Book 1 - Page 23 (1/2)

“Alex, there was another daimon. You know that.”

Marcus’ voice carried over the sound of rus.h.i.+ng blood that fil ed my ears.

“Yes, but… ” I remembered how freaked out I’d been.

Sobbing and hysterical, I’d shaken her and begged her to wake up, but she hadn’t moved.

And then I’d heard someone else outside.

Panicked, I’d barricaded myself into the room and grabbed the money. Things had been blurry then. I’d needed to run. It was what Mom had prepared me to do if something like that ever happened.

My heart stuttered and missed a beat. “She… she was stil alive? Oh—Oh, my G.o.ds. I left her.” I wanted to puke al over Marcus’s polished shoes. “I left her! I could’ve helped her! I could’ve done something!”

“No.” Aiden reached for me, but I backed away. “There was nothing you could do.”

“The other daimon did it?” I glared at Marcus, demanding an answer.

He nodded. “We a.s.sume so.”

I started to tremble. “No. Mom wouldn’t become… it’s impossible. You—you’re al wrong.”

“Alexandria, you know how it could have been done.”

Marcus was right. The energy the daimon pa.s.sed on was tainted. She would’ve been addicted from the first moment on. It was a cruel way to turn a pure-blood, robbing them of al free wil .

I wanted to scream and cry, but I told myself I could handle this. The burning in my eyes told me I was a liar. I turned back to Marcus. “She’s… a daimon?”

Something akin to pain flickered across his otherwise stoic face. “Yes.”

I felt trapped in this room with virtual strangers. My eyes skittered across their faces. Lucian seemed bored with this, surprising considering his earlier outpouring of affection and support. Aiden looked like he was having a hard time keeping his expression blank. And Seth… wel , he was watching me expectedly. Waiting for me to break down into hysterics, I a.s.sumed.

He might get that. I was one step away from a ful -blown freak out.

Swal owing against the thick lump in my throat, I tried to slow the wild beating in my chest. “How do you know this?”

“She’s my sister. I would know if she were dead.”

“You could be wrong.” My whisper held a tiny shard of hope. Dead was better than the alternative. There was no coming back once a pure turned into a daimon. No amount of power or begging—not even the G.o.ds could fix it.

Marcus shook his head. “She was spotted in Georgia.

Right before we found you.”

I could tel this hurt him—possibly as much as it hurt me.

She’d been his sister after al . Marcus wasn’t as emotionless as he made himself out to be.

Then the Apol yon spoke. “You said her mother was seen in Georgia. Was not Alexandria in Georgia when you found her?” His voice was oddly accented, almost musical in quality.

I slowly turned to him.

“Yes.” Aiden’s dark brows furrowed.

Seth appeared to consider that. “Does it not strike anyone as odd? Could it be her mother remembered her?

Was actual y fol owing her?”

A strange look crossed Marcus’s face. “We’re aware of the possibility.”

It didn’t make sense. When pures were turned, they didn’t care about things from their previous lives. Or, at least, that was what we believed. Then again, it wasn’t like anyone took the time to question a daimon. They were kil ed on sight. No questions asked.

“You believe her mother is aware of her. Possibly even looking for her?” Seth asked.

“There’s a chance, but we cannot be sure. It could have been a coincidence that she was in Georgia.” Marcus’s words rang false.

“A coincidence that she was in Georgia in addition to the two other daimons fol owing her?” Aiden asked. Marcus’s scowl deepened, but Aiden continued, “You know how I feel about this. We don’t know how much of their previous lives daimons retain. There’s a chance she’s looking for Alex.”

The room tilted, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Looking for me? Not as my mother, but as a daimon. For what? The possibilities startled me… sickened me.

“It is al the more reason to remove her from the Covenant, St. Delphi. Under my care, Alexandria wil be protected by Council Guards and the Apol yon. If Rachel e is hunting her then she wil be safest with me.”

When I opened my eyes, I realized I was standing in the middle of the room. Each breath I took hurt. The need to give in to the tears was there, but I forced it down, al the way down. I lifted my chin and looked Marcus straight in the eye. “Do you know where she is now?”

Marcus raised his eyebrows as he turned to Lucian, who took a moment before he responded. “I have a dozen of my best Sentinels hunting for her.”

I nodded. “And you al —al of you think that knowing that my mother… is a daimon wil get in the way of me being an effective Sentinel?”

There was a pause. “Not al of us agree, but yes.”

“I can’t be the first person to face that.”

“Of course not,” said Marcus, “but you are young, Alexandria, and you… ”

My breath got caught in my throat again. “I’m what?”

Il ogical? Distraught? p.i.s.sed off? Those were a few things I was feeling right now.

He shook his head. “Things are different for you, Alexandria.”

“No. They’re not.” My voice rasped. “I’m a half-blood. My duty is to kil daimons no matter what. This won’t affect me.

My mom—she’s dead to me.”