Elixir

CHAPTER 3

I WORKED AT KEEPING MY EXPRESSION BLANK AND MY temper in check, but anger was tearing through me, shredding my control. It took everything in me not to leave the room and go downstairs to keep vigil over Alex.

Solos eyed me and cleared his throat. “I was under the impression that only the Apollyons can kill one another.”

My hands balled into fists as Apollo turned to me. “You know.”

Now Marcus and Solos stared at me, and I wanted to shove my hand through a wall. “The Order of Thanatos killed Solaris and the First. Somehow they know how to do it, which means wouldn’t the gods?”

Dionysus laughed. “Thanatos gifted the Order with the ability—a code or something—but even Thanatos can’t recall what it was. There were never supposed to be two Apollyons—never the possibility of a God Killer. Thinking it wouldn’t be needed again, he didn’t write it down. Idiot.”

Should I feel bad for being relieved?

“The Order knows, but with Telly’s death, they’ve scattered. Not to mention that some of the Sentinels under Lucian aren’t hunting daimons anymore.” Apollo paused and glanced at the door. “They’ve begun hunting members of the Order.”

“Good gods.” Marcus strode to the window. Stopping, he dragged his fingers through his hair. “I don’t even know which is worse.”

There was the distinct impression that there was more. After a few more barbs directed at Apollo, Dionysus vanished, and a little bit of the pressure seeped from the room. “Is he on our side?” I asked.

Apollo laughed dryly. “Yes, but not because he feels the way we do. Only because he’s too lazy to engage in battle.”

Well, that was good for something. I sighed. “There is more, isn’t there? And it has to do with Alex.”

“Yes.” He looked toward the door again, eyes narrowing. Turning back to me, he nodded. The message was clear—the same one look we’d shared a dozen times over the years, when he’d been known as Leon. We had spies. Hands fisting at my sides, I stalked toward the door while Solos continued to gain information from Apollo about the Sentinels hunting the Order.

Two narrow shadows crept along the wall of the hallway, and I was sure the two thought they had James Bond stealth. More like two of the Three Stooges. How long had they been standing outside the room, and was I going to strangle them both? Possibly. I stepped out.

Deacon jumped back, knocking into an equally unprepared Luke. One would think, after all Luke’s training, he would’ve recovered a lot quicker, but things were different now. The Covenant hadn’t trained their students to face what was coming.

A sheepish look crossed my brother’s face as he straightened and ran a hand through the mess of blond curls. Instead of being angry over him eavesdropping, I was just relieved that he was here with me, when things seemed to be crashing down around us.

“Hey, there, brother…” he said.

I arched a brow. “Deacon, what are you doing?”

Luke’s shoulders squared, and then he stepped in front of Deacon. “It was my idea, Aiden.”

“Not really.” Deacon rolled his eyes. “I felt the presence of another god and I told Luke—”

“But I suggested that we try to find out what’s going on.” Luke drew in a deep breath. “You guys have been keeping us out of the loop on everything, and this stuff involves us, too.”

“Probably because it’s safer that way for you,” I pointed out.

Luke shook his head. “Honestly, considering how screwed-up everything is right now? With Evil Alex locked up in the basement and a war brewing, keeping us safe isn’t a top priority. We should know what’s going on. We could help.”

My respect for the young half-blood fought to show itself in the form of a smile. “How could you two help?”

“We haven’t quite figured that part out yet,” Deacon replied, leaning against the wall. “But I’m sure there’s something. And I think Lea’s going to kick our asses if she’s forced to spend one more evening with us.”

I frowned. “Where is Lea?”

The half-blood had been through enough, and all of us had been keeping an eye on her. First, she’d lost her father and stepmother in a daimon attack orchestrated by Alex’s mother, and then Seth had killed her sister during his attack on the Council. I knew her ties to those deaths had gotten to Alex.

“Sleeping,” my brother answered, craning his neck, trying to see around me. “Which god was here?”

There was no reason to keep that a secret. “Dionysus.”

“Dude? Are you serious?” Deacon looked crestfallen. “He’s like my favorite god of all time.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Luke muttered.

And it didn’t surprise me either. Even though Deacon had substantially cut back on the drinking, he could easily be mistaken for Dionysus’ soul-twin.

I had a decision to make—send them away or treat them like the adults they almost were. Luke was—or had been—months shy of graduation. Soon he would’ve been out in the world hunting daimons, but part of me balked at the idea of drawing Deacon into this further than he already was.

But I couldn’t baby Deacon for the rest of his life. Perhaps I’d done too much of that already, which might explain some of his previous behavior and why he didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about his relationship with Luke.

I nodded. “Come on.”

Both of them looked like I’d just professed my love for Seth, but they shot forward as if worried I’d change my mind. Following them into the den, I rolled my eyes when Apollo arched a brow.

“Okay,” Apollo said, looking around the room. “Now that everyone who is anyone is here, we have one more thing to discuss.”

Luke grinned as he moved to stand beside Solos, and my brother went to the chair furthest away from Apollo. I couldn’t figure out his aversion to Apollo, and dear gods, if those two had something going on, I might have to hurt someone.

“Alex,” Marcus said, leaning against the desk. His right hand absently spun a nearby globe.

Apollo grimaced, and I knew this was going to be bad. “The only hope we have of preventing a full-scale war is if Alex. comes around and agrees to take out Seth.”

In the past, Alex never would’ve agreed to that, but now? If we could somehow reach her and break the bond, would she go after Seth? And did I even want her to? She could get hurt… die. As a Sentinel, I needed to accept those risks, but as a man, I couldn’t when it came to Alex.

“We have found a way to break the bond. temporarily,” Apollo continued. He blinked, and bright blue irises appeared. I had to look away, because it reminded me of how Alex hated the god eyes and how Apollo toned them down for her. “It will give us time to find a permanent solution.”

Everything centered on what Apollo had just said. A temporary break in the connection was better than nothing. The rush of anticipation couldn’t be stopped and it almost knocked me on my ass. “What temporary fix?”

“You’re not going to like it—none of you are going to like it—but it’s the only option that we have at this point.”

My hands flexed. “Just get on with it. What’s the fix?”

Apollo’s brows furrowed. I was pretty sure that if it weren’t for the friendship we’d cultivated during hunts, he would’ve blasted my ass by now. “I’ve spoken with Ananke—”

“No,” Marcus said before I could open my mouth. He pushed off the desk. “There is only one reason why you’d be speaking with Ananke, and the answer is no.”

The god folded his arms and the way his entire face hardened, I could tell he wasn’t used to being told no. “I know that the thought is unsavory.”

A hot rush of rage twisted my insides into raw knots. “‘Unsavory’ isn’t a word I’m shooting for,” I grated