A Broken Fate (The Beautiful Fate Series book 2) (8 page)

“What
’s going on?” Ari spoke up, annoyed.

I held up the book.

“Our flight leaves in a few hours.”

“What! We
’re going to Greece?”

“Surprise,” I smiled.

“Ava, what about
baio
?” Ari frowned.

“Margaux is out of town for the next two weeks; ergo, you don
’t have to go to work! We’re meeting August there and we’re doing Greek things for a few days and then we are going to fly back early next week – you won’t miss a thing.”

He picked me up and kissed me full on the lips.

“I can’t take this anymore,” Rory grumbled. “Are we going or do I need to step outside for a while?”

I rolled my eyes and headed to the garage. Rory drove us to LAX in the Rover. When he thought I wasn
’t listening he said quietly to Ari, “Dude, you’re gonna have to tell me what you are doing in there because I haven’t been able to produce those kinds of results.”

Ari rubbed at his scruffy face and patted Rory on the shoulder, smiling. Thankfully, he did not offer up any advice, instead he turned the music up and played
Daft
Punk
through the car speakers for the rest of the ride.

Since I had had very little sleep the night before, I slept through the first half of the flight while Ari read over some documents for Margaux. Our attendant was very pretty in that sleek, too-much-makeup kind of way and she hung around our row a little more than necessary, offering Ari cold drinks and pretzels. I had become used to that kind of attention when I was around Ari. Ari has a magnetic personality. He unintentionally makes friends everywhere we go and this plane ride was not an exception. He became involved in a conversation with a man across the aisle. The man told Ari his life story, for what seemed like hours. Ari didn
’t seem to mind. He listened, engaged in the conversation the whole time. How could we be so different?

Happy to be tucked away in the window seat, I nevertheless became more and more bored
. As Ari’s conversation with the man across the aisle droned on, I picked up Ari’s paperwork and started looking over it. Might as well help get it done. Last summer, Margaux offered Ari a job at
baio
. Margaux didn’t offer Ari just
any
job. He landed a cozy executive position. The job used to belong to my grandfather. He and Margaux were a team. Margaux had wanted to keep
baio
in the family after Perry passed, but I was the only family member she had left. She passed on offering the job to me and offered it instead to Ari. In all honesty, I didn’t care. I had no desire to work for Margaux. I stared down at Ari’s paperwork and after some time, I figured out what Margaux wanted him to do and finished it up for him.

He put his glasses back on and saw what I had done.

“I don’t know why you didn’t take the job instead of me. You’re a much better fit for this, Ava.”

“It
’s bad enough that I have to be somewhat related to her, I am not working with her, too,” I said with a shrug.

“I get that you don
’t like Margaux, but I don’t know why.”

I stared at him disbelieving.

“Are you serious, Ari? She is a complete nightmare. A total she-devil.”

“I dunno, Ava; she absolutely loves you. She asks me every day how you
’re doing, and feeling. She has an ungodly number of photos of you in her office. The entire
baio
company was on shut down when you went missing, and she was a total wreck.”

I took a deep breath, taking all of this information in, then finally decided that her concern must have been all for show.

“Well, you must see a side of Margaux that I don’t.”

The man across the aisle who had commanded Ari
’s attention for the last few hours had begun doze. We still had several more hours until we touched down in Athens. I changed the subject.

“Did your family go on vacations when you were young?” I loved learning little bits about Ari
as a child.

He smiled brightly at my question. “Yes, quite a bit.”

“Where all have you been?”

“Well…
my parents tried to plan some place new and different each year. We always traveled with Thais and Gianna, too. So of course every vacation memory I have involves Rory.” Ari squinted his eyes. “Except for the last trip, Rory wasn’t there. Anyway, when we were kids, our parents took us to the Disney parks, Lego Land, we went on cruises, we spent a week in Jamaica once and we’ve visited all the big zoos- places like that. We went camping once in Glacier National Park. Lauren had a miserable time; she cried every day and faked an ankle injury so she wouldn’t have to hike. When we got older, we just started going to this awesome resort in Mexico every year. It’s nice. They have a great golf course.” He added the last bit with a nod and I giggled.

“Why didn
’t Rory go on your last family trip?”

Ari let out a breath. “He and I were fighting. We hadn
’t spoken in months over that crap with Julia. My mom planed the trip. She had hopes that it would bring Rory and I back together. Our fight was tearing the family apart. I came home from class on a Thursday afternoon to find my bags had already been packed and the entire family waiting to go. Rory trailed in the house after me. Our parents tried to surprise us all with a long weekend at the resort I mentioned in Mexico. Rory said he would not go along if I were going. He caused a major scene. My mom cried. Gianna cried. Truth was, I didn’t want to go either but I saw how important the trip was to my family. Rory turned around and left. He drove right back to DPI campus for the weekend.”

“Oh, poor Aggie.” I said. “
Rory must have really hurt her feelings.”

“
He did. However, I have to say I didn’t make her feel any better. I was jerk through the whole trip. Nick and I stayed out late each night. I slept the day away and kept mostly to myself.” Ari laughed a touch and rubbed at the stubble on his cheeks. “My dad got so mad at me one day that he got the key to my hotel room from the front desk. I was still asleep at the time and it was well passed noon. I got back to my room late the day before and I had on wet swim trucks so I took them off and slept in the nude. My dad barged in to my hotel room and ripped the blankets off me…. I was sleeping on my stomach,” Ari added with an eye roll when he saw the shocked expression on my face. “My dad hollered at me to get up and to spend some time with my mother. I shot back a nasty comment and he brought his palm down on my ass so hard that it was red and stung for three days straight.”

I laughed so loud the woman sitting in front of me turned around and shot me an evil eye. I covered my mouth with my hand to suppress my giggles.

“Anyway,” Ari continued. “After the slap, I relented and got dressed and met my mother downstairs for lunch. She told me that Rory called to check in with them. He apologized to everyone for his behavior and announced that he had met a girl and was ready to move on and patch things up between the two us. Rory told his mother that he was going to talk with me and make up as soon as I came back to California. I was thrilled.” Ari frowned and paused. I watched him shift in his seat.

“That was the weekend Rory first met you only I didn
’t know that yet. When we got back to California, I went straight to campus in search of Rory and instead locked eyes with the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I called my mom from my dorm room and told her all about you. How I had met someone, too. That I couldn’t stop thinking about you and the way you caused my stomach to flip and my palms to get sticky. I found out the next day that you were the girl Rory was talking about to Gianna. Turned out, Rory felt the same way about you as I did. I was told by my family to back off and leave you alone.”

He smiled and wrapped his fingers around mine. “I am so glad I didn
’t listen to them.”

“Me too.”

Chapter 9

The Hunt

We spent the first day of our trip to Greece acclimating to the time change. We were staying at a wonderful place called The Athenian Loft. Our space was open and airy and the view was breathtaking. The master bedroom was crisp and inviting. The wall the bed was on was painted a deep, dark red and the bed itself was embellished with a soft, white, linen canopy. The whole place was romantic and serene. I slipped my shoes and cardigan off, Ari took our luggage and put it in the closet. He turned to me with an impish smile on his face. I peered at him from across the room. He ran his tongue across his bottom lip and sauntered towards me like an animal on the prowl. I giggled and his eyes turned dark.

“We are not leaving this
place until I find what I have been looking for. It has been one whole year, Ava, and I have been patient. I have played my cards fairly. I want that freckle. Now.”

Holy Hell
.

My jaw went slack. The air left my lungs. I felt a lovely, familiar tickle at the bottom of my tummy. I turned around and ran. I heard a low growl come from behind me and Ari was at my heels in
a matter of seconds. I laughed as I ran all through the loft, dodging works of art, expensive stereo equipment, glass tables and lush furniture. I circled through the living room, treating the couch like a hurdle, I ran through the kitchen and back into the master bedroom and then out onto the ultra-private balcony. We had a spectacular view of The Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill from that balcony, but I had no time to enjoy the sight before me. Ari flew through the open glass doors and grabbed me around my waist. The balcony was adorned with a huge, cushioned lounge chair that was the size of a small bed and covered in blue and white linen pillows. Ari tossed the pillows to the floor, put me on the chaise and pinned my hands over my head with one hand. His other hand made its way down my body. He grabbed the hem of my dress and pulled it over my head. Ari began to kiss me all over, I squirmed and laughed as the stubble on his face tickled my skin. “Are you going to tell me where that little freckle of yours is, or do I have to kiss every inch of your body?”

“I
’ll never tell.”

An hour or so later, I lay breathless on Ari
’s chest. His fingers traced little pictures on my bare back and he whispered sweet words into my ear.

“You are beautiful, Ava, even in defeat,” he smiled.

****

On the second evening of our trip, Ari and I decided to take a walk through an old, hilly neighborhood just off the beaten path. Beautiful flowers draped from stone pots and window boxes. Women hollered across balconies to one another as they put laundry out on lines to dry.
Stray cats stretched and meandered about the white-washed lane, men sat together at chessboards and smoked cigars while small children kicked a ball back and forth along the narrow pathway. The experience was like walking back in time. I felt at home in the community. I could tell Ari felt that way, too. We belonged in Greece. It was in our blood.

We came upon an old woman outside sweeping the steps to her home. She turned to greet us and as soon as I saw her face, I knew that I had met her before but couldn
’t quite place the memory, as if our meeting had been in a dream. I gave her a smile as we passed and her face went slack. She dropped her broom and pointed at me in awe.

“Ava?”

Ari’s jaw dropped and he looked from me to her. “Do you know this woman?” he whispered in my ear.

“Yes,” I smiled, “I think I do.”

A dream I had had so very long ago that it felt like a different lifetime flitted into my memory. This woman had spoken to me in my hospital dream and had taught me how to reel the thread in to make time back up; she requested more time and I gladly gave it to her. The lesson that she bestowed upon me was ultimately what had saved Aggie; Ari and I both owed her so much.

We hugged one another and fat tears fell from her eyes. I wiped them away and turned to introduce her to Ari. She got one look at Ari, blushed, threw her arms around him, and kissed both of his cheeks. She invited us in and I took Ari
’s hand and told him that I would explain it all later.

I remembered that her name was Maya. She welcomed us into her home and introduced us to her little grandson, Max, sitting near the garden door and rolling a ball back and forth. Maya
’s hair was salt and pepper colored, long, and smooth. Her eyes were light brown and sparkled brightly. She smiled at us almost adoringly.

Max was a beautiful child, with rosy, chubby cheeks and stubby little-boy fingers. His brown hair stood up all over in disarray, just like Ari
’s. He had a cute, baby tooth smile and the same light brown eyes as his grandmother. He took to Ari instantly. Max spoke only a tiny amount of English and Ari kept looking at me for guidance, but the little boy’s speech was mostly that of a two-year-old – nonsensical sounds along with some words for various toys and games.

Maya
’s home was lovely. It possessed a worldly charm with stone walls and exposed, natural wood beams, windowsills and doors. She had a large farm kitchen sink and freshly cut flowers displayed in antique vases. The space was really quite magical. Maya insisted that Ari and I stay for dinner and she served moussaka with a plate of olives and wonderful loaf of bread. For dessert, she gave us Greek yogurt with honey and almonds. Max sat on Ari’s lap the entire time and babbled to him about playing ball on the pathway. When the meal was done, Max drug Ari by the hand out to the courtyard near the garden.

I helped Maya clear the plates and walked with her to the sink in her little kitchen. I set the plates down and Maya took both of my hands in hers and looked me in the eyes before pulling me in to another hug. She released me then placed her hand on my cheek.

“I have waited a long time to meet you, Ava.”

I looked at her quizzically.

“Why me?” I could tell Maya was a descendant of a deity but I was not sure of whom. “Who are you?”

She walked down the hall and pulled out a large book from a closet and then took my hand and sat back down at the table. She pulled a picture out of the book and showed it to me.

I cocked my head to the side and took in every detail. The picture was of Maya, taken probably forty years earlier. She was wearing a dress that went past her knees and was standing next to another young woman of approximately the same age. I pointed to the one that was clearly Maya.

“You?” I asked.

“Umm hmm,” she responded. She pointed to the other woman, looked at me, and said “Margaux.”

My eyes turned the size of half dollars and my heart began to pound of out my chest.

“My Margaux?”

“Umm hmm.”

She took out another picture, the photo was of Maya and Margaux again, only this time, Maya’s belly was swollen and round. She pointed to her belly and smiled at me until I understood.

“Lucy. My mom.”

“Yes.”

“You are my Grandmother?”

“Yes, Ava, I am.”

I felt as though the wind had been knocked from my lungs. My jaw slacked at this revelation and my heart pounded against my chest. Maya was my mom
’s birth mother. My grandmother.

“I am of the goddess of Demeter, Ava. My husband, your grandfather Christos, was the last known descendant of Clotho, the spinner of the thread.” 

I learned last year, on my trip to London, that my mother was the descendant of Clotho. I had to beat the information out of Margaux but in the end, she confirmed that my suspicion was right. I kept this information to myself. I had not even told Ari of my discovery.

Since my grandfather was that of Clotho, Maya had known, in my dream so long ago, that I could pull her thread longer. I possess all three capabilities -- I can spin life, measure life and end it. I looked out the garden door at Max who was laughing loudly at Ari who was trying with much difficulty to bounce the ball on his head consecutively.

Maya nodded at me with a smile and stated that Max was my cousin. She had had another daughter, Lacy, ten years after my mother was born. When Lacy died, Maya, not willing to lose another child, kept Max to raise him. She said both of her daughters had possessed the power to spin life and that the Kakos had sought them both out. Max’s mom, Lacy, and his dad, Egan, were murdered right after Max’s birth when they refused to spare the Kakos’ lives any longer. Margaux had taken my mother, ten years prior to Lacy’s birth, vowing to keep her safe and away from her destiny as a Fate.

My mother was never told about her past or where she came from; she had no idea who she was until she met my father. Maya added, with a bit of bitterness, that if it hadn
’t been for Margaux allowing my mom to be with my dad, my mom would still be alive today. The Kakos, she said, found out about my mother in the course of their hunting down my father.

Maya, angry with Margaux, stopped speaking to her friend when I was born. She had herself spent considerable energy and ingenuity keeping Max a secret. The little boy was born. I was the first person to know of his abilities as a Fate. She said that she had been following my progress with the Kakos. And she wished me good luck.

“What do you mean…good luck? There’s more, another Kakos isn’t there?”

I took a deep breath as I asked my question. I wanted to know what Maya had meant by wishing me luck. Her face turned serious and she nodded yes, slowly.

“Is he safe -- Max?”

She frowned. “It is you he wants, not a little boy. He will find you, Ava.”

I asked who
he
was and where I could find him. She told me there are some things not to be spoken of and that the person I wanted to know about was one of those things. I begged for more information and she simply said that No. 7 rarely shows his own face and had not been seen for eighteen years. When No. 7 does come forth, she added, he takes the form of someone else and thus is not recognizable. He has the power to possess someone else’s soul and body. A very cold chill ran through my veins at this news. I pressed Maya again for more information but she was not forthcoming. She turned to look behind herself often, as if someone might be listening in on our conversation.

It began to get dark; Maya
’s home filled up with shadows, and a cool evening breeze came in through an open window. Ari carried Max, who was rubbing his eyes sleepily, back to the table. I stood up to leave; worried that Ari and I would not be able to find our way back in the dark. Maya gave us great big hugs. Max threw his chubby little two-year-old arms around Ari and cried for him to stay. I choked back tears, afraid of what would happen with Max the next time I saw our grandmother in the hospital dream.

Maya stopped us right before we walked out the door and told me to wait one more minute. She hurried down the hall and started rummaging through a closet and came back with a long rectangular box. She handed the box to me and I looked at her curiously. She motioned for me to open it. I slid the top of the old, dusty wooden box off and found a very ancient pair of sharp scissors tucked away inside. The very same pair I hold each night in my dreams.

Shock and wonder consumed me as I sucked in a breath. Maya smiled and told me the scissors had belonged to Atropos. She took my face in her hands and her eyes looked straight into mine as she said, slowly and deliberately, “Use them; you have to use them.”

I tried to ask what she meant but, looking out into the darkening sky, she ushered us from her home and bolted the door behind us.

I linked my arm through Ari’s and we walked back to The Loft. I told him that the scissors had belonged to Atropos, and that they are the very ones I use each night when I roam the hospital halls in my dream. Then I told him about the dream I had had a year ago, when Maya taught me to pull the thread, and I told him how my experience with her had given me the tools I needed to save Aggie.

“Ari, I haven
’t told you this yet, but I have found out that my mother was descended from Clotho.”

He came to a stop on the path and turned to gape at me.

“When did you learn this, Ava?”

“On my way to London, last winter. Margaux explained a little bit of my background to me. I had to force the information out of her and I couldn
’t tell if she was being truthful or not until tonight.”

“Ava, why do you keep things from me?” Ari
’s jaw was tight and he sounded irritated.

“I
’m sorry, Ari. I have a hard time talking about some parts of my life.”

“I
’m your husband. We should tell each other everything. I know I tell you everything.”

I closed my eyes and nodded my head, filled with remorse, yet I still didn
’t say anything about No. 7. I wasn’t ready for him to know that my fight with the Kakos was not yet over.

* * * *

The rest of our trip passed quickly. Ari and I basked in the sun on the beaches near Cape Sounion. We spent a morning at the Central Market. We walked to the top of Mount Lycabettus and back. We toured the museum in Mycenae. We spent a great, lazy day in Hydra.

Ari and I decided to make a hike up Mount Olympus
to the Skolio summit. We arrived in the city of Litochoro, also known as The City of the Gods, in the early morning. There was a kind of vibe in the air, a certain kind of electricity. The sky was bright blue and brilliant without a cloud in sight, creating a magnificent background for the Mytikas peak. The higher we climbed, the more at peace I felt. However, with my growing calmness, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, there was a buzzing in my veins, coursing through my body, pushing me higher.