Descendants of the Gods

Chapter 32: Cellar of Snakes

NOTE:
Sorry for the late update. My finals week almost became my final week and I didn't have the chance to write (or sleep, eat, and rest peacefully for that matter). It will definitely happen again.

. . .

KASDEYA ARGYROS' Point of View

I catch Theon browsing through a big book while sitting on his bed and facing my direction. Kinuskos ko ang aking mga mata habang bumabangon mula sa pagkakahiga.

"What's that?" I ask with a yawn, covering my mouth in the process. Theon flips a page before answering me.

"Your childhood pictures—"

Nagising agad ang diwa ko. Mabilis akong umalis sa aking kama at kinuha ang photobook sa kaniyang kamay. Theon chuckles at my reaction. Feeling ko inaasahan na niya ang gagawin ko.

He leans back on the bed, both of his hands prop up behind him as support. He gives me a playful grin while his tongue tracing over his bottom lip. "Relax, you were a cute kid. There's nothing to be ashamed of, Argyros."

Inirapan ko siya habang nilalayo ang photobook. "Shut up. I'm not even a kid in these pictures." The photobook contains pictures that were taken here at the orphanage. Since I only stayed here for a year, the pictures are pretty recent.

Mas lalong lumaki ang ngiti ni Theon. "Exactly."

Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin bago ilagay sa kama yung photobook. I put both hands on my waist, still standing in front of him. "Dahil gising ka na naman, we can start searching around the orphanage. Sir Riggor won't mind if we're late for breakfast." Sambit ko.

He tilts his head to the side with his eyes still looking up to meet my gaze. "You never run out of courage, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

Nagbago siya ng pwesto. He leans in closer to me, one hand placed on his knee. "First, you bit my hand back at the Acropolis," He starts to list the events that had already happened. I wish I stopped him before he could start, because he takes too long enumerating the 'sins' I did.

"Then you dragged me by my cloak until we got to your dorm room," He says as if that's the most offensive thing a person has ever done to him. Please, I would do worse than defile his stupid-looking cloak. "After that, you raised your voice at me while insulting me. You called me an 'asshole', talked back to me, ordered me around, and this."

He raises his injured hand to accentuate his point. "And now, you're still acting like I'm beneath you."

Bigla siyang tumayo mula sa kama kaya nagbago ang tinginan naming dalawa. This time, I'm the one who's looking up to meet his eyes. He looks down on me like I'm a lowly being. Or a singular, dead wildflower in his garden of unearthly wonders and expensive roses.

"Let me remind you, Kasdeya Argyros. I am a member of the Alastorian Tribe, and I do not bow for anyone other than the Olympians."

The burning flame ignited by my fear of him starts cackling, making my insides die a little from the scorching heat.

Napalunok ako ng laway bago magbaba ng tingin. I don't answer him, afraid that I might say something snarky— which would give me a one-way ticket to the Underworld— or something tamed, a sign that I'm surrendering to his authority influenced by the divine.

"You do what I say, not the other way around," He chuckles darkly. A layer of amusement tries to mask the threat in his voice, but Theon can't hide something he's been exuding for years. "And no normal girl tells me what to do. Do you understand, Argyros?"