STUNNED, I JERKED BACK FROM THE CELL DOOR. Everything Apollo had warned me about rushed to me at once. Everyone had been afraid of something like this happening—everyone but me, and still I had a hard time believing that this was actually happening.
“What have you done?” I asked.
“What? I brought you a gift—Telly.”
I turned to him, shocked that I had to explain all the things wrong with this. “Seth, most guys bring girls roses or puppies. Not people, Seth. Not the Head Minister of the Council.”
“I know what he did, Alex.” He placed his hand over the scar Linard had left behind. “I know he ordered this.”
Through the heavy material, I could feel Seth’s hand. “Seth, I…”
“I felt something when it happened… like our bond had completely disappeared,” he said quietly and quickly. “I couldn’t feel your emotions but I knew you were there… and then you weren’t for a few minutes. I knew. Then Lucian told me. My first reaction was to bring just his head back to you, but I did the next best thing.”
I felt physically ill as I stared at Seth. And when I looked at Telly in the cell, I saw Jackson’s battered face. I should’ve known. Good gods, I should’ve known he’d know… and he’d do something like this.
“It didn’t take much for me to find him,” he continued casually. “And I know people were looking for him. Leon,” Seth laughed, “or should I call him Apollo? Yeah, I beat him to the punch on this one. Those two days you didn’t call me? That’s all it took for me to find him.”
The air flew right out of my lungs. Ice drenched my veins.
He frowned. “He ordered your death, Alex. I figured you’d be happy to know that we have him and he’s not going to be a problem anymore.”
I turned back to the cell. “Gods, how have the furies not reacted to this?”
“I’m not stupid, Alex.” He moved to stand beside me, shoulder to shoulder. “Lucian ordered this and had his Guards carry it out. I was only… along for the ride. Clever, aren’t I?”
“Clever?” I gasped, stepping away from the cell—from Seth. “So this was Lucian’s idea?”
“Does it matter?” He folded his arms. “Telly tried to have you killed—he didhave you killed. For that, he has to be punished.”
“That doesn’t make this okay! Look at him!” I pointed at the cell, feeling sick. “What iswrong with him?”
“He’s under a rather strong compulsion not to talk.” Seth tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure he’s even thinking. Actually, I think he’s sort of fried.”
“Gods, Seth. Hasn’t anyone ever told you two wrongs don’t make a right?”
Seth snorted. “Two wrongs always make a right in my book.”
“This isn’t funny, Seth!” I tried to calm down. “Who’s going to kill him? The pure-blood Council?”
“No. The new Council will.”
“The new Council? What the hell is that?”
Frustration flared in his amber eyes. “You just need to understand why this is happening. This man serves the gods who want you—us—dead. He has to be taken out.”
I ran my hands over my head, wanting to pull my hair out. “Seth, was this Lucian’s idea or not?”
“Why does that matter? What if it was? He only wants to keep us safe. He wants change and—”
“And he wants Telly’s throne, Seth! How can you not see that?” Coldness seized my insides as I stared at Seth. Lucian wanted power and taking Telly out was one way to achieve that, but that didn’t mean he could take complete control of the Council… or did it? I shook my head. “There’s no way the gods would allow this. They don’t want what Telly did.”
“The gods are the enemy here, Alex! They don’t speak to the Council, but they do speak to the Order.”
“Apollo saved my life, Seth! Not Lucian!”
“Only because they have plans for you,” he said, stepping forward. “You don’t know what I know.”
My hands curled into fists. “Then tell me what you know!”
“You wouldn’t understand.” He turned toward the still form in the cell. “Not yet. I don’t even blame you for it. You have too much pure in you—now more than ever before.”
I flinched. “That wasn’t… wasn’t fair.”
His eyes closed and he ran the heel of his palm over his forehead. “You’re right. That wasn’t fair.”
Taking the moment of clarity, I seized it. “You can’t keep him here, Seth. You’re right. He has to be punished for what he did, but he needs a trial. Keeping him like this, under a compulsion in a cell, is wrong.”
Gods, it was a messed up day when Iwas the voice of reason.
Seth turned to me. He opened his mouth, but closed it. “I already have too much invested in this.”
Dread inched down my spine. I started toward him, but stopped. I folded my arms over my chest. “What do you mean?”
He reached out toward me, but I jerked away. Confused, he lowered his hand. “How can you want him to live?”
“Because it’s not our place to decide who lives or dies.”
His brows furrowed. “And what if it will be?”
I shook my head. “Then I don’t want any part of that. And I know you don’t, either.”
Seth sighed. “Alex, you’re training to be a Sentinel. You’ll make life-and-death decisions all the time.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it?” He inclined his head toward me, a smug smile washing away any hesitation.
“Yes! As a Sentinel, I’ll kill daimons. That’s not the same as playing jury and executioner.”
“How can you not see I’m doing what needs to be done, even if you’re too weak to do it yourself?”
Who in the hell was this person beside me? It was like reasoning with a lunatic… .now I knew how people felt when they tried to reason with me. Irony was a cruel, cruel foe. “Seth, where are the keys to the cell?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m not letting him out.”
“Seth.” I took a tentative step toward him. “You can’t do this. Neither can Lucian.”
“I can do as I damn well please!”
I shoved past him, reaching for the handle on the door, and then I was against the opposite wall with Seth in my face. Fear blossomed low in my stomach as the cord hummed madly. “Seth,” I whispered.
“He’s staying in there.” His eyes flashed a dangerous ocher. “There are plans for him, Alex.”
I swallowed down the sudden taste of bile. “What plans?”
His gaze dropped to my lips, and a whole new fear took root. “You’ll see soon enough. You don’t have to worry, Alex. I’m going to take care of everything.”
Planting my hands on his chest, I shoved him back several feet. Shock and then anger flashed across his features. “You’re freaking insane, Seth. Don’t go down this road.”
Whirling around, he stormed back to the cell and pointed at Telly. “So, you’d rather see this thing free? Free to enslave half-bloods, to order them killed? Free to continue his assassination attempts on you? And then we are to wait for a trial—a trial rigged to protect the pure-bloods? They’d just slap him on the hand. Hell, they might even order you to apologize for screwing up his plans to kill you!”
Anger flooded me. I stepped forward, toe-to-toe with Seth. “You don’t care about what happens to the half-bloods! It has nothing to do with what you’re planning! And you know that. What you’re doing—what you’re agreeing to is wrong. And I’m not—”
“Go,” he cut me off, his voice furious and low.
I stood my ground. “I’m not going to let you do this, Seth. I don’t know what Lucian’s said that’s convinced—”
“I said go.” Seth shoved me—shoved me hard. I barely caught myself. “Maybe next time I’ll bring you roses or puppies.”
That raised my hackles, and so did the smile he gave me. It took every ounce of my self-control to turn and walk away. I hurried up the stairs. Like a thousand times in my life, I didn’t plan on listening to what I’d been told to do. But for the first time, it was probably the right thing to do. Aiden and Marcus needed to know what Seth and Lucian were up to. Maybe they could stop this, before it became too late—before Seth took part in killing the Head Minister and sealed both our fates.