Warrior (The Sins | Book 1)

20. Armoured

Andromeda watched the sun rise in the sky from the rooftop of her building, a warm cup of of chai in her pale hands. The three days had passed by way quicker than she'd hoped. Today, they were supposed to sneak into one of the most secure places in the universe. Today, the Sins went to war against the most prestigious commander to live. She didn't know if it was fear that powered her nervousness or if it was the hopelessness that was making her anxious. All she knew was that the fate of the world, her world, depended on what would happen from this day onwards.

She wrapped the red blanket closer to her body, her eyes following the pattern in which the buildings were scattered around the city. A click sounded from behind her and she braced herself as someone made their way up.

"You doing okay?" Vasilios gruff voice met her ears and she looked at him, shocked.

"When did you get here?" She asked him, her eyes following his form as he walked closer to her.

"Just now, I'm here to take you guys to Hell." He smiled at her, scratching the back of his neck. He leaned against the side and looked at the sunrise with her.

"An eternity of sunrises and I still can't get over the beauty." Vasilios said and looked at her. She nodded along in agreement and peered up at him.

They spent a few more minutes simply enjoying each other's presence before Andromeda spoke out, "I'm scared."

Vasilios' gaze shot to her in surprise, "Why?"

"The thought that so much could go wrong is eating me up. We have to get the muses out whilst the war is still going on and get them to their mother to make sure they're safe. We need to get Mnemosyne out of that dumb mountain so that she can help us return the memories she altered. Not to mention the fact that the war in itself is so scary. You're going to be putting your own life at risk, so are your brothers and Hades. How're you okay with this?" Andromeda ranted to him and he stood there silently listening to her.

"It comes with the job description."

"I get that but isn't it terrifying."

"It is. But it is also necessary." Vasilios shrugged and dropped his head lightly, "Every day I wake up with fear settled in my heart because I know not if my brothers are okay. I know not if an old enemy of mine has decided to take his grudge out on my family. What I do know is that if it comes to me fighting to protect my family, I'd sacrifice everything without a second thought. Zeus has hurt Hera for far too long, this is my chance to take him down. To free us all from his tyrannical rule. There's not a force in this world that could stop me."

Andromeda stared at him and put a hand to his shoulder, "You're unbelievably strong."

Vasilios looked down at her hand on his bicep and grinned wolfishly, "That comes with the job description too."

She retracted her hand quickly and then hit him lightly, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that despite your fear you're still standing here ready to do whatever it takes."

"That's because I don't let my fear drive me into hiding. It fuels my rage." Vasilios walked a few feet away from her and then held out his hand to her, "Let it fuel your rage, Andromeda."

Andromeda looked at him, the pain in his eyes and the way his hand trembled lightly. She grabbed onto his hand pulled herself off of the ledge. They walked side by side back to Andromeda's apartment. Vasilios settled down onto the couch as Andromeda, Reina and Araya dressed.

She offered him a cup of coffee and he grabbed it from her with a thankful nod. Once everyone was ready they wordlessly made thein way downstairs and pooled into Vasilios' Audi A8. Andromeda felt the tension settle more deeply into the air around the closer they got to Vasilios' gym.