Nico di Angelo, Flowers of Death

Chapter 41

Amber's P.O.V

Following a glowing gold trail of dust was a lot easier then I had imagined. For starters, it wasn't a very long journey, only a couple blocks north. The trail stopped outside of what appears to be a flower shop.

Even if we hadn't followed a golden trail of dust, the shop would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Firstly, the entire outside of the store was painted stark white, which included the brick foundation and the wooden door. While white was undoubtedly an eye-catching colour, it was the gold accessories that caught my attention. In the shape of a blooming rose, the door handle was pure gold, the trim of the 6-foot windows was too. Even the hinges of the door were solid gold.

There was a cascade of Wisteria, purple flowers, trickling down from the top of the building and covering a large portion of the windows. An interesting choice considering that the flower symbolizes both welcoming, and immortality. The middle of the door's glass window, printed in gold lettering, was the name of the shop: Theia Amour: Florist and Bridal Boutique.

"Is that supposed to be a play on words?" I ask, turning to Nico. He glances at me confused, I point to the store name. "You know, Aunty love. Except Aunty in greek is like Antheia, and the word Amour is French for love."

"I don't know," Nico tells me, shaking his head. His black hair falls into his eyes, he really needs a haircut. "gods are weird like that."

Like I said before, finding the store wasn't that hard, the difficult part was getting Nico inside. When I went to enter, I realized that Nico was no longer behind me. He had stopped a few steps back, looking queasy. His skin was paler than usual. His eyes darted around in anticipation, and I could even see a slight tremor in his hands.

"What's wrong," I asked him. He paused before answering.

"Nothing, it's just... love deity's, and I don't have a good history. Besides, this is a flower shop, right? If I go in there, I'll probably just kill all the plants. And what if she is cruel." he wouldn't meet my eyes.

"A love deity that's cruel, pretty sure those don't exist"I laugh, his face contorts into a mixture of pain and anger.

"Clearly, you've never met cupid" he grumbles out so low I wasn't sure I heard him.

"And you have?"I giggle. He looks at me, his eyes filled with hurt, and my stomach feels as though it had been flipped on its side. I gently take his hand in mine, giving it a tender squeeze. "Well, if you kill any plants, then I can just regrow them. I mean, you're not gonna make me go in there by myself, are you?"

For a second I was worried Nico really was going to abandon me, but then a look of fierce determination crossed his face.

"No, of course not," he took a deep breath, "Let's get this over with."

Walking into the store was like stepping into an alternate dimension. From the outside, it appeared to just be a flower shop, but the inside looked like someone had thrown a flower shop and a bridal store in a pot, then mixed it with a spoon, then threw 6 pounds of gold glitter into the mix.

The walls were made of brick but painted a lovely cream colour. One side of the store was just a large mirror from wall to wall. There were hundreds of different coloured flowers stacked on top, below, and around wooden tables. Placed strategically throughout the store were wedding dresses, each more intricately designed and more beautiful than the last. There was a large desk when you first walked into the store, separating you from the rest. It was covered in potted plants.

From the ceiling dangles a large assortment of vines and floral plants, I was impressed just how spaced the place was. In fact, it took me a moment to realize that the place was too big, there was no way the small street could house something this large, it was like walking into a warehouse. The only one that was covered wall to wall in flowers.