I pry my eyes open groggily and lift up my heavy head to look around. Squinting, I gaze up at the sleeping face of my Warrior. A sleepy grin stretches across my face. He is so completely adorable when he's sleeping.
I snap out of my admiration when I'm reminded of what woke me in the first place; my phone rang.
Carefully, I climb out of Declan's arms, trying not to jostle him. I freeze in place when he frowns and shifts in his sleep. He settles back into his slumber and I let out a silent sigh of relief.
Grabbing my phone off of the night stand, I open up the message from Amora that I'd just received and begin to read.
Morning, Laila! Aubrey's friend, Lena, is back from her hunting trip and wants to meet you, if you're up for it. Eight o'clock at the old tree sound okay?
My eyebrows nearly touch my hairline. A hunting trip? That's where she'd been all this time? Now, Laila, I remind myself sternly, Lena is the demigod of Artemis - the Greek goddess of hunting and wilderness. It's only natural that she'd like to go out hunting.
I roll my eyes over to the clock with a yawn. 7:40. I send a quick text to Amora, telling her that I'll be there. Next I write a note to Declan to let him know where I'll be so he doesn't get worried and think I've run off again. I leave that on his bed, next to the shirt he'd let me borrow.
After slipping on my full moon circle dress -minus the diamond overdress- I leave the room, scurrying through the halls and over to Olympus Hall. Once there, I strip off the dress and open up my closet doors. I stare at my options with pursed lips. What does one wear to meet the demigod of a Greek goddess of the hunt?
Undecided, I glance over at the clock and see that I'm running out of time. I sigh. It doesn't matter anyway, she'll think whatever she wants about me. An outfit isn't going to change that.
Dressing in a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue button up top, I'm out the door in under five minutes. My blue converse thud against the floor as I race out of Olympus Hall and into the courtyard. I spot Amora at the tree next to Aubrey and a blonde girl who I assume is Lena.
"Laila! Hey," Aubrey says cheerily, surprising me with her enthusiasm. She'd never been this happy to see me before. Maybe it has something to do with me setting her up with Adam, I think. I wonder if they're still together.
"Hey," I greet with a smile.
Aubrey surprises me yet again by pulling me in for a quick hug. I return it whole heartedly, realizing that I'd truly missed Aubrey, despite her past bitterness towards me. When she pulls away, still smiling, she gestures to the blonde girl by her side.
"Laila, this is Lena Sparks. Lena, this is Laila Rose," she introduces, prompting her friend to stick out a hand in greeting. I shake Lena's out stretched hand, glancing over the demigod calculatingly.
She's tall, intimidatingly so, with a lean, muscular build. Long, platinum blonde hair falls into jade green eyes that dart all around like a predator feverishly hunting for its prey. Her naturally pouting lips are set in a firm line as those wild eyes eye me up and down, as if gauging whether I can be trusted or not. I stare right back into her hard gaze, not about to let this girl scare me. I'm death, I shouldn't be afraid of anything.
Finally, Lena drops her stare with an almost smile on her lips. She lets out a soft chuckle and murmurs, "funny, you don't look like the kind of girl that could start a war."
I gape at her with wide eyes -like a fish out of water- and stutter, "a-a war?"
Since when am I involved in a war? Didn't you have to have many people on both sides to have a war? As far as I know, Theo is working alone. I voice my question to Lena, earning a pitying laugh.
"You don't honestly think that Theo would go into this alone, do you?" she scoffs incredulously. "Laila, he's a god hell bent on destroying the other gods -including your boy toy- and getting the girl; you. That's a big task. He'll need help if he wants his plan to go down smoothly."
I open my mouth to argue, but think better of it and clamp my lips together. Is Theo really working with others? Who could possibly want to work with Theo? He's a murderer! Then again, the gods were hardly saints; why would their demigods be any different?
"Anyway, you have me on your side now, so you aren't completely hopeless," Lena comments off handedly. I smile faintly but my mind is far gone.
Amora, Aubrey and Lena's conversation picks up again but I'm far too deep in thought to join in. I mentally scour my brain, trying hard to remember if Theo had any friends that would be inclined to aid him in his plot when we were together before Declan ever came around. My attempts are useless, however. My memories of my life before becoming a demigod are still locked up out of my reach.
A sigh of frustration leaves my frowning lips. This is ridiculous! How am I suppose to defeat Theo when I can't remember anything?
"Something wrong, love?"
I turn at the sound of my Warrior's voice, forcing a smile onto my face. He definitely doesn't need another thing to worry about. I've caused him enough trouble as it is.
Declan's green eyes appraise me in concern. He must find something wrong because his lips pull down into a frown but, thankfully, he doesn't comment on it. Instead, he kisses me lightly and greets me with a warm "good morning."
The smile that spreads across my face this time is one hundred percent genuine. I must have done something very right to deserve a guy like him.
Declan gestures behind him -allowing me to recognize that there is someone there that I hadn't noticed- to a practically glowing Wade. His eyes are wide with excitement and a dopey smile adorns his lips. "I'm taking Wade to teach him a few things about being a Warrior. We might be out fairly late so don't wait up."
Warrior training? Wait, that means- "You asked her!" I exclaim elatedly, surprising Declan.
Wade nods enthusiastically, his love for his "goddess", Seraphina shining in his eyes. "I did! She accepted right away," he breathes as if he still can't believe it.
"That's great!" I congratulate as I pull him into a hug.
As I pull away, Declan shakes his head in amusement. "How did I know that you'd have something to do with this?" He rolls his eyes when I just grin. "I'm blaming you if he can't keep up."
My smile broadens. "He'll keep up. I have complete faith in him." Wade sends me a grateful smile when I say this. " You boys have fun. Don't work too hard. " I kiss Declan's cheek in goodbye. "I'm going to go take a walk."
The boys and I part ways, entering the woods in different places. A smile adorns my lips as I walk deeper into the forest. I'm so glad that Wade is Seraphina's Warrior. They deserve each other and he's certainly capable of protecting her. I just hope that he'll never have to.
My thoughts are interrupted when a faint burning aroma fills my nostrils. Is that. . . smoke? Who would be burning something all the way out here?
I walk further through the trees, hoping to find the source of the smell. What I find beyond those trees makes me stop dead in my tracks, heart thundering.
Messages. Messages burned into the trees, ever so mocking, is what I find there. All I can think as the words break through my barriers is; he was here.
I'm coming for you, Thanatos.
You will always be mine.
I'll always be watching.
Did you honestly think you could hide from me?
You can run but you can't hide, Thanatos.
The taunting words swirl around my head, poking and prodding until I'm left broken and bleeding. They're all I can see, all I can hear; they're everywhere. I've been caught up in the cyclone of their madness and they won't let me go.
I fall to my knees, clutching my aching head. When will this hell end? I can't take much more before it ruins me.
A crunch sounds from behind me. I whirl around, expecting it to be Theo, ready to kill me and everything I love but I'm blessedly wrong.
Lena Sparks surveys the burning wood around us, then fixes me with a level stare.
"You're not ready for war? Well, honey, you better get ready real fast because you're in one."