My step faltered.
Head Minister Telly stood in front of Marcus’ desk, hands clasped behind him. Those pale eyes sharpened the moment our gazes locked. The gray seemed to have spread from his temples since the last time I’d seen him, now peppering his hair. Instead of the lavish robes he’d donned during the Council, he wore a simple white tunic and linen pants.
The door shut with a soft click behind me. I spun around. There were no Guards, no Marcus. I was completely alone with Head Minster Douchebag. Great.
“Will you sit, Miss Andros?”
I turned around slowly, forcing myself to take a deep breath. “I prefer to stand.”
“But I prefer that you sit,” he replied evenly. “Take a seat.”
A direct order from the Head Minister was something I couldn’t refuse. But it didn’t mean I was just going to bend right over for him. I made my way to the chair as slowly as possible, smiling on the inside when I saw the muscle in his jaw begin to tick.
“What can I do for you, Head Minister?” I asked after I made a show of placing my bag by my feet, smoothing out my sweater, and getting comfortable.
Disgust filled his gaze. “I have some questions for you about the night you left the Council.”
Acid was eating its way through my stomach. “Shouldn’t Marcus be here? And don’t you have to wait till my legal guardian is present? Lucian is in New York, where you should be.”
“I see no reason to include them in this… unseemly business.” He turned his attention to the aquarium, watching the fish for a few moments while I grew more uncomfortable. “After all, both of us know the truth.”
That he was a giant asshat? Everyone knew that, but I doubted that was what he was getting at. “What truth?”
Telly laughed as he turned around. “I want to chat with you about the night the daimons and furies attacked the Council, about the real reason you fled.”
My heart stuttered, but I kept my face blank. “I thought you knew. The daimons were after me. So were the furies. See, I was terribly popular by the end of the night.”
“That is what you say.” He leaned against the desk and picked up a small statue of Zeus. “However there was a dead pure-blood Guard found. Do you have anything to add to that?”
A bitter taste formed in the back of my mouth. “Well… there were a lot of dead pures and halfs. And a lot of dead servants that no one gave two shits about. They would’ve been saved if someone had helped them.”
He arched a brow. “The loss of a half-blood is hardly a concern of mine.”
Anger was a different taste in my mouth. It tasted like blood. “Dozens and dozens of them died.”
“As I said, how would that be a concern of mine?”
He was goading me. I knew it. And I still wanted to punch him.
“But I am here about the death of one of my Guards,” he continued. “I want to know how he died.”
I feigned boredom. “I’d say it probably had to do with the daimons that were swarming the building. They do tend to kill people. And the furies were ripping through people.”
The smirk on his face faded. “He was killed with a Covenant dagger.”
“Okay.” I sat back in the chair, cocking my head to the side. “Did you know that halfs can be turned now?”
The Head Minister’s eyes narrowed.
I slowed my speech down. “Well, some of those halfs were trained as Sentinels and Guards. They carry daggers. And I think they know how to use those daggers, too.” Eyes wide, I nodded. “It was probably one of them.”
Surprisingly, Telly laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh—more like a Dr. Evil laugh. “What a mouth you have on you. Tell me, is it because you think you’re so safe? That being the Apollyon makes you untouchable? Or is it just blind stupidity?”
I pretended to think about that. “Sometimes I do some pretty dumb things. This could be one of them.”
He smiled tightly. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
Odd. That was the second time I’d been asked a version of that question within the last twenty-four hours. I gave the same answer. “Is that a trick question?”
“Why do you think I’ve waited until now to question you, Alexandria? See, I know about your little bond with the First. And I know that this kind of distance negates that bond.” His smile became real as my hands clenched the arms of the chair. “So, right now, you’re nothing but a half-blood. Do you understand me?”
“Do you think I need Seth to defend me?”
The hollows of his cheeks started to turn pink. “Tell me what happened that night, Alexandria.”
“There was this giant daimon attack that I tried to warn you guys about, but you ignored me. You said it was a ridiculous notion that daimons could pull off such a stunt.” I paused, letting that jab sink in. “I fought. Killed some daimons and brought down a furie or two.”
“Ah, yes. You fought magnificently from what I hear.” He paused, tapped his chin. “And then a plot was discovered. The daimons were after the Apollyon.”
“Exactly.”
“I find that strange,” he replied. “Considering that they were trying to kill you in plain sight of Guards and Sentinels. Who, by the way, are loyal to the Council.”
I yawned loudly, doing everything to show I wasn’t afraid while I was shaking inside. If he saw that, then he’d know he was onto something. “I have no idea what goes on inside the mind of a daimon. I can’t explain that.”
Telly pushed off the desk, coming to stand in front of me. “I know you killed the pure-blood Guard, Alexandria. And I also know that another pure-blood covered it up for you.”
My brain sort of emptied as I stared up at him. Terror, so potent and so strong, knocked the air out of my lungs. How had he known? Had Aiden’s compulsion worn off? No. Because I’d be in front of the Council, handcuffed, and Aiden… oh gods, Aiden would be dead.
“You have nothing to say to that?” Telly asked, clearly enjoying this moment.
Pull it together. Pull it together. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little shocked.”
“And why would you be shocked?”
“Because that’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a long time. And have you seen the people I know? That’s saying something.”
His lips thinned. “You’re lying. And you’re not a very good liar.”
My pulse pounded. “Actually, I’m a great liar.”
He was losing his patience quickly. “Tell me the truth, Alexandria.”
“I am telling you the truth.” I forced my fingers to relax around the chair arms. “I know better than to attack a pure, let alone kill one.”
“You attacked a Master at the Council.”
Crap. “I didn’t actually attack him—I stopped him from attacking someone else. And well, I learned my lesson after that.”
“I beg to differ. Who helped you cover it up?”
I leaned forward in the chair. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You are testing my patience,” he said. “You don’t want to see what will happen when I lose it.”
“It kind of sounds like you havelost it.” I looked around the room, forcing my heart to return to normal. “I have no idea why you’re asking me these questions. And I’m missing the last day of class before winter break. Are you going to give me an excuse or something?”
“Do you think you’re clever?”
I smirked.
Telly’s hand snaked out so quickly I didn’t even have a chance to deflect the blow. The back of his hand connected with my cheek with enough force to snap my head to the side. Disbelief and rage mixed, rushing through me. My brain flat-out refused to accept the fact that he had just hit me—actually dared to hit me. And my body was already demanding that I hit him back, lay him out on his back. My fist practically itched to connect with his jaw.
I gripped the edges of the chair, facing him. That’s what Telly wanted. He wanted me to strike him back. Then he’d have my ass on a golden platter.
Telly smiled.
I returned the gesture, ignoring the stinging in my cheek. “Thank you.”