Chasing Destiny [SYTYCW15]

Skopje, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 1941

Akantha once again woke to pain. Her shoulder throbbed and she looked up to see Damianos sitting next to the bed in the room's one chair. He watched her, the concern genuine in his dark eyes. She didn't want him to see her in a weakened state. It would just make him want to take care of her and she didn't need him taking care of her. A hand went to her cheek and he turned her face so she was looking directly at him.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked.

His face softened a bit and for a brief moment she saw the young man she had fallen in love with. Her resolve to hate him weakened and she silently cursed herself. She couldn't soften toward him. He would only end up hurting her again and she promised herself she would never let it happen again.

"About four hours," he answered. "Are you hungry? I have bread and cheese."

"We have to keep moving," she said and tried to sit up. Her shoulder protested the movement with pain and she immediately regretted trying to move.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand under her uninjured arm to give her leverage to pull herself up. "You are going to eat and then rest more. A few more hours will do you wonders."

Alex shook her head. "No. I need to find Matheus and get the Spear."

"No, you need a few more hours of rest," he told her. "We can't die, but we do need some time to heal. A few hours more and you'll be able to take on the whole German army."

Akantha didn't respond, but settled for glaring at him. He gave her his trademark smirk and the urge to hit him was almost too great to resist. "Why are you doing this?"

A dark brow rose. "Doing what? Taking care of you?"

"You should be going after the Spear. I'm only going to slow you down."

"I don't know Matheus," he explained. "I can't predict what he's going to do or where he'll take the Spear. You know him and as soon as you're healed enough, we'll got after him and retrieve the Spear." He smiled. "Besides, I like taking care of you."

"I don't need you taking care of me," she countered. "I'll heal just fine on my own. I always have."

"And miss the chance to share this war with you? Never." He grinned.

Akantha wanted to wipe that grin off of his face, but it would cause too much pain. "I'd rather spend time with the Nazis."

Damianos laughed. "You never were a good liar, my dear. Perhaps I should have left you with Matheus. I'm sure the Nazis would have taken very good care of you."

It was the laugh that spiked her anger. "By Dis, shut up!"

"Speaking of the Nazis, your photo and description is being spread around. Apparently, Himmler has noticed your absence."

"This will complicate things."

"As if we'd have them any other way."

"It'd be a nice change of pace if things weren't so complicated."

"It would," he agreed. "But they are what they are, and we'll deal with it. Now tell me about Matheus."

Akantha wished he could give her a little of the confidence he wore so easily. The Spear could be one of the most powerful weapons in existence and allowing it to fall under Nazi control was unthinkable. She couldn't imagine the horrors the Nazis would unleash upon the world. "What do you want to know?" she asked.

"I only know you love him," he replied. "Never once have I ask anything about him. I need to know about him now and what kind of person we're facing. I cannot plan if I do not know the person I'm dealing with."