The Struggle(26)

I dragged my right leg up, bending it at the knee. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what she had been going through—what he had been going through. “Who comes for you?”

“The woman—I can’t pro-pronounce her name.”

Maybe he was talking about the one who was with Hyperion—the one who was arguing with him. I remembered how he’d curled away from them.

“Can you . . . can you do something for me?” he asked, and I had no idea what I could do for him. “Can you see if she’s still alive? She hasn’t moved since they brought you in . . . and they haven’t come for her. I can’t . . . I don’t have the strength to move.”

My stomach dropped as my gaze skittered from him to the other shadowy form. I tried to speak, but my voice got lost for a moment. It took a few seconds for me to croak out a yes, and then I pushed away from the wall.

It was easier to crawl over to where I saw her lying. Standing up and walking required too much effort and stress on my ribs, so I slowly made my way over to her. Dusty dirt coated my palms as I reached her still legs. A knot formed in my throat as I inched up to her waist. She was facing the wall. Hand shaking, I brushed long, clumpy strands back from her face. It was too dark to make out her features beyond the dirt covering her face.

Please don’t be dead. Please, please, please.

A tremble coursed through my arm as I pressed my fingers against her neck. I gasped at the touch of cool skin. I moved my fingers, feeling for a pulse. I didn’t feel—feel anything. Jerking back, I tried to swallow.

“Is she . . . ?”

Carefully, I shifted her onto her back—or tried to. Her body was stiff and one arm appeared stuck to the floor. Her hair fell to the side and I saw her eyes were open, fixed and empty. She was—

I fell back and then scuttled backward, putting distance between us—between me and this poor girl. My brain couldn’t even process the ramifications of what this meant—what this meant for us and for the world.

“Josie?” Mitchell whispered.

Moving until my back was against the wall, I ignored the pain in my ribs and head. “She’s . . . I’m sorry. She’s dead.”

“Oh God.”

My eyes were peeled wide, staring at where she rested.

“This has to be a nightmare,” he cried. “Oh God. Oh fucking God. What . . .”

Another tremble rocked me, and this time, it didn’t stop. I pulled up my knees and wrapped my arms around them. She was dead. That girl—that bound demigod was dead, and she was lying there with us.

“She’s dead,” Mitchell gasped. “She’s dead and we’ll be next.”





Chapter 10


Seth

Back out on the balcony, I watched the sunrise and the ocean became an array of blues, lavenders, and pinks.

I’d slept like a baby last night.

Sleep hadn’t come to me easily since I’d left Josie. The all-consuming thoughts of her had kept me up, as did the constant struggle to stop myself from going to her. The blood alcohol content I’d been rocking for days probably also didn’t help when it came to getting a restful night, but after I’d . . . I’d fed and Karina had excused herself, I was out like a stoned kid in a game of dodgeball.

Feeding was different this time around.

Before, I’d be all over the place. Buzzed. Full of high-octane energy like I’d just smoked crack or something. Not this time. Yeah, I could feel the power in me, stronger than it had been before I’d fed, but I was . . . I was leveled out. Energized but calm when I woke minutes before dawn.

It had never been like that before.

But if I was to believe what everyone was saying, I was truly different now.

Bending at the waist, I rested my forearms on the stone railing and stared out over the ocean. Kernels of guilt had sprouted in my chest. There hadn’t been a damn thing sexual about the feeding, but there was no denying the level of intimacy it required. Obviously, I had to be physically close to do it. I had to touch the other person.

I closed my eyes, remembering how I’d taken from Josie what was not mine to have. A hand pressed just below Josie’s breasts. I’d done it out by the graveyard at the Covenant.

I’d done it the same way with Karina, minus the orgasm, the kissing, and all that other stuff.

Leaving Josie meant I wasn’t with her anymore, but I’d rather set my nuts on fire than be with another woman. Maybe one day that would change, but I doubted it. Just like I doubted I’d ever be okay with the idea of her being with someone else, even if that someone else deserved her.

Anger snapped alive at the mere thought of her being with someone. I’d kill the son of a bitch that touched her, and yeah, that was wrong. The whole “I can’t be with you, but you can’t be with anyone else” was another way I was leveling up in the whole stalker biz, but I couldn’t change how I felt.