Аполлион

“He has.” Aiden pressed a kiss to my temple. “But he has done some good things, and I know you can’t forget how he used to be. I know none of this will be easy for you.”

Killing Seth would break a piece of me, and no matter how long I walked this earth afterward, it couldn’t be repaired. He was a part of me—a part that was a bit insane—but still. It would change me in a way I couldn’t fathom. Just as facing down my mom had. But this time was different.

Apollo didn’t want me to kill Seth; he wanted me to strip him of his power. Knowing Seth, he’d probably prefer death. And if Seth figured out what I was up to, he’d come after me. So I would have to stop him—kill him. Killing Seth would be the only way I walked out of this alive.

“Alex?” Aiden whispered. “Talk to me, agapi mou”

“Don’t be afraid.” My voice was hoarse. “I’ll be… okay.”

His hand slipped to the nape of my neck, and he held on as if he could keep me there forever. “You’ll tell me that you’ll be okay. And you’ll act like you’re okay, but…”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Aiden would know better. Seconds passed in silence. The truth was on the tip of my tongue, burning me from the inside out. I wanted to tell him what could happen—I really needed to—but putting that on him wasn’t fair. Time stretched out, but it wasn’t enough.

“‘You will kill the ones you love.’” My laugh was dry and brittle. “I hate that damn oracle.”

Aiden’s fingers splayed across my cheek. “If I could change this, I would. I’d do anything to save you from this.”

“I know.” I tipped my head a little to the side and kissed him softly. “But Fate is a bitch.”

“Or a bastard,” he said lightly.

I laughed, because whenever Aiden cussed, I couldn’t help it. It sounded wrong rolling off his tongue, but still elegant, somehow. Like a British person cussing. Anyway, I just couldn’t talk about this anymore. I didn’t even want to think about it, but I’d need a brain scrub to fix that.

Leaning forward, I looped my arms around his neck and all but climbed into his lap. “Can we talk about something else?”

Aiden looked like he was going to argue, but he nodded.

Staring into his eyes, I thought back to the days when he used to pop in and watch me train. That made me smile. “I used to think you were the source of my failure.”

“What?” He arched a brow as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I could never get things right when you were around, especially when you used to watch me in class.” I shrugged. “I wanted to be perfect in your eyes. I wanted you to be proud of me.”

“I am.”

I beamed at him, smiling for real for the first time since this conversation began. “But you’re kind of like my source of strength, even when I couldn’t concentrate because of you.”

Aiden tilted his head to the side, causing his lips to graze my cheek. “We had the same problem then.”

“Doubtful.”

“You have no idea how hard it was.” Aiden sighed against my lips. “To train you—to be so close when all I wanted…”

There was a flutter in my chest. “What did you want?”

He leaned in, his warm breath becoming my world. “How about I show you?”

Oh, I so liked where this was heading. So much better than the doom and gloom crap that wanted to pull me under, bringing Aiden along with me. “I’m down with that.”

Laughing softly, he erased that miniscule distance and I let out a little sigh. If he kissed me like that every couple of hours, it would keep the darkness at bay. It would obliterate everything I feared and would probably come to regret. My world would be close to perfect.

There was a knock, and we drew apart an instant before the door swung open and Deacon’s mop of a head popped in. Aiden groaned, but his eyes lightened by several shades.

“Good morning!” Too much cheer rang in his voice for this time of the morning.

My cheeks burned as I mumbled, “Morning.”

Before either of us could say another word, Deacon darted from the door and launched himself onto the bed, soaring through the air like a human projectile. I jerked to the side with a split-second to spare. He landed with his legs on his brother and the upper part of his body between us.

Deacon threw his arms behind his head, folding them as he tipped his head back and grinned at us. “It’s like a puppy pile.”

“A puppy pile?” Aiden arched a brow. “You are so weird.”

“Whatever.” Deacon’s gray eyes flicked to me. “Was I interrupting anything?”

Aiden rolled his eyes and I fought a grin. “Not at all, brother.”

“Good, because you guys better get your butts in gear. We’re leaving in an hour.” Deacon crossed his ankles, letting out a content sigh. “Time to hit the road.”

I tucked my hair back, wondering how much coffee he’d had to be up this early and this hyper. “You’re so unnaturally wound up.”

“I’m excited,” he replied. “I’m looking at this road trip like a real life game of Oregon Trail.”

My brows rose. “Are you going to catch typhoid fever?”

“Actually, I was thinking about breaking a leg or drowning.”

“There’s always starving to death.” My lips split into a grin. “Or you could get kidnapped by Indians.”