"Was it wrong to want to live?
Was it a crime to want to live?"
"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME what's going on?" I yelled at three people who continued to act like nothing had happened. It took a while to get all three of them sitting around the campfire and not doing other things.
After the weird book flying, flipping on a certain page, and Greek letters showing up, no one dared to speak. They simply stared for one full minute then excused themselves the next minute, saying they needed to build the tent, searching for food, and check the perimeter.
Spyridon cleared his throat. "It's nothing of your concern, Lady Stavros." He dropped his gaze to the ground and added, "truly."
"Call me Avery," I decided to stick by the old name since I haven't got used to my new name. "And I decide whether it is my concern or not." I turned to Klas who sat on my left. "Well? Care to explain what happened?"
"Zeus and some other gods--" Klas paused as a small rock flew and hit him on the forehead.
I jerked my head towards Spyridon. "Did you just throw a rock at him?" I wasn't really asking since I knew there was no way Vlad was the one throwing. "Seriously?! Not cool, dude."
His reply was a mere shrug. I turned to Klas. "So, you were saying?"
Klas shook his head. "Spyridon was right. It's nothing of your concern, milady." Again, those annoying words.
"Fine." I crossed my legs and folded my arms. If they weren't going to tell me, I would simply ask Vlad later, when we were alone and they couldn't stop him.
Spyridon seemed to aware of my plan as he leaned towards Vlad, who was sitting on his left and said, "I trust you to be discreet, Lord Ambrosia. The last thing we need is a distraction."
Vlad nodded although, from the way his hands clasped and his jaw clenched, I could tell that he was not happy with the arrangement. Good. Because that means I could persuade him later.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful and by that, I meant boring. There wasn't so much I could do in the forest (without internet connection) besides killing mosquitos which I happened to do for the last five hours. It was both scary and amusing that no matter how many mosquitos I'd killed, the numbers didn't seem to decrease. Almost as if they had great reproduction system and were mass produced every five minutes.
A small tent that we'd found on the trunk of the car (apparently they prepared a tent but not ax or matches) could barely contain Vlad and me so Klas and Spyridon were guarding outside. They took turns every now and then, checking if we were okay and had everything we needed.
"Will you get mad if I say I want pizza?" I replied Spyridon as he plopped his head in between the zipper, about to ask us how we were doing.
Spyridon let out an exasperated sigh. "My apologies for the lack of options for dinner, Lady Stavros, but we're in the middle of a forest, so it's either roasted bird or rabbit."
"Oh, I know it's not your fault." I smiled sweetly. "I'm just asking."
Spyridon disappeared with a grunt and so did my smile. I knew I shouldn't pick on him since he was here to protect me, but the way he made both Klas and Vlad keep their mouth shut frustrated me.
"You need to stop doing that, Avy," said Vlad with a sigh. "Ten minutes ago you asked him for a Greek to English dictionary, I'm not sure how long he can keep his temper in check."
I laid down, putting my head on the hard pillow and nearly cursing myself for not being gentle. My head would probably have so many lumps in the morning if I wasn't careful. "Well, he started it first," I defended myself.
"He just doesn't want you to," Vladimir paused for a few seconds as if searching for the right word before he continued, "worry."
"Uh-huh, well, it's not working!" I closed my eyes and even my breathing. "Do you have any idea how many worst scenarios running through my head these last couple hours?"
"You know I—"
I didn't let him finish as I continued my rants, "of course, you don't know. The connection is broken because a stupid god thinks I deserve punishment when all I want is to live. Was it wrong to want to live? Was it a crime to want to live? Was it so wrong that I wanted for once, live until I'm sixty years old and die due to some natural disease or old age and not because I was chased and tortured or killed?"
"Avy." The sadness in his voice made my heart ache.
I could feel the tears started to well up as I let my emotion took over me. "Am I wrong for wanting to see you again? Am I wrong for wanting to live with the man I love?"
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and laughed ironically. "If I came here, wanting to kill all his descendants, The Christoulakis, or cause chaos like team up with the faction or something, maybe I deserve his punishment."
I bit my lips, trying so hard not to cry like a baby or sound like a broken-hearted man although that was exactly what I was feeling right now: broken-hearted. When the connection broke, there was a huge gaping hole inside my chest that I couldn't ignore no matter how hard I'd tried.
"But all I want was to be with the love of my life, my other half." I turned and cupped the side of his hand with my palm, feeling the warmth of his skin and convincing myself that he was here. "All I want is to be with you."
Vlad turned his head and kissed my palm. His eyes closed as his lips touched my skin and despite the fact that I could no longer read his mind, I could tell that his feeling right now matched mine. "I know. All I want is to be with you too."
I cleared my throat, hating the fact that I looked weak for these last few minutes. "Do you know why I could read Adrian's mind?" I tried to change the subject.
Those dark green eyes held mine for a minute before he shrugged his shoulders and replied, "no."
"Well, apparently your body isn't the body your soul was supposed to be in." I smiled nervously. To be honest, I wasn't sure if this was a good idea to tell him, which made me even more nervous. I sat up and hugged my knees. "The body of my soulmate was supposed to be Adrian's and that's why I was attracted to him and he was attracted to me."
Vlad raised his brows and I quickly added, "physically." I licked my bottom lips and fiddled with my hands. "Anyway, it's a curse. A curse that all of Hades' children will be attracted to more than one person, that their hearts yearn for someone while their bodies want to be in someone else's arms."
Vladimir looked confused so I went ahead and relayed what my father, Lord Hades, had told me while I was in the Underworld. About Zeus and his broken promise, about Isabelle Stavros and her relationship with both Icarus and Jonathon, and also about her betrayal to her soulmate. Mostly I'd borrowed my father's words since I was not a good explainer.
"Wow," was all he said once I finished explaining. "That's a hell of a story."
I nodded. "Yeah." Now was the hardest part, the question I wanted to ask just to satisfy my curiosity. "Vlad," I forced myself to look him in the eye. "What if I wasn't born as Avery Montgomery?"
"What if instead of a stubborn redhead, I was a bitchy blonde," I added bitchy since I remembered his relationship with Emily who was both bitchy and a blonde, "or, I don't know, let's say just for fun, I was unattractive," I swallowed hard, watching his expression remained the same. "I know this sounds cliche but will you still love me, even if I don't look like this?"
For the first time since I'd met him, he rolled his eyes at me. "Hey, I'm serious!" I protested.
"Fine." He let out an exasperated sigh. "This is ridiculous but since it seems mattered to you, I'm going to say it once and for all." His hand found mine and he gave a gentle squeeze. "I don't care how you look. What I love is what's in here," He tapped on my chest, where my heart was beating faster and faster, using his free hand.
"I love you. And I don't give a damn if your name is Avery or Camila, or whether you are a royal, pure royal or a regular. I LOVE YOU. And that's final." He shook his head slightly. "You need to get that through your thick skull and stubborn head."
I put my free hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down as I crushed my lips with his, feeling the need to feel him, to touch him, to taste him. And most of all, to know for sure that he was here with me and that was what mattered. It didn't matter if the connection was broken because we loved each other and that was more than enough.
By the time we pulled away, we both were out of breath and gasping for air. My breathing was rapid and shallow. "So," I said once I could breathe normally, "do you love me enough to tell me what the hell happened?"
Vladimir dropped his hands on the sides of his body and used them to support his weight as he leaned back, exhaling in frustration and surrender as he stared at the ceiling. Silence fell and all I could hear was my own heartbeat. I knew I wasn't playing fair but I had no other choice. I needed to know what they knew. I needed to know what those Greek letters meant even if I had to find Percy Jackson and ask him myself. I was that desperate.
"Okay," Vlad's voice broke the silence. As I looked up, those dark green eyes stared at me thoughtfully. Finally, he said those six words I wished to hear, "what do you want to know?"
"Everything," I answered quickly. "Start with those Greek letters that appeared this afternoon."
* ENAMOURED *