FATE UNBOUND excerpt # 2

“The Fates have been cruel, casting me from Greece.” Adrian tossed the chisel from his calloused hand, watching it skid to a stop under the expansive window. Gazing across the private courtyard swimming pool towards the glittering neon lights of Los Angeles, he continued, “Sending me to this modern world, where I am nothing, no one, I—”

“Not even your true father, Zeus himself, can deny The Fates,” Linus said to his friend, trying as he had many times over the past several weeks to remind Adrian that he had no control over his predicament.

“Curse The Fates and curse—”

“Don’t. Have patience.” Linus’ tone was sharp but softened as he continued. “You will regret those words later, when you get the acknowledgement you crave.

Running his fingertips over rough edges of marble that would eventually be two lovers, Adrian scoffed. “Patience?”

Linus set down the brown leather chest he’d just carried in. “Let me remind you, you sought your future from The Oracle. Besides, you will be getting what you want—if you only follow—”

“The dictates.” Adrian’s hand stilled where the woman’s waist would be. “It’s a trick. Commanding me to not seek the touch of any woman, then placing me here, where she is nearby.”

“And what would you do if you could touch her?” Linus asked. “Seek vengeance?”

Gliding his hand lower, he flattened his palm across the area where the lovers’ bodies would merge and pressed hard. There was no room for gentleness when it came to the unfinished business between him and his former lover, Taryn.

He turned away so his friend would not see that cruel truth on his face, but the concealment came too late.

“What good would such an act do? It certainly would not help you achieve what you claim to want. Single-minded revenge does not suit a god—or even a half god. Perhaps the Fates know you better than you know yourself.”