Dodging boxes as she crossed the living room, Julia brushed her fingers over the statue that sat as a centerpiece on her way to the kitchen.
Jeffery would still be sleeping, though he had promised to get up and help her finish packing.
Nakano had given her free rein to search the world over for new pieces to add to his collection. Her first stop was Japan where Julia would review Nakano’s collection, taking inventory of what he had and putting together a list of areas that might be lacking.
Nervous and excited at the prospect, Julia made herself another cup of coffee and thought about the surprising path her life had taken.
Her father was still deteriorating, but Nakano’s generous travel allowance and private jet meant that she would never be more than a plane ride away. Her employer had also set aside an apartment for her use in Japan, and Jeffery had promised to look after her grandmother’s house in exchange for living rent free.
Realizing that there was no reason for her to stay, Julia had accepted the career making job offer.
So why did she feel empty inside?
Julia took her coffee to the back door and stood staring outside. The yard was thankfully small, but it still needed to be mowed and the flowers that were her grandmother’s past time tended.
As they almost always did, Julia found her thoughts turning to Avernus Island and to the man who remained trapped at the center of the labyrinth. Had she been wrong to lie to Melisandra Black? If she had told the truth, would she be back there now excavating a site that some say never existed?
And what would she find?
A labyrinth?
A myth?
Or a man?
In the first few days after her return, Julia was convinced it all had happened, but as time went by, the memory started to fade and grow hazy, until she found herself second guessing…everything.
The statue was real. She’d dated each piece–Jeffery was still beside himself at having a four-thousand-year-old artifact sitting on their coffee table–and she’d become something of an expert on the story of Cretan’s Labyrinth.
Her statue appeared to be the only one in existence in which Asterion appeared completely human.
Now that she knew what to look for, Julia had uncovered clues to the truth of the story. A few accounts suggested that Asterion was always a man and that a jealous Theseus had entered the labyrinth and tried to kill him. Failing, Theseus made up the story of a beast who guarded the center of the labyrinth.
One account suggested that the beast was Asterion made crazy by centuries spent alone. Whatever the story, Julia was driven to learn more. She needed to know what had become of the man that had stolen her heart.
A sound in the other room drew Julia back into the house. If Jeffery was up, then it was time to finish packing. She was due to arrive in Japan in less than a week.
“Jeffrey?”
Julia stepped into the living room and stared. The mug slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, spilling hot coffee across her shoes.
The man standing in her living room wasn’t her roommate.
“Kardia mou?” Asterion stood in a strange place staring at the woman he had thought never to see again.
“Asterion?” Julia took a tentative step forward. “What…How?”
“I don’t know.” The last thing he remembered was watching her fall asleep, her face the image he took with him as he closed his eyes. As much as he wanted to ask Julia to stay, he’d been prepared to let her go. He couldn’t condemn her to his fate, and had known that when she left, she would take his heart with her.
Find Cretan’s Heart, his mother said, but it wasn’t Cretan’s Heart he found. It was his own.
Julia found herself swept up into Asterion’s arms, his embrace as warm and real as she remembered. “Asterion.”
He kissed her. It was a claiming that left them both breathless.
“You freed me, kardia mou,” Asterion said and buried his face against Julia’s throat, crushing her to him. “You are my heart.”
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading The Ruins, the first Avernus Island tale. If you enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a review with your favorite retailer.
Addition Titles
By Jennifer Kohout
Legend
Untamed
Storm
The Bride of Devil’s Acre
Queen of Souls (Coming in March, 2014)
Sign up for Jennifer’s newsletter and be the first to hear about new releases and special promotions. Alternatively, find her on your favorite social media.
Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter | Website
The Ruins (An Avernus Island Tale) Page 8
