The Shadow Archer Twins

Okay, I have to admit, when he walked in, my heart actually fluttered a little bit. In a way, the Roman augur reminded me of Malcolm. He had blonde hair, like Malcolm, but his eyes were different. They were blue, strikingly blue. Not as midnight dark as Tox’s blue eyes, but blue like the sky, bright with an intense energy. He was tall, not as much as Malcolm or Tox, but tall still. His face was handsome, regal almost, as if he was descended from important people or nobility. I have to admit, he was attractive. Maybe this would easier than I thought. No, I said to myself. You have to hate him. He is the enemy. Then, another part of me said, ‘But the enemy is hot.’

“Please, augur, have a seat,” I said aloud, but softly.

He smiled at me, trying to look open-minded, but he was already giving off an air of entitlement. He expected to be respected, feared and treated like an unstable weapon that had to be catered to. I realized that that would be how I would beat him. I would make him respect me. Make him work to get anywhere with me, but make it look like I wasn’t trying to do anything.

“So,” the Roman said, “What is this meeting about? It seems very ‘out of the blue’ to hold a meeting with all of your enemy’s officers and their leader all at once.”

“I thought the girl with the pegasus was the leader,” I said, trying to get a feel for his personality, “and you were just the highest-ranking officer we could find.”

“Fine,” He spat, “I’m the acting leader for now. Happy?”

Momentarily, his face contorted in anger and concern, but he reigned in his emotions in an instance. But, in that moment, I noticed how like lightning his eyes were. Liable to go off at any moment. This guy was an emotional time bomb. And they put him in charge of 200 soldiers?

Responding to his rhetorical question, I said, “I never asked for an answer that would make me ‘happy.’ I just wanted to clarify the current ranking system of your camp.”

I paused, giving him time to continue the conversation. This meeting was about stalling for time, so I decided to let him carry the conversation.

“If this meeting is about building bridges between this camp and ours, that won’t be possible. All possible bridges were burned when you burned our city. I’m afraid that’s my final response.”

“What else are you afraid of, augur? You must have fears.”

“Just call me Octavian. I hate that word, ‘augur’. It is supposed to carry power, and a Greek saying it degrades that power.”

So he was a bit of a massive jerk. I made it look like I was about to lose control of my emotions momentarily and snap a bitter response at him, and then made a show of reigning in my emotions. He noticed the show, and smirked. He thought that he had gotten under my skin. He thought he was winning. That made me feel good. He then continued,

“I thought that this meeting was about more important matters than my fears. And besides, why should I tell you those? It’s unwise to confess your weaknesses to your enemies.”

“But I’m not your enemy,” I insisted, “I’m actually you distant relative. You’re a descendant of Apollo, right? I’m a daughter of Apollo. We’re two sides of the same coin, Octavian.” I paused again to let that sink in with him, and then continued, “And, who says your fears are your weaknesses. They can be driving forces in many different situations. They make a general go on the aggressive on the battlefield, make a politician say a new slogan, and…make a boy…go for a girl.”

I looked down, a little, at that, like a stereotypical love-struck schoolgirl. I could almost feel his smirk looking at me. He then said,

“A boy go for a girl, eh?” He then said, in a voice that was completely suggestive, “Ah, I don’t concern myself with those things. I haven’t fallen in love in a while.”

He stopped at that sentence, and again, as I looked up, he momentarily lost control of his emotions. I could see him mentally kick himself, and he hadn’t noticed me look up. I had him. He reigned in his feeling, sighed, and said,

“Besides, the girls at Camp Jupiter aren’t exactly what you would call pretty, except for the daughters of Venus, and maybe…no, I won’t say. I can’t say that.”

He didn’t have to say. I knew he was about to say ‘Reyna’. Maybe this kid had other reasons for becoming praetor other than for the power.

He then continued, “The girls at this camp are much prettier, I must say,” Then, with with voice trailing off as if he were thinking deeply about something, he murmured, in a barely audible voice, “And with all the talk abiut settling down…” I looked at his face and saw that his eyes were in a far-off place. This was my chance.

“Generally,” I said in a inquisitive tone, “When Romans see an opportunity to move forward, do they take it?”

“Yes,” Octavian said, the question bring him down to Earth. Then, with conviction, he said, “We always do. In every situation.”

“Good,” I said, and the quickly continued, “and would it be possible to say that sometimes fear drives you to make those decisions? Not because the fear is forcing you to do something, but because you want to fight the fear.”

“Yes,” Octavian agreed, looking into my eyes with a longing expression. He had beautiful blue eyes. I had to be careful not to lose him here. “That’s exactly why.”

“Do you fear love, Octavian?” I asked him. He was stunned, still looking into my eyes with an intense longing.

“No,” He said, his eyes gone far away again, and his voice trailing away into his thoughts, “How can you fear something you’ve never had?”

I then handed him my finishing strike. “Then wouldn’t you crave it? Need it more than anything? More than power, more than money, more than fame! Wouldn’t a pretty girl be all you want? a girl who agrees with you, listens to you and makes you feel something inside your soul?”

I thought that this was easily turning into the cheesiest and most sappy conversation I had ever had, but Octavian seemed stunned by my words. He looked up, straight into my eyes, and his expression was that of someone who had just discovered something life-altering, and needed to tell someone about it.

“Yes,” He said, with an amazed smile on his face, “It is! Where have you been all my life?”

I smiled, in spite of the fact that he was the leader of my enemy, and before I knew it, he had leaned across the thin table and pressed his lips on mine in a kiss, caressing one side of my face with his left hand. My heartbeat shot through the roof, and I could feel a whole group of butterflies in my stomach appear, and then leave as fast as they had come.

My eyes were closed, and all I could feel was the weight of his lips on mine and the touch of his hand on my cheek, brushing the hair out of my face. I felt warm and amazing and it was something I had never ever felt before. I was in love, but it was all wrong. He was the enemy, the snake. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way about me, and I wasn’t supposed to love him. It was all wrong, but it felt so right.

Notes

Aaaaaand plot development. Boom.