Pent-up frustration and helpless anger reared its head, and a second later, my bare knuckles crashed into the worn, tough leather. I went crazy, and while each punch brought a spike of pain across my hand, I welcomed it.
Hours passed as I jabbed and kicked. Sweat poured off me, stinging my eyes and the torn skin along my knuckles. Physical pain did nothing to dampen the torment building inside me.
In a flash, I was taken back to the past summer, when I’d seen Alex doing the very same thing, after she’d discovered the truth about her mother. She had been a fierce, beautiful creature as she’d whirled around the practice dummy. A cyclone of raw emotions had reached out across the training room, tapping into my own mixed-up feelings. When she had sensed my presence and our gazes locked, as crazy as it sounded, I’d felt what she had.
Dragging in a ragged breath, I stopped and looked over my shoulder toward the door. Why I’d been expecting to find her standing there I’ll never know. Of course, the doorway was empty.
Alex was empty.
I went back upstairs, grabbed a towel from the dark bathroom and cleaned myself up. Back in the bedroom, I glanced at the oversized couch pushed up against the wall, and then grabbed a thin quilt off the end of the bed. Every cell in my body demanded to be close to her, but it seemed wrong. If she woke with me beside her, I was afraid it would upset and confuse her. That was the last thing I wanted. Easing down on my side, I spread the quilt out and watched her sleep until exhaustion pulled me under.
CHAPTER 7
ALEX SLEPT FOR NEARLY TWENTY-FOUR HOURS, WAKing up minutes before I caved to my growing concern. Late in the night, we went downstairs and, between the two of us, we just about cleaned out the fridge. She was still fidgety and would only do something if I told her to, but by the time morning came around, she’d loosened up enough that it was almost like being around a very calm and sedated Alex.
We moved from the kitchen to the sunroom and stayed there. She didn’t talk to me unless I asked her a question. After investigating every flower and plant in the room, she sat on one of the window seats and remained there, gazing at the thick woods that surrounded the safe house.
I sat beside her, on the other end of the window seat, surprisingly content to just be there with her. I wanted to know what she was thinking and each time I asked, the answer was the same.
“Nothing,” she said, not taking her gaze off the glass walls.
That was like a cut to the chest, but not as bad as when there’d be footsteps in the hallway or voices nearing and Alex would lock up. She’d look away from the woods then, staring at the closed door. Panic would fill the brown and amber eyes. Solos came into the sunroom at one point, checking to see if we needed anything from the nearby town.
The only person she didn’t freak over was her uncle. Was it some kind of leftover familial bond? But even then, she treated him the same way she treated me. Marcus had the same amount of luck that I did drawing her into a conversation. After that, I decided it would be best to keep her away from the rest of the household.
Finally, after hours of being together, her eyes focused on me. I pretended not to notice, but I was aware of her gaze traveling down.
Alex moved suddenly, slower than she normally would, and grasped my hands in hers. “Your hands…”
Stunned that she was even touching me, I couldn’t respond. Like an idiot, I sat there as her thumbs smoothed over the bones in my hand, stopping short of the raw knuckles.
“You’re hurt,” she said. “Why are you hurt?”
As gently as I could, I pulled my hands free. “I’m not hurt. It’s nothing to worry about.”
Her lashes swept up as she searched my face. Then she nodded and settled back, staring down at her own hands with a frown.
She tired quickly after that, becoming lethargic before it was nine. I managed to get her to eat before I took her back upstairs. She was out the minute her head hit the pillow, and I retreated to the couch. We repeated the same action the next day, and it was like there was a giant clock over our heads, counting down the minutes until I’d need to give her another dose.
We spent the morning in the sunroom, but I coaxed her out of that room, mainly because I was going to lose my ever-loving mind if I had to look at another plant again. The den was always occupied by my brother, Lea, and Luke, but there was another sitting room upstairs that was full of books. I took her up there after grabbing a bag of chips and a grape soda for her to snack on.
I watched her move around the room, looking for signs that she was growing antsy. She stopped in front of a desk, picked up a pen and then placed it down. Her fingers roamed over the top of a notepad, and then she made her way to a bookcase. She stood there, brow pinched as she placed a finger on the spine of each book.
“Do you want to read something?” I asked.
She jumped at the sound of my voice, and then lowered her chin obediently.
I started toward her but stopped. Any unexpected movement seemed to send her fleeing. “It’s okay, Alex. If you want to read something you can.”
“My name is not Alex,” she whispered. “It is Alexandria.”
A dull burn started in my chest, under my heart. “But you like to be called Alex.”
Shaking her head, she backed away from the books and slowly headed toward the TV, eyes downcast. She stopped in front of the blank screen. I picked up a small statue of Athena, and then placed it back down. I wanted to go to her, to hold her, but I wasn’t sure how she’d respond. Everything between us was stilted and awkward.
“Want to watch something?”
Her chin shot up, but she didn’t look at me. At her sides, her hands opened and closed. “May I?”
May I? Gods, when Alex was better, she was going to flip out. “You can do what you want.”
A small, tentative smile pulled at her lips and her lashes swept up, revealing those shattered eyes. I breathed out slowly, but it did nothing to ease the pressure clamping down on my chest. Her gaze flickered away from mine. “Will you—”
The door opened and Apollo strolled in. “There you two are.”
Alex froze in front of the TV, like a wild animal that had just been encroached upon. Then she dashed across the room, ducking behind me. She huddled there, clenching the back of my shirt.
Apollo stopped short, blond eyebrows shooting up. “Did she just hide behind you?”
I glared at the god. “She’s not the same. You know that.”
He blinked all-white eyes. “I know. It’s just unexpected. She’s like a little nymph or something.”
Hearing the word “nymph” come out of Apollo’s mouth grated at my self-control. “What do you want?’
Apollo cocked his head to the side and spoke low. “Testy, testy, Aiden.”
Her fingers dug into my back. I moved to the side, shielding her completely. If Apollo had had normal eyes, I was sure they would’ve rolled at that point. Ignoring him, I smiled down at her. “It’s okay. Apollo won’t hurt you.”
Or at least I hoped so.
Alex peered up at me through her lashes. For the first time since she’d Awakened, I saw trust in her expression. Warmth poured into the cold cavern where my heart rested. I’d never seen an indentured half-blood look upon their Master that way. It had to mean something.
Apollo cleared his throat. “And I see some things never change.”
I frowned. “What’s that mean?”
“Oh, you know, the googly-eyed looks of love. Even when someone—ahem, like me, a god—is standing right in front of you two.”
I rolled my eyes, prepared to ignore that comment, but Alex tugged on my shirt. “What does he mean by that?” she whispered.