Deity (Covenant #3)(64)

Marcus cleared his throat. “I’m really at a loss of what to say.”

Apollo waved his hand dismissively. “We’ve worked together for months. Nothing has changed.”

“We didn’t know you were Apollo.” Aiden folded his arms. “That changes things.”

“Why?” Apollo smiled. “I just don’t expect you to be as willing to spar with me now.”

The skin around Aiden’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Yeah, you can be sure of that. All of this is just… I mean, how did we not know?”

“Simple. I did not want any of you to know. It made things easier… blending in.”

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted. Apollo arched a brow, waiting. I felt my cheeks flush. “This is just really awkward.”

“Do tell,” Apollo murmured.

“I mean, I’ve like insulted you every which way from Sunday to your face. Multiple times. Like when I accused you of chasing boys and girls and how they turn themselves into trees to get away—”

“Like I said before, some of those things are not true.”

“So Daphne didn’t turn into a tree to get away from you?”

“Oh, my gods,” Aiden muttered, rubbing a hand along his jaw.

A muscle popped on Apollo’s jaw. “That was not all my fault. Eros shot me with a damn arrow of love. Trust me, when you are hit with one of those things, you cannot help what you do.”

“But you cut off some of her bark.” I shuddered again. “And wore it as a wreath. That’s like a serial killer collecting their victim’s personal items… or fingers.”

“I was in love,” he replied, as if being in love explained away the fact that the chick turned herself into a tree to get away from him.

“Okay. What about Hyacinth? The poor boy had no idea—”

“Alexandria,” Marcus sighed, looking near apoplectic.

“Sorry. I just don’t understand why he hasn’t smited me or something.”

“The day is still young,” Apollo said, grinning when my eyes widened.

Marcus glanced at me. “You’re here because of her.”

Apollo nodded. “Alexandria is very important.”

This was weird to me. “I thought the gods weren’t fans of the Apollyons.”

“Zeus created the first Apollyon thousands of years ago, Alexandria, as a way to ensure that no pure-blood would become too powerful and threaten the mortal race or us,” he explained. “They were created as a system of checks and balances. We are neither fans nor enemies of the Apollyon, but see them only as a necessity that will be needed one day. And that day has come.”

Chapter 19

“WHY NOW?” I ASKED WHEN NO ONE ELSE SPOKE. I think the pures were a little star-struck. Apollo was a rock star to them, but even with his otherworldly beauty he was still just Leon to me.

“The threat has never been greater,” Apollo answered. Seeing my confusion, he sighed. “Perhaps I should explain a few things.”

“Perhaps you should,” I muttered.

Apollo drifted over to the bedside table and picked up the pitcher of water. Sniffing it, he placed it back down. “My father has always been… paranoid. All that power, but all Zeus has ever feared is his children doing what he did to his parents. Overthrowing him, conquering Olympia, slaughtering him in his sleep—you know, the same old family drama.”

I shot Aiden a look, but he was riveted by Apollo.

“Anyway, Zeus decided that he should keep his enemies close. That is why he called all the demigods back to Olympus and destroyed the ones who didn’t heed his call, but he forgot about their children.” Apollo smirked. “All that power, and sometimes I wonder if Zeus had been dropped on his head as a baby. He forgot about the Hematoi, the children of the demigods.”

I laughed, but Marcus glanced up at the ceiling as if he expected Zeus to strike Apollo with a bolt of lightning.

“The Hematoi,” Apollo looked at Marcus and Aiden pointedly, “are watered down versions of the demigods, but you are very powerful in your own way. Your numbers frankly outnumber the gods by thousands. If there was ever a cohesive attempt to overthrow us, it might just succeed. And the mortals, they would not stand a chance against the Hematoi.”

“I thought you guys were, like, all-knowing. Wouldn’t you know if you were about to be overthrown?”

Apollo laughed. “Legends, Alexandria, are hard to separate from the truth. There are things we know, but the future is never set in stone. And when it comes to any creature living on this planet, we cannot see or interfere with them. We do have… tools we use to keep an eye on things.”

“That’s why the oracle lived here,” Aiden said.

Again, there was a tickle in the back of my head. Something about an oracle poked at my fuzzy memories. It stayed out of reach.

“Yes. The oracle answers to me and only me.”

“Because you’re a god of prophecy… among five hundred other things,” I added, picking back up on the conversation.

“Yes.” He came back to the bed, tilting his head to the side. “Once Zeus realized that he had forgotten about the Hematoi, he knew he had to create something that was powerful enough to control the Hematoi but could not populate like the Hematoi did.”