Deity (Covenant #3)(67)

I nodded.

Part of me ached worse after realized I’d been with Caleb, because his loss was fresh again. But as Aiden held me long after I’d quieted down, the tears that came, in spite of everything, were joyful ones. The pain of Caleb’s loss was still there, but it was lessened by the knowledge that he was truly at peace, and so was my mom. And right now, that was all that mattered.

Chapter 20

MY HEART WAS RACING, PUMPING BLOOD THROUGH my body way too fast for someone who’d died and all. I tried and failed not to stare at Aiden as a Guard carried my bags into his parents’ house. It was the middle of the night, and I should’ve felt cold, but I felt ridiculously hot. Especially after Deacon met us in the foyer with a funny little grin on his face.

“This is probably the safest place to stash you until we find Telly and are able to determine if anyone else here is tied to the Order.” Marcus dropped his arm on my shoulders. “Once I get back from Nashville, you’ll stay with me, or with Lucian, once he returns from New York.”


“She should be kept as far away from Lucian’s house as possible,” Apollo said, appearing out of nowhere. Several of the Guards backed off, eyes wide and faces pale. Apollo grinned at them. “Anywhere Seth will be, I suggest Alexandria should not be.”

Every pure and half bowed at the waist. I did too, forgetting the stitches that were healing, and grimaced.

“We need to put a bell on him,” Aiden muttered.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.

“Actually,” Apollo drawled slowly. “She is probably the safest here.”

Deacon sounded like he choked.

Marcus recovered quicker than he had last time. “Have you found something?”

“No.” Apollo glanced at Deacon curiously before his gaze settled on Marcus. “I wanted to speak with you privately.”

“Of course.” Marcus turned to me. “I’ll be back in a few days. Please listen to what Aiden tells you and… try to stay out of trouble.”

“I know. I’m not allowed to leave his house unless Apollo tells me to.” Those were Marcus’ exact words. No one else could remove me from this house other than Apollo, Aiden, or Marcus. Not even Lucian’s Guards. If anyone else tried, I’d been given permission to kick some butt.

Marcus nodded at Aiden and turned to leave. Passing by, Apollo gave us a two-finger salute that just looked bizarre coming from him. Over the past two days, I’d grown used to his random appearances. It seemed he took great pleasure in scaring the crap out of everyone when he did it.

“You ready?” Aiden asked.

Deacon arched a brow.

“Shut up,” I said as I walked past Deacon.

“I haven’t said a single thing.” He spun around and followed me in. “We’re going to have so much fun. It’s like a slumber party.”

A slumber party at Aiden’s house? Oh gods, the images I came up with made me blush.

Aiden closed the door behind the others as they left and shot his brother a look.

Deacon rocked back on his heels, grinning. “Just so you know, I get incredibly bored quite easily and you will be forced to be my source of entertainment. You’ll kind of be like my own personal jester.”

I flipped him off.

“Well, that wasn’t funny at all.”

Aiden brushed past me. “Sorry. You’re probably going to wish you’d stayed in the med clinic.”

“Oh, I’d wager that’s not the case.” Deacon met my glare with an impish grin. “Anyway, did you celebrate Valentine’s Day when you were slumming with the mortals?”

I blinked. “Not really. Why?”

Aiden snorted and then disappeared into one of the rooms.

“Follow me,” Deacon said. “You’re going to love this. I just know it.”

I followed him down the dimly-lit corridor that was sparsely decorated. We passed several closed doors and a spiral staircase. Deacon went through an archway and stopped, reaching along the wall. Light flooded the room. It was a typical sunroom, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, wicker furniture, and colorful plants.

Deacon stopped by a small potted plant sitting on a ceramic coffee table. It looked like a miniature pine tree that was missing several limbs. Half the needles were scattered in and around the pot. One red Christmas bulb hung from the very top branch, causing the tree to tilt to the right.

“What do you think?” Deacon asked.

“Um… well, that’s a really different Christmas tree, but I’m not sure what that has to do with Valentine’s Day.”

“It’s sad,” Aiden said, strolling into the room. “It’s actually embarrassing to look at. What kind of tree is it, Deacon?”

He beamed. “It’s called a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Deacon digs this thing out every year. The pine isn’t even real. And he leaves it up from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day. Which thank the gods is the day after tomorrow. That means he’ll be taking it down.”

I ran my fingers over the plastic needles. “I’ve seen the cartoon.”

Deacon sprayed something from an aerosol can. “It’s my MHT tree.”

“MHT tree?” I questioned.

“Mortal Holiday Tree,” Deacon explained, and smiled. “It covers the three major holidays. During Thanksgiving it gets a brown bulb, a green one for Christmas, and a red one for Valentine’s Day.”