I peeked around him and my mouth dropped open.
Perses was sprawled on the floor, missing his jacket. There were red marks on his white slacks, some a dark crimson. Others were a deep red and more like smudges along the zipper.
A basket of meatballs was on his chest—half were in the carton, and half had rolled down his twenty-pack abs.
The Titan reached down, picked up a meatball from somewhere near his belly button, and popped it into his mouth. “These things are so damn good.”
There were no words.
Seth leaned against the couch. No shoes. No shirt. His amber eyes were glassy and unfocused. Now the half-stupid happiness I felt upon waking made sense.
“You two are completely trashed,” I said, eyes wide.
Seth raised a hand, busted knuckles bruised and raw. “We are…not drunk.”
“Really,” Aiden drew out the word.
Fighting the smile on my face, I loosened my grip on the blade. “What happened to your hands?”
“Nooothing,” Seth replied, chuckling.
Perses chewed loudly on another meatball.
I glanced at Aiden. “Is that blood on your pants, Perses?”
“Among other bloodily fluids,” he replied, and then he snorted.
“Gross.”
Aiden shoved the gun in the back of his pants and folded his arms. “I’m assuming it’s not your blood?”
The Titan laughed.
Okay. I was starting to get a little worried. “It’s not a mortal’s blood, is it?”
Seth pushed to his feet and swayed to the side. He sat—er, fell back—onto the couch. “No. We ran into some daimons.”
I stared at him. “And you decided to get into a hand-to-hand bitch fight with them? You could’ve just used one of the elements or akasha.”
“Your buddy has a lot of pent-up aggression,” Perses said, picking up a meatball. He sat halfway up and tossed the meatball. “I like him.”
Even drunk, Seth had ninja reflexes. He caught the meatball with a laugh. I had no idea what to say.
“All right, as entertaining as this is, make sure you two are sober enough by noon.” Aiden turned, catching my free hand. “Have fun.”
At the door to our room, I glanced over my shoulder. Seth was leaning way to the side, eyes drifting shut, expression slack. It was then when I noticed that, like Aiden, his pants were unbuttoned. Between him and Perses, I wondered how they’d even made it back to the hotel room.
Back inside the bedroom with the door locked, Aiden pulled the gun out and placed it on the nightstand.
“Wow,” I said, grinning.
He laughed. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
“Me neither.”
After relieving me of the dagger, he stepped back and eyed me. Even in the darkness, I could feel his intense stare. “I know I’ve said this before, but I like seeing you in my clothes.”
Warmth spread over my cheeks, and heat flooded my veins. “Good. I like wearing them.”
“But you know what I like better?”
I didn’t get a chance to say anything before he hooked his fingers under the hem of the borrowed shirt and tugged it over my head. The material fluttered to the floor as he clasped my hips, lifting me up.
Aiden’s lips brushed mine as he spoke, eliciting a series of shivers. “I like taking them off.”
* * *
Hades appeared exactly at noon, not a second early or late, and didn’t ask any questions. He popped us back to the middle of the University, and while I was a little woozy on my feet from the method of travel, Seth looked like he was going to hurl up everything he’d drunk the night before. That explained the way my stomach was churning. Bastard.
Which was confirmed a second later when Seth said, “I think I’m going to vomit.”
Aiden cast him an amused look. “Lightweight.”
“Shut up,” Seth moaned, clutching his stomach.
The air in front of us shimmered, and then Apollo appeared in front of us, startling me enough that I took a step back. My eyes narrowed on him. Couldn’t any of the gods just walk somewhere?
Okay. If I could pop in and out and avoid stairs, I’d do it, too.
And I’d probably get the same amount of sick pleasure Apollo got out of doing it.
Hades stepped forward, eyeing Perses before he turned to Apollo. “I hope you’re right and this idea works.” He tossed a sneer at the Titan, who scoffed loudly. “The son of a bitch doesn’t deserve a chance, and you know it.”
The sun seemed to soak through Apollo’s skin as he leveled a stare on the other god. “As I recall, you had no other suggestions.”
Hades smirked. “I did. Shut down the Underworld and let you guys battle it out.” He shrugged. “You didn’t like that idea.” With that, the god disappeared.
“I have never been a fan of Hades. Over-pompous asshole,” Apollo muttered.
I arched a brow. That was something coming from him.
The Titan’s lips curled up. “You’re still a glowing bundle of fun, Apollo.”
Apollo narrowed a gaze on Perses. “Do not start with me. You know what has to be done. And I promise you, if you cause us any problems, you’ll end up on Prometheus’ rock, except it won’t be an eagle pecking away at you.”
“What would it be, then?” Curiosity marked Seth’s tone.
Apollo’s smile was chilling. “I’ll do it. Personally. Strip by strip with a dull blade dipped in cobra venom. And then, when I’m done at the end of the day, I will sew you back together to just start all over the following day.”
“Wow,” I murmured. “Inventive.”
Perses didn’t look impressed. “I’ve heard worse threats.”
My eyes widened. Beside me, Aiden hid his smile while scrubbing at his chin with his palm. Seth had a far-off look on his face, as if picturing what Apollo had said. Didn’t think it was possible, but he turned even more pasty.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Seth waved one hand. “Yeah, perfect.”
“So where is the army I’m to train?” Impatience filled Perses’ tone. “All I see are buildings and a few children of demigods peeking around corners. I hope they aren’t your warriors.”
I snorted. “No, they’re not. They’re students. Our army is trained. They’re—”
“Trained as Guards and hunters, right?” Perses chuckled mockingly, and I sort of wanted to see Apollo break out the dull blade. “They may be skilled when comes to hunting daimons, but are they skilled enough to fight?”
“They won’t be fighting Ares,” Aiden explained, earning an interested look from the Titan. “Ares is heavily guarded by mortal soldiers, daimons, and automatons.”
Perses’ brows knitted. “Your army should be able to defend themselves against two of them. The automatons would be a problem, but they’ll just have to be quicker. I do not see what you need me for.”
“As Sentinel and Guards, we’ve never tried to work together in groups larger than three or four. We were never trained on war tactics. And I need you,” I said, hating myself for having to say that. “I need you to prepare me for facing Ares. You have already seen how that went the first time.”
Seth’s eyes tightened. “You also have to prepare me to fight Ares.”
The likelihood of me letting Seth near Ares was right up there with me actually cooking myself a dinner that was edible. I opened my mouth, but Aiden jumped in.
“And I need to be trained on how to fight him as well.”
“Guys, the last time I checked, I was becoming the God Killer, which would make me pretty badass as it is. And with Perses’ training, I’m going to also be kickass.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t need back-up,” Seth retorted.
I wished he’d just go puke somewhere. I swallowed hard against the sick feeling leaking through the bond.
“And you’re not facing Ares alone,” Aiden added.
And I wished Aiden would go hold his hair for him.