Morning, speedy. Are you busy?
The response came seconds later, Not at all. What’s up?
I need that ride to Olympus.
A subtle wind stirred her hair. When Esme glanced up to her left, Luke was standing in her room, brows raised. “You sure about this? You’re going to lose another day if I take you into Olympus again. It’s a long trip.”
“That’s okay. I told everyone we’re heading down to San Diego for the weekend. No one will freak out about me being missing.”
“Alrighty then. Ready to go?”
“Let’s do it.”
As before, Luke took her by the hand and led the way into the In-Between. Everything rushed by in a weird blur that lacked saturated colors or clear sound. Without any way to keep track of the time, she simply let herself drift, pulled along by Luke.
“And here we are.”
When they stepped out into the same posh office, the sky beyond the windows were dark and the secretary’s desk was empty. Unbothered by her absence, Luke grabbed the key from her desk and then crossed to the stairwell door and held it open.
“After you, Esme.”
“Hey, um… You stay down here. I think this is a chat I need to have with Zeus alone.”
Luke sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. “You remember which door?”
“I do.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Thanks. I’ll see ya soon.”
Leaving Luke behind, she hurried up the floating steps until she reached the door to Zeus’s office. She found it ajar, the room beyond it lit by the pale silver moon. At first, she hesitated to enter, but then she saw Zeus beside the window with his back to her and made her way inside.
He didn’t turn to face her. “Why are you back when you haven’t completed your quest?”
“I’m back because I’ve finally figured out what’s been bothering me since I came to see you the other day. I felt your pain.”
“The ruler of Olympus feels no pain.”
“Doesn’t he?” she persisted, waiting a breath for lightning to strike her. “You don’t rule the skies anymore, and you don’t look into the lives of your offspring. You don’t leave this office.”
“I have a business to run.”
Esme stepped up beside him to share the view. “Business hours are over, but you’re still standing here. You’re certainly not working. Would I be wrong to assume you haven’t moved from this spot since Luke and I left?”
“That would be my business.”
“Maybe, but I kinda think it’s mine too.”
He finally turned from the window to face her.
He wasn’t as intimidating as she remembered, not the all-powerful and mighty Zeus. Instead of a proud divine being, she saw a weary man, a flawed man. She also didn’t need to look through his window to guess at what he’d been gazing at with such longing.
“What is it you want? What is it you think I need?”
Esme nibbled her lower lip. The speech she’d rehearsed along the way had flitted away, every word evaporated like ether. “After the guys rescued me from the hellhound, I was a wreck. I didn’t know what to believe, so I spent a couple days reading all the Greek and Roman myths I could find. The stories say you raped Hera—”
“I’ve never taken any woman by force. I haven’t needed to. Women fucking fall before me and throw open their legs, and that’s the way it’s always been.”
“Uh-huh.” Esme felt no such compulsion, which made her wonder if the god had lost his touch, if pride led to exaggeration, or if she alone was immune. “What good has that done you recently? Where has your wife gone?”
His heavy brows furrowed, and fury flushed red across his face. As soon as he began to anger, he also deflated. His shoulders dropped in defeat. “None. I haven’t…”
Esme moved closer and perched on the edge of his desk, waiting for him to finish. “You haven’t…”
“I haven’t lain with a woman in decades. Not since she left.”
“Well, that’s a start I suppose. A good one.”
“Except it’s been for nothing!”
“Why do you believe it’s been for nothing?”
He growled his response. “She doesn’t care. What good does it do if she doesn’t care? I don’t understand why she won’t return to me. I apologized.”
“But what good is an apology when you’ve already fathered half of Olympus?” Esme asked. “Your wife is the goddess of marriage and family. I’m not saying she’s without fault, but you took something that she cherished, something that meant a lot to her, and you spat on it. You did that dozens of times every time you seduced another woman. Every time you fathered another child, you showed her how little her reason for existing means to you.”
The old man frowned, deepening the creases in his face. “I… I never thought of it that way.”
“And that’s half the problem. Forgive me for saying so, but you don’t think much beyond yourself. None of you gods think of anyone but yourselves until you’re inconvenienced.”
“You weren’t much better,” he muttered.
“Maybe I wasn’t, but that’s not me anymore, and I’m making a new life for myself. Have made a new life for myself, for the better I think.”
His heavy brow furrowed again. “Why do you care what happens to me? You have a mission to complete, yet you waste valuable time prancing about to Olympus to see me again.”
“I know, but I’m here now because it’s the right thing to do.”
Zeus scoffed. “Well then, what do you suggest? How do we fix this divine fuckup?”
“The humans would call your relationship unhealthy, but honestly, I don’t think it’s fair to hold immortal beings to the same standard as humans anyway.” She nibbled her lower lip. “But you have to want to fix this. I mean, really want it.”
“Of all my wives, of all the lovers I’ve taken, goddess and mortal, Hera was the only one to see through my bullshit and call me on it. The only one who treated me as an equal instead of the mighty Zeus.” He chuckled. “Even led a revolt against me.”
“Didn’t you hang her from Olympus by her ankles for it?”
“No. But I wanted to. The mortals told stories of me punishing her and showing mercy the next day, but I loved her. She brought spice to a life that had already begun to dull. Her wit. Her sass. I miss every fucking moment, I would tolerate a dozen more revolts to have her stand beside me again.”
“Then why not do something about it?”
“I’ve tried. She won’t listen.”
“But what if she would this time?”
He cocked his head and squinted at her. “Go on.”
“I’ll go and talk to Hera, soften her up a bit, but then you need to be ready to step in and do what’s right. To set aside your pride and, well, grovel.”
“I don’t grovel.”
“If you want your wife’s forgiveness, you’ll kiss her ass. If you love her the way you claim you do,” Esme said, raising her hand to cup Zeus’s cheek, “you’ll tell her whatever it takes, and you’ll mean every word because she’s worth it. Because if she had even a fraction of the love you felt for her, she’s hurting too.”
His stoic features softened. “Fine.”
“And you better bring her a gift. Lilies and nectar,” she blurted out, without even understanding why. “And treats for her peacocks.”
Zeus raised a brow at her. “All right.”
“Okay, good. So, I’m going to go somewhere and celebrate that you didn’t smite me for talking to you this way. Goodbye.”
Zeus’s voice stopped her two steps from the door. “When will I need to be ready to see her?”
“I’m not sure yet,” she said, looking back over her shoulder. “I’ll send Hermes for you when it’s time.”
Without waiting to see if he had anything else to say, she pulled open the door and headed down the stairs. She didn’t slow or stop until she pushed her way back inside the lobby, right into Luke’s waiting arms.
<
br /> “Esme? Are you okay?”
She sagged against him and turned her face against his throat, overcome by a bout of hysterical laughter. “I can’t believe I gave love advice to a god. I’m still waiting to wake up from this and discover I’ve been in bed asleep and dreamed up one amazing, fantastic story to tell Marie.”
“So it worked?”
“In a way. I have to talk to Hera next.”
Luke whistled and glanced at his watch. “Well, you won’t be able to talk to her now. Trust me, you never wanna interrupt her evening routine. Ever. But we can go first thing tomorrow.”
“All right, I’ll trust you on that.”
“Good. Now, are you up for one more adventure tonight, or did facing down the big guy wear you out?”
“I think I can handle one more adventure. Where to?”
He took her hand. “You trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
Loud music and bright lights dominated the room Luke brought them into from the In-Between. They moved through a room crowded with people while models walked down an illuminated runway. It was everything she’d seen while binge watching one of her favorite reality shows or Entertainment News.
“Are we at a Victoria’s Secret show?” she hissed.
Luke scoffed. “Nah, that’s too cliché for Dito.”
“What?”
“Dito.” Luke flashed a smile up at the muscle-bound guard at the stage door and passed by unchallenged.
“Dito? As in super model, million-dollar business mogul Dito?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s what you’d know them for.”
Backstage was chaos. Men and women in varying states of dress and undress bustled about. Luke didn’t seem to mind and led her to a dressing table toward the back.
“Hermes!”
A body threw itself into Luke’s arms before Esme had a chance to see who had rushed them. He chuckled and returned the embrace, making Esme seethe in jealousy until the figure pulled back. Her jaw dropped.
In person, they had to be the most beautiful man Esme had ever seen, or the most handsome woman she’d ever encountered. From the flawless, sun-kissed skin to the thick, black curls framing their androgynous face, Dito had become a highly sought-after model for the ability to play both sides of the scene from lingerie to menswear.
Esme held a hand to her chest. For as much as she made fun of screaming fangirls chasing their favorite actors for autographs, she’d never met one of her own idols before. “H-hi.”
Dito raised both dark brows and glanced at Luke. He nodded, like some kind of nonverbal conversation was taking place between them she wasn’t privileged to hear.
“You look so different,” Dito said. They reached out and touched Esme’s dark hair. “I like it. I think it suits you better than blonde.”
“Blonde?”
“This a bad time for you right now?” Luke asked.
“No, not at all. I was just finishing up and can totally ditch.”
“Great. How about that Greek restaurant you took me to last time I visited? We can talk over a meal.” Luke smiled and tugged Esme to his side. “Sound good to you?”
“Um, yeah, I guess.”
Dito’s lips spread into an exuberant grin. They bounced on their toes, kissed first Luke then Esme too. “I’ll dress and meet you there.”
Dito had kissed her. Stunned, she was barely aware of Luke leading her away again. They went from bright and chaotic to quiet and intimate—the dimmed restaurant filled with candlelit tables and the delicious aroma of roasting lamb. A smiling hostess led them to a secluded table in the back despite sending away another couple without a reservation.
“Luke, are you going to explain what happened? I mean… Dito. That was completely random and just… wow. I mean, wow.” She’d been crazy about Dito since reading about the model’s eccentric Manhattan penthouse in Vogue over two years ago.
He pulled out her chair, settled her, then took the opposite seat. His silence unnerved her. “I figured… you have a lot of kids with Ares, but Dito’s our only one. My only kid.” Luke fidgeted, messing with the napkin and silverware. “I know the myths claim I have a lot of children, but Dito was it for me.”
“You mean that Dito is—”
“Ours, yeah. Beautiful kid, don’t you think?”
“Holy crap, my kid is a supermodel.” Esme cupped her face with both hands.
“Look, if it’s too much, I can call and cancel. Dito won’t mind.”
“No, don’t do that.”
Luke relaxed in his seat. “Great.”
“Does this mean the story about the nymph and the spring is true?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Hermaphroditus was our son first, but he and a river nymph fell in love to such a degree they were joined forever. Now I just kind of consider it’s like having the best of both worlds, you know? I got a kickass son and a daughter.”
Dito joined them before the waiter arrived to take an order. The model slid into an empty seat and smiled. “Thanks so much for letting me join you two.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart,” Luke said.
A moment passed before Esme regained her voice, and even when she did speak, it was thick with a sudden upwelling of emotion. “I’m glad you were able to join us.” Studying Dito, she picked out the subtle traces of Luke in their child’s features, and it no longer troubled her at all to consider Dito theirs. Their child from another lifetime.
“I couldn’t believe it when Dad said he found you again.”
Esme sniffled and wiped her cheek with her wrist. “You have his curls.”
Dito beamed. “It’s blonde usually, but I—”
“You cut and dyed it when you started doing the menswear fashion shows. It’s super cute. I love it.”
Dito’s eyes lit with excitement. “You followed my career?”
“Yeah. Of course, I had no idea who you were. Then again, maybe something deep inside of me did know.”
“Do you remember anything now?”
“Only snatches and bits of things. A face, sometimes a voice or even a room from a special place. Fleeting bits of memory come back to me every now and again, like right now when I look at you. At first, it was like reliving a stranger’s past, but it’s…” Esme bit her lower lip. She didn’t know when things had changed. “Sometimes they feel like things I’ve forgotten for a very long time, and it’s only now coming back to me.”
Food arrived not long after. She and Dito shared a love for spanakopita and, because Esme imagined it was what her own mother would do, she split the last piece instead of keeping it for herself.
How the hell was she ever supposed to learn how to be a mother to seven children?
“Hey, we should totally go shopping the next time you can visit,” Dito said. “I bet I can find you some amazing outfits. Heck, you might even fit some of the show stuff.”
“Do you get to keep those?”
“Oh yeah. I have trunks full of designer clothes.”
“Aren’t kids supposed to raid their mom’s closet and not the other way around?”
When Dito’s smile widened, dimples appeared. “Maybe. I bet I’d find cute stuff in yours too.”
“Marie would flip her shit if you showed up to swap clothes. Like, I’m pretty sure she’d die on the spot.”
“That’s her roommate,” Luke said. “You’d like her. She’s a nosy troublemaker who pokes in everyone’s business.”
“Then I can’t wait to visit. Nosy people are my favorite kind of people.”
When Dito hugged her close, Esme’s eyes overflowed with the tears she had tried to keep at bay. How was it possible to miss someone she’d never met before?
“Come see me any time, Mom. I would be happy to show you New York City.”
“I’ll bring her back again soon, sweetheart. I promise.”
Esme and Dito exchanged phone numbers while Luke hung back and watched them.
Then they embraced again, and the affection of he
r firstborn scorched through Esme with such a profound sense of love she didn’t want to leave and resume her quest.
But she had to. For Dito, the other children of Aphrodite, and the three men counting on her to regain the immortality she’d sacrificed. They deserved to have her in their lives again, and she’d do anything to grant their shared desire.
16
Esme parted from Luke on the expansive green lawn leading up to Hera’s door. A few peacocks trailed behind her along the way, and one even allowed her to brush her thumb against his glossy cheek.
The door opened before she reached it to reveal a tired woman in a fluffy robe over gaudy peacock print leggings and a long shirt. She cradled a pint of ice cream in the crook of her elbow. “What do you want?”
Esme halted shy of reaching the steps. “To talk.”
Alex resembled Hera so closely they could have been siblings instead of mother and son, though the goddess lacked his unusual height and stood eye level with Esme. She wore her wavy blonde hair pinned in a messy bun beneath a golden crown.
“Really? I don’t think we have much to talk about, but if you insist.” She turned and headed back inside, leaving the door open behind her. “Pour yourself a glass of wine.”
“A little early for drinking, isn’t it?”
“Darling, it’s never too early.”
Esme followed Hera to a wine-scented living room decorated by a low glass coffee table and an L-shaped sectional. She took a seat and eyed the platter of chocolate chip cookies beside an open box of chocolate truffles.
An image shimmered in a wide bowl of water. A married couple in the middle of a domestic spat.
“Are you helping them?” Esme asked.
“No, no, darling. These are my morning soaps. I wouldn’t waste my time.” Hera plucked a chocolate from the box. “He lost their savings gambling, and he’ll only do it again. They always do it again no matter how much they promise to change.”
“But aren’t you supposed to help out with those sorts of things?”
“We don’t interfere as much as the stories would have you believe. Besides, it’s not like they’ve called upon me.” She sighed and refilled her glass with a generous pour from a bottle of red. “So few of the mortals remember.”
Divine Ambrosia Page 17
