Everyone stared at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. So I’m invisible if I wear this?”
Apollo laughed like I’d asked the stupidest question ever. “No. Your energy will just be hidden from the gods—all except me—even if you use akasha.”
“Oh,” I said, holding up the necklace. “Handy.”
As Aiden came over and helped clasp the necklace, he asked, “What else have you been able to find out?”
“Oh, you know, I’ve been doing nothing.” Apollo glared at us. “I’ve managed to convince my brothers and sisters to stop their destruction long enough to give us a chance to make this right, but they will not be held back for long. With every moment, Lucian and the First draw closer to overthrowing the Council. And with daimons attacking humans in droves, they will risk millions of innocent lives to put a stop to it.”
“Not because they’re actually concerned about the mortals.” I tucked the necklace under my shirt, ignoring how oddly warm the metal was. It hung about an inch below the crystal rose. “But because if Lucian and Seth overthrow the Council in the Catskills, then they’ll be one step away from overthrowing the gods, right? Because whoever controls those seats are the rulers.”
Apollo said nothing.
“You know, that’s what I don’t get.” Deacon stretched out his long legs from the chair, wiggling his toes. “I know that, if Seth and Lucian overthrow the Council, it’s a big deal for the Hematoi, but the gods can’t be that frightened.”
Without saying a word, Apollo faced Aiden’s brother. I knew that he was probably giving the boy one of his Leon/Apollo looks that said do I really need to explain this?
Deacon fidgeted. “I mean, you guys can just hide in Olympus and call it a day.”
“He has a point,” Luke said carefully. “Not like Seth can storm Olympus—not really.”
I rifled through the memories of the other Apollyons, and nervousness moved through me, quick and slithery like a snake.
“Well…” Apollo sighed. “There is a way to get to Olympus.”
My jaw smacked off my knee. “Portals?”
He nodded. “They are headed there. It’s how we move between Olympus and the mortal world.”
“You know,” Aiden said. “This kind of information would’ve been helpful weeks ago. We could have had Sentinels we trust guarding these portals.”
“And what Sentinels can you truly trust?” Apollo asked evenly. “Lucian’s offer is enticing enough to sway them to his side. Most of the Sentinels have turned on the Council, turned on the gods. Besides, it wasn’t necessary for any of you to know that.”
Aiden looked like he wanted to say more, but wisely remained quiet.
“And luckily we’ve kept their locations secret, even from the previous Apollyons.” Apollo’s gaze flickered to me. “What have you learned from the Awakening?”
I was sort of surprised by Apollo’s faith in my ability to block Seth. I doubted that faith would remain if I told him about Seth and Hermes.
Still kicking my legs, I shrugged. “A lot of it is about their lives, and there are so many. It’s like watching every episode of a TV series that has been on for a millennium. It’s hard to sort through all of it. Sometimes something is said and it wiggles a memory free.”
An unsympathetic look crossed Apollo’s features.
Well, wasn’t like I was expecting a hug from him. “Most of it is how to use the elements and akasha. And Greek—I can read Greek now.”
Most of the room looked unimpressed by that, but Aiden caught my eye and smiled reassuringly. I grinned back. Reading Greek was a pretty big damn deal to me.
“Well, that’s all fine and dandy,” Apollo said, letting out an exaggerated sigh.
I kicked off the desk extra hard, my leg bouncing.
Aiden slid me a look. “What do we do from here? Obviously the gods expect us to do something.”
“The gods expect her to do something.” Apollo jerked his chin at me.
“But how can she fight him without touching him?” Aiden pushed off the wall and strode to the middle of the room. “The gods have to understand that.”
“They do.” Apollo’s eyes narrowed on me. “But I was hoping there was something knocking around in her brain that held the answer to that little problem. But—”
Apollo smacked a hand down on my leg. “Must you always be moving some part of your body?”
I glared at him as I not-so-gently removed his hand. The contact of his flesh on mine brought the marks of Apollyon out like nothing else. And I knew he saw them by the way his eyes darted over my face. “It’s not hurting you,” I said.
“It’s annoying.”
“You’re annoying,” I shot back.
To our left, Aiden rolled his eyes. “All right, children, back to the important stuff.”
“Think, Alex, there has to be something that can help us—possibly with Solaris.” Apollo leaned in, planting his hands on either side of my now-still legs. Over his shoulder, I saw Aiden move toward us, but then Apollo moved his head so that he blocked him. “Alex.”
“What?” I gripped the edge of the table. “Look, it’s not like I’m being stubborn or stupid. If I could remember something useful, I would. It’s not like I’m stopping myself—” Stopping myself from seeing or remembering something very important—that was what I was going to say, but like it was with other things, that wave of familiarity washed over me again, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
When I’d been connected to Seth, there had been something that he hadn’t wanted me to think about, and it had to do with Solaris—probably just the whole morbid ending of the two Apollyons. But going back further, there was something that I’d seen, something that Solaris had done, or… tried to do.
In the moments before I’d connected with Seth, I had seen her turn on the First.
“Alexandria?” Apollo said.
I held up my hand, resisting the urge to shush him. “There’s something with Solaris, but it’s weird. Almost like I wasn’t meant to know, but I can’t…”
Slipping off the desk, I brushed past Apollo. Without realizing what I’d done, I had moved toward the shelter of Aiden’s body. Completely at ease, he slipped an arm over my shoulders, the look on his face daring anyone to say a word.
I looked up at him, remembering how much Solaris had cared for the First. The love I saw in Aiden’s silvery eyes had been reflected in the First. And I felt—remembered feeling—the terrible decision Solaris had made—protecting others by destroying the First. Piece by piece, it came together.
“Solaris tried to stop the First, and there was something she did… or was trying to do. Something that would’ve worked, but the Order of Thanatos made their move before she could complete it.” I let out a frustrated sigh. “She knew how to stop the First—kill him, somehow—but I don’t know what it was. It’s like that information was shielded or erased somehow.” Frustrated, I bit out a groan. “Too bad I can’t talk to Solaris.”
Laadan cleared her throat. “But that is something, dear. At least we know there is something out there.”
“Wait,” Marcus said. “Solaris would be in the Underworld, right?”
Apollo’s eyes were suddenly sharp. “She would be, but I can’t travel to the Underworld. Hades still has his panties in a bunch.”
Solos smirked as he leaned over the back of the couch. “Well, that’s another dead end.”
“Not really,” Apollo said.
I suddenly got a real bad feeling about this.
“What do you mean ‘not really’?” Aiden asked, his arm tightening around my shoulders.
Apollo moved to stand in front of the window. Pale moonlight cast a strange glow around him. “Well, if Alex thinks Solaris can help us, then it’s an avenue we want to check out. And who better than Alex?”