Sentinel

“Better than what you had to face,” Solos replied. “I should’ve—”

“There’s nothing you could’ve done,” I interrupted, shifting my weight. I wanted a pillow—STAT. “It seems like there are more Sentinels here than there were with us.”

“There are.” His eyes gleamed with excitement. “Come on. I’m sure you guys could use something to eat. I’ll explain on the way.”

My stomach rumbled in response, and Aiden sent me a quick grin. I was too tired to be embarrassed. “So what’s going on?”

“Our advance scouts met up with a group of about fifty Sentinels outside of the city. They’re from the New York Covenant and were out scouting beyond the line of the automatons. They showed us a way around. We had a minor run-in with a few automatons, but we didn’t lose any numbers.”

They were lives, not numbers.

He knows that. Seth’s voice startled me. I hadn’t realized I’d projected those thoughts anywhere. But looking at them that way helps keep the mind clear.

I guess, I responded without much conviction.

“They brought us back here. There’s at least a hundred more. They’ve been here since Ares took over. They made it out after he did.” Purpose filled his voice. “They know the set-up inside, where Ares has been holing up, how many he has beyond the walls, and so on.”

All of that was valuable knowledge, necessary knowledge, and that was what Aiden was telling Solos, and then they were talking about more important stuff. But all I could think was that, if there were Sentinels here that had gotten out after Ares took over, was my father among them? Solos wouldn’t know if he was, but Seth and Laadan had said that that my father had stayed behind with the servants.

“Are there servants here?” I asked, interrupting them.

Solos glanced back at me. “Yes. There are quite a few. Most of them aren’t under the effects of the Elixir anymore.”

My heart tripped up in my chest, and my wide eyes met Aiden’s. There was a reluctant hope in his gaze. I knew he wanted my father to be somewhere among those up ahead or in the house, but he was wary of that fragile dream and the crushing disappointment that was sure to come if he wasn’t.

He was behind the walls when I was last here. Seth’s words were as heavy as Solos’ apology. He could’ve made it out since then, but…

But Ares knew that my father was there. I sighed. It was stupid to hope, wasn’t it?

“Never,” Seth said out loud.

Aiden glanced back, brows furrowed, but then he turned back to Solos.

Stones sat in my stomach. Man, that disappointment wasn’t far behind. I tried to shake it off, because we had such huge things to accomplish. We would have to move on Ares quickly, probably by the following nightfall, but I wanted to see my dad. I needed him to know that I knew who he was.

If things went south fast, I wanted to see him before I…

I didn’t allow myself to finish that thought. I had to trust that Apollo would find a way to stop the Olympians from snuffing me out once I became the God Killer. He’d said he would take care of me. He’d sworn, and supposedly gods kept their promises.

Except in Solos’ case, and just about every other story I could think of.

Sigh.

As we crossed the lawn, the Sentinels that had been gawking at Perses did the same as Seth and I neared. Several muttered curses when they laid eyes on the First, their gazes cold and unfriendly.

“Friends of yours?” I asked, watching one of them rest his hand on his gun.

Seth gave a lopsided shrug. “I’m sure we may have exchanged a few words before…”

“Before you pulled your head out of your ass?”

A laugh burst from him. “Exactly.”

“You should sleep well tonight.”

He stepped around a bag full of what looked like rifles. “I doubt any of us will really be sleeping.”

I recognized some of the faces from the University, but there were a lot of strangers in the crowd, and many of them were my age. Young. I didn’t feel young, not anymore, but I guessed technically I still was, and so were they.

Solos introduced us to the Sentinels who were in charge of the group from inside the Covenant. They looked battered but hopeful as they saw with their own eyes what Solos must’ve been telling them.

The Apollyons were unified, and we’d brought a Titan with us.

It sounded kind of badass, but then again, we were going up against Ares.

We headed into the house, which was really a mansion. Someone said it’d once belonged to a mortal in the government, but they had abandoned it when Ares brought in the mortal troops. Food was given to us, and I tried to eat quietly while Aiden conversed with the different Sentinels. I didn’t see where Luke and Deacon had roamed off to, but I hoped, wherever they were, Luke was doing okay.

I picked at my sandwich, my stomach too full of knots to be hungry. Part of me worried that I was throwing way too many vibes at Seth, but I suspected he was blocking me. After all, he was a hell of a lot better at it than me.

Giving up on the food, I set the plate aside, left the large sitting room, and investigated the house. I lost count of how many rooms were downstairs after I walked through what looked like the third sitting room. Who needed this many rooms? And why were there so many short halls? It was like a maze.

Sighing, I pushed the shorter strands of hair that had escaped my ponytail out of my face. I knew I should be back in that room with Aiden and Solos. They had been talking about plans for tomorrow. I should’ve been leading those conversations—or at least paying attention. Or pretending to listen by being in the same room as them.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty.”

I jumped at the sound of Seth’s voice, surprised that he was able to sneak up on me. Turning toward him, I found him under the archway. Well, there went the idea that he was blocking my feelings.

“Are you following me?” I asked instead of acknowledging his statement.

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t you be following Perses?”

“Why?” He tipped his head down, and a lock of blond hair fell across his forehead. “He’s behaving. Right now, he’s outside with the Sentinels, getting them all wound up.”

I sat on the edge of an antique couch that had the hardest, most uncomfortable cushions ever. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I think so. He’ll get them ready to battle. We’re going to need everything we have to get past the army Ares has and inside those walls.”

I nodded slowly. “You think we can do it?”

“Most definitely.” One side of his lips quirked up.

“And you think we can take out Ares?”

“I do.” Seth strode over the couch and sat beside me. My initial reaction was to get up, especially since he was having so many problems ignoring the allure of the power that rested inside of me, but I stayed put. “Perses will make sure we get to him, and then he will weaken Ares, giving us time to make the transfer. You remember how to do it?”

“Yes.” I clapped my hands together in my lap and peeked at him. The amber hue of his eyes was deeper. I decided to take a stab at the argument again. “Waiting until the very last minute is risky.”

“You doing it now is risky, Alex. You don’t know what it’s like. I know—”

“I believe you,” I said, and I really did. The power had corrupted Seth, and he was only the First. Becoming the God Killer was apparently going to turn me into an aether-crazed Terminator. Besides, yelling at him hadn’t worked last time. “If I can’t handle it after I take out Ares, you’ve got to get away from me. Quickly.”

His frown did nothing to lessen his beauty. “I don’t think I’ve said this to you right.”

My brows rose.

His frown deepened. “You can handle it.”