𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘━︎━︎ J. Proudstar

𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
I SAW YOU DIE

APHRODITE WALKED DOWN THE FAMILIAR hallway before she heard music playing. She stopped, closing her eyes when she realized what song it was. She kicked open the door, her jaw clenched as her eyes were narrowed at the man that stood there. He listened as the woman barged in, smiling as she did so.

"You finally made it." He spoke, turning on his heel to face Aphrodite. Aphrodite's heart stopped, her facial expression changing between anger and shock.

"D-damien?" She struggled to speak her husband's name.

"Hello, my goddess." He softly smiled, taking a few steps towards her. Aphrodite couldn't move as he stood in front of her, placing a hand on her cheek. "You're confused," He noted.

"Because I saw you die." Aphrodite answered. "I-I saw you get shot in the head."

"That's true." Damien nodded. "You did see that. So did Artemis, as well as the woman that came in to save you. But, it was just a. . . double per say. A stunt double."

"I don't understand. . ." Aphrodite frowned.

"Look in my head." Damien smirked. "That's your thing, isn't it?" Aphrodite's jaw clenched as her facial expression changed back to anger. She watched as he nodded at her before moving her hand towards his temple and sending her chaos magic into his head. She watched everything. All the memories. Them as kids. Their engagement. Their wedding. Artemis as a baby. And she saw the truth. The lies he had been feeding her. And the lies that she so easily believed because she was so desperately in love with him. And she felt her heart shatter. She pulled away, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Oh, don't cry, sweetheart." He went to wipe away the tear, but she backed up, shaking her head.

"You're a liar." Aphrodite snarled. "And you made me believe that. . . that you actually cared for me. That you loved me for who I was."

"I did, Aphrodite. I loved you because you were intriguing."

"I was someone that you studied!" Aphrodite yelled. "You didn't love me. You studied me. You studied my reactions. And when you learned about Artemis, you did the same goddamn thing to her. And neither of us realized it until it was too late." She shook her head, clenching her jaw. "What the hell did you do to her? What the hell did you do to my daughter?!"

"Our daughter."

"No! There is no our daughter. There is my daughter. Who you've tortured for the past two weeks." Aphrodite's eyes glowed dangerously and the chaos surrounded her hands. "I'm going to kill you."

"Not unless I kill you first." He smirked. A syringe was suddenly placed in her neck, making a gasp leaving her lips. She snarled, throwing out her hands and slamming him hard against the wall. Blood fell from his temple, and right before the hallucinations took over, she managed to wrap her chaos around him and snap his neck, killing him for real this time. She let out a gasp as she fell to the ground. Lorna appeared, running towards the woman and pulling the syringe from her neck.

Aphrodite looked at her, but instead of seeing Lorna, she saw Damien. She glared, going to throw her chaos at her.

"Woah! Hey! It's me! It's Lorna!" Lorna quickly shouted, moving Aphrodite's hands from her face.

"Liar." Aphrodite slurred. She raised her hands again and Lorna dodged the blasts of chaos sent her way.

"Winter," Lorna warned. Aphrodite ignored the warning, and went to raise her hands again and Lorna quickly got the nearest metal object before hitting Aphrodite across the head, knocking her out. "Damn it." She quickly picked Aphrodite up, grunting as she did so before forcing her way out of the building. Marcos stood there, raising his eyebrows.

"What the hell happened?" Marcos asked.

"I'll explain in the car. Help?" Lorna quickly rushed out. Marcos took the redhead from Lorna's arms before they quickly ran to the car. John was already sitting in the back with Artemis' head placed in his lap. He looked up when the back door was opened, and a knocked out Aphrodite was placed beside him.

"What the hell happened to her?" John quickly asked, glancing at the other redhead before looking at Marcos and Lorna.

"Give me a minute." Lorna mumbled before closing the back door and grabbing Marcos' arm, dragging him back towards the building.

"Lorna, what are you doing?"

"I need you to help me set the place on fire." Lorna simply explained.

"What―︎no."

"It's what Aphrodite would want." Lorna explained. "Her childhood was based on this place without her even knowing what it truly was. Her daughter was experimented in here. We won't blow it up, just set it aflame. There's a difference." Marcos looked at his girlfriend before he sighed, nodding his head. With that, the two quickly lit it a flame getting back in the car with Marcos speeding away.

"Okay, explain what happened with both of them." Marcos requested as he drove back towards the compound.

"Artemis was half awake, said that Aph was in danger, and that her husband was alive." John explained.

"But I thought―︎"

"Yeah, so did all of us." Lorna sighed. "As for Win, I got there only to see Damien with a broken neck, slammed against the wall, and a syringe in her neck. She tried to kill me, thought I was him. So, to keep myself from dying a very painful death, I knocked her out with the nearest metal thing I could find."

"Which was?" John quizzed.

"A container I think? I didn't pay attention to the object, just hit her over the head with it." Lorna answered.

"This is going to raise a lot of questions when we get back." Marcos muttered.

"You're telling me." John sighed before glancing down at the young girl and then glancing over to Aphrodite. Artemis really did look like her mother, more so in person than in the picture he had been shown days prior.