Deity (Covenant #3)(114)

Apollo gave her a little smile. “That is the point. Alexandria would have to kill him once she Awakens.”

Chapter 34

I COULDN’T HAVE HEARD HIM RIGHT. THERE WAS NO way. “What?”

Apollo turned back to the window. “You would have to kill him, Alexandria. As an Apollyon, you will be able to.”

The idea of killing Seth horrified and sickened me. There was no way I could do that. I ran my hand over my face, feeling nauseous. “I can’t do that.”

“You can’t?” Lea stared, her eyes glistening in the light. “He killed my sister, Alex! He killed those Council members.”

“I know, but it’s… it’s not his fault. Lucian has warped his mind.” And he’d hesitated before he took out the Council. I’d seen that. For a moment, the Seth I knew didn’t want to do it, but afterward… he’d looked thrilled. “It wasn’t his fault.”

And it sounded like I was trying to convince myself.

Lea’s lips thinned. “That doesn’t make what he did okay.”

“I know that, but…” But I couldn’t kill Seth. I sat in the chair heavily, staring at the remains of Spider-man. “There has to be another way.”

“I know a part of you cares for him,” Apollo said quietly. “You were… built to feel that way. A part of him is you and vice versa, but it is the only way.”

I met his eyes for a long second, and then Apollo looked away. A shadow passed over his face. A strange, almost-bad taste sprang up in the back of my mouth. “Is there another way, Apollo?”

“Does it matter?” Lea slammed her hands down on the table, causing me to jump. “He needs to die, Alex.”

I flinched.

“Lea,” Marcus said gently.

“No! I’m not going to shut up about this!” She shot to her feet, coming alive. “I know it doesn’t seem fair, Alex. But Seth killed those people—my sister. And that wasn’t fair.”

My throat closed up. Lea had a point. There was no arguing that, but she hadn’t seen what I’d seen… and she didn’t know Seth. Then again, maybe I didn’t even know him.

“And it sucks,” Lea continued. Her hands balled into fists that shook. “I even thought Seth was hot, but that was up until he incinerated my sister. You like him. That’s great. You’re a part of him. Awesome. But he killed people, Alex.”

“I understand that, Lea.” I looked around the room, my gaze settling on Aiden. “Everyone keeps saying there’s hope. Maybe we can save him. And Artemis mentioned something about power going both ways. Maybe there is something to that.”

Pain flickered in his silver eyes, and then I remembered his words and my own realization. Sometimes you have to know when to let hope go.

She sucked in a sharp breath as she clearly struggled to rein her anger and sorrow back in. “You loved your mom, right? You loved her even after she became a daimon.”

“Lea,” Aiden cut in sharply.

“But you knew she needed to… needed to be stopped,” she rushed on before Aiden could shut her up. “You loved her, but you did the right thing. How is this any different?”

I recoiled from the table. Her words were like a punch in the stomach, because they were true. How was this any different? I had done the right thing with my mom, so why was it so hard for me to understand why this needed to be done now?

“I think that’s enough for today,” Marcus interjected.


Lea stood her ground for a few more seconds, but then stormed out of the room. Part of me wanted to go after her and try to explain myself, but I had enough common sense to know that wouldn’t be wise.

“She’s in a dark place right now,” Marcus said. “She hurts. Maybe later she’ll understand that this is hard for you, also.”

“It’s not as hard as it is for her.” I tucked my hair back. “I just can’t… the idea of killing him makes me sick. There has to be another way.”

Apollo glided toward me. “All of this… can wait. Today is your birthday, your Awakening.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know what’s going on with that.” I stared at the runes on my palms. They glowed faintly. Nothing had changed about them. “I feel the same. Nothing’s happened.”

“When were you born?” Apollo asked.

“Uh, March the fourth.”

He arched a brow. “What time, Alexandria? What was the time of your birth?”

I pursed my lips. “I don’t know.”

A dubious look crossed Apollo’s face. “You don’t know what time you were born?”

“No. Do people know that?”

“I was born at 6:15am,” Aiden said, trying to hide his grin. “Deacon was born at 12:55pm. Our parents told us.”

My eyes narrowed. “Well, no one told me… or I forgot.”

“Marcus?” Apollo asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t… recall.”

“Well, you obviously have not hit your time of birth yet.” Apollo pushed away from the window. “I think we have had enough serious talk for the day. It is, after all, your birthday. A time for celebration, not making plans for battle.”