected Seth’s blow, pushing him back as I sprang up behind the god, shoving my foot into the center of his back with all my strength. That kind of kick would’ve taken out a demigod or a mortal, but with Ares, he merely stumbled forward and turned.

The look on his face said bitch, please.

He swung out and I dipped, but I was an instant too late. His fist caught my jaw, snapping my head to the side. Fiery pain shot across my face. Damn. He could hit. I hadn’t forgotten that, but still.

“Ouch,” I said. “Hitting girls isn’t nice.”

“But Ares wouldn’t know that, would he?” Seth spun, catching Ares in the leg with a brutal kick. The god stumbled. “After all, I’m pretty sure he’s only gotten lucky with Aphrodite, and everyone gets lucky with her.”

Ares threw his arms out. He didn’t touch either of us, but I was suddenly off my feet and flying backwards. I caught sight of Seth’s shocked expression a second before I slammed into the wall.

I hit the floor on my knees, the air knocked out of my lungs. Before I could recover, Ares’ knee collided with my chin, knocking me flat on my back. My head spun as I rolled onto my side.

“Not so badass now, are you? Why don’t—?” He stopped, intercepting Seth’s attack.

Lightning erupted from Ares’ palm, and my heart spasmed with the first bite of fear since becoming the God Killer. Ares could kill Seth, just like Apollo could kill me. A cry froze in my throat as Seth drew up short, recognition flaring in his amber eyes. He darted to the side at the last second, and the bolt hit him in the shoulder, flinging him backward.

My relief was short-lived. Ares grabbed hold of the front of my shirt and hauled me off the ground. He snarled in my face, his features contorting inhumanly. “I will have Olympus and I will rule this realm. There is—”

Ares dropped me with a grunt and I hit the floor on my butt, too stunned at first to realize what had happened. Then, I saw it.

Perses had recovered and tackled the god like a linebacker. They slid along the floor, tearing up chunks of marble like it was paper. The Titan’s fists rained down, catching Ares over and over again. His punches were faster than the eye could track.

Rock ‘em, sock ‘em Titan.

As I staggered to my feet, Ares slammed his palms into the center of the Titan’s chest and yelled. The air snapped with power, and a moment later Perses was several feet away, lying in a bloody, twitching heap.

While he was down, I started toward Ares, knowing I needed one clean shot—one blast of pure akasha when he was at his weakest to end this. I was halfway toward him when my senses fired up.

Seth shouted as he struggled to his feet.

Out of nowhere, a freaking daimon came out at me, ragged teeth exposed and veins like tiny black snakes. I so did not have time for this. Engaging the sickle blade, I arced my arm up, catching the daimon at the neck.

That was all she wrote.

Seth rushed forward, hitting Ares at the waist as he fired off a god bolt at me. Knocked off-balance, his aim wasn’t spectacular. The bolt caught me in the leg, and pain exploded in a rush of wet warmth.

Holy Hades, that hurt…

I staggered back and then fell as the pain ricocheted down my leg. He threw Seth off him like a Frisbee and sprang up fluidly.

On his feet, Ares was a hundred percent focused on me as he stalked forward. I kept my gaze trained on him as I picked myself up, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Red streaked his bare chest, and I felt a surge of satisfaction.

“All I need is you,” he taunted. “And you will submit to my will.”

And all I needed was for him to keep his creepy god eyes on me, so he could keep talking his smack all he wanted. “Is that so? I think we know where I stand on the whole submission thing.”

“We also know how the last time ended when you refused.” Ares spared a quick glance at Perses’ still-prone body. He laughed. “This time I know how to get what I want from you.”

“Do tell.” I took a measured step back, drawing on akasha once more. It whipped through my veins like white lightning, boiling my blood and burning my body from the inside. The urge to unleash it was almost too hard to deny, but it wasn’t time.

Ares’ lips curled into a sneer. “You will do anything to protect those you care for. I could go for that pure-blood of yours. Or how about your father? Both of them are outside, right?”

My fingers straightened. Behind him, Seth was on his feet, a Covenant dagger clutched in his right hand. “If you were going to use them, you’d have pulled that card by now, which tells me you don’t quite know where my father is. And you haven’t gotten to Aiden.”

“I will,” he promised. “And it’s only a matter of time before they make their way in here. Both will come to your aid, and I know, oh yes, I know you’ll do anything to keep them safe,” Ares said. “And I will kill one of them, and you’ll have to choose. I just need to bide my time.”

Seth was almost on him.

I allowed myself a smile. “That’s the funny thing about time. You never have as much as you think.”

Ares opened his mouth, but his words were cut off by Seth’s dagger. Shoved deep into Ares’ back. The god reared and screamed. “I’m going to kill you!”

“It’s a little too late for that,” Seth said, yanking the blade out of Ares’ back.

I snapped forward at the same moment Ares threw his arm out, sending Seth flying into the air. Seth hit a pillar with a sickening crunch I couldn’t allow to distract me. Akasha rushed through me, and my vision tinged with white.

Ares whirled on me, swaying to the side as I unleashed the purest power in and out of the mortal realm. Throwing my arm out, akasha flared from my shoulder, just like the cord that had connected me to Seth. Spiraling down my arm, it erupted in a burst. Ares tried to move, but he wasn’t fast enough.

The bolt of akasha hit him in the center of the chest, and I kept the stream of energy up, throwing everything into the attack. Light crackled and spit into the air. Wisps of fine smoke radiated above the cord.

Stalking forward, I kept on him, not giving him a chance to slip away. I could feel the energy in me waning with each passing second, but I gritted my teeth. This was it. There would be no second chances. When the akasha sputtered out, which it would, I would be down for the count.

But Ares…he was backing away, still able to walk, and I was weakening fast. I had no idea how much more I had in me or what it would take to truly kill an Olympian. But the stream of akasha pulsed, and then the light weakened. My breath expelled from my lungs harshly as an ache started behind my eyes.

Then Seth was beside me, grasping my free hand, and he squeezed. The cord between us reappeared, wrapping around our joined hands. Suddenly, it made sense to me. I drew in a breath, and Seth jerked as if a puppet master had pulled on his strings. The light from the akasha flared intensely, growing until it was too bright to look upon. Pulling from us both, the blast of energy became a white fire.

Ares’ fury-filled roar developed into a terror-filled scream. A loud popping sound, like a hundred guns going off at the same time, followed. The akasha faded out, not snapping back to me, but simply fizzling like fireworks vanishing into the sky.

I still held onto Seth’s hand, my body shaking as Ares came into view.

The gods’ eyes were wide, his arms stretched out at his sides. He tipped his chin down and his mouth opened, but no sound came out. A ball of crackling white light was embedded deep in his chest. The light spread out, following the intricate network of veins until his chest lit up.

I took a breath, but it got stuck.

Ares lifted his head as the white lines reached across his shocked face, covering his head within a second.

He disappeared under the white light.

The sound of deafening thunder cracked through the room. The air distorted and rippled, and I saw it coming a second too late. The sonic wave rolled across the room at frightening speed, slamming into Seth and me. It broke my hold on him, splitting us apart, and we flew backward, hit the floor, and slid. An explosion rocked the room, and fine, white dust poured into the air like snow. Starbursts flooded my vision like a thousand bombs going off.

And then there was silence.

Hands and arms shaking, I rolled onto my side and lifted myself halfway up. The wall across from me was gone. A hole had been blown straight through it, exposing beams and crumbling brick and sunlight.

I looked over my shoulder and let out a ragged breath.

The spot where Ares had stood was empty. On the floor, the blackened tile formed a perfect circle, like a brand. I knew in my bones that Ares was gone. The blast was a release of his essence, returning it to wherever it came from.

Shifting onto my butt, I winced at the ache that consumed my body as I scanned the room for Seth. The white dust had settled like a fine blanket of snow. Near the entrance of the ballroom, Seth lay face-down.

I stared at him for a moment, my brain slowly catching up to my surroundings, and when it did, my heart nearly exploded in my chest.

Seth wasn’t moving.

Oh gods…

I staggered to my feet and rushed toward him, ignoring the weakness in my limbs. “No. No. No.”

Dropping down beside him, I grabbed his shoulders and rolled him onto his back. “Seth,” I whispered, shaking him. “Seth, come on.”

His eyes were shut. Golden lashes fanned cheeks that didn’t move. There was a wrenching feeling deep inside me, a splintering and tearing in my chest that felt so very real.

He wasn’t moving.

I grasped his cheeks. The marks of the Apollyon—the beautiful blue marks flared under my fingers. No. No. No. I tried our bond to reach him. Seth? But there was no answer, nothing but a low hum. Panicked, I shook him again, and when he didn’t respond, a broken sob racked its way through my body as I dropped my head onto his chest.

Grief tore through me—the kind I hadn’t known would be possible to feel again, because I had felt this when I’d held Caleb as he died. No matter what Seth had done, the terrible things he’d started, he’d made it right in the end. And even if he hadn’t, if it had been my hand in the end that brought him down, the pain would’ve still been there. Seth was a part of me—my other half. And I was losing that part. Forever.

I can’t breathe.

“Neither can I. You’re squashing me.”

Jerking back, I let out a startled shriek. Seth stared back at me, his amber eyes slightly unfocused, but he was breathing. He was alive.

I smacked him. Hard.

“Ow!” Seth rolled onto his side, out of my grasp. “What the hell was that for?”

“Don’t ever do that again, you jerk!” I smacked him again, hitting him on the hip. “I thought you were dead!”

Seth chuckled hoarsely as he rose onto his knees. “I was knocked out, Angel. Please don’t do that again.”

I stared at him, caught between wanting to hit him and hug him. “I hate you.”

“I’m going to have to call bullshit on that.” Lifting his chin, he squinted as he looked around. “You did it, didn’t you? Ares is gone.”

Sitting back, I followed his gaze. Pillars cracked. Walls destroyed. I nodded slowly. “We did it.”

Our gazes locked, and a silly grin appeared on Seth’s face as he extended his hand. I took it, and we stood together.

Then I remembered a very important, currently MIA Titan. Dropping Seth’s hand, I turned around and scanned the room. Nothing. And Perses was kind of hard to miss, which meant he was gone. The gods weren’t going to be happy about that.

“Crap,” I muttered. “He bounced.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that now.” Seth pressed a hand against his ribs. A grimace shot across his face. “He’s their problem.”

Not true. “He’s our—”

The air thickened around us, filling with static.

“It’s not going to be their first problem,” I said, letting out a ragged breath as my heart jumped in my chest.

In front of the massive hole in the wall, shimmery forms appeared like rays of sunshine, one after another after another. I counted the glowing figures once, then twice. “Oh, crap.”

Seth wrapped an arm around my waist. “I’m going to admit this. My eyes are kind of blurry, but there are eleven shiny things surrounding us, right?”

I practically plastered myself to him, nodding. There were eleven shiny things forming a wide circle around us. The Olympian Twelve—er, Eleven. Would’ve been twelve if Ares hadn’t been obliterated. My breath caught.

Two floated forward, becoming more solid. Lifting my arm, I shielded my eyes. Their light was so bright, so beautiful. For a moment, all I could do was be awe-struck by what I was seeing.

“You should have waited before you hit me. I think you broke me,” whispered Seth.

“Uh, you’ll be okay,” I said, and Seth’s muscles tensed around me.

“So, you think they’re here to congratulate us?”

I lowered my arm, watching as the lights took on human forms. A male and female stood before us, their features not so distinguishable yet, but I knew they weren’t Apollo or Artemis.

“I don’t think so,” I whispered.

“Maybe they’re mad because you’ve been sleeping with a pure,” Seth joked, but his voice was laced with unease.

I looked over my shoulder at him. “Really? That’s the reason? It couldn’t be that you took out an entire Council of pures?”

A wry smile formed on Seth’s lips. “You’re splitting hairs, Alex.”

“Gods, you’re so annoying.”

He stepped forward, blocking me from the two closest gods. Rolling my eyes, I moved so that we were shoulder to shoulder.

Seth looked down at me. “If I tell you to run, you run.”

“No.” I grabbed his hand and held on. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that they weren’t here for him. “We face this together.”

The shimmery light faded, revealing the gods around us, but I didn’t see past the one in front of us. A million years could’ve gone by and I never, ever thought I would lay eyes upon him.

Zeus was not as I imagined.

I’d always pictured this older guy with a potbelly and bushy, gray beard, but that was not what Zeus looked like. Not in the slightest.

Dressed in some kind of white, linen pants, his chest and stomach were bare. And ripped—ripped like you could cut your fingers on those abs. The curve of his strong jaw was also bare of hair. He was sublimely handsome, his lips wide and eyes tilted exotically. His features were sharp, breathtakingly angular.

I could see a bit of a Titan in him.

The only thing my imagination had gotten right was his hair. It was shockingly white.

“You did well,” he spoke, his voice as deep and commanding as Perses’. There was no anger in his tone. I knew in that moment, before Zeus even spoke again, that Apollo hadn’t come through. My knees suddenly felt weak, and if I hadn’t been holding Seth’s hand, I would’ve sunk to the floor. “You will be rewarded greatly.”

A shudder rocked through me, but Seth…he didn’t understand—he didn’t get what Zeus hadn’t tacked on at the end. “Well, that’s surprising,” he murmured.

My gaze darted to the gods, finding Apollo standing next to a somber Artemis. Apollo shook his head no, and my heart sank all the way. I took a jerky step back, my skin turning icy.

“Don’t,” Zeus said, his voice level and calm. “This is the only way.”

Seth’s grip on my hand tightened. “What’s the only way?”

Zeus ignored him. “You know this must be done. We cannot allow a God Killer to exist. The threat is too great, even greater than what Ares posed.”

In that moment, I briefly considered trying to take out Zeus, but it had drained everything in me and Seth to kill Ares. It wouldn’t work. Maybe I would lay some bruises on Zeus, but in the end, I couldn’t defeat another Olympian. All I had was Apollo in my corner. He could walk away from this, refuse Zeus’ bidding, because he was the only one who could kill me—besides a Titan, and our Titan had vanished.

But Apollo didn’t look like he was going to disobey his father.

Oh, my gods…

Another shiver rocked my body as it really seeped in. This was it. I wanted to run. I wanted to fight, but as I stared back at the gods, I saw that it would all be so very pointless. If I fought, Seth would get hurt in the process. Badly. And who’s to say that Zeus wouldn’t turn to finding Aiden and my father to make this easier? I couldn’t risk them. I couldn’t risk anyone else like I’d done with Caleb, Lea, Olivia, and so many more.

It…it was now my turn.

Seth’s head snapped back as if he’d been slapped. “No. You can’t do this. We helped you! She did everything you wanted her to do!” He dropped my hand, forming his into fists. “You can’t do this to her!”

Having not seen Seth this upset in a long time, I sucked in a sharp breath. My heart was trying to come out of my chest again. “Seth…”

“No!” He took a step toward Zeus, but I shot forward, grabbing his arm. His wide eyes met mine. “Alex, you can’t—”

“There’s nothing either of you can do,” Zeus said, taking a step back to stand next to Hera.

She inclined her head to the side, and several strands of russet-colored hair slipped from her elegant coif. “It is for the best of everyone.”

An angry flush flooded Seth’s cheeks. “Are you serious?”

“Seth!” I tugged on his arm.

“What?” he snapped, turning on me. He gripped my shoulders. “You can’t be okay with this. And you’re not giving up!”

Was I giving up? I glanced back at Apollo and read the sadness in his expression. “I’m not giving up, Seth, but they won’t allow the God Killer to live.”

Seth didn’t respond immediately, but when he did, he cursed harshly and blanched. “You knew! You knew that this would happen.”

I shook my head and whispered, “Could happen. I knew this could happen.”

“Could versus would? Are you shitting me? You knew this could happen, and you let me allow you to put yourself in this situation?” He shook me as more blood drained from his face. “How could you, Alex?”

Blinking back tears, I shook my head again. How could I say that he couldn’t have handled the power of the God Killer and not make him feel worse?

“This is sweet,” Hera said, stepping back so she joined the other Olympians. “He cares for her so deeply, and yet she loves another. Tragic.”

Really? My gaze slid to her, but then Apollo stepped forward, breaking ranks. Each step was slow, purposeful. A lump formed in my throat. There wasn’t enough time. I realized that then. The same crack I’d thrown in Ares’ face had now turned back on me.

Karma was a bitch and a half.

And so was Fate, because this was Fate, wasn’t it? Either way, I wanted to see Marcus one more time and share an awkward hug with him. I wanted to see my father once more, maybe have dinner with him. I wanted to watch Deacon and Luke laugh, and see Solos’ smile.

And, oh gods, I wanted to kiss Aiden, just once more.

But there was no time. This was happening. All those moments, from the second my mother had taken me out of the Covenant, had been leading up to this. She had tried to prevent this—even as a daimon, she had tried to prevent this.

Grandma Piperi had said I’d kill the ones I love.

She had forgotten to tell me that I would also die in the end.

Gods, she sucked at the whole foretelling thing. But Solaris had known, hadn’t she? She had sounded like she’d been seeing me again soon, and she would be.

This was so not fair.

“Alexandria,” Apollo said gently. “It is time.”

I turned to Seth, my heart racing. “Please—”

“No!” he yelled, still fighting the inevitable. “This isn’t right. They can’t do this. You don’t deserve this. I do. They—”

“They’re not going to take you,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. “Listen to me, Seth. They’re not. They can’t kill you. Ares is gone, and I’m the God Killer. There’s nothing we can do.”

The full horror of the situation dawned in Seth’s expressive face, and he placed his hands on my cheeks. He pressed his forehead to mine. “Oh gods, Alex, I don’t want this to happen. Alex…”

I gripped his arms, forcing myself to breathe. “Please take care of Aiden. I know you two don’t get along, but please. He’s going to need someone. So please watch out for him. Promise me, Seth. Promise me.”

There was a long pause, and I thought I felt his tears mix with mine. “I promise.”

Those two words, well, they helped a little, but God Killer or not, I was scared and I didn’t want to be alone. “Don’t let go,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

“I won’t,” he swore, his lips brushing my cheek. “I will never let go.”

I started to shake. I didn’t want to be scared. Where was that strength and courage I’d felt earlier? I wanted to be the one who faced Fate with her head high, but I was scared. I knew there was no coming back from this. I would never see my father, my friends, or Aiden again. My breath caught again, and each time I took a breath, I feared it would be the last one. “Don’t leave me. Please? I don’t want to be by myself.”

“You’re not.” Seth slipped his arms around me, holding me close. “You’re not alone.” His tears were mingled with mine. “You’re not alone. You’ll never be alone, Angel. I promise you. You’ll never—”

I took a breath and never heard his next words. There was a harsh expletive from Seth, and then the world ended for me on the heels of a burst of beautiful bright sunlight.