Deacon jumped back, knocking into an equally unprepared Luke. One would think, after all Luke’s training, he would’ve recovered a lot quicker, but things were different now. The Covenant hadn’t trained their students to face what was coming.
A sheepish look crossed my brother’s face as he straightened and ran a hand through the mess of blond curls. Instead of being angry over him eavesdropping, I was just relieved that he was here with me, when things seemed to be crashing down around us.
“Hey, there, brother…” he said.
I arched a brow. “Deacon, what are you doing?”
Luke’s shoulders squared, and then he stepped in front of Deacon. “It was my idea, Aiden.”
“Not really.” Deacon rolled his eyes. “I felt the presence of another god and I told Luke—”
“But I suggested that we try to find out what’s going on.” Luke drew in a deep breath. “You guys have been keeping us out of the loop on everything, and this stuff involves us, too.”
“Probably because it’s safer that way for you,” I pointed out.
Luke shook his head. “Honestly, considering how screwed-up everything is right now? With Evil Alex locked up in the basement and a war brewing, keeping us safe isn’t a top priority. We should know what’s going on. We could help.”
My respect for the young half-blood fought to show itself in the form of a smile. “How could you two help?”
“We haven’t quite figured that part out yet,” Deacon replied, leaning against the wall. “But I’m sure there’s something. And I think Lea’s going to kick our asses if she’s forced to spend one more evening with us.”
I frowned. “Where is Lea?”
The half-blood had been through enough, and all of us had been keeping an eye on her. First, she’d lost her father and stepmother in a daimon attack orchestrated by Alex’s mother, and then Seth had killed her sister during his attack on the Council. I knew her ties to those deaths had gotten to Alex.
“Sleeping,” my brother answered, craning his neck, trying to see around me. “Which god was here?”
There was no reason to keep that a secret. “Dionysus.”
“Dude? Are you serious?” Deacon looked crestfallen. “He’s like my favorite god of all time.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Luke muttered.
And it didn’t surprise me either. Even though Deacon had substantially cut back on the drinking, he could easily be mistaken for Dionysus’ soul-twin.
I had a decision to make—send them away or treat them like the adults they almost were. Luke was—or had been—months shy of graduation. Soon he would’ve been out in the world hunting daimons, but part of me balked at the idea of drawing Deacon into this further than he already was.
But I couldn’t baby Deacon for the rest of his life. Perhaps I’d done too much of that already, which might explain some of his previous behavior and why he didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about his relationship with Luke.
I nodded. “Come on.”
Both of them looked like I’d just professed my love for Seth, but they shot forward as if worried I’d change my mind. Following them into the den, I rolled my eyes when Apollo arched a brow.
“Okay,” Apollo said, looking around the room. “Now that everyone who is anyone is here, we have one more thing to discuss.”
Luke grinned as he moved to stand beside Solos, and my brother went to the chair furthest away from Apollo. I couldn’t figure out his aversion to Apollo, and dear gods, if those two had something going on, I might have to hurt someone.
“Alex,” Marcus said, leaning against the desk. His right hand absently spun a nearby globe.
Apollo grimaced, and I knew this was going to be bad. “The only hope we have of preventing a full-scale war is if Alex. comes around and agrees to take out Seth.”
In the past, Alex never would’ve agreed to that, but now? If we could somehow reach her and break the bond, would she go after Seth? And did I even want her to? She could get hurt… die. As a Sentinel, I needed to accept those risks, but as a man, I couldn’t when it came to Alex.
“We have found a way to break the bond. temporarily,” Apollo continued. He blinked, and bright blue irises appeared. I had to look away, because it reminded me of how Alex hated the god eyes and how Apollo toned them down for her. “It will give us time to find a permanent solution.”
Everything centered on what Apollo had just said. A temporary break in the connection was better than nothing. The rush of anticipation couldn’t be stopped and it almost knocked me on my ass. “What temporary fix?”
“You’re not going to like it—none of you are going to like it—but it’s the only option that we have at this point.”
My hands flexed. “Just get on with it. What’s the fix?”
Apollo’s brows furrowed. I was pretty sure that if it weren’t for the friendship we’d cultivated during hunts, he would’ve blasted my ass by now. “I’ve spoken with Ananke—”
“No,” Marcus said before I could open my mouth. He pushed off the desk. “There is only one reason why you’d be speaking with Ananke, and the answer is no.”
The god folded his arms and the way his entire face hardened, I could tell he wasn’t used to being told no. “I know that the thought is unsavory.”
A hot rush of rage twisted my insides into raw knots. “‘Unsavory’ isn’t a word I’m shooting for,” I grated out.
“Okay, I don’t get it.” Deacon brushed the flop of blond curls out of his eyes and frowned. “I’m totally failing Myths and Legends. Who in the hell is Ananke?”
The fondness in Luke’s voice ruined his smirk. “Besides the fact that she’s the momma of the Fates and of destiny, she rules over compulsion and all forms of slavery and bondage—bondage as in imprisonment.”
“Our ability to use compulsion is gifted from Ananke,” Marcus explained, eyes narrowed. “She’s a lesser-known goddess, practically forgotten.”
“Except that she was the one to come up with the Elixir that keeps halfs in servitude docile.” Solos’ jaw hardened.
Deacon looked at Apollo, his nose wrinkling. “Then why are you contacting a goddess that…?” His mouth dropped open. “Oh. Shit. You want to put Alex on the Elixir.”
I folded my arms to keep from hitting something. “No. Apollo, absolutely not.”
“I don’t even see why we’re discussing this.” Solos headed around the couch, wisely avoiding the area around me. I was like a geyser seconds away from erupting. He stopped beside Marcus. “The Elixir won’t work on the Apollyon, right?”
“Not the kind that we give half-bloods, but Alex would be receiving something different.” Apollo paused. “She’d be getting something stronger. Ananke has assured me that it would break the bond, and the effects would only be temporary. It’s not the same thing that’s done to the others.”
“It’s not? Because it sounds like it is to me.” The idea of putting Alex on the Elixir turned my stomach and pissed me off. “I can’t do that.”
Apollo opened his mouth but seemed to be choosing what to say. “We have to break the bond, Aiden. At some point, Alex will discover where she is. Then what? Seth will come for her and transfer her power to him, and it will be all over. There will be no second chances.”
“There has to be another way!” My control snapped. In that instant I was this close to finding out if I could actually take out a god. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I knew Apollo was trying to help us—help Alex. I didn’t doubt that the god cared for her. “We just haven’t looked hard enough, checked every available resource.”