“Also true.” Was there a question here somewhere?
Daryl folded his arms over his chest. “He got to you too?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, the last time I talked to you guys you were all convinced that Owen was taking over people’s minds or something.”
“Oh, no, we know he’s not doing that anymore,” Sawyer said.
“Right,” Daryl said. “I’m just supposed to believe that? Just supposed to believe that somehow all of the sudden you guys are all best buddies with him?”
Sawyer sighed. He got up from the bench. “Walk with me.”
“Walk with you? You going to take me out in the woods and kill me or something? Has Owen programmed you to hurt anyone who’s resistant to his mind control?”
Sawyer sighed. “It’s nothing like that, Daryl. But I don’t want to talk about it in front of everyone. Now, come walk with me.”
“I know how it works,” Daryl said. “I used to be one of his minions or whatever.”
Sawyer glared at him. “Walk with me.”
Daryl sighed. But he got up and followed Sawyer.
Sawyer waited until they were out of earshot of everyone in the enclave. He even waited until they were far enough away from the tents that anyone who happened to me inside one of them couldn’t hear. “Look, it’s a sting operation.”
“What?”
Sawyer licked his lips. “Nora brought Owen back here so that she could spy on him in friendly territory. She worked hard to regain his trust. After we figured out what she was up to, she let us help out. Now we’re all working on a plan to try to make Owen see the benefit in staying in Helicon without trying to take over. Nora says he won’t do anything unless he’s motivated by how it will help him.”
“He’s still try to take over Helicon, hmm?”
“Still?”
“That’s been his goal from the beginning,” Daryl said. “He’s always thought that he would be a better ruler than the council.”
“Always?” Sawyer said.
“Always,” Daryl said. “There’s no way to change his mind about that. That’s what drives him. The only thing that he’s ever wanted. Well, besides Nora. But then I thought that was a spell. And he seems pretty into her now.”
Sawyer furrowed his brow. “Yeah, I don’t understand that either.”
“If you were trying to figure out what Owen was up to, all you needed to do was come talk to me. There’s no reason to do this big, long infiltration thing.”
“Nora’s found out more than just his goal,” Sawyer said. “She knows his strategies. She’s gotten inside his head. It’s been worth it.”
“Okay,” Daryl said. “Maybe it has. But I think it’s about time to shut down the operation. The longer Owen’s here, the more dangerous he gets.”
“So, exile him again? Then we have no idea what he’s doing. And we can’t keep our eyes on him.”
“The only thing that can be done for him is exile,” Daryl said.
“We just have to disagree about that,” Sawyer said.
Daryl shrugged. “Guess so.”
“Look, you’re not going to say anything, are you?”
Daryl scratched the top of his head. “No, I’m not going to say anything. Thanks for being straight with me, though. I appreciate that.”
Sawyer patted him on the back. “Any time. You know, if it weren’t for the weirdness with you and Maddie, I think you’d be part of the crew. As it is, you’re welcome to hang out with us any time.”
“Thanks,” Daryl said. “But as you said, there is the weirdness with me and Maddie.”
* * *
The night of the Harvest Ball finally came, and Nora wasn’t certain that Owen was ready. She knew that some progress had been made, but she wasn’t sure it was enough. Still, she thought it was enough to ask Phoebe for an extension.
But because she didn’t want to think about it, at least not during the celebration, she determined she’d go talk to Phoebe the following day.
That night, she wanted to have one truly joyful evening in Helicon. She felt as if the year thus far had been difficult. She hadn’t had an easy time relaxing.
With Maddie and Sawyer in on her secret, things would be easier this time around.
Sawyer had made dresses for all of them, as usual, and Nora was excited to put hers on that evening.
Her dress was a striking green. It hung loosely around her shoulders, and was gathered at the waist. Then it tapered to a slim skirt around her legs. There was a fairly dramatic slit, which made her feel sophisticated and sexy.
She wore her hair down, so that it fell in red waves down her back. And she had to admit that she almost felt a little bit excited for Owen to see her, even though whatever it was that was between them wasn’t really real.
He arrived at her tent wearing a flowing white shirt and trousers. His dark skin against the brilliance of the white shirt was very nice, Nora had to admit. She was reminded of the way it used to feel, when she was back in the mundane world, when Owen would come for her after months of absence. He always looked so good, and she was always so happy to see him… Her heart hurt. Why was everything with Owen so complicated?
He looked her up and down, taking her in from head to toe. “You look amazing,” he said.
She grinned at him. “Not so bad yourself,” she said. She left her tent on his arm.
Outside the tent, it was quite cold. That day only, summer had been peeled back so that it was late, late autumn. Cold wind rushed through the air, and she shivered. Owen put his arm around her pulling her tight. Instinctively, she burrowed against him.
His voice rumbled in her ear. “I’ll keep you warm.”
Despite herself, she felt her body react to his closeness, to his words, to his warmth.
They met the others by the main fire pit, which had been enclosed in a large dome. The fire pit itself was covered up by a polished wooden dance floor. All around, there were elegant tables set up with the centerpieces they had worked on—candles and tiny gourds. There was a group of music muses in one corner playing mandolins, dulcimers, and violins. This year, the Harvest Ball had a more rustic feel to it than the year before. It was still simple and stately, still serious and beautiful, however.
Sawyer and Lute were together in complementary pinstripe suits. They didn’t match, exactly, but they worked together. Lute looked conventional with a dress shirt and a burgundy cravat. Sawyer, on the other hand, had a flamboyant bunch of white lace at his throat, and when he gestured, the similarly lacy sleeves of his shirt peered out beneath his jacket. He was wearing eyeliner and lipstick.
Maddie’s dress was a pretty shade of deep blue. Agler’s tie matched it. They stood close to each other, and Nora noticed that they didn’t seem to be able to stop touching each other.
“Seems like it’s going to be a quiet evening,” Agler said, rubbing his fingers over Maddie’s shoulder.
Maddie put her hand on his chest, arching an eyebrow. “Quiet for you, maybe. I plan to get uncommonly drunk and more than a little noisy.”
“No, I just meant that usually something crazy dangerous is going on during the Harvest Ball,” Agler said.
“Should we sit down?” Lute said, pointing at a table with six seats.
“Definitely,” Nora said.
The six of them all started for the table. They pulled out their chairs and settled down.
“Agler’s right,” Sawyer said. “I mean, two years ago, the Harvest Ball was where I ran into Loki.”
Nora shuddered. “Don’t even talk about that. You were dead. We had to rescue you from the underworld.”
“Well, it turned out all right,” Agler said. He grinned at Maddie. “I don’t remember that being so bad.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “That’s just because that’s when the two of you officially got together.” She pointed at Agler and Maddie.
“And last year, you guys abandoned us to go to the mundane world,” Lute s
aid.
“Yeah, don’t leave us ever again,” Agler said.
“That was to meet me?” Owen said.
They all looked at him. Everyone suddenly got awkwardly quiet.
Maddie jumped up. “I’m going to go find wine. Who wants wine?”
“I’ll help,” Lute said.
Owen arched an eyebrow. “I know how to clear a table, don’t I?” He turned to Nora. “Maybe let’s dance instead?”
She smiled. “Okay.”
He led her out onto the dance floor.
The music swelled behind them, simple and elegant. The strings were full-bodied, and as they moved together, Nora felt as if she was floating on sound, drifting there. As if she and Owen were sailing together on a dark, warm tide.
And she had to admit… it felt nice.
* * *
Lute collapsed onto his back, panting.
Sawyer propped himself up on his elbows.
It was dark. It was later. The two were back in Sawyer’s tent. They were naked.
“Well,” Lute said.
“Well?” Sawyer breathed.
“That was…” Lute got to his feet. He looked around for his pants and began pulling them on. “We don’t have anything to drink. Let me go get us something to drink.”
“We do now, actually,” Sawyer said, pointing. “Um, there’s a bottle of wine over there. I snagged it at the Harvest Ball.”
“Oh,” Lute said.
“You could pour us some glasses if you want.” Sawyer tugged his skirt on. Now they were both half dressed. “Unless you want to leave, I guess.”
Lute looked at Sawyer, eyebrows shooting up. “No, no. I don’t want…” He sighed. “Let me pour the wine.” He busied himself with the glasses.
Sawyer watched him, biting down on his bottom lip.
Lute handed Sawyer a glass of wine. “Are you okay?”
Sawyer furrowed his brow. “I’m all right.”
“Was it…?”
Sawyer made a face. “It was…”
Lute set down on the ground next to Sawyer.
For several moments, the two were completely silent. They did nothing but drink their wine and pick at their clothes.
“You didn’t like it,” Sawyer said in a tiny voice.
“What?” Lute set down his glass violently, spilling wine on the tent floor. “I liked it. It was…”
Sawyer studied his fingernails.
“Did you like it?” Lute said. “Did I… did I hurt you?”
Sawyer shook his head. “No. I thought it might be painful. I was waiting for it to be painful. At the beginning, maybe it was a little… uncomfortable… But once we were, you know… it was… You did a good job with that.”
Lute nodded, looking relieved. “Good.”
Sawyer suddenly looked up, a terrifying thought occurring to him. “It wasn’t… messy…?”
Lute shook his head. “Oh, no. No, you did a good job with…”
They were quiet again.
Sawyer fiddled with his glass. “So, then, why…? You pulled away afterward. Like you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”
“Oh, Sawyer, no.” Lute reached out and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. “It was very… it was intense. It was… overwhelming a little bit, I think. I felt like you…” He shut his eyes, letting go of Sawyer. “Hetero sex isn’t like that.”
Sawyer winced. “And… and that’s bad?”
“Being… being inside you that way, it was… you were so vulnerable. I felt so much…” He took a gulp of wine.
Sawyer’s voice was barely audible. “So much what?”
Lute looked at him.
“Are we okay?” Sawyer said.
Lute licked his lips. “Did you feel…?”
“It’s why I was scared of it,” Sawyer muttered. “But—I trust you, babe. It was… good to be vulnerable. At least I thought—”
“No, I don’t mean—” Lute ran a hand through his hair, looking at the tent ceiling as if he thought the right words would be written up there. “I felt… responsibility. Like… it was a weight on my shoulders or something. Like you were entrusting me with this… this gift and I needed to respect…” Abruptly, he broke off. He grabbed the other muse and tugged him close. He kissed him, thoroughly probing Sawyer’s mouth with his own. Then he pulled away. His voice was a whisper. “It was amazing. You’re amazing.”
Sawyer gave him a tiny smile.
Lute stroked his boyfriend’s face. “But you don’t have to… I don’t think I could handle doing it that way all the time.”
Sawyer smirked. “Really?” He arched an eyebrow.
“Honestly, the way we were doing things before was really great.”
Sawyer laughed softly. “And last year, you wouldn’t shut up about this.”
Lute wrinkled up his nose. “I know. I’m an idiot.”
Sawyer lifted his glass. “To the way things were before.”
Lute clicked his glass against Sawyer’s. “To the way things were before.”
* * *
Nora relaxed as Owen rolled away. She shifted in the hammock, sighing.
Owen moved onto his side, pressing himself against her body. His lips moved on her neck, on her shoulder.
Nora shut her eyes. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take this. She knew that tomorrow she was supposed to go to Phoebe and tell her to give them more time to convince Owen. But part of her just wanted all of this over. Part of her wanted her body back, her life back, her friends back. Maybe it was just too much.
“Nora?” Owen’s voice was scratchy in the darkness.
She could have pretended to be asleep. But not enough time had passed. He would know she was faking. “Yeah?”
“Why are you with me?”
Oh gods. He had to ask her that, right now. Just when she was the most tired and vulnerable. Just when she didn’t know if she could think up a proper lie. The right thing to do, so that the charade was kept between them, was to somehow ridicule him for asking a question like that. That would keep them on even footing. That would let him know that she wasn’t affected by him at all.
But she couldn’t think of anything cutting to say either.
So, she simply said, “Because I love you.”
“But why?” he said. “I don’t think I deserve your love.”
Nora knew that he didn’t. He didn’t at all. “It’s not like that. I can’t help that I love you. I always have. Sure, you screwed up. But you’re trying to make up for it.”
“I thought you’d say something like that,” he said. “I’m just not sure if I believe it or not.”
Inwardly, she groaned. She didn’t think that she could stand up to his inquisition right now. “Well, it doesn’t matter what you think. It’s true.”
“I love you too,” he said.
He’d said words like that to her before. She knew they didn’t mean anything. Owen thought love was a tool, a way to get people to behave the way he wanted them to.
“I suppose that isn’t true,” Owen said. “It isn’t true that I love you.”
That wasn’t what she expected him to say. She turned to him. She could barely make out the outline of his face in the darkness. The two looked into each other’s eyes.
“Why did you say that, then?” she said.
“I think we both know that I’m not like other people,” Owen said.
“Well, right. You’re half-god. And your mother was an evil sorceress who used you and tried to hurt you—”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it,” Owen said.
She was quiet.
“Other people are… are weak in ways that I’m not,” he said. “Other people, they feel things that I don’t feel. You know what I’m talking about.”
She hesitated, thinking that perhaps she should argue with him. But she was tired. And it was true. So, she just sighed. “Yes.”
“So, I don’t think it’s precisely true that I love you,” Owen said. “I don’t r
eally know if I’m capable of that sort of emotion. But I want you to know, Nora, that whatever I do feel that’s close to love, whatever emotion I manage to muster, I feel it for you. You’re important to me. And if you really have forgiven me, and you really do love me, then that means something to me. Maybe it’s not exactly love, but it’s close enough. I’ll call it love if I need to.”
“Owen…” She didn’t know what to say. So, in the end she didn’t say anything. She just kissed him. She kissed him as hard as she could.
She knew that in the morning, she would be going to Phoebe to ask for more time.
* * *
In the morning, Owen remembered his sappy little declaration to Nora, and he felt embarrassed about it. He’d had too much wine, and it made him idiotic. He couldn’t believe he’d said something like that to her. She was going to use that against him. He shouldn’t have showed her his weakness. Why had he…?
He woke up before she did. He eased himself out of the hammock, got dressed, and left her tent without waking her.
He needed to go somewhere. He needed to think. He had to come up with some way to salvage whatever it was that he’d done the night before.
Of course, he could deny it. He could pass it off as a joke. He could claim that he was messing with her.
But she wouldn’t believe any of that. She would know that he had been sincere. She would use that to make him do whatever it was that she wanted.
Fuming, Owen headed down to the food enclave.
It was too early for any of the food muses to be up making food, so Owen headed straight back to the kitchens. He put a few slices bread in a toaster, dug out a jar of peanut butter, and waited.
Within a few minutes, his toast popped up.
That was when he heard the sound of someone coming into the kitchens.
He didn’t really want to run into anyone, so he figured he would just politely say hi to whoever it was, and then sneak off with his peanut butter toast.
But he was face-to-face with Daryl before he knew it. The last time that he had spoken to Daryl, Daryl had punched him. He was fairly sure the Daryl was not one of his biggest fans.
He wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. Should he say hello politely? Or simply ignore Daryl?
“I thought I saw you come in here,” Daryl said.
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