Then again, his hawkish gaze alluded to the fact that he probably already suspected the same.
A small army of staff had appeared out of nowhere to clean up the kitchen, so we ended up in the largest living room I’d ever seen. I curled up in a comfy, overstuffed chair, my feet tucked under me. My stomach was feeling pretty stable and no one was really looking at me like they were waiting for me to hurl again, but tension had crept into the airy room. Alex and Seth were arguing about something, but I wasn’t sure what exactly. I was tired after touring the house, eating the large breakfast, and vomiting my guts up. I wanted nothing more than a nap, and that was a wee bit concerning, because I’d been asleep more than awake recently, even when Hyperion had a hold of me.
Sighing, I looked up and saw that Seth was watching me from across the room. My stomach hollowed as I remembered the kiss from the cliffs. He probably wasn’t thinking about that since he had just been holding my hair back while I prayed to the porcelain god.
His amber eyes hooded, and I felt my cheeks flush in response. Okay, he most definitely was not thinking about what happened in that bathroom. Good to know he wasn’t repulsed.
Alex sat on the loveseat and leaned back, clapping her hands over her stomach. “Man, I think I have a food baby.”
I coughed out a tired laugh and then something occurred to me. “Can you two . . . have kids?” The moment I asked the question, I cringed, because whoa, that was a private thing to stick my nose in. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. I—”
“It’s okay.” Alex grinned as she knocked her hair back from her face. I swore I saw a faint pink splash across the heights of Aiden’s cheekbones. “We honestly don’t know. I mean, I’m not a normal demigod. Neither of us are, so we don’t know if one day it could happen. We haven’t been trying, but we . . .” She trailed off, shrugging.
But they also probably haven’t been using protection.
“The mere idea of you having a child actually frightens me,” Seth commented dryly.
“You and me both,” Alex muttered under her breath.
Folding my arms across my waist, I snuggled into the cushions. Seth hadn’t been sure if that could happen for us, so he’d always used protection. Well, except for that one time. My nose wrinkled. Before Seth had left me, he’d found me in the library, and I was pretty positive he hadn’t used a condom.
My stomach dipped and then roiled slightly as I tried to figure out when my last period was. Not that I was seriously worried about getting pregnant, because it was seriously unlikely, and not because I sincerely believed I couldn’t get pregnant from one episode of unprotected sex. With my luck, that was a hundred percent feasible, but after everything with Hyperion . . . ? There was no way a pregnancy would’ve survived that.
Ugh. I shifted in the seat, uncomfortable with my train of thoughts. I was way too young and things were way too crazy to even entertain the idea of popping out a baby Seth.
A baby Seth?
My eyes widened.
I might puke again.
Seth walked behind my chair and placed his hands on my shoulders. “You okay?”
Tilting my head back, I smiled despite the fact my thoughts were on an extended trip through Crazy Land. “Yep,” I said. Pushing those really weird thoughts aside, something occurred to me that I hadn’t thought about. “We may be facing a really big problem—bigger than we realize. To entomb the Titans, six demigods needed to be brought together and whatever wards were binding their abilities would be removed. They still need their icons, but I know where they are,” I said, knowing they were stashed in the library and guarded by Medusa. “I was unbound because my—because Apollo did it himself and that weakened him, so I doubt the other gods will do that. There’re not six demigods anymore. Only five.”
“So that means the gods have to do what Apollo did for you,” Aiden said.
“And how likely is that?” Alex asked. “Especially if it weakens them?”
“Then we don’t worry about entombing the Titans.” Seth shrugged a shoulder. “I take care of them like I did Perses.”
“Seth, we can’t . . .” I trailed off, because I could tell by the look on his face he wasn’t hearing it and I really didn’t have the energy to argue over it. I had no idea if five demigods could stop the Titans.
What if the only choice was to kill the Titans?
Luckily there hadn’t seemed to be any ill effects from taking Perses out. Yet. But with the other Titans? There had to be.
“I want to ask you a couple of questions.” Aiden sat beside Alex and leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs as he eyed me. “Are you okay with that?”
Without even looking at Seth, I could tell that he tensed. “Yeah. Of course.”
Behind me, Seth sighed.
Aiden smiled faintly. “What can you tell us about the Titans? Anything would be helpful for us to better know what we’re dealing with.”
Inhaling deeply, I unfolded my arm and reached up, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “I only saw a couple of them. It was mostly Hyperion and a woman whose name was really hard to pronounce up until Cronus somehow figured out they had me.”
“Cronus? Okay.” Aiden’s eyes darkened to thunderclouds. “What can you tell us about him?”
“He wasn’t what I expected. He was old, like really ancient. Kind of like Gandalf the Gray, but way older.” I began to tell them how frail Cronus was at first and how he couldn’t even sit up without help. I skimmed over the whole feeding part, but they were able to fill in the blanks when I explained that he’d appeared stronger the next time I’d seen him. As I spoke, Seth came around and sat on the arm of my chair. His jaw was so hard it could cut marble. “I only saw two other Titans. One I think was called Oceanus. He had a bright blue Mohawk and he . . .”
“He what?” Aiden prodded gently.
My gaze dropped to my wrists. “He was the one feeding off Lauren—the girl who died. Mitchell had said he . . .” Biting down on the inside of my cheek, I paused. “Oceanus just needs to die.”
There was a gap of silence, and then Alex asked, “Who else?”
“There was Perses, but yeah, he’s no more, apparently.” I glanced at Seth. He smiled. Alrighty then. “There was also this female Titan. Her name is super hard to say, but I think it’s Tet-something. Tethys?” I cringed. “I don’t know, but she wasn’t very pleasant. I know Hyperion referred to her at one point as his sister, but then they were practically eating one another’s faces at one point, so that was weird.”
Alex’s lip curled with revulsion. “And you didn’t see any other Titans?”
I shook my head. “I was alone a lot towards the end. But not in the beginning.”
“Who were you with?” Seth asked, his voice too quiet, and when I looked at him, his eyes shone like topaz jewels.
“The other two demigods.” I looked over at the others. “When I first saw both of them, I really thought they were dead. Barely moving or breathing.” A shudder worked its way through me as I recalled seeing them for the first time. “They’ve been there so long.”
Alex rubbed her arm with her hand. “And you said that this Mitchell was still alive the last time you saw him?” When I nodded, she continued. “Were you all kept in the same place?”
“I think I was eventually moved to some other part of the place. It was like an old, abandoned warehouse. We were kept underground in what felt like a basement.” I paused, because there was something I was forgetting. It lingered in the back of my head, just out of reach. “Wherever the warehouse was, it was really hot, so if it was in the states, it had to be somewhere in the south. There was absolutely nothing around it except trees.”
“How did you know there was nothing around it?” Aiden inclined his head.
“Hyperion took me outside sometimes. He had me sit in the sun.” I lifted my hand, touching the cut in my lip. “I always looked around to see if there was anyone or anything around. I didn’t even hear traffic. I tried to
escape once. That obviously didn’t work out.”
“Okay.” Aiden sat back, his face a shade or two paler. I didn’t want to look at Seth. “I know you don’t want to think this, but do you really think Mitchell could still be alive?”
I sucked in an unsteady breath. “I hope so. To die alone, in a place like that, after what was being done . . .” I couldn’t finish. My throat sealed right up. I’d truly believed that I would die there, just like Lauren.
“All right.” Seth rose and took my hand. My eyes flew up, but before I could protest, he lifted me up out of the chair. “I think that’s enough for right now.”
I opened my mouth, but Alex was nodding. “We’re going to check in with Deacon and Luke to see if they have any news.”
“I’ll also call my contacts in the communities,” Aiden added.
“Awesome.” Seth’s reply was curt as he led me out of the room.
Stopping the moment we hit the hallway, I pulled my hand free. “Hey, what was all of that about?”
He turned to me, his jaw locked. A moment passed and I thought he was going to speak, but then he moved. One second we were standing outside the living room and the next I was in his arms, my front pressed to his, and we were standing outside, under the warm sun, sand between my toes and the ocean only a few feet away.
“Holy crap!” I pushed away from Seth and stumbled back. Spinning around, I took in the scenery with wide eyes. “Holy crap!”
“I don’t really have to walk anywhere anymore.”
“No shit!” I whirled, facing him. He’d done that when I’d gotten sick, but I’d been too focused on holding it together to really process that he had popped me from one room to the next. “How about warning me next time?”
A sheepish grin tugged at his lips. “But then I’d miss that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“Like you want to kick me and kiss me at the same time,” he answered.
My eyes narrowed. “I do not look like I want to kiss you right now. I probably look like I want to vomit on you.” I pressed my hand to my lower stomach. “Holy wow, that’s a nifty . . . and lazy talent.”
“But fast.”
It was that.
“Are you feeling sick again?”
I shook my head no. “Why? Why bring me out here?”
Seth walked over to me. “It hadn’t occurred to me, and it took a couple of moments for it to sink in, but it makes sense.”
“What?” Wind picked up strands of my hair and blew them across my face.
“You said Hyperion took you out in the sun. Did he ever say why?”
For a moment, I didn’t get where he was going with this, and then it came to me. “He did! He said it helped replenish the lost aether. I totally forgot about that.”
Anger flashed in his brilliant eyes. “Probably because your father is the Sun God. I should’ve thought of that as soon as I had you back here.”
“Why would you think of that? I didn’t even remember and I should have.”
“You’ve had a lot on your mind.”
“So have you.”
“Pisses me off that Hyperion figured that out before me,” he grumbled.
“Well, Hyperion has been around for a long time, so . . .” Taking in my surroundings, I shuffled toward the ocean and then sat down in the sand. “And I forgot, so there’s no point in being hard on yourself.”
Seth dropped down beside me and was quiet as I leaned forward and rolled up the hem of my pants, exposing my blindingly pale calves. Then I stretched out my legs, letting the cool, frothy water tickle my toes. “Are you going to make me stay out here until . . . ?”
“If I could make you stay out here forever, I would, but at least until you start . . .” His brow creased. “Until you start to feel right.”
I stopped wiggling my toes. “Yeah, we’re going to need to talk about the whole staying here forever part, but first, what do you mean until I feel right?”
His shoulder brushed mine as he stared out over the ocean. “Remember when I told you before that I could barely feel aether in you? Yours has always been strong—almost as strong as a god’s, but like I said before, I can barely sense it now.”
“Oh. Yeah.” I bit down on my lip and then winced when I bit the cut in my lip. “That’s . . . not good.”
“It’s like a light. Normally you’re a beacon to me, but you’re flickering now.” Seth turned his head toward me. “You’re weak, and I don’t mean that to be insulting, but it’s the truth.”
“I will get better,” I told him.
“I know, but I don’t want you risking your life again. Not even for that demigod.”
I forced myself to remain patient as I explained what I felt was obvious. “I cannot forget about him, Seth. You don’t understand. I know just a little bit of what he’s been through, and that’s enough to not be able to walk away from this. And I can’t stay here while everyone else goes out there and risks their lives.”
“Why not?” he shot back. “Haven’t you already lost enough? Sacrificed enough, Josie? You’ve lost your grandparents and then your mother. Your friend Erin? Who knows if she’s really alive? Apollo could’ve lied about that also.” He shot to his feet, pacing. Over his shoulder, I saw thick, gray clouds form. “You’ve had to leave college and your friends. Your whole life has been turned upside down. You were held captive, not once but twice. You’ve given enough.”
My heart started thumping as tears pricked my eyes. “So have you, Seth.”
He stopped. “And look at me. I’m a god. No matter what I’ve given up, it sure as hell paid off in the end for me.”
“That doesn’t change what you’ve had to go through and sacrifice. You made that deal with the gods for Alex and Aiden without knowing you’d become a god one day and the deal would no longer mean anything.”
Thrusting a hand through his messy, golden hair, he growled low. “None of that matters. We’re not talking about me. You’ve done enough, Josie. Let me finish this.”
“Finish this how?” The clouds were racing across the blue skies.
Dropping to his knees in the sand beside me, he clasped my cheeks with his hands. “I can end the Titans. You and the other demigods won’t have to face them.”
In my chest, my heart twisted. “Seth—”
“And I’ll free Mitchell,” he continued. “Even though I really don’t care about him, and I know that is an asshole thing to say, but I only care about you.”
“That’s not true.” I wrapped my fingers around his wrists. “You care about Alex and Aiden.”
His brows rose. “Only because I’m supposed to.”
“Seth,” I replied flatly.
“Okay. It would suck if something bad happened to them, especially Alex. She will always be important to me,” he admitted, and where I used to feel jealousy at hearing that, I no longer did. Somewhere along the way, I’d accepted the special place in his heart that was reserved for Alex. “Aiden? Well, I wouldn’t exactly miss him.”
“Seth.”
“But you? If something happened to you again?” Lighting shot between the clouds, lighting up the sky in brilliant white. “I would burn this fucking world to the ground and then I would destroy Olympus.”
Closing my eyes, I didn’t dare doubt what he said. “I know. I know, but you can’t kill the Titans. We have to entomb them, and I have to help.”
“I don’t care about entombing the Titans.”
Sliding my hands down his arms, I dropped my hands and opened my eyes. “You do realize that we have to live on this planet.”
Seth popped forward, kissed the tip of my nose, and then drew back, lowering his hands. “Killing the Titans isn’t going to destroy the whole world. I mean, shit. I killed Atlas and there were just a couple of earthquakes.”
“A couple of earthquakes that freed zombie daimons and probably killed some innocent people.”
He looked at me like he wasn’t sure he knew where I was going w
ith that statement. Good news was, the clouds were already breaking up and blue peeked through once more. “Nothing has happened with Perses.”
“Maybe it’s because he’s not, I don’t know, super important, but we can’t be responsible for hundreds, thousands, or millions of deaths,” I reasoned. “I just can’t stay here and pretend like nothing is happening outside this beautiful island.”
Cursing under his breath, Seth sat back. We were at a stalemate. I understood his protective urge. I fully got it. And he had to understand why I couldn’t sit around here forever. Neither of us truly wanted to budge, though.
“You’re tired,” he said after a moment.
Surprised, I looked up at him again. “Can you feel that too?”