The Return (Titan 1)

Rolling my shoulders, I worked out the creeping tautness. “I still don’t get why you guys didn’t pull the demigods into the fight against Ares. They could’ve changed the—”

“The outcome wouldn’t have changed. Alex would still be where she is now. Moving on,” he said. “What matters now is that we need them to entomb the Titans. Besides the fact there are no longer twelve of us, we don’t have the cosmic mojo to do so. Now that they’ve escaped, we can’t put them back. The chore would fall to those who carry our blood. It won’t be easy for them. There are things they must accomplish first. You know, checks and balances, Seth.”

I didn’t care about the checks and balances. “Then get them together, power them up like it’s a game of Super Mario, and get this shit over with.”

“It’s not that simple. We don’t know where all of them are. We have our guesses.”

“How in the hell do you not know where they are?”

“When we bound their abilities, it also blocked us from sensing them. Over the years, we’ve been able to keep track of a few of them. It really depended on the god who fathered or mothered them and how interested they were in keeping tabs. Many weren’t.”

“Yeah, because you guys are paradigms of good parenting.”

He smirked as he crossed one ankle over the other. “Can’t argue that. But, we’re actively searching for them. Two that we did keep track of went missing about three weeks ago. They disappeared. Poof. Gone.”

This crap was causing my temples to pound. “Then how do you know there aren’t just four left now?”

“Because Athena and Hermes would’ve felt their loss. They haven’t. But we suspect that the Titans have something to do with their disappearance. Just because you can’t sense their blocked powers doesn’t mean the Titans can’t.”

“Why would the Titans take two demigods—the only things that can put them back in Tartarus—and not kill them?”

“Your favorite thing. Cosmic checks and balances.” He sighed as he smoothed a hand over the white shirt he wore, inspecting a gold button with an interest that bordered on weird as he spoke. “There was a reason why we couldn’t just kill the Titans when we overthrew them. We derived our power from them. They are our fathers and mothers, after all, and that works both ways. They’ve been entombed for thousands of years, Seth. They are weak now and they need to be charged up to enter Olympus, but they need a god or something of similar power to do so.”

“Something that carries undiluted power in them?”

Apollo nodded. “They can feed off the demigods, drain them of their aether like a daimon would, but not as messy and bitey. But you know there are different ways to drain aether, don’t you?”

I sucked in a sharp breath as I drew back. Yeah, I did, and that was a nice homerun slam against me. Asshole.

“So they just won’t kill them. They will capture them and feed off them until they are at full strength and the demigods… Well, they will be nothing but dried-out husks of what they used to be.” He kicked his feet off the bed and stood. “They already have two of them, and Josephine needs to be safely stowed away at the Covenant.”

“Because she’s a demigod?” I still couldn’t believe it—a freaking demigod. “An untrained, weak, virtually mortal demigod?”

“Mortals are not always weak, Seth. You will be wise to realize that. And there are other reasons why it’s imperative that Josephine remains safe.”

“Whatever.” I turned, snatching my bag off the chair and tossing it on the bed. I pulled out the Glock that was loaded with titanium-encased bullets and shoved it in the back of my jeans.

Just as I tugged my shirt down over the butt of the gun, it hit me. I turned slowly to Apollo, and he must’ve read something in my gaze, because he arched a brow.

Son of a bitch.

“The eyes,” I said, taking a step toward him. “Her eyes were familiar.”

A slow smile formed on his mouth, and then he blinked. When he reopened them, I let out a harsh curse. They were the dark, denim blue—almost-normal mortal eyes. The same eyes that had been behind thick, long lashes, and the same eyes Josephine Bethel had stared up at me with.

“She’s yours, isn’t she? That girl back there?” I swung my arm, jabbing a finger in the direction of the campus. An odd feeling opened up in my chest. It was unfamiliar, but I knew what it was. Dread. “She’s your kid.”

Apollo’s smile spread until he was flashing even, white teeth. “She is. And when her abilities are unlocked fully, she’ll have every power that I do, not like Hercules or Perseus or any of the original ones who only had some of our abilities—we’ve figured out a few things since then. And that means she could turn you into a bush that smells like cat piss, so remember that when you’re around her.”

Hmm, how would he react if he knew I’d been checking out his daughter’s ass? But I really didn’t care if she could turn me into the damn Kraken. What I cared about was the fact that she was related to her—to Alex. That was why they seemed similar. After all, Apollo was Alex’s great-great a thousand times greatgrandfather, and they all shared the same basic flavor of aether. So even though the girl’s powers were bound, I was still picking up on something.

My eyes met his. “This is messed up, Apollo. You know that, right?”

He inclined his head. “I could see where it could be… uncomfortable for you.”

Uncomfortable? I almost laughed, but I didn’t, because I wanted to punch him in the face. The last thing I wanted was anything that reminded me of how badly I’d messed up, of all the poor choices I’d made, and this girl would be a constant reminder. I could feel my chest constricting with anger and unease, because there was nothing I could do. The gods, namely Apollo, owned my ass. I could fight it, but ultimately I’d be forced to play along, and the forcing part would not be pretty. It was the deal I’d made.

Apollo turned so that his profile was visible, and a look that said he was thinking of something or someone far removed from this room flickered across his face. “To the best of my ability, I’ve kept her safe over the years, but with the Titans, I…I fear that it won’t be enough.” His large body shuddered with his next breath. “You think we are bad. You think we are uncaring, but the Titans are truly monsters, unnaturally cruel, and all they’ve had to survive on these thousands of years is thoughts of vengeance. And I fear that some of them don’t even care about taking back Olympus, that some of them would be more concerned with payback.”