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“Kieran?” He looked at me. “Please…please try to be careful,” I said. He lifted his brows. “Are you worried about me?” Crossing my arms, I nodded. “Don’t be nice to me,” he replied, and I sensed amusement from him. “It weirds me out.” “Sorry.” He smiled then as he walked to where I stood. “You don’t sound remotely sorry.” I grinned at him. “Do me a favor,” Kieran said, looking down at me. “Protect your Prince, Poppy.”

“The carriage door ripped open, torn from its hinges. Cold air rushed in with the night, and the night was enraged. It washed over me, its intensity so stunning, it overwhelmed me, shutting down my senses. [...] “It’s okay. Shh, it’s okay, Poppy. Stop. Look at me,” a voice demanded. “Look at me, Princess.” Princess. The Ascended wouldn’t call me that. Breathing ragged, my wild gaze swiveled around the carriage, stopping when I found him. He hovered over me, cheeks spotted with blood. “Hawke,” I whispered. “Yeah. Yes.” He sounded shredded and windblown. “It’s me.”

“Beautiful.” Gasping, I whirled around. Ash stood only a few feet from me. He wore all black, the tunic devoid of any embellishments. His hair was down, softening the sharpness of his cheekbones and the hardness of his jaw. Startled by his sudden appearance, I bumped into one of the winged-back chairs. “It is,” I whispered. There was no way I could deny the eerie beauty of the cavernous chamber. “This room is very beautiful.” A tight-lipped smile appeared as his gaze, so much like the starlight, swept over me. “I hadn’t even noticed the room.”

“It's official,' Casteel said, watching Emil as he stopped to speak to one of the Guardians. 'I'm going to have to kill him.' My head whipped in his direction. 'What? Why?' 'I don't like the way he looks at you.' Confused, I glanced back to where Emil was walking toward the stairwell. 'How does he look at me?' His hand was a scalding brand on my hip, even through the layers of clothing. 'He looks at you like I do.' My brows lifted. 'That's not true. You look at me like...' Those heated amber eyes met mine. 'How do I look at you, Princess?' 'You look at me like...' I cleared my throat. 'Like you want to eat me.' Casteel's eyes narrowed into thin slits as his gaze return to Emil. 'Exactly, he snarled.”

“You're an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature,' he murmured. 'There'll be time for all the sweet whispers later,' Jasper said, and when Casteel pulled back, there was a fire in his eyes. 'You do look quite lovely, Penellaphe.' 'Thank you,' I said. 'What about me?' Casteel asked, and behind him, Naill sighed. 'You look passable.' 'That was rude,' he replied. 'Would you like to go sit in the shade and nurse your wounded feelings? Like you did when you were young and inevitably injured yourself doing something incredibly stupid?' Casteel's brows lowered as he looked over at Jasper. 'This marriage ceremony is starting off in a really weird way.”

“Josie tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she glanced up the hall. “You ready?” I nodded and we started down the hall and we made it halfway before I did something totally cheesy. I reached between us, found her hand without looking, and threaded my fingers through her. She looked up, surprise flickering over her expression, but then she smiled, and yeah, that smile was worth it.”

“Are you a stalker or something?” “I’ve been called that a time or two, oddly enough.” My jaw unhinged. “And it’s funny, considering who the last person was to ask me that.” His arresting features tensed. “A relative of yours. A cousin, I guess.” His lips pursed thoughtfully. “Or maybe a sister? Honestly, I have no idea how that works out, but it’s about a thousand different kinds of disturbing.”

“He shot forward, clasping my cheeks. “Say it again.” “Say what?” I replied, gripping his wrists. “I said a lot of things. Help me out here.” "Say that I'm not just the Apollyon," he whispered, his voice harsh. Tears built in my throat. "You're not just the Apollyon, Seth." His eyes drifted shut, his face tensed as his fingers splayed across my cheeks. "I don't even know who I am anymore. Or what I ever was." Oh goodness, that ripped right through my chest. "You're just...you're just Seth." A tremor moved through his arms. "And you...you're just my salvation.”

“I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Guess what?” “What?” Meeting his amber-colored eyes, I admitted what probably wasn’t a secret, but what I felt like I needed to put into words. “I like you, Seth.” He stopped his hand over mine, staying there, as he gave me a lopsided smile. “Guess what?” “What?” I whispered. Seth shifted so that his lips brushed mine as he spoke. “I like you too, Josie.”

“Pulling my hand away, he rose, slanting his head to kiss me deeply as he pushed me onto my back, with his weight draped over me. “I’ve never had anything that was my own,” he said against my mouth. “Nothing that was ever for just me and no one else. I’ve never been anyone’s first.” He kissed me and then lifted his head. I stared into his eyes. “I’ve never been anyone’s only.” That made my heart ache for him as I raised my hand, pressing my palm against his cheek. “You’re my first,” I whispered. “You’re…you’re my only.” His lips parted. “You can’t say that and not mean it.” I held his gaze as my chest swelled. “I mean it.” He smoothed his thumb over my lip. “I really am a lucky son of a bitch.”

“Seth tilted his head to the side as he stared at me. “What did you just say?” Taking another step back, I glanced at the door. Could I make a run for it? Seth could definitely catch me, but right now, he probably didn’t want to. “Josie?” My heart stuttered at the raw quality of his voice. I wanted to deny that I’d uttered those words, but I couldn’t. How could I when it was the truth, and it wasn’t like I could take those words back. I couldn’t. Lowering my hand, I drew in a shallow breath. “I love you; I’m in love with you.” Seth jerked like I’d punched him. “You can’t love me.”

“Stop.” He shot in front of me, moving so fast I didn’t see him until we were face to face. “Please just . . . I . . . I don’t know what to say, Josie.” I winced, feeling what he was saying all the way to the core. “That . . . that says everything, Seth, because if you don’t—” My voice cracked, right along with what was left of my heart. “If you don’t know what to say, then that’s it.” “You don’t understand.” His voice was low.“I don’t understand anything.” Heart aching, I stepped to the side, but Seth followed. “Please, just let me go. We can forget we even had—” He clasped my cheeks in a gentle grasp. “No one has ever told me that before.” “What?” I whispered after a moment. His eyes were wide, slightly dilated. “No one has ever said they loved me or were in love with me, and actually meant it.” I couldn’t believe that. Not even his mother? Yes, that was a different kind of love, but then I remembered how his mom was and once again I found myself wishing she was alive so I could bitch-slap her into eternity. But to live the years he had, and to never experience any kind of love wasn’t just wrong, it was sad. I wished it wasn’t so. Seth’s hands slid down my neck, stopping where his thumbs pressed against my pulse. “But you . . .” I had a choice here. I recognized that. I could save face and let this go. I could pull away and walk out of this room, but I was hurting for myself and despite everything that had gone on between us, I was still hurting for him. Maybe that. “But I love you.” Seth’s hands shook—his hands. Hands that were always so steady in battle, but they trembled now, touching me. “I don’t deserve that from anyone, but especially from you.” Voice rough and heavy, he searched my face intently. “That is a precious gift that I . . . that I am not worthy of.” I sucked in air. Oh gosh, that hurt. Hearing him say that tore me up, ripped me right apart, and it struck me then. I knew why he had backed off. Him pushing me away had nothing to do with Alex or with me. It was because of him, because of how he believed he deserved nothing more than punishment. That he sincerely believed that the only thing he had was to atone for his past sins. Tears pricked my eyes as I folded my hands over his wrists. I had to prove what he believed wasn’t true. Prove that he was the total of everything he’d done and not just the dark things he was ashamed of, and I would do so, because I loved him and accepted him for who he was, for all his faults. That was what love meant.”

“I let the monster take over. My lips moved and I spoke the words I’d heard before, words that would unlock the ultimate power—words that Alex spoke once before. I didn’t understand how this worked. I also didn’t care. “Θάρρος.” Courage. A shock rippled across my body, followed by a wealth of warmth. Determination poured into my chest. “Δύναµη,” I said. Strength. Another jolt of power hit me, charging me up. The warmth turned to heat, invading my muscles, breaking them down and rebuilding them rapidly. Someone shouted, a high-pitched scream. There was a yell, a rougher and heavier gasp. I kept going as I stepped forward, through the shades circling Atlas. “Απόλυτη εξουσία.” Absolute power. Amber light radiated through the room. Screams pitched higher as every cell in my body hummed with power. Glyphs appeared on my skin, swirling fast. The shades flew backward, revealing a transfixed Atlas. I finished it. “Αήττητο.”

“You must be careful of who you trust, child, of whom you have given your heart to.” I stiffened. “Power is the most alluring of all vices. It corrupts and destroys,” she said, her voice shifting low. “And it is the most hidden of all transgressions.” A cold chill radiated down my spine. “You’re talking about Seth.” “He is not what he seems,” she said, and a snake snapped at the air. “The Apollyon has committed acts of great treachery.” “I know.” My hands curled into fists. “I know what he’s capable of. And I know who he used to be and who he is becoming.”

“Oh, everything is fun when I’m around.” Hercules’s knees knocked into the back of my seat as he leaned back. “This one time, when I was ordered by the gods to . . .” I could only think of three words. Fuck. My. Life. “You should drive, because I’m going to end it all. Once we’re on the freeway, I’m going to jump out of this vehicle and throw myself in front of a Mack truck.” Josie’s laugh cut off her yawn. “That’s a little excessive.” Adjusting the sunglasses I’d stolen from Aiden yesterday morning, I smirked. “I do not think anything is excessive when it comes to him.” “But that won’t even kill you.” I sighed. “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure it’ll knock me unconscious for the time being.”

“The nymph blinked out and reappeared directly in front of me. Impressive. Even I couldn’t track its movement. “You’re making a huge mistake.” Gods. Some nights just couldn’t get any worse. “My entire existence is a mistake, so you’re going to have to get a little more detailed about what exact mistake you’re talking about.” The nymph’s all-white eyes crackled little bolts of light. “Staying away from her won’t save her.” Well, I was immediately proven wrong. Tonight was officially getting worse. “And it won’t save you either,” the nymph added. I barked out a harsh laugh. “There is no saving me. I know what the end game is.” “There is no such thing as finality,” he replied, leaning in so when he spoke next, his cool breath moved over my jaw. “All prophecies are designed to be rewritten. No fate, no matter what is sacrificed or bargained, is final.” He paused. “All the pieces are never shared.”

“And Seth . . . I didn’t even know what was up with Seth, who he was going to be when he woke up. The Seth who made horrible mistakes but wanted to do better? The Seth who’d stood in the bedroom, vulnerable and nearly broken as he apologized? Or the Seth who had leveled all of us, including Atlas? He hadn’t just tapped into my aether. He’d gotten all of us, something none of us had known he could do, and deep down, I honestly didn’t believe Seth had even realized he could do that until he’d done it.”

“Before I could respond, he snapped his fingers, and I was suddenly standing outside the mansion, my booted feet in the sand, the smell of salt overwhelming my senses, and the rolling ocean at my back. A growl of anger rose in my throat. “I hate it when you do that.” The smile on his face increased. “I know.” I absolutely loathed it, and the bastard did it every chance he got—usually about every five minutes whenever I was in his presence and mostly without any purpose. Sometimes he would just pop me from room to room for the hell of it. The last year or so of my life had been a real test of my short patience.”

“Apollo watched me closely, intently. “No.” My eyes narrowed. “No to what?” “I’m not sending you after them. Not yet,” he said, surprising me into silence—a rarity. “I have another task for you. You need to leave for southern Virginia immediately. I’d snap your sunshine-and-rainbows ass there, but now that you’ve annoyed me, you’ll drive the twenty or so hours to get there.” Okay. That was irritating, but I kind of liked road trips, so whatever. “What’s in southern Virginia?” “Radford University.” I waited. I waited some more, and then sighed. “Okay. You want me to enroll in college?” I asked, and Apollo tipped back his head and laughed so loudly, he actually whooped. I frowned. “What the hell is so funny about that idea?” “You. College. Using your head. That’s what’s funny.” I was seconds away from blasting him with akasha.”

“Threading his fingers through my hair, he didn’t answer immediately. “Feels like twenty-one.” “That’s not exciting.” He grinned again. “That’s because you’re still twenty and have what? About six months to go before you’re twenty-one.” “I wanted to get you something, but Amazon doesn’t really deliver out here, so . . .” I really did want to get him something, but since it wasn’t particularly safe for me to leave, the only option was the campus store, but I doubted Seth wanted a Covenant University mug or hoodie. I couldn’t even make him dinner since I had no access to a kitchen, so I was a lame girlfriend.”