Chasing Destiny [SYTYCW15]

Near Paris, France, 1941

The simple wooden cross marked the grave of the last Knight Templar, buried over six hundred years after the death of most of his brothers. The priest who had conducted the simple service walked away from the fresh grave and toward a man standing near the manor house in the country outside of Paris. Damianos put a handful of francs into the priest's hands and thanked him. The priest nodded and headed on his way. Damianos turned his attention to the woman standing over the grave.

She was a statue, the only movement coming from the wind whipping her hair. She held the Spear in her right hand, never letting it out of her sight for more than a few seconds. He knew she was mourning Matheus' death, but they couldn't stay here much longer. Germans controlled much of France and they still had to get out of France and get the Spear far from the grasp of the Nazis. Long legs carried him over to Akantha and he put a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at the hand on her shoulder and then at him, her heart aching too much to argue with him. The hand moved from her shoulder and the arm went around her waist. She leaned into him and then silently scolded herself for doing it, but she didn't move away. He provided strength and she desperately needed it right now.

"We can't linger here," he said in a low voice.

The rolling green countryside was quiet and peaceful, betraying the fact there was a war being waged all around. It was an idyllic spot in the country and looking around he knew why she had built a house here. Despite her confessions of loving adventure and excitement, there was some part of her that needed quiet. This house, and her other houses around the world, proved it.

"I know," she said with a nod. Yet, her feet wouldn't move. It wasn't too far from here where she first met Matheus and had saved him from the king's soldiers and she was reluctant to leave. Part of her heart was buried in the ground with him. She knew German and Vichy French forces were in the area and they would arrest the both of them if they were spotted. A deep sigh, laced with regret and guilt, escaped her. The sun was bright and Akantha was angry it had the audacity to shine. For her, and the way she was feeling, the sky should be full of dark clouds and raining, as if it mourned with her.

Damianos heard the sigh and gave her a gentle squeeze. He'd take all of her pain away from her if he could; he never wanted to see her hurt or in pain. He carried the guilt of hurting her for so long, it seemed like an old friend or a well worn pair of boots. Matheus was the lucky one; the dead carried no guilt or held responsibilities. Matheus was in the cold ground and wasn't alive to see the hurt he caused her and the pain etched in her gray eyes. Damianos wanted to resurrect the man only to kill him all over for the pain Akantha felt.

Akantha glanced over at him and met his eyes.

His heart ached for her when their eyes met. He could see the sadness and guilt in the gray depths. "You had no other choice," he said in a soft voice. "The Nazis couldn't get their hands on the spear."

"I know. It's just...."

"You loved him," Damianos finished for her.

"I did," she admitted. "And I killed him." She looked at the fresh grave and tears welled up in her eyes. They spilled from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. A calloused thumb gently wiped away one and then the other. He placed a soft kiss on her temple and she closed her eyes as he did.

"You had to. There was no other choice," he told her. "I should have been the one to do it, then you wouldn't have to carry the burden of taking his life. I would go out and conquer the world and demand peace on Earth if it could take this pain away from you."

There were times when the size of his heart surprised her. She knew he wasn't paying her lip service. He would do just what he said if she told him to do it. It was things like this that made the man infuriating and so hard to hate. "He was one of the best," Akantha sighed and dropped the rose in her hand on the grave. "May your god shelter and protect your soul," she whispered.

"Ready?"

"No, but we need to go," she admitted. She didn't need to be at Matheus' grave to mourn him; a part of her heart would always mourn him no matter where she was.

"We do," he agreed. "Is there anything you need from the house?"

She shook her head. "No. There's nothing I need in there. I'm never coming back."

That surprised him. Despite swearing with all of her breath that she wasn't sentimental, she hadn't given up a patch of dirt she claimed as hers and she always returned. She wouldn't give up this land, especially now that Matheus was buried here, but he knew she meant it when she said she'd never return.

"Have you ever thought about it?" she asked, looking at the grave one last time.

"About what?" he asked, not sure what exactly she was asking. The woman could be mercurial and he couldn't keep up with her mind at times.

"Ending it. We now know the spear can kill an immortal."

He shook his head. "No. Not once."

A dark brow rose and she gave him A Look. He always said he knew her better than she knew herself, but she knew him just as well. "Really?"

"Okay, I admit I did think about it in the beginning, but as I got older I realized that living was more important and more of a challenge. Have you?"

Akantha shrugged. "A few times I got tired of living. I remember going back to the temple to end this curse and despairing when I saw the ruins. I've thought about tracking down Artemis, but things kept coming up. Now I never think about it."

He nodded and gently turned her in the direction of the truck. If they didn't move now, they never would and the Germans would find them. Silence settled in between them as they walked. He was thankful she never decided to end her existence. His fate was tied to hers and he would die a second after her. She wasn't the only one Artemis cursed that night.

They reached the truck and he opened the door for her. She muttered her thanks as she climbed in. He walked around the front and climbed in the driver's side. He started the engine and looked over at her. "Where to, my lady?"

His voice brought her out of her reverie. "Calais," she answered.

"Calais it is," he said as he put the truck into gear.

Akantha looked over at him for a long moment.

Damianos felt the weight over her eyes and glanced over. Her eyes were rimmed with red from crying and she had a lost pathetic look about her. He stretched out his arm toward her and she slid across the seat and settled in next to him. He settled his arm across her shoulders and his hand came to rest on her far shoulder, holding her close. He felt her sigh deeply and he kissed the top of her head.