Jennifer L. Armentrout

Did you think you could stop me? I'll burn the world down to save her.

A smell of burned hair and cotton wafted into the air as I spun toward my desk. There was a low whine from the desk and then smoke billowed out of my closed laptop.I gaped.My precious, perfectly brand new laptop I cherished like one would a small child.Son of a mother_Friend or not, it was so on

Is this what you do with your spare time?_ he asked me, ignoring his sister.__hat__re you deciding to talk to me now?_ Smiling tightly, I grabbed a handful of mulch and dumped it. Rinse and repeat. __eah, it__ kind of a hobby. What__ yours? Kicking puppies?

Me and Katy look adorkable in extraterrestrialhighway shirts. You would just look stupid. You can thank me later.

Because this absolutely insane - the craziest thing I'd ever done. Worse than giving a one-star review, scarier than asking for an interview with an author I'd give my firstborn to eat lunch with, more stupid than kissing Daemon.

A few seconds after he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him, there was a fleshly smack and then Andrew yelling, __uch. What in the hell was that for?_ __our timing sucks on an epic level,_ Daemon shot back.

Oh, dear God and baby Jesus in the manger, my eyes!_ Dee shrieked. __y eyes!

And I want you to know that I heard what you said in that speech,' Rider said, his voice scratchy. 'I might've saved you all those years ago, but now you've saved me,'My heart stuttered and then sped up. I reacted without thought. Placing the book on the bed, I launched myself at Rider just as he came off the window seat. We collided. I folded my arms around him as we went down onto the floor, me partially in his lap and his arms tight around my waist, his face burrowed against my neck. I felt a tremor run through his body and then he shook in my arms. I held him tighter as he broke into pieces, and years of holding it together shattered. I held him through it all. Then it was me who put Rider back together.

Beautiful face. Beautiful body. Horrible attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys.

And it was knowing that I could still be ... still be afraid of everyhting, but not letting fear stop me from living

This isn't a book. This isn't a paranormal fantasy or whatever the hell it is you read. There is no set plot or clear idea of where any of this is going. The enemies aren't obvious. There are no guaranteed happy endings.

I understood books. I did not understand boys__specially alien boys.

She wasn__ the only one who was overjoyed.Deacon had launched himself at Aiden__iden saintly St. Delphi__early knocking him backward, over a fallen pure. The brothers hugged, oblivious to those fighting around them. Other than their eyes, they absolutely had nothing in common.Which was why I liked Deacon.

Seth joined the group of very stern-looking men, and they immediately started talking, their voices too low for me to hear, but it didn__ stop me from trying. I learned fairly quickly that I sucked at reading lips. Everything looked like they were saying __omatoes_ or __ love you_ and I doubted that was what was being said.

I glanced over to where Seth looked like he wanted to bang his head against the wall. __ey.__he blond continued to smile, while his friend continued to stare at me.Seth sighed again. __he one grinning like he__ crazy is Deacon, and the other one is Luke.___e__e friends of his__f Seth__,_ Deacon threw in, and Seth did not look like they were friends.__his is Josie,_ Seth continued. __lease don__ be weird and scare her.___e weird?_ Deacon rolled those gray eyes. __a. Whatever, dude. All you need to know about me is that I__ like a dolphin in a sea of less-smart fish,_ he announced, spreading his arms with a flourish.Luke turned to him slowly as his eyebrows inched up his forehead. __hat?__e shrugged. __ust saying I have a lot in common with dolphins. They__e smart. I__ smart.__eth rubbed his hand down his face.

Apollo watched me closely, intently. __o.__y eyes narrowed. __o to what?_____ not sending you after them. Not yet,_ he said, surprising me into silence__ rarity. __ have another task for you. You need to leave for southern Virginia immediately. I__ snap your sunshine-and-rainbows ass there, but now that you__e annoyed me, you__l drive the twenty or so hours to get there.__kay. That was irritating, but I kind of liked road trips, so whatever. __hat__ in southern Virginia?___adford University.__ waited.I waited some more, and then sighed. __kay. You want me to enroll in college?_ I asked, and Apollo tipped back his head and laughed so loudly, he actually whooped. I frowned. __hat the hell is so funny about that idea?___ou. College. Using your head. That__ what__ funny.__ was seconds away from blasting him with akasha.

Sirens blasted, breaking the silence and spinning me around. The shrill sound was all too familiar, and I snapped into action. Vicious excitement replaced the restlessness, and I knew just how screwed up that was, but right then? Oh yeah, I could use a fight. Yesterday in the quad had been child__ play.Grabbing the Glock loaded with titanium bullets, I hooked it into the holster and fit it around my thigh. I snatched the daggers off the dresser and headed out the door, not even bothering with grabbing a shirt.I came to a complete stop as Josie__ door swung open.What in the holy fuck were Alex and Josie doing together? For just a few seconds, the three of us were literally frozen, staring at each other as the sirens blared overhead.And then Alex broke the silence.__eally?_ she said dryly, eyeing me with a smirk. __ou__e going to fight with the awesomeness of your six-pack as a weapon?__ arched a brow. __eah, you know, I was going to test out the whole abs of steel theory thing. The gun attached to my thigh and the daggers in my hands are just props. Mainly for show. Don__ want to take away from the gloriousness that is my body, though.__er smirk flipped into a grin. __hatever._ She started forward. Up ahead, a tall figure stepped out in the hall, and light glinted off the titanium daggers in his hands. Aiden. Of course their room had to be close to mine.Of. Course.

Oh, everything is fun when I__ around._ Hercules__ knees knocked into the back of my seat as he leaned back. __his one time, when I was ordered by the gods to . . .__ could only think of three words.Fuck. My. Life.__ou should drive, because I__ going to end it all. Once we__e on the freeway, I__ going to jump out of this vehicle and throw myself in front of a Mack truck.__osie__ laugh cut off her yawn. __hat__ a little excessive.__djusting the sunglasses I__ stolen from Aiden yesterday morning, I smirked. __ do not think anything is excessive when it comes to him.___ut that won__ even kill you.__ sighed. __eah, but I__ pretty sure it__l knock me unconscious for the time being.