Open Your Heart (Chosen By Fate Book 2)

by Aspen Winters

  "So...who is showing me around or am I just gonna head back to the library for the rest of the night?" I asked, looking at the three gods still in the room with me.

  Ra gave me a grin. "I have to go do a few things and talk to a few other gods about some protection options for you." He moved forward gave me a kiss on the cheek, before sweeping out of the room.

  And then there were two. I glanced to Poseidon and Eros who both gave me smiles.

  Poseidon moved forward and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "I will let the brat have some time with you. I will see you later." He then also disappeared out of the room.

  I looked at Eros who had a big grin on his face as he pulled me to him, giving me a peck on the lips. I gave him a small glare as he moved back with his hands raised, but his cheeky grin was still in place.

  "What are we going to do?" I was a bit curious about what Olympus looked like. I had only seen bits of the halls and it was beautiful. I knew the rest of it would be just the same.

  "You saw the library, I can show you the gardens and maybe the stables. You do like animals, so the Pegasus would probably be something you would like." Eros's lip twitched.

  I looked at him with a grin at the mention of the Pegasus. That is a creature that I had liked when I was kid, to know that they were real and I could see one. "Can we go to the stables first?" I asked, smiled filtering across my face. I did wonder what these creatures I thought as myth would be like. Would they be exactly like horses, just with wings, or would there be something else I didn't know about them.

  Eros laughed, moving to put his hand behind my back. "Then let’s go. I have a feeling you will like them."

  There was something in his voice that made me a bit weary, but I ignored it because of my excitement. The two of us walked in silence for a few minutes, making me frown. Eros was usually the chatterbox and always had something to say. I looked over at him, his eyes were straight forward as we walked. What really caught my attention was the serious look on his face.

  "Are you okay?" I blurted out before I could stop myself, causing Eros to stop walking and look at me in surprise.

  He looked down at me a frown on his face before his grin was back in place. "I am fine. Everyone is just a bit stressed."

  I understood that. They were all spending a lot of time trying to find the Titans and finding Cronus.

  "How are you feeling after..." Eros trailed off eyes, flashing down to my arm. His eyes were sad as he looked at it, before he averted his eyes.

  I started walking again. Eros took the hint, and made sure to lead me in the right direction. "It still hurts, but it is healing. I am not looking forward to the scars." I paused a sigh leaving my lips, as the god led me down a different hallway. One I hadn't been in yet.

  "I feel bad for what I put you all through, and I am still unsure and haven't really talked to Ra or any of you about the bond that was started and where we go from here." I really didn't know where to go from this point. I was still struggling with tearing down my walls to trust these gods who have sworn themselves to me.

  "We just take a step at a time. You can bond with us when you feel it is right. We aren't going to push you, but we do want you to be comfortable with us. For you to be able to tell us anything." His voice held a faraway tone as he spoke.

  "I want you to be able to not run away again. When you went out on your own and got taken, I was afraid." He paused, taking a deep breath.

  I could see his eyes held an anguished look, but he continued on with a shake of his head.

  "I was afraid that I wouldn't see you again. I was afraid that you would be taken from me...from us...before I had a real chance of getting to know you."

  I felt my heart ache at his words, and looked to the ground as we came to a stop. He turned me so I was facing him. I kept my eyes on the ground and only brought them up when he took my chin and made me look him in the eyes.

  "I understand why you did what you did, I may not like it. I may be frustrated with you, but I can't blame you. You wanted to get away from us and be a normal human..." He moved his hand from my chin and gently brushed a strand of hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear, a soft look in his eyes.

  "You will never have a normal life now. You are intertwined with a life around gods. I know in time you may come to love your life with us, but for now…" He stroked my cheek a sad smile on his face.

  "You are trying. I can see that. That is all I can ask. I know that things are going to be hard now that Cronus has made himself known, but I hope you will continue to open up to us." He took his hand away from me, putting his hand on my back and leading me to the end of the hall where there were tall double doors.

  I stayed silent as he opened the door. I didn't know what to say to that. I never had seen this side of Eros before, it was different. Not a bad one either. I was used to the happy, chatterbox with a temper.

  "Come now, we can talk more about this later. For now let's do something fun," Eros told me, opening the big doors.

  I looked through and almost gasped.

  We were outside now. The sun had set and I could see stars in the sky. They stars were beautiful, and I could see some constellations I knew, but there were others I had never seen before. There were many buildings here, all having a Roman feel, but as I looked I could also see different buildings that belonged to different countries. I blinked, before looking at Eros who was grinning at my reaction.

  "It is beautiful here. There are different sections here for other Pantheons, just like they have sections for us where they reside," he explained, making me frown.

  "So there are other places like Olympus?" I didn't know this, but it made sense. All the gods didn't have to stay in one place.

  "There is Valhalla, which is where most of the Norse and Irish gods stay. There is a Sanctuary in Egypt as well. But most gods stay here in Olympus," Eros informed me.

  That was interesting. I never really thought about where the different gods stayed.

  "Though some of us gods do stay in the mortal world or on some uncharted islands across the world."

  I jumped at the new voice, blinking as my eyes fell upon who had spoken. It was a god, tall like all the gods. He had short hair which was styled so most of his hair was in the middle of his head, almost like a Mohawk, but this style was more laid back. He had dark red eyes, and a wicked grin on his face. The aura he had, it made the hair on my body stand on edge. He felt dangerous. Wild.

  "Hello Ares," Eros greeted the god, his eyes weary as he looked at him. It seemed like Eros was cautious around him.

  "I see you finally found your Bonded. Interesting." His red eyes pinned me with a look, making me stand straight.

  This god was intimidating as hell. I am guessing it was because he was the God of War.

  "Yes, this is Clara." Eros brought me closer to him as he eyed Ares. He definitely didn't like Ares then, or at least didn't trust him.

  "Pleasure to meet you, Clara." The way he said my name, felt like he was mocking me.

  I frowned and nodded my head at him, not saying anything.

  "I guess you are the cause of all the commotion with the kidnapping." Red eyes flicked to my arm, then back up to my face. "I do hope you are feeling a better."

  This god was definitely not someone I would like. I liked Airmed just fine...this god...not so much. The way he talked to me made me want to hit him.

  "I am feeling much better, thank you." I was going to be polite. This god was someone I did not want to be alone with. He made me uncomfortable, and made me feel like I was an ant under a magnifying glass. Not a good feeling at all.

  "We should get going. It was nice seeing you again. Zeus is in his study, he is waiting for you there," Eros spoke, his voice clipped.

  Ares laughed, it was deep and a bit dark. "I shall leave you two lovebirds to it then. Don't get into any trouble now." He then gave a mocking smirk before walking inside, leaving Eros and me to ourselves.

  "He is something," I mutt
ered, eyes flickering behind me. I was going to try to avoid him if I ever saw him again.

  "He is the god of war. He is dark and dangerous. He is not someone I like, but he is good at what he does. He will come up with some strategies and theories against the Titans," Eros told me, leading me forward, down the stairs.

  I nodded, I understood that. But I definitely didn't want to be near him again. I shook the thoughts out of my head and followed Eros. Hoping we would get to our destination soon.

  It took ten minutes to get to the stables. It had been a long walk, but I got to see many of the buildings. It was fun to see the architecture, it was almost like being in Rome and looking at the ruins. Everything was beautiful and breathtaking.

  "We are here. Just a warning though. Don't be offended by what any of them say," Eros told me.

  I didn't understand what he meant though.

  What did he mean by what they say? I stayed silent and followed him into the stables and smiled widely. There had to be over two dozen stalls and each one had a Pegasus in them. They were huge. I felt so small compared to them. They had to be over eight feet tall.

  "Beautiful," I said out loud, as my eyes looked over all of them.

  "You hear that guys, she called me beautiful!"

  I stopped wide eyes as I looked at the Pegasus closest to me.

  Did it just...

  "How do you know she was talking about you? You are far from beautiful. Your wings are shorter compared to mine. She could have been talking about me."

  Yup. It definitely talked.

  I heard laughing and saw Eros next to me looking away from me. I hit his arm, a glare on my face. "You could have warned me!"

  This caused him to laugh harder. My face turned red as I heard the Pegasus asking what was wrong with Eros.

  "That was mean!" I told him, as I turned my attention back to the winged horses. He could have warned me better than that.

  "I did tell you not to be offended by what they say, so I did sort of tell you." Eros snickered, trying to catch his breath.

  He really could have given me a better warning than that. I was not expecting Pegasus to be able to talk. I had never read about that anywhere. I knew they would probably be smart, but to talk. That was something else altogether!

  I was so going to get him back for this. I didn't know how, but I so would.

  ~Clara~

  I sat in my room, not really knowing what to do with myself. I had gone out last night and met the Pegasus. I learned that they are very vain. I didn't get to stay there that long before I was taken to my room. Airmed had visited and brought me food. I was now alone. Eros had to go do something and I didn't feel like trying to find my way to the library. I would definitely get lost. I had a feeling no one would like me wondering off by myself either.

  "You’re still awake I see." I heard a voice causing me to jump.

  I blinked and saw Hades standing in front of me.

  "How..." I didn't hear any movement or noise. He just appeared. What the hell.

  Hades laughed as he took a step forward, grin on his face. I had a feeling these gods like to get reactions out of me.

  "I use the shadows to travel sometimes," Hades said, looking down at me.

  I was sitting on the bed only five feet from where he stood. "That must be a convenient way to travel." There were plenty of shadows in the world, so he could get around easily. That really would be a convenient way to get around.

  "Is there a reason why you are here this late?" I asked before he could respond to my first comment, earning a raised eyebrow from the god of the underworld.

  "I was going to give you something in the morning, but something came up in the Underworld I have to take care of. I won't be around for a few days," he told me as he glanced me over. He looked like he wanted to say more, but held back.

  "Give me something?" I didn't need any gifts. I had a feeling I wouldn't win though. The gods seemed to like trying to impress me.

  "Yes. Hold out your hands for me," Hades instructed me, a mischievous smirk coming to his face as he took a couple steps toward me. He was standing only a couple feet away from me now.

  I did as I was asked, holding my hands out, both of them flat. I didn't know what he was giving me, I just hoped it wasn't jewelry. I had the necklace Ra gave me, but I really wasn't a jewelry person.

  Hades held his hand out so it was directly over mine, and I felt the air shift around me. Shadows started to form in my hand. Swirling around like a sandstorm would in the dessert. I watched in fascination as it took shape. The smoke formed a small shape before something solid appeared in my hands. My eyes widened as I looked at what was in my hands.

  "Is this a..." I asked, bringing my hands to my body so I could look at it. It was a small black thing. Pointed ears, and a sleek body.

  It's a puppy. He gave me a puppy.

  "It is a hell hound. This one is just for your protection. He will bond with your magic and grow rather fast. By the time I am back he will be almost full grown," Hades told me as he pet the puppy in my hands, before taking it from me and setting it on the bed next to me. He took my hand and brought it to the dog’s mouth, saying something in a different language.

  The puppy opened its mouth and bit me.

  I yelped, taking my hand away from him as I turned my eyes to Hades in question.

  "The bond has been made, and he is tied to you. Not anyone else. He won't follow anyone's orders but your own...and mine on occasion," he told me, taking my hand back into his and giving it a kiss. I felt a shudder go down my spine at the kiss, as he looked at me, still bent over, lips on my hand. He gave a smirk, pulling back as he let my hand go.

  "How do I take care of a hellhound?" I didn't know a thing about hell hounds, but if it was like an actual dog...then I would be fine. I went and picked up the puppy, who gave small whine, before setting it back into my lap and gently petting it.

  "It is like a dog, but once he grows a bit more, he will eat raw meats instead of what he is eating now. By the time he is ready to be fed in the morning, he will be big enough to eat raw meat," Hades told me as he looked down at the hellhound puppy.

  "He will be your protector. Hell hounds are very loyal and I know he will do everything in his power to keep you safe."

  I was touched by this, he really went out of his way to make sure I had extra protection...and protection that I wouldn't mind as much as someone who would follow me around. This was a protector I wouldn't mind having around me at all times of the day.

  "Thank you. You really thought this out didn't you."

  Hades really was trying to make things easier for me. I greatly appropriated this. A lot.

  "I knew that this would be the best way you could have someone...or something around you at all times. I knew you wouldn't agree to having someone trail you in the shadows at all times of the day, this is the compromise," he told me, sigh leaving his lips as he looked at me with emotion filled eyes. "Did you have fun with Eros after the rest of us left?" he asked.

  I could tell he was making conversation. Like he didn't want to leave just yet. Smiling softly, I nodded. "Yes. I got to meet the Pegasus...though I would have liked to know they talked before I entered the stables." Embarrassment came back full force, and a blush came to my cheeks when hearing Hades laugh.

  "Yes, the Pegasus are rather vocal." He grinned, amusement clear on his face.

  "I wasn't prepared for that! They talked my ear off that is for sure. I liked them, though they seem rather vain." They did seem that way, especially after I blurted out beautiful when I first walked into the stable without knowing they could talk.

  "They were Zeus's creation." Hades laughed, making me twitch at the thought.

  "He sure made them to be rather interesting. I would like to go see them again...." I paused, hope filling me as I asked, "Or maybe ride one of them?"

  The god shook his head. "I am sure Zeus could take you. He is the best to learn how to fly one of those things. I would rather k
eep my feet on the ground," he replied.

  I could tell there was a story behind this, but didn't pry. "I have seen the library already with Poseidon. I have yet to go to the gardens. I saw the tree...." I trailed off looking at the god of the Underworld.

  "Ah, the tree. Yes, I take it that caught you by surprise," he spoke, crossing his arms over his chest.

  "It did. Do you eat the apples?" I inquired, curious on what the apples would do if eaten.

  Hades chuckled, probably seeing my curiosity. "Yes, they are used in a lot of medicines. They are also used in gatherings that are held here on Olympus," he informed me, a thoughtful look on his face which was quickly replaced by a smile.

  "You are allowed to have one if you go to the garden. They won't hurt you, and it could speed up your healing. I know Airmed didn't want to use an apple on you because she doesn't like them. She says they aren't apart of the healing arts." He shook his head, making me wonder why the goddess didn't like them if they helped heal.

  "She doesn't like them then—" I wanted to know why I hadn't been given one earlier then.

  "She only likes to use her powers and remedies to heal. Using one of those apples would be a last resort for her," Hades told me.

  I nodded, I could respect Airmed if that is what she wanted to do. "I may try one..." I did want to know how they tasted, but I didn't know if I wanted to try one yet. They looked too pretty to eat.

  I heard Hades sigh, as he looked outside.

  I tilted my head wondering what was wrong.

  "I am being called away. I will see you in a couple days." He leaned forward kissing my forehead before he disappeared in a swirl of shadows, leaving me with my new companion. He must have heard or felt something I couldn't, to leave so quickly.

  I looked down at the hell hound, smiling. "Well, I guess I am going to have to find a good name for you, huh boy," I said out loud, stroking the dog’s silky fur. I didn't know what to call him, something interesting that was for sure. I didn't think an ordinary name would cut it for this little guy. My mind went through names in my head, trying to figure something that would fit.