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Night had begun to fall, and although it was the rateful for the long-sleeved shirt Aiden had dug up

I strode past the ot a good look at the top floor Thefacing the courtyard had been boarded up My gaze fell to the , I hurried around the wrought-iron face separating the courtyard from the ays Like the one that had been on Deity Island, flowers and trees frolobe blossomed here, despite the climate The clean scent of roses and the sweeter scent of peonies rapes and olive trees

Stopping near the entrance, I stared up at a marble replica of Zeus With his curly hair and beard, he looked od he was

Couldn’t he have stepped in at some point, put the smackdown on Ares, and ended all of this? Surely Zeus could find a way to get around Seth and take out Lucian But even if Zeus did, that still left Seth for him to deal with…and me

Further into the courtyard, a statue of Apollo glowed, lit by a small lamp at its base His face was turned toward the sky

"Where are you?" I asked

Once Apollo had blown his cover as Leon, he wasn’t able to stay in theI wondered if it was the sa out in Olyods or did he have a hidey hole so from the statue, I started back down the path, because it wasn’t like the hunk of rock was going to answer any of s that looked likeBusts of the Oly, which closely resembled an ancient temple Like always, a measure of dread knotted in s had never held good , I looked back Dors The University really was its own city, but other than the patrolling Guards, I hadn’t seen a student yet

It was probably a good thing they were keeping the students in their roo a off hysteria

Gods, I sounded like an old fart

I felt like an old fart

Co to the end of the pathway, the hts situated every few feet atop the walls cast light throughout the campus In the shadows of the twenty-footthe University, Guards and Sentinels were stationed where sections of the wall had taken soe

I sat down on a bench and stretchedmuscles and tissue as I watched the men Even from where I sat, I could tell that they were all half-bloods Every damn one of theiven up hope that he was here because Laadan would’ve found him by now He could still be at the New York Covenant in the Catskills He could be anywhere, or he could be dead

Rubbing my hands down my face, I told ative Nancy vibe like there was no to a Realistic Rachel? How could he have survived? How could Ares not know that my father had been at the Catskills? Surely he would use ainst me if he could

And ould he have chosen for his life if he’d had a choice to be so other than a Sentinel, Guard, or servant? What would any of these men out by the walls have chosen? Did any of them ever think about that?

I had, at one point inmortals, way before I knehat I was or had even heard that stupid prophecy I’d wanted to work at a zoo Not the biggest aspiration for one to have in life, but I loved animals and because all creatures could be controlled by compulsion--therefore pure-blooded daimons--I’d never had a pet The few times I’d visited a zoo, the workers had always seemed to enjoy their jobs, and I wanted that I wanted to be happy hat I was doing witha Sentinel would fulfill that need

Funny thing hen I’d been living a mortals, all I’d really wanted was to be back at the Covenant a my own kind Noasn’t so sure I wanted to be a Sentinel if I survived this

Glancing down, I put nant wo, a constant open connection I closed ht before I went toe-to-toe with Ares Gods knew I probably looked as much an idiot now as I did then

Seth?

There was no answer--nothing on the other side Like the cord went out into space and just ended

Footsteps crunched over the gravel, and I didn’t need to look behindme the whole time

The footsteps stopped behind the bench

"I’ to

There was a pause "I know"

A few seconds later, he ca on his thighs Neither of us spoke for what felt like forever He was the one to break the silence first

"I’ at you back there"

I choked on a laugh as I slid hilance "No, you’re not"

One side of his lips tipped up, but it wasn’t a real smile that showed off those dimples I hadn’t seen one of those since I’d woken up this afternoon "Okay," he conceded "I’ my voice"

"It’s okay"

"I wish you’d stop saying that"

I stood a little too fast, and my knees backhanded me in the form of sharp bursts of pain "But it is okay"

My back was to hi is not okay, Alex I’ht for things not to be okay"