Deity (Covenant #3)(83)

Nervous energy rushed me and the cord thrummed happily. Agitated, I rose to my feet within a minute and crossed the room. Seth was near. I knew it deep in my bones. I stopped in front of the cracked door and held my breath.

They were in the hallway, alone. And of course they were arguing already. I rolled my eyes.

“You think I don’t know?” I heard Seth say in a smug, knowing way. “That I didn’t know this entire time I’ve been gone?”

“Know what?” Aiden sounded surprisingly calm.

Seth laughed softly. “She may be here with you, right now, but that’s just a moment in time in the big scheme of things. And all moments end, Aiden. Yours will, too.”

I wanted to throw open the door and tell Seth to shut up.

“Sounds like something on the back of a twisted Hallmark card,” replied Aiden. “But perhaps your time has already ended.”

There was a stretch of silence and I could picture the two of them. Aiden would be coolly looking down on Seth, who would be smiling arrogantly and secretly enjoying the whole confrontation. Sometimes I wanted to smack them both.

“It doesn’t really matter,” said Seth. “That’s what you don’t get. She can love you and it still doesn’t matter. We belong together. It’s fated. Have your moments, Aiden, because in the end, it really won’t mean a damn thing.”

That was it. I threw open the door and stormed out into the hallway. Neither of them even turned around, and I knew they heard me fly out of the room. Beyond them I could see the shadows of the Guards through the tiny square windows on each side of the door.

“You really think that?” Aiden cocked his head to the side. “If so, then you’re a damn fool.”

Seth smiled. “I’m not the fool here, pure-blood. She doesn’t belong to you.”

“She belongs to no one,” Aiden growled as his hands flexed by his hips, where his daggers normally hung.

“Debatable,” Seth said, so low I wasn’t even sure I’d heard him correctly.

I shoved between the two idiots before one of them did some damage. “You don’t own me, Seth.”

Seth finally looked at me, his eyes a cool amber. “We need to talk.”

That we did. I glanced at the furious pure-blood beside me. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

“In private,” Seth added.

“What can you possibly need to say that you can’t say in front of me?” Aiden asked.

“Aiden,” I groaned. “You promised, remember?” I didn’t need to say any more. Aiden knew. “I do need to talk to him.”

“Nothing will happen to her. Not when she’s with me.”

I spun around. “Just let me get my hoodie. Try not to kill each other.”

“No promises,” Seth smirked.

Grabbing my hoodie off the back of the couch, I quickly hauled it on and hoofed it back to the hallway. Gods knew a second of those two together was a second too long. I passed Aiden a meaningful look as I followed Seth to the front door. He looked severely unhappy, but nodded.

Brutal temperatures sucked away my breath as I stepped outside. I was unable to remember the last time it’d been this cold in North Carolina. Seth wore just a black thermal and cargos. Nothing else. I wondered If I got built-in weather padding once I Awakened.


The Guards immediately stepped aside, revealing the strong winter sun glaring off the still waters. At first I was surprised, but then I remembered whose Guards they were—Lucian’s.

Aiden moved uneasily. His hands opened and closed at his sides.

Seth feigned a look of sympathy. “Don’t look too happy about this, Aiden.”

I kicked Seth in the shin.

“Ouch,” he hissed, blasting me with a look. “Kicking is not nice.”

“Antagonizing people isn’t nice,” I shot back.

Aiden sighed. “You have twenty minutes. Then we’ll come looking for you.”

Backing down the steps, Seth bowed at Aiden and then pivoted around. Wind caught and tossed his hair around. Sometimes I forgot how… beautiful Seth was. He could give Apollo a run for his money. Both of them had this type of cold beauty that didn’t seem real, because it was flawless both far away and up close.

I fell into step beside him, shoving my hands into the center pocket of my hoodie. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

Seth arched a golden eyebrow. “Really? I’m not surprised by that.”

My cheeks flushed. There was no way he could’ve known what had happened between Aiden and me. The bond didn’t work over that many miles. Taking a deep breath, I womaned up. “Seth, I have to—”

“I already know, Alex.”

“What?” I stopped, pushing my hair out of my face. “You know what?”

He faced me and leaned in, bringing his face mere inches from mine. The cord went crazy inside me, but it was manageable… as long as he didn’t touch me. Oh gods, this wasn’t going to be easy. “I know everything.”

“Everything” could mean a lot of things. I hunched my shoulders, squinting against the harsh glare. “What exactly do you know?”

His lips tipped into a small smile. “Well, let’s see. I know about that,” he gestured to the St. Delphi house, “back there. I knew that was going to happen.”