Beloved

Chapter 1

Freya

"I never took you as someone that answers their own door", I said walking in to Romans foyer. He was dressed in silk black button down pants pajamas and navy bedroom slippers; I'm sure my grand father had. My heels clicked against the sunburst of marble and onyx floor of the entrance. An antique iron chandelier hung over an Gothic styled library table. The entrance hallway was lined with painted portraits, hung frame to frame on the dark wooden walls.

"Only when the right person knocks", he said shutting the door softly. The place was dark. Like Roman forgot to pay a bill and he was dying to whip out every candle he had ever seen. "You'll have to forgive the state of the place. Most of the East Coast doesn't have power", he said coming up behind me. He walked pass me and motioned for me to follow.

"At least, your not under attack", I said following behind him.

"For the moment", he stated as we walked to the back of the house. He opened a door to a living room. There were shapes in monochrome, of course the daylight could be brilliant fuchsia or deepest scarlet, but for now it could be a scene from a black and white movie. Its walls were hung with fine grey canvas, it had a large, silvery grey, silky carpet, and the furniture was covered with dark silky material. Into this reticence pieces of futurism, Omega cushions and Van-Gogh-like pictures exploded their colors. Roman sat down on one of the black leather sofas. I sat down next to him. He snapped his fingers and a middle-aged pale skin butler materialize beside him,"Tea", he demanded as the man bent down so he wouldn't miss a single word Roman said,"And you?"

"I'm fine with tea", I said looking at the man unlike Roman. He disappeared just as quickly as he came leaving Roman and I alone.

I think this is the first time I've caught Roman off guard. I watched as he crossed his legs as if he was uncomfortable, wrapping his hands around his knee he finally spoke. "In what way do you plan to join our covenant?"

I knew now not to show all of my cards. I was here because I needed someone to train me. But, Roman doesn't know that,"Self preservation, war is coming. I don't want to be on the losing side".

"And how have you come to that conclusion?"

The butler from before reappeared with a sterling silver tray and a fine white porcelain tea set trimmed in gold. He set the tray on the coffee table and disappeared again. Roman leaned forward and poured himself and I a cup. "I like Damon. I think he's brilliant. And he could do a lot more if the Brotherhood wasn't holding him back..." I could almost hear Romans ears perking up,"I mean I guess he wants to follow the rules. But, blindly following people who clearly have no idea of the current climate. Things have to change, you have to adapt to the situation. And I'm just not seeing that in the Brotherhood. They can't continue on like nothing has changed".

"Interesting", Roman said handing me a cup of tea with a saucer. "Our intelligence tells a different story. They've dispersed across the world. Actively, trying to fight".

Shit.

Uummhh...

"And losing", I said remaining calm,"Running people ragged and setting themselves up for failure. Honestly, what do you think is going to happen once Nyx and Erebus reach Earth?"

"Most likely, death and destruction", He said picking up his teacup and taking a sip.

"But, what if, that didn't have to happen? What if you had a well trained God-Killer on your side?"

"Well trained? Or barely average", right in my pride.

"I survived a trip to Hades Playground".

"And where's Phillip? You did survive But ultimately your mission failed. You failed", I took a deep breath not liking how he said the word failed. I shouldn't be getting upset these are things I already know. "That being said I would never turn down having a demigod join us. But, what exactly do you think will happen once Erebus and Nyx get here? From your track record you have: failed to kill Poseidon; after vowing to, failed to convince Hercules to join your appointed team, failed not only in your trip to Hades Playground but to The Underworld itself and failed to save your lover".

"Lover?" I asked choosing to ignore everything else he said.

"Anson maybe a lot of things, but he is highly alert, detailed and inept", Roman snapped his fingers and a manila envelope dropped into his lap. He flipped through a few pages before reading aloud,"...Freya at this point had sustained serious injuries to her entire body. The cause was unknown and when asked by a Brotherhood member what had happened she evaded the question. Overall, her state of mind was hazy and fractured..." He pause as if looking for a specific sentence before continuing with,"Death may occur".

He shut the folder and placed it on the table. "It's good to know Anson is keeping such thorough and detailed notes on me", I'm definitely going to keep that in mind next time I run into him.

"Who was this flower for?" Roman said taking a sip of his tea.

"O, he didn't put that in the report?" I sassed.

"It must be someone important", he pushed.

"It doesn't really matter, because like you said I failed", I stated with a tight smile and dead eyes.

Roman smiled too with the cunning of a Cheshire Cat,"Even in death they still control your heart. And that is why you are here", he said jumping immediately to his conclusion,"Someone made you see the light. My, my, my I see my brother wasn't enough to keep your affections".

I wanted to laugh. Little did he know, Damon had claimed me. We were bonded and nothing was going to break that,"We're still exploring options if you must know".

"Or only you", He smirked.

He wasn't wrong,"In a way, yes. I'm tired of failing", I said frankly,"I failed someone important to me and it cost them their life. I cannot fail again. I will not fail. I can stop this darkness. It's my birthright to do so. But, I need to be surrounded by people who will do whatever it takes to get me there. I'm tired of doing things the right way and failing. Now, it's time to do things my way and get results".

Roman nodded,"Before, I give you my answer I have one more question".

"Okay".

"Who was the boy you found in The Underworld?" He asked.

Jace?

I had no idea what was happening to him and without my book I had no way to find out. I needed to get that back from Damon. Jace didn't want the world to know he existed. And I was going to keep that promise. "Just some Elemental I ran into in the caves. He was a looter looking for some gold. He helped me. I helped him. But, he wasn't going to leave without his reward. So he's decided to stay behind", I lied.

"With the Jorogumo", Roman added.

"Yes, if he kills it. If he survives, can you imagine how wealthy he would be? Not only would he have killed one of the Guardians of The Underworld but he has a safe passage into the realm of the dead and a fortune that would never run dry until the real end of the world. If I came that far I would be willing to go up against anything", I explained.

"Well then, welcome to the Order", Roman said putting down his tea and extending his hand.

I put my tea down and shook his hand firmly and said,"I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else".

"You'll still have to meet with the Ministry. But, as Archon, there won't be any problems", he said standing up I followed suit.

"In the sake of full disclosure, I feel this needs to be brought up", Roman raised an eyebrow with intrigue,"I am still dating your brother".

"As long as you're not disclosing any secrets or Order business. Who you decide to spend your free time with, platonically or romantically, is your prerogative".

"Really?" I couldn't hold back my shock. The Brotherhood was all over my back about not hanging out with Anson. But, Roman didn't seem to truly care.

"I can see your surprise, we do things much differently on this side. You'll see. In the meantime, you'll room here. Until we can find you more comfortable quarters", He stated.

"In the dorms?"

"No, I'm thinking Venice or Prague. We have estates everywhere. But, location isn't the problem safety and security is. An apartment somewhere in upstate New York will have to do---"

"I can't afford New York", I said cutting him off. I could barely afford Missouri and that's when I had a job. Even if I had some money in my bank account from stealing one of the hunks of gems from Poseidon that would quickly run out if I started to live the high life with no income coming in.

"Compliments of the Order. We can work out the details come morning. For now, we both need a good night's rest".

"Right", I said moving towards the door. "Sorry to wake you up so late I rarely need to sleep. So my circadian rhythm is kinda off", Plus I've been in a coma for two months I'm really not tired.

"We all burn some midnight oil", with the click of his tongue he quickly change the topic," If you need anything just snap your fingers and one of the butlers will come".

That seemed demeaning, but I shook my head and went along with it.

At least this wasn't a failure.