Deity (Covenant #3)(10)

The damn cord inside me—my connection to Seth—started to hum, demanding that I pay attention. It was like an annoying pet… or like Seth. I wondered if I could use the cord to block my emotions. Opening my eyes, I started to ask but then shut my mouth.

Seth had his eyes closed and he looked like he was really concentrating on something. His lids fluttered every so often, lips drawn into a tight, tense line. Then the marks flowed over his skin, moving so fast that the glyphs were nothing more than a blur as they raced down his neck, under the collar ofhis shirt.

My heart jumped. So did the cord inside me. I tried to pull my hand free before those marks reached my skin. “Seth.”

His eyes snapped open, glazed over. The marks glided over his skin. A burst of crackling amber light radiated from his forearm. Struggling to get out from underneath him and away from that damn cord, I only succeeded in having my hands pinned down.

Panic unfurled, ripping through me. “Seth!”

“It’s okay,” he said.

But it wasn’t okay. I didn’t want that cord to do what I knew it was going to do. And then it was doing it. The amber cord wrapped around our hands, snapping and sparking, spreading down my arm. I jerked back, trying to scoot sway, but Seth held on, his eyes locked with mine.

“The cord—it’s the purest power. Akasha,” he said. Akasha was the fifth and final element, and it could only be harnessed by the gods and the Apollyon. The hue of Seth’s eyes turned luminous. They almost looked crazy. “Hold on.”

He wasn’t giving me much of a choice. My gaze fell to our hands. Pulsating, the cord tightened and flared a brilliant amber. A blue cord wiggled out from underneath the amber cord, spilling drops of incandescent light onto the bedspread. Vaguely, I hoped we didn’t catch the bed on fire. That would be hard to explain.

The blue cord flickered in and out, fluttering. Vaguely, I realized it was mine and weaker than the amber one. Then the blue jumped and pulsed. My left hand started to burn as the skin pricked. Recognizing the feeling, I freaked.

I squirmed, trying to scoot back. I didn’t want another rune, and we hadn’t held on this long last time. Something was very different about this. “Seth, this doesn’t feel—” My body jerked, cutting off my own words.

Seth’s body tensed. “Good gods…”

And then I felt it—akasha—shifting through the cords, leaving me and entering Seth. It was kind of like a daimon tag, but not painful. No… this was nice, heady. I stopped struggling, letting the glorious tug and pull lift me away. I didn’t think about anything. There were no concerns or fears. The pain in my hand melted away, leaving only a dull ache that was spreading elsewhere. There was just this… and Seth. My eyes drifted shut and a sigh leaked out. Why had I been so afraid of this?

There was a flash of light that I could still see even though my eyes were closed. Seth dropped my hand and it fell limply to my side. The bed dipped beside my head from where he placed his hands. I felt his breath on my cheek, and it felt like warm, salty air rolling off the ocean.

“Alex?”

“Hmm…?”

“You okay?” He placed his lips to my cheek.

I smiled.

Seth chuckled, and then his mouth was making its way to mine, and I opened for him. The edges of his hair tickled my cheeks as the kiss deepened. His fingers drifted down the front of my blouse and then they were sliding over the bare skin of my stomach. I wrapped my leg around his, and we were moving together on the bed. His lips were dancing all over my flushed skin as his hands slid down, fingers finding the button on my jeans.

A second later, there was a knock on my door and a booming voice. “Alexandria?”

Seth stilled above me, panting. “You have got to be freaking kidding me.”

Leon knocked again. “Alexandria, I know you’re in there.”

Dazed, I blinked several times. The room slowly came back into focus, as did Seth’s disgruntled expression. I almost laughed, except I felt… off.

“You better answer him, angel, before he barges in here.”

I tried, but failed. I took a deep breath. “Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m in here.”

There was a pause. “Lucian is requesting your presence immediately.” Another gap of silence followed. “He is also requesting to see you, Seth.”

Seth frowned as the gleam in his eyes faded. “How in the world does he know I’m in here?”

“Leon… just knows.” I pushed at him weakly. “Get off.”

“I was trying to.” Seth rolled over, running his hands down his face.

I scowled at him and sat up. A wave of dizziness swept over me. My gaze moved from Seth to my curled hand. Slowly, I opened it. Glowing in iridescent blue was a glyph that was shaped like a staple. Both of my hands were marked.

He leaned over my shoulder. “Hey, you got another one.”

I swung at him and missed by a mile. “You did that on purpose.”

Seth shrugged as he straightened his shirt. “You didn’t mind, now did you?”

“That’s not the point, you douchenozzle. I shouldn’t have these.”

He glanced up, brows arched. “Look, I didn’t do it on purpose. I have no idea how or why it happens. Maybe it’s happening because it’s supposed to.”