The Family Business: The love and war series [COMPLETED]

Chapter 25: Facing Fate

Chapter 25: Facing Fate

 A blinding light shown at the end of the tunnel. Aubrey shielded her eyes as they slowly adjusted. Spring oozed from each corner. Roses, mums, and flowers she didn't even know the names of were everywhere, in every direction.

"Who are you?" a man yelled. Startled and ready to fight, Aubrey whirled around. And faced the sword the man held between her brows. His form was faulty but his voice was strong as he asked, "How did you get in here?"

Aubrey held up her palms in false defense. If he wanted a fight, she would not hesitate to send her own fiery attack. The man was built like ox, but something told her he was more of a lover. Perhaps it was the way his arms shook under the weight of a sword. His youthful appearance was so innocent and trusting.

"I'm not here to fight!" Aubrey said. "I am the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, and I'm here to get my best friend back."

His bright blue eyes bore into her as he spoke. "Daughter of Ares? I should gut you the way he gutted me." Aubrey held her breath. She was milliseconds away from roasting him when his sword suddenly lowered. "But for Aphrodite, I will not take her daughter's life."

The hate in his eyes filled with lust, but it wasn't his gaze that made her uncomfortable, but the way he looked at her as if she was someone else. Carefully moving away, Aubrey asked, "Who are you?"

"Ah, it's not obvious?" the man asked. "I am Adonis! God of youth, desire, and beauty and one true love of Aphrodite."

Aubrey almost choked on his arrogance. She was getting tired of these deities and their over-inflated egos. "Very bold of you to assume you're her one true love."

Confidence oozed off of him as thick as his golden hair. "As I said, god of beauty and desire. We are the perfect match."

"Hmm. Someone once told me that things are never as they seem. Perfection is nothing but a myth."

"My, my. What tragic thing happened to turn such a beautiful face so cold?" Adonis asked as he took a step toward her.

Aubrey backed up until she was against the wall of flowers. "My ex murdered my best friend." She kept her glare fixed on him.

Adonis smiled. "You think you are the first to lose something dear? Your coward of a father sent me to my fate here."

"My father is not a coward!" The level of anger in her voice surprised even herself. It was the first time she felt the need to defend Ares and the first time she referred to him as her father without a tone of derision.

"And yet he faced me as a bull and not the infamous deity of war?" Their eyes locked in a moment of pure hatred before he finally broke with a smile that sent Aubrey into a state of confusion. "Regardless, we must make the best of our situations. I no longer blame either of you for my dreary existence here."

His mood swings were giving her whiplash, but his accusation did not escape her. "What do you mean either of you? I didn't send you here."

"Aphrodite placed me in Persephone's care when I was a child. When I grew into a young man, she returned for me but Persephone wouldn't let me leave. Zeus interfered and declared I would spend four months with Persephone, four months with Aphrodite and four months to myself."

"And you spent your time with Aphrodite," Aubrey interrupted. Her patience was growing thin. "I've heard the story. What's the point?"

"My aren't we in a hurry."

Aubrey bit her tongue. She didn't have time for long history lessons, but his love for Aphrodite could be Aubrey's bargaining chip. She could be a useful ally in the land of the dead.