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“Shall I tell you?”

He was taunting her He knew that she was standing on the precipice of retreating He was daring her, even as he was certain of her cowardice

She had read that the Parthenon had served as a church, athe Turkish occupation of Greece

Yet there it stood today, reatest civilizations of the world

And she, she was afraid of hearing onethe truth that was in his eyes

Everything about her life was in ruins just like the Parthenon But she decided to take the chance Just for that moment, she would choose to be unafraid She would pretend she had become the woman she wanted to be when she had set out for Columbia University

She would pretend that when a ned concern or eviscerating censure at what she had done to her life But admiration and respect The way he had looked at her once

The base of his palainst her lower back Her skin burned with every ridge and line leaving an imprint on her skin

Turning toward hie to pull away and to run far “Tell me how I looked, Stefan”

The green of his eyes widened just a bit That she had surprised him, she clutched it to her like a reward for her bravery

“With that crea behind you, the sun turning your skin golden, you looked like the goddess Athena herself For a few seconds, you had me stunned And it has been a while since I let myself believe in any kind of myth”

Bitter laughter spilled froot lost in the vastness around her “Goddess Athena was supposed to have been fierce and brave I’hed “You were right I ran away from the terrace because I couldn’t breathe there”

“Why?”

“Let it go, Stefan”

“No”

“Haven’t you seen enough? Won’t you leave me with even a facade to hide behind?”

“No, I won’t Better me than the whole world, bella, than the corrupt e to be more—”