The Power
Page 41

Alexandria Andros stood in front of me. It was really her. Flesh and bone, but she looked nothing like the last time I’d seen her. Her hair was longer, like it had been when we were first introduced at Deity Island. The hairline scars that had covered every inch of her skin were gone. Scars from when Ares had literally broken every bone in her body. Because she wore a sleeveless shirt, I could see that the tags on her arm and neck were also gone.
It was more than the physical. The emotional weight she had carried was gone, lifted from her shoulders. Those whiskey-colored eyes were happy and full of laughter. Years of pain washed away, as if none of it had ever happened, but it had happened.
I had happened.
Seeing her like this, though, carried some measure of relief. I had planned on never seeing her again. That had been ideal, because . . . well, who wanted to come face to face with the person they’d gotten killed? Because that was what had happened, and knowing what I did helped me ignore what was going on inside me.
Alex had died a mortal death, because of me.
But she looked good. She looked great, actually. And she appeared happy.
She wasn’t the only one who was overjoyed.
Deacon had launched himself at Aiden—Aiden saintly St. Delphi—nearly knocking him backward, over a fallen pure. The brothers hugged, oblivious to those fighting around them. Other than their eyes, they absolutely had nothing in common.
Which was why I liked Deacon.
Aiden pulled back, clasping the sides of his younger brother’s face. “Look at you,” he said, voice thick. “Are you actually growing a beard?”
Deacon’s laugh was hoarse. “Yeah, right. Hair doesn’t grow on this pretty face.”
“More like baby face. Gods,” Aiden said, wrapping an arm around his brother’s neck, dragging him back. “I’ve missed you.”
“Same,” Deacon muttered as his shoulders trembled.
I tensed when Alex started walking toward me. She halted when I shook my head. Her lips pursed, and for a moment I thought she would do what she wanted, because that was the Alex I knew, but she surprised me. Alex turned back to the brothers. She joined them, and they opened up, pulling her into a group hug. A second later Luke was with them, and even over the angry shouts, I could hear Alex’s happy squeal. Reunited at last.
I turned from the happy reunion and searched for Josie, finding her immediately. She was standing off to the side, staring at Alex with wide eyes, apparently unaware of the smoke billowing from the burning olive tree behind her. I couldn’t even imagine what she was thinking, but good sense told me she knew exactly who the newcomers were. Alex squirmed her way out of the group hug and scanned the quad. “What in the hell is going on, guys?”
I followed her gaze, spying Colin taking down another pure. I smirked. “Everyone is just getting close to one another. You know, love taps and all.”
She arched a brow. “Uh-huh.”
“Things aren’t good between us right now,” Luke explained as he stepped back, draping his arm over her shoulders. “I’ll explain later.”
Alex squinted and started to frown as she stared at someone. “Is that . . . Boobs?”
Turning to where she was staring, a strangled laugh crawled up my throat. Leave it to Alex to notice her nearly immediately. “Yeah, that is.”
“Huh.” Alex glanced at me, brows raised, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the giant leap she was making. “Interesting.”
Not really.
Shouts calling for the fights to stop echoed through the quad. Guards and Sentinels rushed in, breaking up the remaining fights. Good to see they had such a sense of urgency in getting their asses over here. A lone Sentinel broke free though, his tall body going rigid.
“Dad!” Alex shrieked and then took off, running at full speed toward the man. He opened up his arms, and she all but tackled him. She face-planted his chest and the older man picked her up off her feet.
Seeing that, yeah, it got me in places I didn’t even know I had. I’d never met my father. Only knew that he was long since dead. Alex grew up thinking that her father had passed when she was a baby, but that hadn’t been the truth. He’d been hidden away at the main Council in the Catskills, and it was only right before Alex and I faced down Ares that she got to finally meet her father.
They had a lot of time to make up for, and I’m sure the last time they were topside hadn’t been enough.
Alex threw her head back and laughed as she grabbed her father’s hand. She all but dragged him over to where Aiden stood with Luke and Deacon. Then, unsurprisingly, Solos was suddenly with them. The whole gang was back together.
Except for all the ones who’d died and didn’t come back as demigods.
Gods, my skin was crawling and not in an unpleasant way, but in a familiar way I’d hoped I wouldn’t experience again, and that could only mean one thing.
Tucking her hair back behind one ear, she glanced over at me. Our eyes met, and I knew she was feeling it too. Oh yeah, that happy little buzz that tasted of aether was there. Shit on shit-covered bricks.
How had I not been paying attention to the time that had elapsed? Oh, right. My mind had been focused on a different girl. I should’ve been prepared for this. Prepared for the very real possibility that we’d . . .
Fuck.
That we’d still be connected.
Had it been too much to hope that wouldn’t be the case?
Scrubbing my hand through my hair, I turned and checked on a pure who was lying facedown. I knelt, checked for a pulse and found one. Pures were notoriously hard to kill, just like with halfs, but it wasn’t impossible. They could be seriously injured. I looked up, seeing the girl who’d been struck by the disc being carried off on a stretcher. A hard-enough knock to the head could still do some damage, just like it would to a mortal.