Chapter 6
DES
Months ago - Athens
My vow not to speak to my One lasts for less than half an hour.
I trail after her as she continues to wander through the National Garden. She pauses to take in the statues and sculptures spread throughout the greenery. Every single one earns her diligent attention, her thoughtful admiration.
I find myself envious of inanimate objects.
A pair of young men passes me, wearing thick-strapped sandals and carrying overstuffed backpacks. The scent of their knock-off cologne lingers in the air, assaulting my nostrils.
I don’t know why I watch them weave through the busy paths, not until their shaggy brown heads tilt together, muttering something I don’t bother to listen to, and they veer in my One’s direction.
My body grows rigid.
“Watch out,” an aged voice huffs behind me.
With a muttered apology, I step aside for the elderly couple, gritting my teeth as the tourists approach her.
One of the men clears his throat, and my One turns away from the sundial she’d been observing.
Her stunning blue irises widen in surprise, and her lips curl into a gentle, polite smile. “Hello?”
My feet move before my mind gives the order.
“Hello.” The man who cleared his throat grins. His accent is Italian. “Sorry to bother you, but I see you have a map.”
“Oh.” She looks down at the folded paper in her hands. “Yes, I do.”
I sidestep a family with a toddler who has plopped onto the ground in the middle of the path to gather a handful of rocks.
“Could you tell us which direction to take to get to the Parthenon?” His grin widens. “Or, better yet, would you like to come with us?”
My hands clench into fists.
Her delicate brows arch. “Oh, um…I—”
“Go East,” I say, stopping two feet away from the woman’s back. She turns to look at me, but I keep my stern gaze leveled on the two men in front of me. “Follow the signs. You can’t miss it.”
The men blink at me, then each other. The one who’d spoken looks at my One.
“Signorina?” he asks. “Do you know this man?”
“I…” she trails off, her words are quiet, but they ring in my ears like the most delicate, beautiful music that emanates from harp strings.
My pulse spikes, and every single thing around me fades into a blurry background as I lock eyes with the woman whose soul was designed as the perfect complement to mine.
Flecks of navy shine under the sunlight, striking her ocean blue eyes as she tilts her head to the side. Her pale pink lips purse in thought.
Then, she murmurs four words that threaten to unravel centuries of resolve and distance, “Yes…I know him.”