“What for?” he asked.

Arianna gave him the same look you’d give a dog that just peed on the floor. “Now, Chase, I know you aren’t questioning me. I’m much older than you. So, you get your sorry behind into the dining room, and I’ll bring Jodi there myself when I’m finished talking to her.”

I gave Chase a small shrug, pretending I had no idea what this was about. He reached for my hand, no doubt to dose me with his power, but I moved toward Arianna and he only managed to graze my jeans. I felt the heat from his scorching touch. He’d been planning to bring me to my knees to stop me from going with Arianna. This guy was seriously scary.

He watched us walk upstairs, but he didn’t try to stop or follow us. Arianna took me to Alex’s room. “Whatever you two are planning, do it quickly,” she whispered. “That boy downstairs is determined to have you, and I’m convinced he’d sooner kill you than let you go.”

I wanted to break down and tell Arianna everything. How Chase had been controlling me. How much he scared me. How I wanted to get rid of him, but I needed his power so I couldn’t. She didn’t give me a chance to say anything. She opened Alex’s door and brought me to his bed, where he was lying with a cold pack on his head.

“Are you okay?” I carefully sat next to him.

“Are you?” He turned his head slightly to face me.

“I’ll let you two talk.” Arianna walked to the door. “But I’m staying in the hallway. I’m going to walk you to lunch, Jodi. I’m not giving Chase any opportunities to corner you.”

I smiled and nodded, and she shut the door behind her.

I wanted nothing more than to hold Alex and feel his lips on mine. But I could still taste Chase, and I didn’t want Alex to know what had happened after he left the cemetery.

“Things are getting worse, Jodi. I had no idea he was hurting you like this. And the way you cling to him when he kisses you—”

“I’m so sorry. I can’t help it. You know that, right? It’s the power. It has nothing to do with wanting Chase. You’re the one I want, Alex.”

“I know, but it’s hard to watch you like that. It’s like you can’t get enough of him. Like you’re trying to devour him. You’ve never kissed me like that.”

Alex and I had had some kisses that could stop time, so it really made me wonder what it looked like when I kissed Chase. My cheeks warmed. “I get power hungry.”

He nodded, but that only made him cringe and clutch his head.

I touched my hand to his face. “Can I try something?”

“What?” He wrinkled his brow. “No offense, but you were kissing Chase earlier. You probably can still taste him. I love you, Jodi, but I refuse to kiss you until you brush your teeth. Twice.”

“Just shut up.” I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. I mixed my blood and let my power transfer to him. I’d only ever tried this with Chase, but why wouldn’t it work with Alex? He didn’t have the extra power boost Chase had, but I wasn’t taking anything from him. I was giving him energy to heal.

Alex pulled me on top of him and ran his hands all over my back. He couldn’t get enough of the power. I knew the feeling. I didn’t want to overdose him since he was injured, so I slowly backed off on the power and pulled away.

“Holy crap,” he said with a sigh. “That was amazing.”

“Now you know.”

He sat up and removed his bandages. He was obviously no longer in pain from his collision with the tombstone, but his face wasn’t elated anymore. His expression was worried. “That’s how it feels to kiss Chase?”

“You couldn’t get enough of me or my power, right? You craved it. You were helpless against it.”

He moved me off him and got out of bed. “I’m not okay with this. Knowing he can make you feel that good and I can never do that for you…I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can be together, Jodi.”

Chapter 25

No, no, no! This was supposed to help Alex understand how powerless I was against Chase. But instead, showing him how it felt was pushing him away.

“Alex, please. I only wanted to show you it’s not Chase. It’s the power.”

“That’s not true, Jodi.” He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “When you were kissing me, yeah I wanted more power, but I was still fully aware of you. I wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted you before—and that’s saying something.”

I knew I was blushing from that last comment. “It’s not like that for me and Chase. I don’t think about him when he kisses me. I’m consumed by the power. I think it’s because I have more than a normal Ophi to begin with. When Chase increases that, it sends me into a frenzy. I forget everyone.”

“Including me.” Alex put his hands on his hips.

“Not necessarily. When Chase kissed me in front of you today, I was able to pull away from him the second he stopped transferring his power. You were the first thought that broke through. You were what stopped me.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, Jodi. This is too much. I can’t compete with a guy who can make you feel so much. I see the way you look at him sometimes, even when he’s not touching you, not controlling you. You feel something for him. It’s not all about his blood.”

“I see glimpses of a nice guy sometimes, but they’re short-lived. I guess I try to hold on to those moments because they make me feel less like a monster.”

He reached for me, but stopped, probably afraid I’d use my power to convince him to stay with me. I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Maybe Chase and I were alike.

“You’re not a monster.”

“Not by choice.” I stepped toward him, but he backed up. “Alex, please. I need you.” He was up against his desk now with nowhere to turn. I reached for his face. Controlling him would’ve been easy. One touch and he’d do whatever I said. I struggled against the urge.

Alex reached for my hand, removing it from his face. “If you do to me what he’s doing to you, it will be over for good.”

He was dead serious. I turned from him and sat down on the bed again.

“I’m sorry. I’m just scared to lose you.”

“Like Chase is scared to lose you?”

“Are you defending him now?” My stomach clenched against the thought.

“Definitely not. I’m worried he’s changing you. You have to fight his power, Jodi.” He sat down on the bed next to me. “I saw what you did in the cemetery when I was hurt. I know you were trying to help me, but what I need to know is why you didn’t hurt him.”

“I don’t know.” I wanted to think it was because I’m a good person, but I knew it wasn’t as simple as that.

“Is there anything you aren’t telling me?”

If I said no, he wouldn’t believe me. I’d lose him. I searched for something, anything. “Medusa told me something. Hades is plotting against me. She couldn’t tell me much, because she’s bound by the deal the Ophi made with Hades to save her spirit, but she gave me a riddle to figure out.”

“A riddle?”

“Yeah. She said, ‘That which has the power to save, has the power to destroy.’ I don’t know what it means, though.”

Alex scrunched his face as he thought. “We all have the power to save or destroy.”

“I know, so it can’t be that simple.”

“What were you talking about when she told you this?”

I fidgeted with the bottom of my shirt, anything to avoid his eyes. “Chase and how his power affects me.”

“You talked to Medusa about Chase?”

I stood up and started pacing. “I had to. I’m supposed to be the most powerful Ophi, yet all of a sudden here he comes, and he can easily overpower me. It doesn’t make sense. Something is just not adding up.”

“Actually, it does.” He stood up and reached for my arm so I’d stop and look at him. “The answer is you. You have the power to save all the Ophi, but when you connect with Chase, you have the power to destroy all the Ophi, too.”

“What?” How could he say something so awful?