Bonded (The Olympus Brotherhood #2)

Awake

Chapter 39

Freya

I jilted awake in an unfamiliar room.

What happened?

"Damon? Alaric? Cecilia?!" I called-out in a prestige king size bed with plush red covers and four golden pillars. The room was empty, but lavishly expensive. A sixty-inch-flat screen TV hung on the wall above a cherry wood desk that was covered with books, pencils, papers, and a laptop with two speakers on both sides of the desk. Above the desk in front of me were shelves of leather-bound books and decorative boxes. A large walk-in closet was on the opposite side of the desk.

On the furthest wall were floor-to-ceiling windows that gave an amazing view to the front lawn that could give the White House a run for its money. The moon was full and pale white in the night sky. The floor was covered in plush tan carpets and the ceiling was ornate with gold and cream covering the flat surface. My eyes found their way to the side table that had a picture of two boys smiling happily at the camera.

Is that... Damon?

I pushed the covers off me and stood up weaker than I expected. I wobbled under my own weight and I sat on the edge of my bed. Someone had changed me into a black tank top and shorts. Unable to take the dizziness anymore, I reached for the simple black picture frame to further examine it.

Yeah, this is definitely Damon.

My heart warmed. He was just a normal, happy little boy. The older kid must be Roman. They had to be four and six-years-old. It almost felt like I could hear them both saying 'yay' as they threw their arms up. They were both rocking those 90's windbreaker jackets that my mom told me was the height of fashion at that point. "One of the rare mementos of childhood," Roman said walking into the room with a tea tray. He was wearing a long sleeve white button-down shirt and black business pants with a leather belt and matching shoes. I was starting to think business casual was his everyday look.

"How do you have this?" I asked him genuinely curious.

"I'm assuming my mother took it, probably got it developed and it found its way into that picture frame," he stated, setting the tea tray on the nightstand.

"Smartass. That's not what I meant. If you burned down your parents' house, how do you have anything from that long ago?" I asked.

"May I?" He said gesturing to the bed to sit.

"Sure." I had no idea why I was here, but I was pretty sure this was Roman's house.

He sat down facing me, "Is that what he told you? It would seem I have become the villain in his story."

"Or he only knows one side. Clearly you two loved each other, it's evident in the picture. But something bigger had to happen other than illogical differences," I said holding out the picture to him. Roman gingerly took the picture and set it next to him, completely ignoring my last statement, "Where am I?"

"The Archon estate just outside of New York City," he said giving me his full attention.

"Okay, why am I here? Where is everyone?"

"Probably running home to Haven to tell the adults what happened. Since The Elders wouldn't help the last demigod, The Order was more than willing to assist," Roman gloated with a straight face.

"You know you don't have to lie to me. After our last encounter, I know for you to help it had to cost someone something," I said.

"You catch on quick," he said standing up and going over to the tea set pouring himself a cup.