Instinctively, I knew it was connecting us—binding us together.
Forever.
“No. No, this isn’t possible!” Seth’s body had gone rigid.
I real y wished he’d let go of my arm, because his fingers dug into my skin and something… something else was happening. I felt it move inside me, twisting and wrapping itself through my core, and with each coil I knew it was linking us together.
Emotions and thoughts that weren’t my own raced at me.
They came in a blinding light, fol owed by vibrant colors spinning and shifting until I was able to comprehend and make sense of some of it.
This isn’t possible.
This is going to get us both killed.
I gasped for air. Seth’s thoughts slithered around mine and his emotions rol ed and tumbled through the both of us.
Abruptly, it al stopped as a door slammed shut in my mind.
The colors receded, and final y, the blue cord shimmered into a faint glow before disappearing.
“Uh… your tattoos are back.”
Seth blinked as he stared down at where his hand was stil around my arm. “This… can’t be happening.”
“What… did happen? Cuz if you know, I’d real y like to be fil ed in on this.”
He looked up, his eyes glowed in the darkness. The bewildered look faded, replaced by anger. “We’re going to die.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “I— what?”
Whatever he knew final y clicked into place for him. His lips thinned, and then he started walking, dragging me along behind him.
“Wait! Where are we going?”
“They knew! They knew this entire time. Now I understand why Lucian ordered me to Council when they found you.”
My feet slipped in the sand as I stumbled to keep up with him. I lost a sandal in the process, then lost the other one a couple of steps later. Dammit, I liked those sandals. “Seth!
You’re going to have slow down and tel me what’s going on.”
He shot me a dangerous look over his shoulder. “Your pretentious stepfather is going to tel us what is going on.”
I didn’t like to admit it, but I was scared, real y freaking scared. Apollyons can be unstable—dangerous even. No joke. Seth picked up the pace, dragging me behind him. I slipped. My knee caught the hem of my cotton dress, ripping it. With an impatient groan, he hauled me to my feet and continued.
Lightning zipped through the sky as he continued to drag me across the island. It struck a docked boat only a few yards away. The light stunned me, but Seth ignored the mess his anger had created.
“Stop!” I dug my feet into the sand. “The boat’s on fire!
We have to do something!”
Seth whirled around, his eyes luminous. He yanked me against him. “It’s of no concern to us.”
Heavy breaths heaved within my chest. “Seth… you’re scaring me.”
His expression remained hard and fierce, but his grip around my arm loosened a bit. “It’s not me you should be scared of. Come on.”
He pul ed me past the burning boat and up the silent coastline.
Seth turned when he spotted Lucian’s house, taking the wide porch steps two at a time. Clearly, he didn’t care if I could keep up with him or not. He let go then and started banging on the door like the police did on television.
Two fearsome-looking Guards opened the door. The first one spared me only a quick glance before fastening narrowed eyes on Seth.
Seth’s chin came up. “We need to see Lucian now.”
The Guard straightened. “The Minister has retired for the evening. You wil have—”
A brutal burst of wind rushed from behind us. For a second, I couldn’t see past the mess of hair blowing in my face, but when I did, my heart stopped. The near hurricane force gust hit the Guard in the chest, slamming him back and pinning him halfway up the wal of my stepfather’s opulent foyer. The wind quieted, but the Guard remained up against the wal .
Seth stepped in through the door and looked at the other Guard. “Go get Lucian. Now.”
The Guard peeled his eyes off his coworker and hurried off to do Seth’s bidding. I fol owed Seth in, my hands shaking so badly I held them together. “Seth? Seth, what are you doing? You need to stop. Like right now. You can’t do this! Busting into Lucian’s house—”
“Be quiet.”
Retreating to the furthest corner of the foyer, I stared at the Guard. The air crackled with tension and power—the Apol yon kind of power. I pressed against the wal as it crawled over my skin and inched its way deep inside me.
A decent amount of commotion and movement at the top of the stairs drew my attention. Lucian came down the winding staircase, clad in pajama bottoms and a loose shirt. Seeing him like that made me giggle, but it came out kind of short and hysterical.
Lucian noted my semi-petrified position in the corner, and then glanced at the Guard suspended up against the wal . Final y, he gave Seth a strangely calm look. “What is this about?”
“I want to know how long you were going to continue this madness before the both of us were slaughtered in our sleep!”
My mouth dropped open.
Lucian’s voice remained level and cool. “Let the Guard down and I wil tel you everything.”
Seth didn’t look like he wanted to, but he dropped the Guard, and not very gently. The poor man crashed to the floor. “I want to know the truth.”
Lucian nodded. “Why don’t we move into the sitting room? Alexandria looks like she could real y sit down.”
Seth glanced over his shoulder with a frown, as if he’d forgotten about me. I must’ve looked pretty pitiful, because he nodded. I half debated making a run for it, but I doubted I’d get very far. Besides, beyond the fear, I was also curious as hel as to what was going on.
We went into a smal room with glass wal s. I practical y col apsed in the white wicker chair. The Guards fol owed us, but Lucian waved them off. “Please notify Dean Andros that Seth and Alexandria are here. He wil understand.” The Guards hesitated but Lucian assured them with a dismissive nod. When they left, he faced Seth. “Sit?”
“I prefer to stand.”
“Um… there’s a boat on fire outside.” My voice sounded tight and too high. “Someone might want to check it out.”
“It wil be taken care of.” Lucian sat in one of the chairs beside me. “Alexandria, I have not been entirely forthcoming with you.”
A tiny scoff huffed out of me. “Real y.”
He leaned forward, resting his hands against his checkered pajama bottoms. “Three years ago, the oracle told your mother that, on your eighteenth birthday, you would become the Apol yon.”
I laughed out loud. “That. Is. Ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Seth turned to face me. He looked like he wanted to shake me.
“Um… yes!” My eyes widened. “There’s only one of you guys… ” My voice trailed off as I remembered what I’d read in the book Aiden had loaned me. Al at once, I felt hot and cold.
“Before Rachel e left, she confided in Marcus. He didn’t agree with her decisions, but she felt she needed to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?” As soon as those words left my mouth, I already knew the answer. Protect me from what’d happened to Solaris. I shook my head. “No. This is just too crazy. The oracle didn’t tel Mom that!”
“You are referencing the other part, the one where she said you wil kil the ones you love? That is not the important part. What is important is you wil become another Apol yon.” He turned to Seth, smiling. “Having Seth here was the best way to discover if what the oracle had said was correct.”