Hermes | Book 1

: 24 :

There are two sides to a man,
Don't you forget,
If he can save a life,
He certainly can take one.

Chapter 24

THE BEST part of Julianna's house according to Asta, was that empty room situated at the far end of the third floor.

Asta's mind had always been a chaotic place where each and every thought tried to dominate over the other and beautified itself to look more significant than the other. Her eyes saw one image, her brain interpreted it in a completely different way. That has always been the case and she didn't really mind it.

In fact, she took pride in the fact that her thought processes were high above an average human brain and there have been instances where she had openly insulted other people for having no logic, or not reaching the level of a true human being.

But there was always a side of her- a side which she tried to hide behind the folds of her indifferent personality- which wanted a break from her own thoughts. And in a way, Asta knew that there was a large part of her that wanted a break from herself sometimes.

And at those moments when the temptation to bash her head against a wall to stop the chain of screaming thoughts became too hard to ignore, she would come to this room and sit barefoot on its rough stone surface.

The room itself was bare of any furnishing and it's walls were made completely of grey shale and its floors of rough, cold stone. Asta had inquired many a times why such a room was made in a house that was so modern in its other approaches, but the only reason given to her was that Ronan's father was the architect and he had built this home long before his marriage with Julianna and had never explained the significance of the room before his demise.

Whatever it was made for, it had done much good to Asta. Her mind was much clearer after long periods of meditative silence in the room that had no doors but still held a chill even when the whole house was warm.

But now when Asta sat with her legs stretched out in front of her, her back against the shale walls and her hair undone and set loose, she only felt impending dread

The words that were crammed up in her mind slowly dissolved into nothingness but her heart still beat in an unusually fast pace and cold sweat began to thinly coat the pale surface of her skin.

Asta knew what was wrong with her, but she chose to ignore it with rapt attention. She didn't know how long this silence that descended over her like cold fog would last, but as long as it did something to soothe her fevered thoughts, there would be some good in the time that she spent alone in the room.

But as footsteps- short and precise- shook her awake from her drugged state of silence, for a moment it seemed that the grey of her eyes were blurred out by shining liquid emotion that threatened to stain her cheeks with invisible marks.

Yet, it was only a passing second's emotion that the red haired Asta allowed for herself before the grey in her eyes drained itself and darkened to an unforgivable shade and her posture straightened and readied itself like a woman who waited for her execution.

Hermes golden hair touched the colour of honey from the lack of sufficient lighting and hung messily over his eyes, covering his forehead forehead completely.

It was the first thing that Asta saw when Hermes barged into the room, his footsteps brisk, but sure on the ground. Something, a large tide of dread washed over her, but at the same moment, the painful familiarity of his gait and appearance lifted a heavy burden from her lungs and allowed her to breathe again.

It scared her to realize the true extent of burden that Hermes could lift with just his presence, and it terrified her even more to know the actual weight that she carried around in her mind.

Hermes abruptly stopped just a step after he entered the room, at the exact moment his dark golden eyes found hers.

Asta casually examined him from head to toe, subconsciously checking for any injuries that may have been caused during her absence.

He looked exactly the same.

Dimples appeared on his cheeks as Hermes smiled; his eyes shone with a mischievous light that looked both devilish and angelic at the same time. Long blonde hair was tied back with a band, and for once, he allowed his forehead to see the light of the day.

Asta blinked, finding her vision trained to the wall next to Hermes, she looked back at him. The soft light that came from the window outside the room extended behind Hermes's form like an angels wings.

He truly looked like a God.

"Asta?" Hermes's quiet, commanding voice embraced the room's silence and then slowly led it away.

"Athena?"

Asta looked uncomprehendingly at Hermes.

"Its quiet late in the night," He began, then stopped as though he was remembering something that he had forgotten.

"It's quite late, Athena. Why are you still up?"

Asta found herself suddenly being unable to breathe properly. The air around her seemed suffocating.

"Hermes, I want to ask you something." Asta mouth moved of its own accord, almost as though Hermes had forced the air around her to be stale until she said those very words.

The normally soft light the always lit up in Hermes's eyes looked harsh today.

"No." There was such a lethal quality in his tone that Asta reeled back as though physically struck. "This time, I will ask the questions and you answer them. Do you understand?"

The Greek that Hermes spoke was rich and perfect; each word pronounced exactly as it should be. And somehow that precision from his part combining with the sharp edged tone created a dangerous combination that Asta didn't dare challenge.

"Understood," she whispered.