Gilded Ruins

by Chantal Gadoury

  “How about you start where you killed Dad,” I accused softly. I saw her eyes dart to Morpheus before drawing them back to me.

  “Summer…” She breathed.

  “You kept this entire thing a huge secret. I know that Dad had no idea.”

  “Your father?”

  “Yeah, Mom. I saw Dad. I saw…”

  Tears began to fill my eyes, and I lowered my chin. Drawing in a deep breath, I did what I could to quickly collect myself. I wasn’t going to let her see me cry. Not here. She didn’t deserve my tears for him.

  “Summer, I don’t think you understand,” she began, leaning forward. “I didn’t cause the accident. I didn’t kill your father. It was never. . .” She paused and shook her head with a small laugh. “This was never planned.”

  “I have a hard time believing that,” I replied.

  “You honestly think I wanted him to find you? To disrupt our life? We were happy…”

  “You were lying the whole time,” I said.

  “It wasn’t a lie. I loved your father. I love you. There is no lie in that.”

  “He’s not my real—” Father. I couldn’t finish the words. My heated gaze turned to Zeus. He was my real father, like it or not. And that only complicated my relationship with Darce all the more.

  My mother waited for me to finish.

  “I’ll admit, there are things I don’t understand. I’m sure you’ll never, never tell me the truth about what happened to Dad. And maybe it’s better that way.” My words drifted to silence as I stared at her. “But at least I know about them—Persephone’s other lives. I know about all of them. How each of them died. And you can’t lie to me about that.”

  She bit her bottom lip, weighing what I had said with conscientious effort.

  “I assumed you already knew about them,” she drawled carefully. “After witnessing how attached you’d become to Hades.”

  “And I know you’re going to want to kill me too,” I added. Her eyes grew wide with surprise.

  “No, Summer…” she replied startled. I saw her adjust in her seat as she darted a quick glance in Zeus way. “No, that’s not true at all.”

  “Did my brother tell you that?” Zeus asked with a raised brow.

  “No, he didn’t tell me that,” I snapped. “I just know. I know that this is it. This is my last life. And you’d rather see me dead then be with—”

  “That’s not true,” Mom hissed at me. Her eyes came alive with rage. Morpheus lifted his hand between us and turned his dark gaze to mine.

  “I think we should take a moment to pause before this conversation continues on any further.”

  At that moment, three stewardesses walked through the doors, carrying plates of food in their arms. One of them placed a large, white plate in front of me. It was covered in a slab of steak, creamy potatoes and bright green, steamed broccoli. My mouth watered at the familiar scent of garlic and herb seasoning; my favorite. She knew that, too, and she was just trying to butter me up.

  I stared at it as the stewardesses turned to leave the room. My stomach grumbled; I was hungrier than I thought. We all glanced at each other for a moment before Zeus lifted his knife and fork and began to slice into his own.

  “Summer,” my mom started, but I shot her a dark look that silenced her immediately. She huffed a sigh and lifted her fork. Beside me, Morpheus began to eat too. I couldn’t stomach it; no matter how hungry I might have been.

  “The truth of the matter is that you lied to me,” I repeated softly. “I feel as though my whole life has been one giant lie.”

  “You want the truth?” My mom asked, gripping the silverware in her hands until her knuckles turned white. “Ask Morpheus who was responsible for the death of your father.”

  His fork clanged against the dish. I flinched as the sound of it echoed in my ears.

  “What do you mean?” I asked. What was she trying to say? My skin crawled as I darted my gaze between the two. Zeus lifted another piece of steak to his lips and took a bite.

  “Ask Morpheus,” she repeated, her voice tight. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest.

  “Ask about my dad?” I was so confused.

  Morpheus was rigid as he stared down my mother with glassy eyes. I watched as he clenched and unclenched his hand, releasing a sigh. It was heavy and seemed to carry a meaning I didn’t quite understand.

  “Why would you know anything about my dad dying? Did he tell you something? Did he say something to you in the Underworld?”

  “No, Summer,” Morpheus said quietly. He didn’t meet my eyes.

  “Tell her,” Demeter ordered. I felt my heart slowly sink into my gut. What did Morpheus have to do with. . .

  “Tell me what?” I asked, almost pleading. “W—what about my dad?”

  Morpheus closed his eyes as he appeared to fight away tears. “This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out. None of this was supposed to happen. Darce—”

  “...isn’t here now,” Zeus finished. “So tell her the truth.”

  “Morpheus?” I asked, reaching for his arm. I dug my fingers into the fabric of his sleeve. With another heavy sigh, Morpheus opened his eyes and lowered his gaze to my fingers. His own fingers brushed mine lightly.

  My mouth suddenly felt dry; too dry.

  “We had spent centuries looking for you. Looking for the next time Persephone’s life would come again; resurface as another person. After the last time, Darce was determined to leave you be. He wanted you to be happy. He wanted you to live your life fully.

  What he didn’t know was that I. . .I hadn’t given up. I had continued to search for you. I searched thousands of dreams of mortals. When I found your father, I knew I had found Demeter. . .and you. I started to send dreams to your father,” Morpheus paused, his voice growing weak. “Dreams about Greece and about projects. I drew him here, bid him to bring his family. I wanted you to be in the same country as Darce. I wanted you to be easily found.”

  “How does that have anything to do with my dad dying?” I asked, shaking my head.

  “Tell her,” my mother urged angrily. I ignored her, keeping my focus on Morpheus, and his clenched jaw.

  “I didn’t kill him,” Morpheus said quickly. “I only sent him dreams. I put into motion the reason why you’re here.”

  I glanced back at my mother.

  “And you didn’t know?”

  “Of course not,” she hissed. “Do you truly think I really wished harm on your father? I. . . I loved—”

  I held up my hand to stop her. I didn’t want to hear her plead with me anymore about how much she had loved him. I knew in her own way she must have. . .all those years together. My entire life; they had to count for something, right? It was just hard to wrap my mind around my mother—now a Goddess—causing his death. Being okay with her partner dying; lost forever. I knew I had to concentrate on one thing at a time, and none of this made any sense to me.

  “But how are you responsible?” I asked Morpheus again.

  He sucked in another breath and hesitated for a beat longer. I saw his shoulders lower, as if a heavy weight had been placed on him.

  “I asked Thanatos and his brother to help me.”

  “His brother?” I had never met or heard of Thanatos having a brother. “Who?”

  “Hypnos. I only wanted something small to happen, just so that we could draw you away from your parents. A moment—a slight opportunity for Darce to meet you. To see you.”

  Hypnos, a God of Sleep. The puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place. I stared at Morpheus with wide eyes.

  “Hypnos made my dad fall asleep at the wheel?” It had been late. We were going out to eat. The sky was getting darker, and my parents had been working all day, but my dad had better judgment than that.

  “It wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did, Summer.” His voice was thick with desperation.

  I pushed myself up from the chair; tears filling my eyes.

  “You did this to he
lp Darce?” I asked, staring at him. He remained unmoving.

  “He didn’t know. Not until later. He knew about the accident, but he didn’t know why or how. He was not pleased upon finding out.”

  “You were her friend,” I shrieked, feeling my body shaking and my breathing falter. “She trusted you. I trusted you.”

  He turned quickly in his chair, reaching for my hand.

  “I was her friend, Summer. And I am yours. I was only trying to help. I was trying to rectify a situation that has gone on unresolved for far too long.”

  Even if he had only tried to help, he had caused the greatest loss of my life. The loss of my father was something I would live with for the rest of my life.

  “Excuse me,” I managed as tears rolled down my cheeks. I didn’t want them to see me cry. Not again.

  Chapter 18

  “Summer!” Morpheus’ cry chased after me as I practically ran for the stairs, leading back down below deck to the hall of rooms. All I knew was that I wanted to get away from everyone, including him. The only person I wanted was Darce—and he had known about Hypnos and Morpheus. He had known the truth about my dad’s death. I wanted my dad. I wished for nothing more than to be back with him, back in the states, living what had been a very ordinary life. I shouldn’t have ever complained about Greece or moving with them for their expedition. I should have been happy to have been there with him, when he could have easily left me at home like Mom had wanted.

  I would take it all back if it meant I could have my dad again.

  “Summer! Please! Let me explain.”

  “You explained enough,” I snapped back over my shoulder. As I reached the stairwell, I caught Eros watching me with alarm in his eyes. He pushed himself from the railing, where he and Dionysus were still drinking wine.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Just leave me alone,” I ordered, and trampled down the steps; a mess of golden fabric.

  Morpheus was at my heels. It wasn’t as though I could run far on a yacht—no matter how super it might be.

  “Stop, please!”

  “I need time to think,” I explained over my shoulder as I darted down the hall.

  “Summer! Please.” Morpheus shouted after me again and again, and then I felt his hand on my arm. He whipped me around, until I was staring into his dark eyes.

  “Please don’t run from me,” he begged.

  The tears flowed and I couldn’t contain my sobs any longer.

  “Morpheus, I. . .I just want to go home. I don’t want to do this anymore. I never wanted any of this.” I hiccupped between breathing. “I just want to go home! How many times do I have to say it before someone finally listens to me?”

  “I wish I could take you home, Summer…” he said. “I wish I could undo everything I did. Everything that your mother has done. . .Darce. . .”

  “Well, you can’t.” I brushed my wrist over my eyes with a sniffle. “You can’t. No one can.”

  I tried to tug my other hand free, but Morpheus wouldn’t let go. He gazed at me, long and hard.

  “I know I can’t…” he whispered. I was almost sure his voice had cracked. My chin trembled as I continued to stare up at him. I felt his hand gently run along the outside of my arm, the backs of his knuckles raising goosebumps on my skin. I followed his hand with my eyes, all the way to my chin, where he guided it closer to him. I knew what he was going to do, before I think he even understood his own actions. I knew Morpheus was about to kiss me, and in the moment, I was willing to let it happen.

  Morpheus hesitated for a moment, stopping a mere breath away—as if he were waiting for me to deny him, but I didn’t. I remained still and stared at his lips. What would they feel like? I had wondered that on occasion when I was with him, but I never thought I would find myself in a position to make it happen.

  Wordlessly, he pressed his lips ever so gently against mine. It was the briefest of moments; a soft press of warmth. And just as quickly as it had started, his lips eased away; his dark gaze catching mine. The beating of my heart was echoing in my ears.

  “I know this doesn’t change anything between you and Darce. I would never expect it to,” he murmured softly. I could feel his warm breath against my cheek as I stared up at him with wide eyes.

  “But I had to. I had to because. . .” I slid a finger to his lips and shook my head.

  “Don’t,” I managed. I couldn’t bear to hear him confess his feelings to me again. Not now. Not after everything. “Please.”

  “I’m sorry,” he replied; his voice broke as his eyes began to fill with what I thought were tears. Was Morpheus about to cry? My heart sunk even deeper into my gut. His fingers curled into the strands of my hair—as though he didn’t want to let me go. I knew from the way he gazed at me—I knew what the kiss meant to him. I wasn’t just Summer standing before him. I was the lives he had loved, and the ones he never had the chance to know. I was not only the Goddess who had teased him and laughed with him, but I was also the girl who came into his darkened library, lost and confused.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered again.

  “I am too.” I took a step back. He released my hand and his hold on me, as I turned toward my room. I didn’t look back until the cool handle of my door pressed against the palm of my hand. Morpheus stood in the hallway; his wings hanging around his shoulders. He looked defeated as our eyes met again, but I couldn’t comfort him.

  I disappeared inside before I had the chance to second-guess myself. I needed space and time to process everything. And most importantly, I needed a plan.

  “I missed you.”

  I heard the words gently whispered into my ear, stirring me from sleep. The words belonged to Darce. The warmth of his arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me closer against him.

  Darce. Darce was here.

  A small smile grew on my lips, but as I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into a pair of unfamiliar eyes; a face I had only seen in a distant memory—belonging to someone else. I was surrounded by what I recognized as the domed home, burrowed deeply in the grove of the Underworld. I was in the place where Persephone and Darce often disappeared to be together when she returned.

  The flames of the candles gave the room a warm glow of light; the shadows flickering against the man’s face.

  I lifted a hand hesitantly, cupping his cheek within the curve of my palm. He smiled and pressed his lips against my skin.

  “I missed you,” he said again. “My love.” Everything in my body stirred to life. I knew that smile. I recognized the sparkle in his eye. Even with a new face, I knew him.

  “I missed you,” I echoed as I realized, despite his changed features, he was in fact, Darce; Hades. He lifted his hand, exposing a small vial filled with a crystal blue liquid. I furrowed my brow in confusion.

  “What is it?”

  “Do you wish to be with me?”

  I slid my gaze between him and the vial before I nodded slowly. “Of course I do. You know I do.”

  “You must forget him then. Forget him.”

  “Forget?” I asked, sliding my hand away from his face. “Forget who?”

  “You must forget him.” He repeated again. “Drink this, and you’ll be free. And then all will be well.”

  Shaking my head, I curled his fingers around the vial more tightly.

  “There’s nothing I need to forget.”

  His jaw tensed as he released a breath. “In order to be free. . .you must forget.”

  “Forget what? Who?” I asked again, pushing myself away from him. My thoughts suddenly went to the kiss. The kiss Morpheus had pressed against my lips. Was he talking about that? How had he known? I couldn't imagine that Morpheus had told him. I certainly didn’t plan on telling Darce about it.

  Besides, wasn’t this just a dream? I squeezed my eyes shut. I needed to wake up.

  “Drink the water. Trust me…”

  “But you told me never to drink the water in the River Styx,” I murmured. I remembered as I
had arrived at the Underworld, Darce had instructed to never drink the water. It seemed we both had so much to lose back then: my old life and his kingdom. There was more at stake now. It wasn’t just my life as a college student hanging in the balance, it was me: mind, body, spirit. It would all be gone if I didn’t live long enough to get my powers back.

  “Darce, it was a mistake. You must—” As I opened my eyes again, I found myself staring up at Morpheus. The candle-lit room had vanished, and we were lying on my bed, in the yacht, together.

  “You must see things as they are,” he said softly. “See us for what we are, Summer.”

  As I struggled from his grasp, I felt another pair of hands on my back. Turning on my side, I was met by my mother and Minthe. Both of them carried a dark, black vial, and wore strange, long smiles.

  “I missed you, my love,” Mom said eerily. “Come home to me. Come home and I will help you forget.”

  Minthe grabbed my wrists and pinned me to the bed. I began to struggle, kicking against the mattress. Her fingers dug into me, stinging my skin as my mother tilted my chin upwards.

  “Morpheus!” I screamed, as I fought to free myself. “Morpheus, help me!”

  My mother’s smile continued to grow as she opened the vial and tilted it towards my lip.

  “One sip, my love. And everything will be over. Everything will be as it should have been.”

  I slid my gaze around the room, desperate to find Morpheus. Instead, I found everyone else watching. All of the Gods and Goddesses: Dionysus. Athena. Aphrodite. Zeus. Hera. . .everyone. The ceremony.

  I heard my name echoing in my ears.

  Someone was calling for me. I tried to focus on my name—tried to figure out who it was. My mother tilted my chin straighter, her fingers keeping my lips parted. I was unable to move. Minthe held me down; her smile growing wider, stretching across her face.

  “I love my Lord so very much. I promise to take good care of him,” she cooed.

  The liquid oozed into my mouth and slid down my throat. It was a slow take, but my body went numb and grew heavier. It was like every part of me had fallen asleep, without the strange tingle that usually followed. Was this how it felt to die?