“Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, among other things.” Marcus leaned back in his chair, crossing one knee over the other. “Which begs the question of why she is so resistant to the truth considering that is not something mortals can do. It also makes me wonder how she was able to do it. I was under the impression their powers were bound.”
I gaped. “What the hell? I didn’t have any cool abilities like that. Not at all.”
Seth was bent at the waist, so his head was next to mine when he laughed. “Ah, but you’re still special.”
“Shut up,” I muttered crossly. “I still don’t have any special abilities like that.”
Seth patted my head, and I about swung at him. “So,” he said, “is she still locked in a dorm room?”
“Yep.” Luke smiled tightly. “She’s been talking to Gable through the door, but she won’t open it, and other than the water that was in the room, she hasn’t had anything else to drink or eat. We need to get her out.”
“Then get her out.” Seth straightened. “And force some food down her throat. She gets with the program—”
“Or what?” Aiden’s eyes darkened to a thunderous gray.
One side of Seth’s lips tipped up. “There are no other options, St. Delphi.”
“Though his delivery sucks,” I reasoned, “Seth has a point. I can try to talk to her.”
“Well, while you guys convince this girl that you all aren’t crazy and not to press charges, Aiden and I are going to head to Texas.” Seth pushed off the chair.
“What?” I looked up at him.
“When Aiden and Alex were in Baton Rouge, they learned about a community outside of Houston that has had some pures disappear,” Seth explained.
“And right before we came here, I got a call from a Sentinel that they were tracking what they believed were shades,” Aiden added. “Since the Covenant is warded, we’re going to check it out.”
I was kind of surprised that Seth was willing to leave me here, but also relieved that he trusted that the Covenant was secure.
“So you guys are going now?” Alex asked.
Aiden nodded. “There are a couple of abandoned warehouses about two miles from their community.”
She lifted her chin. “So I’m going with you guys.”
Behind me, Seth sighed.
“That’s not necessary,” Aiden returned.
“It’s not?” she asked, voice low.
“Oh, man,” Deacon mumbled.
As Alex and Aiden descended into a full-blown argument, Seth tapped me on the shoulder and widened his eyes as he nodded to the door. Pushing out of my chair, I followed him to the hallway outside the Dean’s office, closing the door behind me.
“Do you think Aiden is going to cave and let Alex come?” I asked.
Seth propped his hip against the wall. “She can be fairly convincing when she wants in on the action, but there really is no point. When they went to Baton Rouge, it was a bust, and even though there are a few places that fit the description of the warehouse you were held in, that doesn’t mean we’re going to find anything. She doesn’t need to go. Neither does Aiden.”
“But he wants to help. Both of them do,” I reasoned.
“I get that, but they’re a liability,” he pointed out with a one-shoulder shrug. “They’re demigods, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be seriously injured or killed. I, on the other hand, cannot be killed as easily.”
My stomach dipped at the thought of Seth being in danger. “Well, we demigods aren’t that easy to kill,” I reminded him as the door opened and Marcus walked out, Deacon and Luke behind him. They moved to the other end of the hall, and I thought it was kind of funny that Aiden and Alex had chased the Dean out of his own office. Damn.
“But only Cronus, Hera, and Zeus can kill me, and based on what you’ve said about Cronus, he’s really not a threat at this moment.”
“And what about Zeus and Hera?”
Seth grinned. “Pretty sure they spend the vast majority of their time watching old reruns of Happy Days and trying to kill each other. They aren’t a problem.”
“Happy Days?” When I pictured Zeus, I saw a middle-aged man with a beard for some odd reason, and now I saw him lounging on a couch watching Fonzie on a massive big-screen while Hera sat in a recliner glaring at him. I shook those images out of my head. “I know you’re the ultimate badass right now, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful.”
A playful grin teased at his lips. “You know me. I’m always careful.”