Chapter 54 - Psyche

My head was still spinning from coughing up raggeddeath. It took me awhile to even remember where I was or why I was laying on the bank of a lake surrounded by deities. And when did Persephone get there?

Before I knew what was happening, I realized Eros was with me and then we were apologizing to eachother. And he was kissing me.

His soft lips were warm against mine, brushing megently at first as if finding me for the first time. Then he kissed me deeper, pushing at me with longing and passion that took my breath away.

I rose up on my knees, throwing my arms around his neck and leaning into the kiss. Eros dropped his arms to my waist, pulling me closer, as his lips pushed even deeper against my own.

Persephone cleared her throat, reminding us that weweren’t alone.

My cheeks burned and I buried my head in Eros’s shoulder to hide my face. Eros scooped me into his arms and stood, carrying me as easily as if I were a baby.

“Persephone, Charon,” Eros nodded at both of them. “I can’t thank you enough for taking care of Psyche for me.” Charon glared. Persephone beamed, the creases that only come from true smiles circled her lips.

“You know me,” she said. “Just like my mom. I love new beginnings.”

Eros looked at me and winked. “What do you say weget out of here?”

But before he could launch, Charon cut in. “What about Aphrodite? Psyche still owes her some of Persephone’s beauty.”

“You let me worry about my mother,” Eros answered.

Before I knew it, we were flying together. His powerful wings beat the air as we soared like eagles back to Olympus. I clutched his neck tighter as I looked downat the ground. The sensation of flying with him was totally new, and surprisingly more scary, than it’d been at night when I couldn’t see how far the ground was belowus.

“I won’t let you fall.”

I gazed up into his crystal blue eyes, instantly lost inthe wonder that I’d lived to see them again. “I know,” I answered, letting a smile tug at my lips. “But that doesn’t mean I have to let you go.”

Eros’s dimple beamed as he smiled back at me and raised his eyebrows. “Mmm … don’t you dare let me go.” He nuzzled his lips against my forehead, blessing mewith kisses.

It wasn’t until we were landing that I noticed weweren’t at Aphrodite’s palace. As Eros set me on my feet, I took in the new mansion. This palace was twice as largeas Aphrodite’s, and thankfully not constructed of solid gold. But it was still ornate.

“Welcome to the center of Olympus,” Eros whispered. Power radiated from the building with such force that I shuddered. Eros squeezed my hand and pulled me close. “Don’t worry. They’re going to love you,” he promised as he started up the stairs.

I wanted to follow, but my feet wouldn’t move. Eros stopped when my arm was fully extended. I had to tugmy hand free to keep from being pulled over.

He looked at me, one eyebrow arched.

Would I ever tire of seeing his expressions?

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Something doesn’t feel right.” I shook my head and bit at my lip, unable to explain any better.

Eros came back down beside me and wrapped an armaround my shoulders. “You’re probably feeling their immortality. It’s stronger here than anywhere.” Eros ducked his head so he could meet my eyes at level. “But that’s why we’re here. Only they can make you one of us.”

He stared into my eyes as the weight of his words sunk in. Fresh tears pushed their way to the surface and I clasped my hand over my mouth. “Really?” I whisperedfrom behind my fingers. “How?”

“If Zeus and Hera say you can join our ranks, then you’re in.”

I turned my head into Eros’s shoulder and threw my arm around his neck, full of hope and excitement.

And fear.

“What if they don’t want me?”

Eros tilted my chin up with two fingers and kissed my nose. “Who wouldn’t want you?”

The warm rush of blood filled my cheeks. “I thought maybe you.”

He pulled me into his chest with both arms. “I’ll makeyou a deal. Let’s forget the last two weeks ever happened, okay? We’ve both done things we wish we could take back, so let’s put that behind us and start again.”

I only nodded my head, unwilling to break the lyrical echo of his sweet words.

“Your life starts over today. You’ll be immortal. We can live here, on Olympus. I’ll build you a new palace,whatever you want.”

I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist. “I just want to be able to look at you every minute of every day.”

“Done,” he said.

“And not have to hide from your mother,” I added, raising my head to meet his sparkling eyes.

His soft fingers stroked away a strand of hair from my face. “You’ll never have to worry about her again.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” I grabbed his handand together we ran up the stairs and into Zeus and Hera’s palace.

As soon as we crossed the threshold into their home, the two gods appeared before us, seated in ornategolden thrones at the back of the room. We skidded to a stop and Eros bowed. Quickly following his lead, I didthe same.

“I didn’t think I’d see the day Eros dared to set foot inthis house,” Hera said. Zeus shifted in his chair.

I could see Hera’s large eyes focused into narrow slits from across the room. My own eyes widened as I lookedto Eros for an explanation for our less-than-hospitablegreeting. He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “I might have had a hand in some of Zeus’s more recent affairs.”

“Ha!” Zeus said, pointing at Eros. “I told you I couldn’t help myself. I told you Eros made me do it. Now do you believe me?”

Hera cut Zeus a look that silenced him and he sank back into his throne.

“This is quite a mess you’ve made for yourself, Eros,” Hera said.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied, bowing his head and refusing to meet her gaze. His muscles were taut likehe was about to spring, but everything else about his posture spoke of submission.

“But this visit isn’t really about you, is it?” Hera eyedme with her dark doe eyes.

As if sparked to life, Eros grabbed my hand andrushed forward. “No, Your Highness. I’m here for Psyche.” I had to scurry to keep up until we stopped at the base of Hera’s throne.

Her expression softened as we approached and her eyes sparkled with the hint of a smile. But Zeus’ gaze was not so embracing. As he studied me, his caterpillar-thick eyebrows twitched, as if they were somehow a reflectionof the thoughts bouncing around his skull.

“So,” he finally said, turning to Eros, “what is it exactly that you want from us?”

Eros bowed again, lowering his head to Zeus. “Sire, I want Psyche to be one of us.” He squeezed my hand. “So she can be mine for eternity.”

Zeus laughed so hoarsely it sounded like a cough. “After all you’ve done to me? You’ve nearly ruined my marriage ten times over with your arrows.” He rose fromhis throne, towering over us. “What makes you think I’ddo anything to help you?”

I watched Eros’s face, saw his jaw clench and unclench as he searched for words. Silence radiatedlouder than words through the marble halls.

And then Hera moved in close to her husband, layingher hand on his shoulder, peering down at us with the same imposing height. But Hera’s eyes sparkled with warmth rather than anger. “Hmmm … Zeus?” she asked, easing the tense silence.

Zeus moved his eyes to his wife without turning his head away from us. “I know that tone.” Hera chuckled and rubbed Zeus’s shoulder. “I seem to recall you agreeing that the boy should settle down. Besides, I think this might actually work to our advantage.” Zeus snapped his head around to look Hera dead-on. “You mean you want to help him?” Zeus pointed an accusing finger at Eros. “What happened to you wantingto pull his wings apart feather by feather?”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Eros wince.

Hera smiled. “I think the boy’s service to my cause might suit me better than plucking his wings apart. Wouldn’t you agree, Eros?” Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head, waiting for Eros’s answer.

Eros dropped to his knees before her. “I will serve your every command, my Queen.” He raised his head, eyes pleading. “Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”

Hera reached down and took Eros’s hand in hers, thenpulled him to his feet. When he was standing, Hera reached out with her other hand for me. As she joinedour hands together, she said, “Honor Psyche as your wife. Love her each and every day, because she has proven herself worthy of your love. In loving her, you do your greatest service to me.”

His eyes grew wide as he turned to me, clutching my fingers tighter. “Marry me, Psyche? Please?”

“Consider your decision before you choose, Psyche.” Zeus’s sage voice startled me. Why wouldn’t I choose to be with him? “Loving an immortal is a commitment for eternity — not just a few decades.” He smiled at Hera before continuing. “And I must warn you, our Olympian family is a little, shall we say, dysfunctional from time-totime.”

“I can handle dysfunctional.”

“And eternity? With me?” Eros drew my attention back to him, pulling at my heart like a lasso.

“I can’t imagine anything better.”

Eros dropped my hands and clasped my face, drawingme into him. He kissed me like he was trying to drink mein. When I pulled away, breathless, we rested our foreheads together.

“Love you.” I smiled up at him.

He tucked an errant curl behind my ear. “And I love you.”

“We still don’t have an agreement yet,” Zeus cut in, invading the momentary bliss. “I have a condition of my own.”

I felt the blush rising to my cheeks as I stared at my feet.

Eros answered. “Sire?”

“You are never, ever to use your arrows on me again. Are we clear on that?”

Eros swallowed. “Absolutely, my King. I was young, and impulsive —”

Zeus waved away the words with a stroke of his hand. “Never mind excuses. Just promise me … on Psyche’s life.”

Eros looked at me, then back at Zeus. “On Psyche’s life, I promise never to shoot you again.”

Zeus strolled back to his throne and reclined. “Good. And one more thing,”

We waited in silence for the king to speak. Waited for him to make some demand Eros couldn’t agree to.

“I think my wife would prefer you use your arrows only for true love. No more affairs. Your mother’s realmof passion is strong enough without any extra help.”

Hera moved in close to her husband and kissed his forehead. “Thank you, Love.”

Zeus reached up and grabbed her tiny hand in his, pressing her fingertips to his lips. “Anything for you,” he replied, his pale sea-glass eyes nearly pouring over with emotion.

As the two of them radiated love, the feelingpermeated the air. I turned to Eros, encircling his neck in my arms. My heart ached at the thought of just seeinghim as I held him in my arms every day, I wanted it so badly.

I might have stayed wrapped up in him forever, but Hera broke the spell by clapping twice. Her signal brought a bevy of nymphs dancing in from another room, carrying with them overflowing plates of fruit andpitchers spilling a syrupy liquid.

One girl handed out golden cups to everyone whileanother followed behind, filling the glasses. “Cheers,” Zeus said, raising his glass.

Hera raised her glass to me. “Welcome to Olympus, Psyche.”

Eros smiled so broadly that his adorable little dimplepeeked out from his cheek. His crystal blue eyes dancedas we intertwined elbows and drank.

The ambrosia coursed down my throat like liquidwarmth, filling me. As the heat spread, running into my fingers and tingling my toes, my skin itched with tiny jolts of lightning. I was simultaneously numb and morealive than I’d ever been before.

Eros’s arm curled around my waist to steady me as I swayed, eyes closed. Absorbing the energy of immortal life wasn’t what I’d expected. It was better and worse inone wonderful, overwhelming instant. When my eyes fluttered open again, I felt almost normal. But stronger. Like I could run from Olympus down to the tip of thePeloponnese and never tire.

And I was ready to focus the buzz of my new-foundimmortal energy on Eros.

As I reached up to put my arm around his neck, my dress pulled at my arm, not giving me enough room to move. I looked down at myself and saw the dress no longer fit right. It was pulled tight against my chest, cutting deep into the skin under my arms.

“What in the world?”

“Allow me,” Eros said, unfastening the clasp at my shoulder that was holding my dress up.

My eyes widened as I glared at him. “Not right here,” I whispered in a panic, nodding my head toward Zeus and Hera. “There are people here.”

Eros rolled his eyes and chuckled before kissing my nose. “Lighten up, will you?”

Without exposing my chest, Eros let the dress fall open in the back. Free from the constraints of the dress, a pair of magnificent blue butterfly wings unfurled frommy back. They were nearly indigo in their richness andoutlined with a delicate, lace-like black trim.

I craned my neck and arched my back, straining to get a better look at the new attachments. “I don’t understand…” I said, scowling in confusion at the beautiful wings.

“Your love gave you wings, Psyche,” Hera said, waving her hand through the air and fluttering her fingers as she spoke. “Now go. Fly together. I’ll see you at the next Council meeting.”

Eros held my dress in the back to keep it from fallingoff as we left. We half skipped, half flew out of the palace as I tested my new wings.

I was so enthralled with the prospect of flying, that I didn’t notice Aphrodite blocking our path until we’dnearly slammed into her.

Eros yanked my dress back to help me stop and weboth giggled as I barely got my balance in time. Surprisingly, Aphrodite looked just as amused as we were.

“I thought I might find you here,” she said before wrapping me in her arms.

Yeah, totally lost. I thought we were basically mortal enemies. She had tried to kill me on more than oneoccasion after all.

“Mother,” Eros barked. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but you need to forget it. You won’t hurt her ever again.”

Aphrodite never bothered looking at her son. “I know.” Her smile poured over me like liquid sunshine. “Finally, something works out the way I’d planned.”

“This?” I asked. “You planned on all of this?”

“I’m sorry, dear, but you were more mortal than not,” she said. “And mortals are nothing if not predictable.”

Closing my eyes was the only way to make my brainfocus. She’d planned all this? How? Why?

Her hand tightened on my shoulder. “When you two seemed bent on refusing each other, I had to come upwith a Plan B.” She leaned in close, a co-conspirator sharing a secret. “My son may have told you, but I generally get what I want.”

Eros’s feathers ruffled. “So why try to kill her? If you wanted us to be together?”

“Don’t you see? I didn’t want her dead or she wouldbe. What I wanted was for you to realize how much youstill loved her. Forcing you to save her from the soldiers worked perfectly.”

Eros slipped his hand into mine. “And sending her to Hades? What’d you get out of that?”

“You mean other than a little retribution for refusing my Plan A?” Aphrodite eyed us both pointedly. “I got proof of Psyche’s love. She was willing to risk death for you, son. And now no one, not even Psyche’s sister, will be able to take that truth away from you.”

The feeling of being Aphrodite’s puppet was unsettling, but I couldn’t argue with the end result. Eros and I were together, immortal, and we both knew with unwavering certainty how deeply our love flowed. I guessed this was one of those times where the ends justify the means. Even if they were pretty sucky means.

Leaning forward, I kissed her cheek. “In that case, thank you. For everything.”

“You can save your mother-daughter bonding for later,” Eros said, gently squeezing my fingers. “There’s something I want you to see now.”

A smile pulled at my lips until my cheeks almost ached. “What is it?”

“Our new life.”

Chapter end