“Hello,” I say again, but no one responds. Yet, I don’t feel alone. This house has life inside of it, despite the decomposition. The Underworld is full of hard to explain energies. At times it is best not to force an explanation. Energy has a funny way of eventually explaining itself.
I couldn’t let him stay here. While the realm he created was beautiful, it was lonely and cold. I knew what happened to the souls in Propalyia. Eventually, they all flung themselves over the gates, only to be impaled, and returned to their homes. They hated me for it, which was why I kept my distance, why they moaned throughout the forests. Every human desires peace, and there was no peace in Propalyia.
“You know, you’re pretty hot for a dead girl,” he continues, as if my silence is an invitation. Classy, idiot. You don’t know who you’re messing with. Don’t make her come out. Trust me, you’ll regret it.
I leaned in and finally did what I had wanted to do all day. I placed a soft, gentle kiss on Amphitrite’s bare shoulder. Then I moved further in toward her neck and placed another. And another. In between kisses, I whispered, “The day. Is not. Over yet.”
The air burns my skin and pierces my airways. Normally, I’d travel through the night or with the aid of my wings. However, I am too tired to command much of anything at all. I must walk and wander as if I am another soul seeking the unknown exit. I am seeking the comfort of a past life and normalcy. What could be more mortal than that?
I’d loved it, lost for a time in a world of intangible fantasy and never too deep emotions, until inevitably, I’d craved more. I’d let my guard down, enjoying him way too much, and despite my best efforts, I realized I was falling in love. So naturally, I ruined everything.
Maybe it was because I had been a little moody and a lot more broody lately. All I knew was that this party god felt all partied out lately. From Napa to Guam, to all the changes on floor five, to Clio’s baby shower, there had been more drama than a season’s worth of The Young and the Beautiful Generally Spending the Restless Days of our Bold Lives in a Hospital. I hope that made your world turn.
Eyes like obsidian peek from behind his Guy Fawkes mask. Its twisted grin is like the antithesis to the gaping frown of mine. And yet, the foreshadowing of anarchy feels all the same. There’s a suave air to him as he dances up alongside me, just within reach and yet so far away. The energy between us feels static, like a live wire connects us.
I decide to plant my feet, force my blood to pump and pound, my muscles to constrict and contract. There is an ache in my knees and weight in my head, throbbing pains. My physical body has not been used in some time, and it howls for me to continue to drift amongst the shadows.
I stared at the enchanted ceiling of my bedroom, watching the stars and planets swirl and soar above me. Though the visual always comforted me, I knew I wasn’t going to fall asleep that night.
The image of when he left me plays through my mind. My back was against the cold stone tiles as he stumbled from the cell and out of my life for a thousand years. The silent cries I tried to hide for years afterward. The feeling of being completely alone and knowing he wouldn’t come back, and he hadn’t. I had said damning things there too, and this was just the same. I had pushed and pushed, and it worked. He will no longer be here if I keep this up, and it breaks me. It hurts me more than I want to admit.
Handing him a folded piece of paper with directions, I furrowed my eyebrows, hoping to come across as serious as this matter was to me. “Every year, a month before the Hollows of All, I want you to choose two-threes. Two barrels of three types of wine, rum, and bourbon in alternate years. Send me a sample of the three. Once I tell you my choice, you take the two barrels of that choice to this cellar.”
As she goes to dispose of her drink, she trips on her own two feet, and without thinking, I reach out and grab her, steadying her on her feet. My heart goes into my throat as I feel a smidge of my power release.
I sigh, placing my hands on my hips as I scan the room further. If I were a dagger that looked like something from middle earth, where would I be?
I was suddenly frozen in place, unable to speak. I knew I must look crazy to him. A dark, unbreakable dam holding squalls of emotion behind sharp blue eyes and pursed lips. I wondered if he could see the goddess behind the youthful face, feel the ancient power pulsating through me, begging for release.
