Wave of Memories: The Sons of the Zodiac by Addison Fox Page B

but now that she was back he was struggling to find reason to send her away again.
    And it wasn’t merely the need to touch her. That crazy force pulsed in time with his very heartbeat and grew stronger the more time he spent with her.
    It was more. So much more.
    As she’d said, it was the inevitability of
them
. Him and her.
    He’d fought her memory for millennia and yet twenty-four hours in her company and he wanted her as if the ensuing years had never existed.
    As if the pain had never been.
    But how did he show her that? How did he make her see that what came before didn’t have to be indicative of what came next.
    “That first time we met. My father won that battle against the Spartans. I’ve always believed your input was invaluable to him.”
    “He . . . he won on his own.” Meg stumbled at the shift in conversation, but quickly regained her footing. “It’s not my place to change human events, nor is that what the Pantheon requested of me when they asked me to get involved. I only offered my input to help along the natural outcome.”
    “It doesn’t change the fact your wisdom and insights gave him the necessary ingredients to achieve victory.”
    “He achieved many victories. I simply helped things along. Allowed him to use some additional tactics to leverage his strategy in a new light. As the Fury responsible for punishing infidelity, the coldness of men’s souls are often on display to me. It’s easy enough to use that to secure other information.”
    He’d never fully understood her gift, but he’d lived in contentment, knowing she’d never find that coldness in his own soul.
    But how wrong he’d been.
    Shaking off the old, useless bitterness, Aidan shared a memory he knew she’d treasure. “My father was happy when you and I found each other, you know. He felt you were a suitable mate for me.”
    Interest now sparked in the caramel-colored depths of her eyes. “He did?”
    “He most certainly did.” A flash of remembrance dragged a quick laugh. “Thought I was a hound dog for snagging an older woman, to boot.”
    “Little did he know just how old,” Meg murmured, but he saw the hint of an answering smile.
    “Oh, I think he had an idea. I know times have changed, but people back then were far more accepting of the things they didn’t fully understand. And quite a bit more open to the idea of mortals and immortals.”
    “I suppose so. Did he know you were turned?”
    Aidan nodded, touched she even thought to ask. “I found him at the end of his life. Told him I hadn’t died that day locked in battle with Tyrus. Instead, that Themis had sought me out and asked me for my service.”
    “He understood?”
    “Understood and was glad I’d found a calling.”
    “He loved you very much.”
    Aidan shrugged, uncomfortable with the words. “He was a soldier. I believe he loved me in his own way, but it didn’t involve a demonstration.”
    She nodded. “The battle-hardened soldier to the end.”
    “I did see one small chink in his armor, though, when he asked about you.”
    Her eyes widened at that. “Me?”
    “He asked where you and I would make a life. He seemed rather infatuated with the idea you’d be his daughter-in-law.”
    Aidan stood and walked across the room. The air cracked with renewed energy as he stood before her. “He believed you were a proper mate. Was shocked when I told him otherwise.”
    “He didn’t know the level of my betrayal.”
    The reality of what had happened so long ago began to wither away as something new replaced it, unfurling before him like a rose in bloom. With that hope, Aidan kneeled before her. “It wasn’t betrayal. Nor was it fair of me to refuse you the chance to explain.”
    He leaned forward and she placed her hands once more against his cheeks. “Aidan. Our moment has passed. There’s too much history. And we can’t go back and alter its course.”
    “So forget our history. Let’s make a future full of new moments.” Aidan