Book 2 - Page 53 (1/2)

“Is it always going to be like this? When I Awaken, will I constantly be feeling you and vice versa?”

“You could s.h.i.+eld your feelings.”

I popped forward. “How do I do that?”

Seth laughed softly. “I could teach you, work it into your training if you want.”

“Can we start now?”

A slow smile appeared as he dipped his head. “That’s not what I want to do right now.”

Parts of my body tingled—some parts more than others. “Seth…”

Seth kissed me. It wasn’t like the heady and deep kisses from the night before. His lips were sweet, soft. His hand caressed my cheek before sliding around the nape of my neck and delving into my hair. I let my eyes drift shut, soaking up the dizzying warmth of his lips. For the briefest moment, I didn’t think about anything. And that’s what I liked most about Seth’s kisses. I didn’t think or want anymore. In Seth’s arms, with his lips trailing kisses over mine, his presence overshadowed the hurt, eased it.

The tingling in my body suddenly grew stronger, like little sparks dancing over my skin. My palm itched, burned. I gasped as his mouth dropped to my throat, where my pulse had gone from pleasant to throbbing.

Seth pressed his lips there, inhaled deeply and pulled back, fingers trailing over my flushed cheeks. “Interesting.”

“Yeah… that was different,” I said breathlessly.

He chuckled. “Not the kiss. Don’t get me wrong, that was interesting too, but look.”

“Huh?” I followed his gaze and squeaked. The rose in my hand was on fire again. Blue flames licked over the stem, curling around the fragile petals, smoldering into thin wisps of azure. The rose shuddered once and then collapsed into itself, leaving a fine blue dust covering my hands.

“Akasha,” Seth explained quietly.

“Okay.” I let out a breath, relaxing for the first time in days—weeks even. “Okay. I don’t know what that really means, but okay.”

He hopped up on the wall beside me. We sat there for a little while, legs swinging above the ground. “What do you want to do? We have a couple of hours before you leave.”

“You’re not leaving after the session?”

“Nope. Lucian wants to leave in the morning, so I’m stuck here another night.”

Dammit. Another eleven-hour car ride with Aiden.

Seth nudged my shoulder. “What?”

“I was kind of hoping you could convince Lucian to let me fly back with you.”

He looked surprised. “You hate flying. It scares you to death, you little wimp. But you can’t stay here another night. You have to leave tonight with Aiden.”

“And with Leon.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, kicking his legs off the wall. “Want to go swimming?”

I laughed. “No.”

“d.a.m.n. I was hoping you’d fall for that one again.”

I stared at the moss-covered walkway, knocking my heels off the wall. “Seth?”

“Yep.”

“Who do you think was responsible for slipping me that drink?”

His expression hardened. “I don’t think it was the Council’s decision.”

“Then who could it be if it wasn’t the Council?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t one or more of them, but I know it wasn’t something approved by the Council. Lucian would never allow something like that to happen.”

I snorted. “You give Lucian way too much credit.”

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a pompous a.s.s.” Seth flashed a grin. “But he wouldn’t allow something like that to happen to you. I’m sure it could be a Council member, but they don’t have the official backing of the Council.”

“Sorry. I don’t trust Lucian.”

Seth twisted around. “You need to start trusting him. He wants to make sure you Awaken, Alex. There isn’t a d.a.m.n thing he’s going to do to jeopardize that.”

“And that is another thing I don’t trust. Why does Lucian want two Apollyons, when every other pure is scared to death of that idea?”

“Because Lucian wants to see change—and we are the vessel for that change. You want to change this society, make it better? Lucian wants that, too.”

“Since when did Lucian become such a half-blood lover?”

“You don’t know your stepfather, Alex. You never really tried.”

I shook my head. “Sorry. You didn’t spend fourteen years with him. Lucian is cold, conniving, and has never been a fan of halfs. You’re not going to get me to believe otherwise.”

Seth sighed. “I’d put my bets on Telly, but that seems too obvious and he’s too old school. But it’s one or more of them.”

I wrapped my arms around me, shuddering when I thought about what could’ve happened. “They didn’t have to do something so vile.”

He reached over and pulled me down so my head rested in his lap. It felt weird at first, but after a few seconds, I rolled onto my back and stared up at the gray clouds. “We’ll figure it out once we get out of this d.a.m.n place. Lucian is already—”

“You told Lucian?”

“He needed to know.” He brushed a strand of hair off my forehead. “Needless to say, he was p.i.s.sed.”

I groaned and placed my hands over my eyes. “Did he throw something dainty? He usually throws something small and expensive.”