Red flame 2

Chapter 18

I was staring at the real Aphrodite. The goddess of love. She was here with me. And I was actually seeing her. She was supposed to be gone. Long ago. She was one of the Olympians that fell, or did she? I didn't know anymore. I had read it, but maybe it wasn't true. She looked so beautiful. She was looking at me, and her smile was bright. I had summoned the goddess of love without realizing it. And she was here, to help me.

            "Gabrielle, I hear your heart, I feel what you feel, confusion is the worst part of love, and sometimes it can be unclear," She spoke. She was soft spoken, and so gentle. I stand up, looking at her.

            "What do I do," I asked her. She places her hands on my shoulders.

            "That is for you to choose, but your heart can't heal, if you don't want it to," She said. She was right, how could I heal, if I kept feeling this way?

            "I know, I love him, so much, I never meant to hurt him," I said. She smiles and nods.

            "I know the love you have for him, it's a love I have seen rarely, but it is deeper than any other love there is, just show him, use your emotions and show this love to him, open up your soul to him, he can not refuse your soul," She said. I didn't understand. What did that mean?

            "It is time, the war is upon you, and you must go at once, be with your loved ones, by this time next week, you may not see a few of them," She said. Was she saying, death? Some would die? Who would die? I didn't want anyone to die. I wanted them to be able to live with me, as my family, all of them.

            "Something I heard Aphrodite, there is a traitor among us, do you know who," I asked, she sighs, and looks away.

            "I cannot give the answers you seek, but I can give you a clue, the traitor among you, is very interested in the child." 

            There were so many of us, who loved Lilly, but there weren't any to interested. That didn't tell me anything. We loved her, all of us. We hadn't planned to betray anyone. We were all working for the same things. To protect the human race, and save Lilly from Gabriel when the time came. Who could she have been talking about. I looked at her, and she lowered her brows at me, giving me time to think, she didn't want to give me the answer, she wanted me to figure this out. Because the battle was near. Someone in our kingdom was a traitor. And we were on the brink of war. And who was so interested in her, it had to be someone who had been surprised by her.

            "Think about it Gabrielle, someone with little contact to you, who seemed taken back by the presence of an agnel child," She said. Then it hit me, the memory flooded my mind. And it was as if I could see her face.

            "An angel child, those were forbidden a long time ago, but not dealt with, I have never seen one up close and personal, she is, beautiful."

It was Persephone. But what would she want with Lilly, and why betray us? There was no real reason to. What did she have to gain from it? She seemed extremely interested in her, and she wasn't around much. Grover had never thought to ask her why she was never around. She betrayed Hades before, and she would do it again. To see him hurt. Because Hades was her grandfather and thought so much about her. That was it, she wanted revenge on him, to hurt him. And she was going to use Lilly to do so.

            "It's Persephone, isn't it," I ask, she bows her head not saying anything. It was her. And I knew why.

            "Thank you, Aphrodite, really," I said. She nods and disappears. I had to warn Grover and Hades. But how? She was always with Grover, when she was here, how could I get her to leave him. That was it, trick her into thinking Annabeth needed to talk with her.