Cursed [book one]

[9]

"Fine." Roman spat back sternly with a cold stare, but freaking out on the inside. Was that too harsh? Was that okay? Did she sound more mature? Would he be mad at her for a long time?

The daughter of Hypnos gave her the answer to most of her questions by leaning in and whispering in her ear "that was amazing." Indigo said softly into her ear.
As much as she wanted to smile proudly, Roman mentally yelled at herself to keep the stern posture, at least until all of them turned away so she could smile a bit or maybe do a silent squeal.

She took her chance when Draco stomped away and Kasen went after him. Those two had definitely something up.

Roman smiled proudly at herself, looking down a bit to hide it. It's not like she was proud of lying to Draco, but it was the first time she had sounded like a strong person. Not even in capture the flag she had been this...determinate. Indigo gave her another small smile back and Brooke winked at her. Well done, he meant.

But those smiles soon where to be replaced by frowns.

"Hey guys...I think you should come see this." Ashton called. Roman, Indigo and Brooke walked to the infirmary. She looked behind to see if Draco and Kasen were coming, but they were nowhere in sight. A small smile tugged at her lips, remembering what Katherine had said about Kasen having a crush on Draco.

The voice of Ashton snapped her out of her thoughts. They were standing in another room of the infirmary. Katherine wasn't there, so she assumed she would be in another room resting.
Sam stood next to Ashton but Lily-Rose wasn't with them.

Roman noticed Sam was holding a sword. The same sword that impaled Katherine. Chills went down her spine just seeing the golden glade glittering with the light. But yet again, if she stared at it, she felt like she was looking at an old friend.

Ashton took the sword and a deep breath before speaking up "this is the sword that someone tried to use to kill Katherine." He showed it to them before continuing "and it's a roman gladius."

~~

Roman and Sam stared at the sword laying on his bed. The moonlight came in through the window and reflected in its blade. Both of them wanted, oh so badly, to touch its dazzling blade, but they both knew that wasn't a good idea.

Ashton had let them keep it to 'study' it, but the truth is that Roman used that as an excuse to train with it a bit, to prove a point she had been thinking about, and to...spend some time with Sam.
She couldn't hold back herself any more and took the majestic sword in her hands, ignoring the warnings from Sam. A wave of emotions and feelings hitting her like a tsunami.

She studied first the hilt of the sword carefully. The same feeling of familiarity that she had felt earlier came back to her when she held it tight. Then, she ran her fingers up the blade, her eyes following the traces of her fingers. When she looked up to the blade again, her eyes widened at a sight.

Her reflection was there, but different. She could see she was wearing some kind of white toga dress, a purple cape was on her shoulders and golden laurels placed on her hair perfectly. But what surprised her the most, was to see a boy standing next to her. He looked like a male version of her. Brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin. He was taller and seemed older, but he wore a proud smirk. He was wearing the same attire as Roman. To give her an extra heart attack, she finally saw the whole army standing behind them. Thousands of warriors stood firmly with their armoury.

Roman quickly looked behind her, but nothing was there. Just a confused looking son of Apollo that watched her with worry. She looked back at the blade, but it had all disappeared. Her hands shook as she dropped the blade on her bed and backed away. The same feeling of fear she felt at night spreading inside of her.

"Are you okay?! What happened?" Sam asked worriedly as he stood at her side, holding her up as she almost stumbled down.

"D-didn't you see that?" She asked him shakily, gulping. The son of Apollo furrowed his brows at her "see what?" He asked confused "all I saw was you staring at the sword like it was some kind of monster." He shrugged.

Him not seeing what she saw, only worried her more. An idea popped into her mind. She grabbed the sword again, slowly, as if it was a snake that could bite her. Then she took Sam's hand and dashed out of her cabin, mumbling "I have an idea."

They ran past various cabins, dodging and hiding from the harpies. The sound of crickets filled the air and silence fell upon the cabins. Everyone was asleep. Roman hoped that wouldn't be a problem. She lead Sam to the side of the Poseidon cabin and slowly peeked inside the cabin through the window. Kasen was sleeping peacefully on his bed. She smiled before going to the door and softly knocking on it.

The two demigods heard a series of lazy groans and footsteps before a sleepy and grumpy looking Kasen opened the door. He ran a hand through his messy bed hair and narrowed his tired eyes to them "what do you want?" He asked in a mumble.

Roman grinned in apology "I know it's not the perfect time, but how about you tell me a bit more about that Roman camp you come from?"

~~

A girl stood at an altar, looking up at the big statue in front of her, gripping a knife in her hand "why aren't you helping?" She muttered and huffed as she looked down at what she was doing. Thunder boomed, making her roll her eyes "yeah yeah." She scoffed and ripped apart a teddy bear, taking the stuff out and placing it apart. She blew a strand of black hair out of her face and grabbed another teddy bear from her belt.

"Athalia!" The doors of the temple opened after the voice, a boy and a girl marching up to her, both looking upset. Their purple capes flowed with each step they took, and their togas trailed behind them. What in Jupiter did she do now to upset both praetors?

"Praetor Kennedy, Praetor Zoe." Athalia greeted them, then raised an eyebrow "what brings you here, If I may ask?" She asked as she twirled her knife around nervously, although she knew the answer.

"Where is the girl Athalia? Did you find her?" Zoe asked her slowly, as if she was talking to a little kid, but Athalia could hear the upset in her voice. She hesitated before answering "kind of...?" She shrugged

"Kind of? Kind of." Kennedy ran a hand through his brown hair, his blue eyes hardening at her "do you not know how important it is for us to find her?!" He roared at her, making Athalia flinch "we didn't give you the job of an augur so you could goof around, now did we?" He asked her. Athalia shook her head quickly "n-no. No sir."

Zoe nodded "very well...we expect for you to tell us a location in three days." She told her as they walked away and out. Athalia watched as both praetors left the temple and sighed, going back to work. She grabbed the teddy bear and held the knife to its throat "alright Roman Lovelace, tell me where are you hiding."