“What?” I desperately wanted a long, hot shower.

Uncaring of the cold mud covering every square inch of my clothes, he pulled me toward him. “You have to come to the party with me.”

I arched a brow at him. “I didn’t say I wasn’t going.”

“You didn’t say you were, and you’ve been grumpy all afternoon.”

“That’s because I’m stuck with you, day and night.”

“I don’t believe that.” Seth’s gaze flicked up and behind me, and then he inched me closer. I braced myself by putting my hand on his shoulder, but he smiled down at me—a different kind of smile, one he usually reserved for girls like Boobs and Elena. Sudden wariness shifted through me, ratcheted up to the tenth degree when he reached out with his free hand and cupped my chin.

My pulse skyrocketed. “What are you—?”

Seth smoothed his thumb over my lower lip, sending a weird mix of shivers through me. His stare locked onto mine, and the yellow of his eyes flared. “You have mud on your lip.”

“Oh.” I wiped my hand over my mouth, twisting out of his embrace. “I have—”

Aiden stood under a statue of Apollo, appearing just as unmoving and fierce as the god. It took quite of a lot for me not to turn and sock Seth in the face.

“Hey there.” Seth stepped around me. “Checking out our training sessions, are you? Don’t fret; I’ve been taking really good care of her.”

I decided right then and there: the first thing I was going to do once I Awakened was zap Seth.

“I’m sure you have.” Aiden’s voice was cold.

Seth moved past Aiden, clapping him on the shoulder as he did so. “How are the Council sessions going? Changing the world?”

Aiden’s gaze settled on Seth’s hand and then slowly lifted to his face. Whatever Seth saw in his eyes must’ve told him to remove his hand as quickly as possible. Chuckling as if it amused him, Seth glanced back at me. “See you later, cuddle bunny.”

What came out of my mouth made Aiden’s eyes widen, but only made Seth laugh harder as he strolled back toward the campus.

“Hey,” I said, grateful that mud didcover half of my flaming face.

Aiden shoved his hands into his white trousers. “I can see training with him is going as expected.”

“I hate him, really I do.”

“‘Hate’ is such a strong word.”

My chin jerked up. “You’d understand if you had to spend five seconds with him.”

His gray eyes settled on my face, then my lips—lips that he’d seen Seth touch. “I guess so.”

“So why are you here?” I sounded harsh, but I was bristling at the coldness in his eyes and still licking the emotional wounds Aiden had sliced open.

“I haven’t seen you in a few days, so I was actually checking in on you.”

I felt warm despite the brisk air and hated myself for it. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I’m not allowed to?”

Secretly, my heart was jumping around happily at the idea of Aiden searching me out. My brain, on the other hand, brutally ordered me to walk away. I stayed. “I guess so.”

“Walk you back?”

“Is that okay—I mean, no one will care that a pure is walking with a half? I don’t see many of them doing so here.” I paused, frowning. “Actually, I never see any pures talk to halfs here.”

“Minister Telly is a bit archaic in the way the Council and the Covenant are run here. He wants things to be as if centuries of change has not occurred—a complete separation of breeds and races.”

We started back toward the main house, together. “So that’s why I haven’t seen any mortals here.”

Aiden nodded. “I think Minister Telly would go completely back to the old ways, to a time when our kind devoted every aspect of our lives to the gods. He doesn’t even believe we should have any contact with mortals, not even through compulsion.”

“Well, how does he expect to build up his half-blood army of daimon killers?” He gave me a straight look. It hit me. “He doesn’t think there should be any half-bloods, does he?”

“He thinks that pures should be able to refrain from the carnal activities that lead to little half-bloods being made, and that we should be able to defend ourselves against the daimons.”

I knocked back a mud-encased strand of hair. “Then what would you all do for servants? Actually take care of yourselves?”

He stared at the cloudy sky. “There are enough half-bloods in the world now to carry the pures through several generations. After that, I don’t know what Telly would do.”

“So he wants to see all half-bloods enslaved? Nice. I knew there was a reason why I thought he was a giant douchebag. My judgment wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.”

Aiden glanced down at me, a curious expression on his striking face. “Why would you think your judgment is off?”

I looked at him pointedly.

He pursed his lips and nodded stiffly. “Got it.”

We continued on in silence for a few minutes. “So… how do you like it here?”

I wet my lips, thinking about Hector. “I miss… home.”

Aiden continued to stare up at the overcast sky. “I miss it, too.”

I drifted closer to him as we neared the Council building. I told myself that was normal. Aiden was my friend—only a friend. “This whole place makes me uncomfortable. I just wish I could get on with my hearing and be done with it. It’s stupid that I have to be here all this time, when my hearing isn’t even scheduled until the end of the session. Anyway, how have the hearings been?”

“Long. The Councils spend more of the time arguing than anything else.”

That didn’t surprise me. “Have they talked about halfs turning yet?”

His expression suddenly emptied. “That discussion provokes the most arguments, but anyway, what are you planning to do with your evening?”

“What am I planning to do?” I tipped my head back and sighed. “Shower.”

Aiden laughed, sending a flurry of warm and fluttering feelings through my stomach. It’d felt like years since I’d heard him laugh. “You are such a mess right now.”

I sighed pitifully. “I know. I think I have mud in my mouth.”

“Well, I might have something that’ll make you feel better.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slender black tube about four inches long.

“What is that?”

Aiden smiled as he held it out from his body. “They’ve been working on new weapons since the discovery of halfs being turned. This is what they came up with.”

“A black tube? Wow.”

His smile turned into a grin. “Just watch.” His fingers moved to the end of the tube, pressing down on a small button. Titanium blades shot out from each side. Aiden shook his wrist and the blade on the right side extended and curved in.

My eyes went wide. “Whoa. I like.”

He laughed. “I know how much you like things that stab. Here.” He handed me the blade. “But be careful. The ends are wicked sharp.”

I took the weapon, holding it reverently. It was heavier than I expected, but still manageable. My fingers curved on the cool matter of the center. One end had been finished down to a sharp point, while the other reminded me of a sickle. Why had

they shaped the blade this way?

Then I felt stupid for not realizing right off the bat. Cringing, I pointed to the sickle end. “This is for taking off heads, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, we all can’t harness akasha like Seth. And even he can’t zap every daimon half. Using akasha soaks up energy, so he can only use it when he really needs to.”

“Oh.” I made a wide-sweeping motion, grinning in spite of the messy business it represented. “I wonder what it will be like after I Awaken. If he’ll be able to use akasha easier.”

“I don’t know.” Aiden eyed the blade warily. “Probably something you should ask Seth.”

I remembered what Lucian had said about Seth pulling from me once I Awakened. “He’s going to suck me dry, probably.” The moment those words left my mouth I froze. Mom had said that. Was that what would happen?

Aiden noted my sudden stillness. “You okay?”