Deity (Covenant #3)(101)

His smile was tight as he grabbed hold of my hand again, and we were running up the center aisle. My uncle and the stranger were making short work of the Guards by the door. On the floor, Luke was holding Lea, rocking her back and forth as he kept an eye on the battle. When he saw us, he stood and pulled Lea to her feet. She was hysterical. I didn’t think she even knew what was going on around her, not even when the stranger with the scar threw a dagger and took out a Guard right beside her.

“Who… who are you?” I asked.

He bowed at the waist and grinned. “Most call me Solos.”

“Solos from Nashville?”

Solos nodded, spun around and punched the living crap out of a Sentinel who’d made a run at us. The punch knocked the guy off his feet. It was pretty epic.

“Are we getting out of here?” Luke asked. He held Lea close to him, his movements near frantic. “We’ve got to get out of—”

The air popped and crackled. Light followed, flashing over the entire room. When it receded, Apollo stood in the middle of the aisle. “Go,” he said. “Get off the island now. I will hold him off, give you enough time.”

“Alex!” roared Seth.

Cold shivers went down my spine.

“Whatever you all do, do not stop. Do not stay to help,” Apollo ordered before he turned around. “Go.”

“Come on.” Aiden had me again. “We have a car waiting down the street, by the beach.”

“You can run, Alex!” Seth’s voice carried over the uproar. “Run all you want! I will find you!”

Aiden dragged me toward the front doors. I looked back, seeing Seth standing in the center of the dais, his chest heaving. The body of the furie lay at his feet like a sick trophy.

“Stop them!” Lucian ordered, moving behind Seth. “Don’t let her out of here.”

The Guards in front of the dais turned and froze. Then they scattered like roaches.

Apollo moved up the aisle. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“I will find you! We’re connected. We are one!” Seth was still screaming. His gaze fell to the god. He sneered. “You want to fight me now, in your true form?”

“I will fight you in any form, you little punk-ass brat.”

Seth laughed. “You can’t kill me.”

“But I can beat the living snot out of you.”

That was all I heard. We were out of the courthouse, into the sunlight. Pures and halfs streamed out behind us. We kept running. I struggled to keep up with Aiden, breathing harshly. I could barely feel my legs. Stumbling more than once, Aiden caught me each time, urging me on. Then Marcus appeared at my side, and without a word, swooped me up in his arms.

Indignation swept through me. I loathed the idea of being carried, but I was more of a hindrance on my feet. Only then did I realize that my runes were still burning, the skin throbbing. My stomach started to roll violently.

“I’m going to be sick,” I gasped out.

Marcus stopped immediately, placing me on my feet. I hit my knees, and the contents of my stomach emptied on the sidewalk outside a coffee shop. It was quick and powerful, over as soon as it started, leaving my insides aching.

“Alex!” Aiden tracked back to us.

“She’s okay.” Marcus helped me to my feet. “She’s all right. Aiden, go ahead. Make sure your brother is there and get those kids to safety.”

Aiden hovered. “I’m not leav—”

“I’m fine. Go.”

Obviously reluctant to do so, it took Aiden a few more seconds before he spun around and took off.

“Are you okay?” Marcus asked. “Alexandria?”

I nodded slowly. My hands trembled. “Sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Marcus’ eyes softened, possibly for the first time since I’d known him. He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around me. It was a brief hug, but tight and everything it should’ve been. And oddly, I discovered it was something I’d been yearning for.

“Good gods, girl,” he choked out, releasing me. “Do you think you can run? It’s not very far. We have to get back to the St. Delphi’s.”

Tears clawed at my throat as I nodded. It wasn’t far, but the poor man would die carrying me the whole distance. Hoping my stomach didn’t decide to jump out of me again, I started running as fast as I could.

The run ended up nearly killing me. When we finally reached the sand, and were running into the wind, my muscles screamed and protested. I kept going, almost crying out when I saw the two black Hummers… and Aiden.

He met us halfway, thrusting a bottle of water in my hands as I slowed down. “Drink slowly.”

I sipped the water as Aiden clasped my shoulders. I wanted to tell him that I was okay, that I wasn’t who he should be worried about, but we were moving again.

Deacon was pacing at the rear of the Hummer. “Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?” He followed us past the first car. “Lea is hysterical. Luke won’t talk. What the hell happened?”

“Did you get the bags in the cars?” Aiden asked, taking the bottle from me before I forgot about the sipping rule. “All of them, like I said?”

“Yes.” Deacon ran his hands through his curls, eyes wide and intense. “What happened?”