After only a few seconds he broke off the kiss and sprung away from me.
From several feet away, Aiden crouched on the bal s of his feet. His heavy breathing fil ed the space between us.
Eyes wide, they’d dilated until they were almost black.
I sat up and scooted back. What I’d done made it through the thick haze clouding my thoughts. Not only had I punched a pure-blood in the face, I’d also kissed him. Oh… oh, man. My cheeks flushed; my entire body flushed.
Aiden stood slowly. “It’s al right.” His voice rasped.
“These things happen… when you’re feeling a lot of stress.”
These things happened? I didn’t think so. “I… can’t believe I did that.”
“It’s just stress.” He remained at a safe distance. “It’s okay, Alex.”
I jumped to my feet. “I think I should go now.”
He started forward then, but stopped short, wary of coming any closer. “Alex… it’s al right.”
“Yeah, damn stress thing, huh? Whoa. Okay. Everything is total y okay.” I backed up, looking everywhere but at him.
“I needed that—not the last thing! Or the thing when I punched you! But the things when I was… you know, working out my aggression… and stuff. Al right… see you tomorrow.” I fled from the room—from the entire building.
Outside in the thick humid night air, I smacked my forehead and groaned. “Oh, my gods.” Somewhere behind me a door opened, so I started down the pathway again.
I real y wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.
Shock and embarrassment didn’t adequately describe what I was feeling. Mortification was too lame of a word.
Maybe I could blame it on stress. I wanted to laugh, except I also wanted to cry.
Would I be able to live this one down? Gods, I couldn’t believe I’d actual y kissed him. Nor could I believe there’d been a moment where he’d kissed me back, that he’d pressed against me in a way that said he’d wanted it just as badly as I had. That had to have been a figment of my imagination.
I needed a new trainer. I needed a new trainer pronto.
There was no way I could ever face him again without keeling over and dying. No way at al and—
Someone stepped in front of me. I moved to the side to avoid whoever it was, but the person blocked me. Pissed I couldn’t sulk in privacy, I fired off without looking up. “Gods!
Get the hel out of my—” The words died on my lips.
The Apol yon stood in front of me.
“Wel , good evening to you.” His lips curled in a casual smile.
“Um… sorry, I didn’t see you.” Or feel him, which was weird considering both times I’d felt him before actual y laying eyes on him.
“Obviously. You were staring at the ground as if it had done something terrible to you.”
“Yeah, I’m kinda having a bad weekend… that just won’t die.” I sidestepped him, but he moved in front of me again.
“Excuse me.” I used possibly my sweetest voice ever. He was, after al , the Apol yon.
“Could I just have a few minutes of your time?”
I looked around the empty courtyard, knowing I couldn’t refuse him. “Sure, but I need to get back to my dorm soon.”
“Then I wil walk you there and we can talk.”
I nodded, having no freaking clue what he could possibly want to talk to me about. I motioned him forward wearily.
“I’ve been looking for you.” He fel into step beside me.
“Apparently, you’ve holed yourself up in your dorm, and your friends have advised me males are not al owed in the dorm. I’m no exception, which I find strange and very irritating. Sil y little Covenant rules shouldn’t apply to me.”
I frowned, not sure what to be skeeved out about more: that he knew who my friends were or that he was looking for me. Both things were equal y creepy to me. He could snap my neck like a twig. He was the Apol yon—someone no one wanted looking for them.
“So I’ve been waiting for you to reappear.”
Now this was creepy. I felt his stare, but I kept my eyes trained ahead. “Why?”
Seth easily fel into step beside me. “I want to know what you are.”
I froze and I had to look at him. He was pretty close, not touching. Frankly, he looked like he didn’t want to. Caution played across his arresting features as he watched me.
“I’m a half-blood.”
He arched a blond brow. “Wow. I had no idea you were a half-blood, Alexandria. Color me shocked.”
My eyes narrowed on him. “Cal me Alex. So why did you ask?”
“Yes, I know. Everyone cal s you by some boy’s name.”
His upper lip curled and frustration fil ed his voice. “Anyway, you know that is not what I’m asking. I want to know what you are.”
Pissing off the Apol yon probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but my mood was somewhere between crappy and real y crappy. I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m a girl. You’re a boy. Does that clear things up for you?”
One corner of his mouth quirked. “Thank you for the gender lesson. I’ve always been confused when it comes to boy and girl parts, but once again, not what I’m asking.” He stepped forward, tilting his head to the side. “Around May, Lucian requested my presence at Council. They found you around the same time. I find that strange.”
My instincts screamed for me to take a step back, but I refused. “Okay?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences. Lucian’s order has to do with you. So it begs a very important question.”
“Which is?
“What is so important about a little girl whose mother is a daimon?” He circled around me. I twisted, fol owing his movement. “Why would Lucian want me here now, but not before? You were right in your dean’s office. You would not be the first half or even pure to face down a loved one or a friend in battle. What makes you so special?”
Irritation twitched within me. “I have no clue. Why don’t you go and ask him?”
Several short strands escaped the leather thong and fel around his face. “I doubt Lucian is being truthful.”
“Lucian doesn’t have to be truthful.”
“You would know. He is your stepfather.”
“Lucian is nothing to me. What you saw in that office was bizarre. He must’ve been high on power or meth.”
“Then you would not be upset if I said he was a pompous ass?”
I bit back my laugh. “Nope.”
His lips curved into a half smile. “I intend to figure out why I was pul ed away from hunting to guard a girl—”
My brows rose. “You’re not guarding me. You’re guarding Lucian.”
“Is that so? Why would Lucian need me as a Guard? He rarely leaves the Council and is always surrounded by several layers of protection. A fledging Guard could assist him. This is wasting my time.”
He had a good point, but I didn’t have any answers for him. I shrugged and started walking again, hoping he wouldn’t fol ow, but he did.
“So I’l ask you again. What are you?”
The first two times he’d asked the question, it had just annoyed me, but the third time poked around inside my brain and pushed a memory loose. I thought of the night in the factory. What had the daimon said after he’d tagged me? I stopped, frowning as the words floated to the surface. “What are you?” My hand went to my neck, brushing over the ultra-smooth skin of the scar.
Seth’s eyes narrowed on me. “What is it?”
I looked up. “You know, you aren’t the first person to ask me that. A daimon asked me… after he tagged me.”
Interest flickered over his face. “Maybe I just need to bite you to find out.”