Aiden looked like he wanted to say more, but wisely remained quiet.
“And luckily we’ve kept their locations secret, even from the previous Apollyons.” Apollo’s gaze flickered to me. “What have you learned from the Awakening?”
I was sort of surprised by Apollo’s faith in my ability to block Seth. I doubted that faith would remain if I told him about Seth and Hermes.
Still kicking my legs, I shrugged. “A lot of it is about their lives, and there are so many. It’s like watching every episode of a TV series that has been on for a millennium. It’s hard to sort through all of it. Sometimes something is said and it wiggles a memory free.”
An unsympathetic look crossed Apollo’s features.
Well, wasn’t like I was expecting a hug from him. “Most of it is how to use the elements and akasha. And Greek—I can read Greek now.”
Most of the room looked unimpressed by that, but Aiden caught my eye and smiled reassuringly. I grinned back. Reading Greek was a pretty big damn deal to me.
“Well, that’s all fine and dandy,” Apollo said, letting out an exaggerated sigh.
I kicked off the desk extra hard, my leg bouncing.
Aiden slid me a look. “What do we do from here? Obviously the gods expect us to do something.”
“The gods expect her to do something.” Apollo jerked his chin at me.
“But how can she fight him without touching him?” Aiden pushed off the wall and strode to the middle of the room. “The gods have to understand that.”
“They do.” Apollo’s eyes narrowed on me. “But I was hoping there was something knocking around in her brain that held the answer to that little problem. But—”
Apollo smacked a hand down on my leg. “Must you always be moving some part of your body?”
I glared at him as I not-so-gently removed his hand. The contact of his flesh on mine brought the marks of Apollyon out like nothing else. And I knew he saw them by the way his eyes darted over my face. “It’s not hurting you,” I said.
“It’s annoying.”
“You’re annoying,” I shot back.
To our left, Aiden rolled his eyes. “All right, children, back to the important stuff.”
“Think, Alex, there has to be something that can help us—possibly with Solaris.” Apollo leaned in, planting his hands on either side of my now-still legs. Over his shoulder, I saw Aiden move toward us, but then Apollo moved his head so that he blocked him. “Alex.”
“What?” I gripped the edge of the table. “Look, it’s not like I’m being stubborn or stupid. If I could remember something useful, I would. It’s not like I’m stopping myself—” Stopping myself from seeing or remembering something very important—that was what I was going to say, but like it was with other things, that wave of familiarity washed over me again, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
When I’d been connected to Seth, there had been something that he hadn’t wanted me to think about, and it had to do with Solaris—probably just the whole morbid ending of the two Apollyons. But going back further, there was something that I’d seen, something that Solaris had done, or… tried to do.
In the moments before I’d connected with Seth, I had seen her turn on the First.
“Alexandria?” Apollo said.
I held up my hand, resisting the urge to shush him. “There’s something with Solaris, but it’s weird. Almost like I wasn’t meant to know, but I can’t…”
Slipping off the desk, I brushed past Apollo. Without realizing what I’d done, I had moved toward the shelter of Aiden’s body. Completely at ease, he slipped an arm over my shoulders, the look on his face daring anyone to say a word.
I looked up at him, remembering how much Solaris had cared for the First. The love I saw in Aiden’s silvery eyes had been reflected in the First. And I felt—remembered feeling—the terrible decision Solaris had made—protecting others by destroying the First. Piece by piece, it came together.
“Solaris tried to stop the First, and there was something she did… or was trying to do. Something that would’ve worked, but the Order of Thanatos made their move before she could complete it.” I let out a frustrated sigh. “She knew how to stop the First—kill him, somehow—but I don’t know what it was. It’s like that information was shielded or erased somehow.” Frustrated, I bit out a groan. “Too bad I can’t talk to Solaris.”
Laadan cleared her throat. “But that is something, dear. At least we know there is something out there.”
“Wait,” Marcus said. “Solaris would be in the Underworld, right?”
Apollo’s eyes were suddenly sharp. “She would be, but I can’t travel to the Underworld. Hades still has his panties in a bunch.”
Solos smirked as he leaned over the back of the couch. “Well, that’s another dead end.”
“Not really,” Apollo said.
I suddenly got a real bad feeling about this.
“What do you mean ‘not really’?” Aiden asked, his arm tightening around my shoulders.
Apollo moved to stand in front of the window. Pale moonlight cast a strange glow around him. “Well, if Alex thinks Solaris can help us, then it’s an avenue we want to check out. And who better than Alex?”
Aiden stiffened. “What?”
“She could have some Apollyon girl-talk,” Apollo said, his blue eyes dancing with amusement. “Actually, I’m not really suggesting that Alex—”
“Wait.” I slipped out from under Aiden’s arm. “There’s a possibility that we could reach Solaris?”