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When it settled, I slowly lowered aze locked with his

"Shit," Sethrapidly "Just stay…stay away from me"

I didn’t have a chance to respond He spun on his heel, leavingthe remains of the ruined statue There was no e could stay away froht noe needed each other, especially to transfer the power, but it was more than that

But I didn’t chase after hio He won We would wait, but we couldn’t wait forever

CHAPTER 20

The skies were gray and overcast Clouds were thick A fine drizzle coated the ground and our vehicles The slight chill in the air warned that autumn ell on its way Perses had wanted to travel with the rest of the arh to let that happen Gods only knehat he’d get himself into between here and the Catskills

Luke and Olivia also were traveling with us, mainly because Deacon and I demanded that they did

"Do you think Deacon will talk the entire trip?" Olivia asked, hoisting a s several s necessity after what had happened to Lea, and we all carried the at least fifty bucks that he does until he passes out"

I laughed "I’ht Marcus was going to strangle him"

"I would’ve if he hadn’t fallen asleep," Marcus said, co out from behind us "Or at the very least, I would’ve knocked hiet that?" She gestured at s ot it"

S at Marcus, she headed tohere Luke and Deacon stood behind a black Expedition Deacon spun around and pulled Olivia into a dance you’d see in a ballrooh escaped my lips as I watched hi else, isn’t he?" Marcus folded his ar his head "He’s just Deacon"

"That’s what I love about hilanced at me, his expression unreadable Several seconds passed "Are you ready for this, Alexandria?"

"As ready as I’ll ever be," I ad the fine sheen of rain off my forehead Seth appeared with Perses They headed toward another vehicle My stomach tipped over I hadn’t seen Seth since he’d left lanced over to where Marcus and I stood Our eyesto Perses

"You haven’t transferred the power yet," Marcus said

My lips pursed "No We’re going to do it e get to New York" I hope, but I didn’t add that last part Taking a deep breath, I forced aze away from Seth and turned to my uncle

The lines around his eyes appeared deeper than they had been yesterday Gray hairs liberally sprinkled his chestnut-colored hair I hadn’t noticed them before, but they had to have been there His eyes were sharp with keen intelligence and clear with foresight, as usual

In a second, I saw him as he’d been the first day I’d returned to the Covenant He’d sat behind that shiny desk of his, full of stiff, unyielding authority, and his displeased stare had ed since the day he’d aled So had I So the Dean to beco my uncle And I never would’ve believed that last year I honestly hadn’t believed that he cared one bit about me, but I kne he always had Heit, and I’d just made it even harder for him to do so I’d been such a brat

His lips tipped up at the corners When he spoke, it was as if he knehat I was thinking "I’m not sure I’ve ever told you this, Alexandria, but I am proud of you"

My eyes ht you’d say that, huh?"

"No, I always knew that one day I would say that," he replied, his slight s his features "I’d just hoped it would’ve been when you graduated frohed

"You make sure you come back here" His voice thickened "After all, you haven’t technically graduated yet, and there are a few courses you need to finish up before you can"

I laughed, but the sound caught in my throat "Okay Deal"

Marcus nodded and unfolded his arms He started to turn, but he stopped An emotion I couldn’t quite pick out flickered across his face, and a second later he hugged s in history But in a way, they were the best

Closing ed him back

"I know you will look for your father when you get there," he said, his voice low "I knohim means to you, but you need to be careful There will be time afterward to find hih I wasn’t sure I meant it As much as I wanted to believe that Apollo would hold to his promise, I couldn’t be a hundred percent sure that there would be an afterward for me

Marcus pulled back, and I swore his eyes were shiny HeLuke and stalked off After saying oodbyes to Laadan and Diana, I waited off to the side while Aiden spoke to , because when Aiden joined me, he was a shade or two paler

My brows rose "You okay?"

His gray eyes shifted to mine "Marcus can be really scary when he wants to be"