asked Vladimir as he kept glancing at the tent zipper, looking like he wanted to escape.

I moved to the front of the tent, blocking his way altogether, and shook my head firmly. "No."

Vlad took a deep breath then let it go. "I don't want to hurt you." His hand found mine and squeezed. "This news will hurt you. I'm sure of it."

I knew it wasn't a very exciting news by looking at the guys' reaction but I was still intrigued. They hid it from me only meant that it had something to do with me, regardless how many times Spyridon trying to say that it wasn't any of my concern.

"You're hurting me right now. Not knowing what the hell happened is killing me." I looked up to meet those dark green eyes and put my most convincing puppy eyes look. "Vlad, just tell me. Lay it all in the open."

I decided that I truly, completely hated Zeus. How could he call himself a a god when he had the worst timing ever? When I really needed the bond to know what those Greek letters were, he'd already cut it, made it impossible for me to find out without asking.

I knew some people would argue, saying that this was an invasion of privacy and they might be right. But I didn't see it that way, I felt secure with the bond because I knew what he said, what he did, rhymed with what he thought and felt inside. I knew that when he said he loved me, he truly did. Right now, with the bond broke by The Great Assholes Zeus, it complicated things. I could only hope that it would not ruin things either.

Vlad pushed my hair behind my ear and cupped the side my face with his warm hand. "The gods were fighting against each other. Hades considers what Zeus did as a declaration of war so he closed the gates to the Underworld. There are thousands of souls wander around the earth right now and that could lead to chaos."

I stared at him agape. "What do you mean?" It was no secret that I sucked at remembering things. Hell, I wasn't even good at U.S. History, let alone Greek mythology.

Vlad being Vlad, a man who loved me and would accept me for me, didn't complain as he started to explain, "as you know, The Underworld is a place where souls go after death. The original Greek idea of the afterlife is that, when someone died, the soul is separated from the corpse, taking on the shape of the former person, and is transported to the entrance of the Underworld."

He shifted on his seat and continued, "the souls that enter the Underworld carry a coin under their tongue to pay Charon to take them across the river. With all the entrances closed--"

"Wait," I held up one hand. "Who the hell is Charon?"

Vlad chuckled as he patted my head lightly. "Are you sure you watched the Percy Jackson all the way from the start to the end?" asked him with a rise of one brow.

"I did watch the first and the second one!" I protested. "Although I have to admit that I've been distracted by that handsome horse-legged professor played by the handsome Pierce Brosnan. And, of course, the main character. Damn, Logan Lerman is ridiculously hot! How can someone be that adorable and hot at the same time?!" I shook my head then realized that Vlad was giving me a pointed look. "Anyway," I paused to clear my throat. "I did watch both movies, okay. So what's your point?"

He rolled his eyes, it seemed that he got that habit from me. "Remember when Percy and his friends went to the Underworld?"

"Of course," I snorted. "They have to collect those green pearls. How can I forget the part where Grover dancing his butt off in the club in Vegas?"

"It seems that you only remember things that you want to remember," muttered Vlad under his breath.

My eyes widened. "I heard that!"

"They need those pearls to get back from the Underworld," he explained. "Charon is the uncanny guy wearing a dirty cloak who owns the boat."

I nodded. "Okay."

"After crossing the river, the souls will face Cerberus who guards the gate. Moving forward, there is an area where the Judges of the Underworld decide whether to send the soul of the person to Elysium, the Fields of Asphodel, or Tartarus."

Vlad swallowed then continued, "these souls will go through several years down there before they are reincarnated back to the world."

He looked like he was done explaining so as I tilted my head to the right, I asked, "then what will happen if all the entrances are closed?"

"The book says that souls wander aimlessly for now." Vlad shook his head, a deep furrow pulling his brows together over his dark green eyes. "But to be honest, I don't know what will happen," he said at last. "Something like this has never happened before but I sensed something awful will follow if the gods continue to fight and if the entrances are closed."

I looked down at our hands, entwined in one another, and sighed heavily. If only I could talk to my father, Hades, maybe I could persuade him to open the gates. No, this was all happened because I wanted to come back to this world as Avery Montgomery. This was all my fault. If I had been patient enough to wait for the reincarnation, if I could wait for the next life, none of this would have happened.

"Don't blame yourself," muttered Vladimir softly as if he could read what was on my mind. He smiled and shook his head slightly. "No, I didn't read your mind. It's just a lucky guess."

His thumb caressed my hand in a soothing back and forth motion. I let myself focus on the feeling of our skins against each other and shoved those wary thoughts away. "Do you think we will be alright?"

"Avy." The way he called my name made me whip my head and look him in the eye. "We were alright before the click, weren't we?"

I smiled. "Depends," I replied jokingly. He looked amused and confused at the same time. It was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen. "We were too busy on each other's throat when we were kids. Well, I was a kid. You're eight years older." I remembered our banters, how I'd thought he was a heartless asshole and he'd acted as if I was his sister's annoying gossipy friend. Those days seemed so far behind. It almost felt like we'd been completely different people back then, compared to we were right now.

To my surprise, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "We will be alright. We'll go through this. You and me. Together." With his face merely a few inches from mine, he whispered softly, his breath fanning my face and I could feel my heart beat faster and faster. "Do you know why?"

I shook my head slowly, completely drown in those dark green eyes that reminded me so much of the forest surrounding us.

"Because I love you and you love me." He pecked my lips with his softly and pulled away before I had a chance to react. "And that's what matters. It didn't do much if we are soulmates, have the bonds, but didn't love each other, right?"

His words reminded me of Adrian's parents, especially his father, Lord Norman Ambrosia. Despite having clicked with her soulmate and being married to her, he still loved his brother's wife, Vlad's mom, Lady Jane Ambrosia.

Having the bond doesn't guarantee a lasting relationship, but being continually in love with each other does.

"I love you." I clung my arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

"And I love you," he replied. Those dark green eyes showed how much he truly did.

The second our lips touched, some sort of electricity shot through me. I kissed him long and hard as his hands crept to the middle of my back and pulled me towards him. We rose on our knees, bodies melted in each other's arms. I didn't know how but we stumbled and ended up laying on the ground with me on top of him.

We both laughed. Looking down at him, I knew that I had nothing to worry about. One corner of his mouth turned upwards forming a mischievously sexy smirk then surprisingly altogether, he put one hand on the back of my head and pulled me down on top of him. Our lips crushed one more time in a lingering kiss that lasted a few minutes before it got interrupted by the sound of the zipper being pulled up.

As I pulled back to look up into his face, his lips slipped across my cheek and brushed the corner of my mouth. I sucked in a hard breath, and I could feel my chest tighten. I blinked a few times then sat up.

It was Klas. He looked so guilty that he'd accidentally interrupted something. His eyes darted to the ground, pretending to observe the soil between his shoes.

"We need to get the hell out of here!" Spyridon, ignoring Klas, stormed inside the tent with the Queen's Diary under his arm.

I glanced at Vlad and he winked. I stifled an eye roll as I focused on Spyridon and heard Vlad ask, "what's going on?"

"They found the staff." Spyridon wiped the sweat off his forehead frantically. "The faction, they found the staff."