First impressions are always unreliable...
***
Arden
We all found ourselves back in the temple. This time, all of us were gathered around the pole, where we saw the markings.
"Damn it," I swore as I tried to calm my breathing. I instantly felt the tension between all of us. Perri's expression was one of confusion and it looked like he was thinking very hard about something. He looked angry and upset. Oh god.
I'm pretty sure Hayden never told Zane or Perri that Nova died. I mean, there was that vision when we were at Phlegethon, and Nova came out the river to ask Hayden for help. I'm guessing that's when she told him that she needed the Kai to escape the Underworld so they could be together again. Zane probably had an idea of what happened but I don't think he actually believed it. He probably didn't give it a second thought-
Wait, but there was that conversation on the plane where he brought it up-
"Alright," Hayden said lowly as he nodded his head. "That was...a lot-"
I noticed the way Ali was looking at Zane. Oh, shit. Then I noticed Ace. He looked like he was about to faint.
"No shit." He mumbled as he rubbed his head.
"You asshole." I heard Ali mutter. His eyes were now glowing a bright green and Zane looked like he wanted to disappear. He looked at Ali cautiously.
"Listen, Ali-" He started. "Remember, we're moving on from this-"
"Yeah, but how could you?" Ali asked dangerously. Zane's words got caught in his throat and he lifted his hands in defense.
"Nova's dead?" I heard Perri ask quietly. I bit my lip. Oh god. I feel like chaos was about to happen.
"Listen," I heard Zane. "It was over six months ago, I thought we could move on from this."
"Yeah, but it still hurts, Zane."
Hayden's voice rang in my ears next. "Yeah...uh, she-she died about two years ago." He responded lowly.
"And you didn't tell us?" Perri choked out. He looked even angrier now. "Why the hell wouldn't you tell us?"
"I couldn't-"
"Why not?" Zane asked forcefully, turning his attention to Hayden.
"Can we just- can we just calm down?" Armani whispered. She rested a hand on Ace's shoulder as he seemed to still be recovering from the vision.
"You know exactly how we feel about her, Hayden." Perri gritted out. "Why the hell wouldn't you tell us?!"
"I couldn't, okay!" He responded.
"Stop lying." Zane scoffed. "Nova's gone and you couldn't even bother to let anyone know. She's gone."
"You should be the one to talk about lying." Ali also scoffed.
"Everyone just relax." Nikki said plainly. The tension between all of us just kept growing. I didn't like it. Didn't like it at all. "I think we should all just take some time to let this blow over."
"Ali," Zane said seriously. He looked at him with guilt and softness. "I can't tell you how much it hurt me to do that to you. You're one of my best friends. I felt awful...what I did to you guys. Alright, you know that. I feel awful for lying," Zane shook his head and closed his eyes shut. When he opened them, he set them on me, an irritated yet a sad-conflicted emotion in his eyes.
I contorted my face in confusion as he looked at me. What did I do now? "But, I'm not the only one who lied." He continued. "So much for 'Nothing's going on'."
My jaw dropped slightly agape. Okay...I'll admit that scene with Hayden and I...It seemed a little sketchy; mostly because I didn't know what the hell was happening. A part of me is hoping that it isn't a look into the future- I mean how bizarre would that be. I can't kiss Hayden! Hell no!
"I promise you, there's nothing going on between Hayden and me," I spoke up. Hayden crossed his eyes at that statement. Yeah, it was pretty blunt but it was the damn truth.
"That little production tells me otherwise- just one question, Arden. Why him?"
I wanted to strangle Zane. How is he not understanding that Hayden and I are not an item? If he didn't spend so much damn time with Johanna, maybe he would know that.
"There is nothing going on between Hayden and me," I said each word slowly so that maybe, he'll understand. Zane narrowed his eyes at me and his jaw shifted as he looked at me. "Why the hell are you so worried about me, anyway? Enough about Hayden and I kissing, what about and Johanna locking lips?"
Nikki's eyes widened and everyone seemed a little shocked. "You kissed her?" Nikki seemed surprised.
"It was one kiss." Zane rolled his eyes.
"One kiss, my ass." I retorted back smartly. "You're a fucking hypocrite," I told him simply. It was a fact. He opened his mouth to respond to me, but I didn't want to hear it.
"Ah...no...zip....chit....shut.....grmm....Shut up." I made a sound every time he tried to speak. Zane gave me an exasperated look. "Nope, I don't want to hear it."
"Alright, I think everyone should chill," Hayden spoke up. "Can we please just calm down...we're in public."
"Why the hell would I listen to you, you couldn't even tell me about Nova."
Hayden lifted his hands giving Perri a pointed look.
"Wow, you guys are seriously messed up." I heard a different voice, and it definitely wasn't one of my friends. It was a girl and although speaking English, her Greek accent was evident. We all turned and looked to see a girl leaning against one of the columns of the temple. All other tourists and natives seemed to have vanished and it was us left inside the structure.
What the hell?
The girl had black hair with a single streak of gold in it, green eyes and I'm going to say it- she almost looks like Nikki. However, her face was round, she was a little taller, and there were two beauty marks on her face. She was wearing a simple outfit and she had her arms crossed as she looked at us.
"Excuse me?" Perri asked.
She took her weight off the column and began walking towards us. Did she just call us 'Seriously messed up?'
"I'm sorry, do we know you?" Zane spoke up and tilted his head. My body went into defense mode, instantly feeling my power coursing through me. However, I had a weird feeling about this girl...different.
"No, you guys don't, actually." She stood and kept smiling. It was a little unsettling.
"No offense, but we don't know you." Nikki squinted her eyes. "And who the hell do you think you are?" She crossed her arms.
The girl raised an eyebrow, still smiling.
"I think what she meant to say was," Armani pied up. "That's not a very nice thing to say to a stranger."
The girl waved us off and my face flipped. "My apologies, I just couldn't help but overhear your crazy- and slightly weird- conversation. I was actually quite intrigued. You my friend," She leaned over to Ace who gave her a confused and tentative look. "You seem a little shaken, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Ace replied sharply.
I locked gazes with Zane briefly before we both turned our gaze to the girl. "Alright," I placed my hands on my hips. I looked her square in her face, and she returned a defiant look. "Why don't you tell us who you are."
"Oh, sure. I was just wond-"
"I believe she asked you to state your identity." Zane's voice rang through the air and we all looked at her expectantly.
The girl, still smiling, ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. "Okay. I'm Camilla." She stated. Camilla....Camilla...We literally just heard her name in one of the visions. In the vision, she was supposedly with Ali. I knew everyone in the circle knew this because everyone alerted when she introduced herself. I became one hundred percent more alert when her eyes shifted a glowing yellow. There was a smirk on her face as she stared at all of us with glowing eyes. "And, I know what you guys are."
*****
Really intense...
I live to shut people down the way Arden did Zane. But, now Zane and Perri know that's Nova's dead, Zane kissed Johanna, and Hayden seems to be on the bad side of all relationships.
Next chapter, you learn more about Camilla. She's awesome, guys. Sorry about the late update, like I said before the last three weeks of my summer are completely busy. I haven't had a lot of time to write, read, or update because I've been stressing and preparing for the upcoming season.
Until next time,
-brittany.