Destined

by Jessie Harrell

  Eros flexed his jaw and pressed his eyes firmly together, unwilling to acknowledge her entrance. Aphrodite was the last person he wanted to see right now.

  “Oh, come now, darling. You shouldn’t be rude to me. You know that doesn’t get you anywhere.”

  Eros let his head drop back as he breathed in deeply, trying to force his temper back down into wherever it was rapidly rising from. “I can’t. Talk. Now.”

  “Tisk. You can always talk to me,” Aphrodite chided, and reached out to lay her hand on Eros’s shoulder. When her fingertips brushed his skin, Eros yowled in pain and spun around to face his mother. His eyes glowed with fury and agony.

  “I’m asking you to leave,” Eros spat through clenched teeth.

  “Not until you tell me what happened to your shoulder. Did a mortal do that to you?” Aphrodite’s voice seemed flooded more with vengeance than motherly concern.

  Eros closed his eyes again and groaned, sinking down into the heaps of cushions on his couch. He shoved the heel of his palms into his eyes to block out the sight of his mother. “What does it matter? It’s over.”

  “Unless you have killed the offender, this is not over.” Aphrodite glared at her son, waiting for confirmation that the mortal had been appropriately punished.

  Eros pulled his hands away to look squarely at Aphrodite. “I’ve doled out my retribution. I consider it over.”

  Aphrodite melted onto the couch beside her son. “You didn’t answer my question. Is the man who did this dead or not?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Eros protested, throwing his arm up over his eyes to block out his mother again. “Just leave. Please.”

  “Is he dead?” Aphrodite articulated precisely.

  “No,” Eros answered without uncovering his eyes, “she is not dead. But I won’t let you hurt her.” Eros sighed heavily, pain ripping at his chest as the words spilled. “I love her.”

  “What?” Aphrodite shrieked as she bolted to her feet. “You’re in love with a mortal? Is that why you rejected my pick then? Because you already had some other little hussy lined up? I bet she’s some prostitute the Senators are always fawning over.”

  “Stop! I will not let you speak about her like that.” Eros’s eyes blazed.

  Aphrodite’s breath caught in her throat as her eyes bulged. Expressions of shock, disbelief, anger, all flashed across her pristine face as she processed that her son really wasn’t going to back down on this.

  “Well, I suppose you ought to at least tell me who was so bold as to not only steal your heart, but nearly steal your life as well.”

  “I told you, it doesn’t matter,” Eros muttered.

  “TELL ME!” Aphrodite screamed.

  Eros looked up into his mother’s eyes. Maybe it would be fun to tell her. Twist the knife a little deeper. It’s what she deserved for not leaving him alone. “Actually, I think you might already know her.” Eros’s blue eyes glinted. For at least one second, he was going to enjoy wounding his mother. “Her name is Psyche.”

  Eros had barely spoken her name when Aphrodite slapped him. Eros slowly turned back to look at his mother while rubbing his tender cheek. Mother and son locked hateful gazes, each refusing to look away. Without breaking her gaze, Aphrodite snapped, “How dare you do this to me.”

  “How dare I? How dare I?” He sat up so he could get right in his mother’s face. “How dare you send me out to ruin her life in the first place. She didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t punish her because I pushed her away.”

  Eros leaned back on the couch, arms crossed across his chest. Silence hung between them for a moment before Eros turned his icy, blue eyes back to his mother.

  “It seems I’m in love with someone I can’t be with and I have you to thank.”

  “How can you blame me for falling in love with someone I sent you to destroy? All you had to do was follow simple instructions.”

  “And I was on my way to do just that, when I felt her. I felt her heart, and her love, and her desperation, and all of the good in her. It was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I just couldn’t shoot her. Not until I knew if she really was everything I felt.” Eros took a deep, calming breath to steady himself. “And as I lowered my arrow, I nicked myself,” he said, waving his hand at the tiny scar on his left knee.

  “So out of all the deities — and other humans even — you picked her?”

  “So what if I did? I’m un-picking her now. I assure you she’s far more miserable now than if I’d followed your orders in the first place.”

  “We’ll see about that. In the meantime, there’s no reason for you to suffer. I’ll simply undo the arrow.” Aphrodite reached out to touch her son, but Eros slapped her hand away.

  “Don’t. I’ll come to you when I’m ready. I deserve this pain as much as she does right now.” That, and something else inside him wasn’t ready to let go yet.

  But before Eros could protest further, Aphrodite laid the palm of her hand on his forehead and hummed one long, sweet note. When she pulled her hand away, she looked triumphant. “There now. Feel better?”

  The weight in Eros’s chest lightened as the painful need to return to Psyche’s side eased. It wasn’t that he didn’t still feel some loyalty to her, but the burning compulsion to be near her was gone. Perhaps, in time, he would be able to forget. Just as he’d forgotten Lelah.

  Yes, once he’d found Psyche, the memory of Lelah all but disappeared. It could happen again. Heck, he could use his arrows to make sure it happened again.

  Aphrodite patted her son’s cheek as he blinked at her in shock. “You should rest. Mother has things to attend to.”

  “Don’t hurt her,” Eros muttered, already feeling himself drawn into sleep by his mother’s command to rest.

  “That’s just the love hangover talking. You’ll feel differently soon enough. Don’t worry now. I’ll take care of everything.”

  Chapter 40 - Psyche

  Mother must’ve known she couldn’t convince me to stay at home, so while I bathed, she had the servants prepare bags of food and fill flasks with water for my journey. When I emerged from my room refreshed and dressed, I found my favorite horse, Xanthippe, loaded and ready.

  I stood frozen in the doorway to the palace. Mother and Father were behind me, pulling me back with their concern. But Xanthippe stood before me, pulling me forward with the allure of regaining Eros’s love. I was on a precipice, torn between the safety I knew and the love I had lost. It was like being sent off to the cliffs again, feeling I might never see my mother and father and home again. But this time I knew the end destination and who would be waiting for me — if luck was with me.

  “Are you sure you won’t let us send a guard with you?” Father asked from behind me. “The roads aren’t safe for a woman alone.”

  I turned to look at him. His eyes were moist, welled with concern. Taking his hand in mine, I said, “I’m sure, Father. I’ve made my offerings to Hermes. If he can’t protect me, there’s nothing a guard could do.”

  Mother and Father exchanged pained looks, but they didn’t force the issue.

  “Just remember, Psyche,” Mother added. “You’re a powerful young woman. The gods will watch over you.”

  I gulped. What kind of crazy send off was that? “Well, I guess this is goodbye then,” I said. “Again.”

  After kissing each of my parents on the cheek, I secured the lantern from my former palace to one of the packs and checked to be sure my dagger was securely tucked at my hip. A guard helped hoist me onto Xanthy’s back and with a gentle kick, my mare headed away from the palace. I wouldn’t look back; couldn’t look back. If I was ever going to redeem myself, this was the only way.

  There was really only one direction to go: toward Mount Olympus.

  I stopped holding Xanthy back once I was sure no one could see us any more and we settled into a comfortable canter down the dusty, broken roads. I let Xanthy continue until she decided on her own to slow her pace. Her sweat-soaked si
des heaved beneath my legs. When we came to a stream, we stopped and drank. After refilling my flasks with fresh water, I sat on a rock and watched Xanthy nibble at some weeds, uprooting the little flowers and leaves and devouring them in greedy bites.

  Watching her, I was suddenly overcome with gratitude for the beautiful mare. Olympus was so far away; I would never make it without her. Not in this lifetime anyway. And she was oblivious to the danger I was dragging her into with me. If I failed in this journey, she would likely die with me.

  Slowly I padded to the horse and wrapped my arms around her neck. “We should ride a little more. I think we can reach Corinth before sun down.” I patted her mane and she nodded her head in what seemed like approval. I led her over the rock I’d been sitting on so I’d have an easier time mounting, but I was still glad no one was watching me as I fumbled onto her back.

  Once there, my legs immediately protested. They already ached from our earlier ride and I realized I’d been foolish to try to cover so much ground in one day. Thanks to the crowds, it’d been forever since I’d ridden. My muscles were painfully sore and the insides of my legs were chaffed from rubbing against Xanthy’s coarse hair.

  “On second thought,” I said, “maybe we better call it quits for today.”

  Looking around the deserted stretch of road, I wasn’t sure the best place for us to camp. Would it be better to leave ourselves exposed to the animals of the woods or to human strangers who might come across us by the road? In the end, I figured Xanthy would be more likely to sense danger and wake us from an animal, so I led her from the road into the cover of dense pines.

  After brushing Xanthy down and making sure she had plenty to drink, I ate some of the food my parents packed and then gathered pine needles to make a bed, rough and pointy as it was. Although the sun was only beginning to set, I was ready to sleep. The ride had taken its toll and I easily drifted off, knowing Xanthippe would stand guard.

  Some time later, and I had no way to gauge how much later since the sky was midnight black, I woke to the sound of Xanthy huffing and pacing uneasily near the tree where I had tied her.

  My fog of sleep immediately parted as fear took over.

  I lay quietly for a moment, holding my breath, listening for sounds of an intruder. And then I heard what Xanthy’s sensitive ears had picked up long before mine: footsteps shuffling through pine needles. The steps were coming closer.

  I clambered to my feet and pulled out my knife as I protectively rushed to Xanthy’s side. Whatever was coming, I wouldn’t let it hurt my horse.

  Perhaps because we were in the woods, it never occurred to me that the footfalls might belong to something other than an animal. Until I heard the voice call to me.

  “There you are. I was starting to think I’d never find you.”

  Chapter 41 - Psyche

  “Alexa!” I called, and ran headlong through the woods until I crashed into my invisible friend.

  “I thought we were past this whole running into me thing,” she teased as she hugged me.

  “You came back.” I was giddy as I held her in the darkness, unable to let go for fear she’d evaporate.

  “I can’t stay long,” she cautioned. “I’m not even supposed to be here, but I snuck away.”

  My arms dropped away from her. “So he hasn’t forgiven me yet?”

  Alexa didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. I already knew the answer.

  “Did you tell him that I saw you? That’s why I believed my sister over him?”

  “Not yet, but I will,” she said. “He refuses to see anyone right now. Heck, I’m under lock and key living with my parents again,” she explained, as we walked through the woods toward my makeshift camp.

  “Why’d you have to sneak away from your parents’ house? Eros isn’t there too is he?”

  Alexa snorted. “No, he’s back on Mount Olympus. But seeing as how this is partially my fault for letting you hear your sister in the first place, I’m sort of grounded.”

  “What?” I asked. “What do you mean you’re grounded?”

  I heard Alexa kick at some leaves. “Eros could’ve gotten me in real trouble with the Olympian counsel for disobeying his order not to ever let you hear you sister’s cries. He said he’d keep quiet about the whole thing if my parents promised not to let me come help you. So, like I said, I can’t stay long.”

  As we reached my little camp, Alexa said, “I’m glad to see you have a horse. It’ll throw Aphrodite off for a while. She won’t expect you to be riding, and she’s not a very good tracker.”

  My eyes grew wide and darted around the woods in panicked bursts. “She’s coming for me?” I stammered. “She knows? But how?”

  “She made him tell.” Alexa paused before adding softly, “he didn’t want to.”

  “But if she — I’ll never make it.”

  “Shhh…” Alexa hushed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Don’t give up. You can make it. I know you can.”

  “How?” I sniffed.

  “You’ll reach Corinth tomorrow morning. Just before you reach the gates, there’s a shrine to Vesta. She won’t want to pick sides in a fight, especially against Aphrodite, but if you can convince her that she’s just keeping the peace until you find Eros, she might protect you as you travel.”

  “I don’t really have anything to offer her.”

  “You can promise to give her something if you make it. It’ll give her some added incentive to protect you.” Alexa said.

  “Alexa, what am I going to do without you? You can’t leave me again. Please.”

  “Psyche, I told you. I can’t stay. But you’ll do fine. I’m sure of it.” She was already pulling her warm hand away from mine.

  “Wait!” I called. “Before you go … does he … I mean … do you think that he…misses me?”

  “He must,” she answered. I could hear her footsteps moving away in the darkness.

  “Will it be enough? To forgive me, I mean?” I tried to keep the panic from registering in my voice.

  “Get some rest, Psyche. You have a long journey ahead of you still.”

  And just like that, the sound of Alexa’s retreating footsteps was gone. The forest was so silent, I wondered whether Alexa had really come at all or if it’d been another dream.

  Settling back down into my pine straw bed, I strained to pick up any noise that might hint Alexa was coming back. Or that Aphrodite was bearing down on me. But the only sounds filtering through the night air were the chirping of crickets and Xanthy’s rhythmic breathing as she dozed.

  When I awoke in the morning, the sun was only just beginning to rise. I quickly ate some crackers before leading Xanthippe back out to the rock and mounting. We hadn’t ridden for more than an hour when I realized we were approaching Corinth. Little farm houses and grazing cattle showed we were nearing civilization.

  Deciding to make sure I passed the town unrecognized, I pulled a shroud out from one of my bags and wrapped it around my head. I carefully tucked my curls into the folds of the fabric and pulled the sides out as far as possible to shield my face.

  I was almost to the city gates when, just as Alexa had promised, I spotted a small shrine. Around the marble inscription to Vesta lay clay pots, lamps, tiny sculpted animals and busts in the goddess’s likeness. Tokens laid out by the farmers and pious visitors who came seeking favors. They reminded me again that I had so little to offer.

  Just as I was about to dismount from Xanthy to make my prayer, I realized there was nothing, aside from the shrine itself, to use to get back up on my horse. I couldn’t see praying to a goddess only to defile her shrine, so I decided to stay on horseback and hope Vesta wasn’t offended.

  Xanthy brought me right up to it and I stared at the relief image of the goddess. She looked so motherly. It was hard to imagine she was one of the virgin goddesses rather than a matron. Her shoulder-length, curly hair framed the broad face that sat atop her full shoulders and thick torso. Her head was draped in a cloak much like the
one I was wearing to conceal myself, only the effect on her was to make her face more severe.

  I’d never had much of a connection to Vesta in the past. Her domain was the home and hearth, things I hadn’t had much concern for. Others had always cared for my palaces and kept the hearths going for me. I wondered whether I deserved her help now, before realizing that whether I deserved it or not, I had no choice but to ask for it.

  “Vesta, eldest sister of Zeus, great mistress of the home and protector of the sacred hearth fire that keeps us warm, hear my prayer. I’m searching for Eros because I made a huge mistake. And I love him,” I mumbled, swallowing back the guilt. “I regret that I have nothing to offer you in exchange for hearing this prayer, but am a lowly traveler in desperate need of your help. Your fellow goddess, Aphrodite, doesn’t want me to find her son. I pray that you watch over me as I travel so that I have a chance to beg Eros’s forgiveness. If you will help me, I promise to dedicate a shrine within my home to you and give thanks at it daily.”