Every muscle locked up. I lay there, unable to move. I couldn’t think around the knowledge that Alex and Seth were connected, joined in a way that I could never fathom, couldn’t—

“Josie.” His hand left my hip and curled around my cheek. “Alex and I are connected still, but not like it was before. Nowhere near as powerful.”

I drew in a shallow breath as I grabbed his wrist. My stomach churned, and I felt like I might vomit. “Are you just telling me that to make me feel better about it?”

“No. I swear. I can barely pick up anything from her and when I do, it’s faint.” He dipped his head and kissed the tip of my nose. “Trust me, I’m not overly thrilled about it, but compared to before, it’s not a big deal.”

Not a big deal. I kept repeating that, over and over, but knowing the man you loved was connected to another woman on a mystical, cellular level was totally a big deal!

Seth smoothed his thumb along my lower lip. “It doesn’t affect us, Josie. Never has. Never will. What I have with you—”

“It’s okay.” It had to be, and I could be cool about this. Alex was in love with Aiden, and Seth cared about me in a way he never cared about someone before. I knew that. I turned my cheek and kissed his palm. “It’s okay.”

He slid his hand off my cheek and gripped the back of my neck. “You sure?”

“Positive.” I let go of his wrist and placed my hand on his chest, feeling his warm, hard skin. Honestly, I wasn’t all that okay, but I had to deal with this, and maybe after we found the demigod in California, I could have a minor freak-out session.

“You ready to do this? It’s going to be a long-ass day,” Seth said after a few moments. “Over a twenty-hour ride between here and Malibu.”

“Yeah.” I stretched, wiggling my fingers and toes. “But I refuse to be in the same vehicle as Hercules.”

“Cosign,” he replied. “Fucking cosign.”

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Seth

Shit rolled downhill the moment we all were standing by the outer wall, preparing to climb into two Covenant SUVs.

First off, it was too early, and Josie and I hadn’t spent the night sleeping and being all responsible, getting rest or anything. Maybe dozing here and there, but definitely not being restful.

More like ridiculously active.

But the things she said last night, about fighting the gods, including her father, weighed on me. Fighting those twisted fuckers usually ended with someone being dead or getting turned into some kind of sedentary object for their enjoyment.

I didn’t want her fighting for me.