Destined (23 page)

Eros’s embrace loosened as he prepared for another round of the “who are you” questions. The ones he couldn’t answer. The ones that drove the only remaining wedge between them.
 

“Why is everyone else here invisible, but you’re not?”

An almost imperceptible sigh of relief escaped Eros’s lips as he realized Psyche wasn’t trying to re-walk a dead-end path.

“I mean,” she continued, “you obviously don’t want me to see you, so why not just be invisible like everyone else. Why the darkness and the night-only visits?”

“What makes you think I could be invisible?” he asked.

Psyche raised her eyebrows and looked around the room. “Umm … because you made everything here. I’m guessing invisible is doable for you.”

Eros beamed at her. “You’re right. I could do invisible. But I want you to see me. I want more than anything to be with you in the light.”

“Then why…”

He laid his finger across her lips. “And since I can’t do that, this is the next best thing. You can see my eyes, Psyche. Everything you need to know about me you can see in my eyes.”

She studied them intently. “I can live with that.”

Eros picked her up and spun her around. “I knew there was a reason I love you so much.”

“Oh, wait,” Psyche said, making Eros stop. “That reminds me. I’ve been wanting to tell you something.”

Eros’s heart thundered in his chest. Was she going to tell him the one thing that would make him happy forever? “Yes?” he asked, the word barely escaping his lips.

“Thank you.”

Eros’s heart sank, but he tried to smile. Her love would come, he assured himself. “For what?”

“For loving me enough to save me,” she whispered.

“It has truly been my pleasure.”

Chapter 29 - Psyche

By the time I fell out of bed the next “morning,” the staff had already moved on to serving lunch. After grabbing a tuna pita, I met Alexa in the gardens. We were sprawled across the lawn and she was telling me about the time brother number seventeen hid a dead fish in sister twelve’s dresser, when I heard wailing from far in the distance.

“You know, that pita looks really good. Come inside with me so I can get one?” Alexa asked in a hurried rush as she grabbed at my hand.

I didn’t budge. “What’s that noise?”

“It’s probably a wounded animal. We ought to get inside in case it’s dangerous.”

I ignored her and moved closer to the sounds. And then I heard the wails more clearly.
 
“My sister! Poor, Psyche. Poor, poor, Psyche!”
 

Chara. She must’ve come back from Mycenae to mourn me at the cliff. The relief of knowing she didn’t hate me after all did little to diminish the heartache and guilt shredding my stomach. Here I was, happily oblivious in my new little world, and my family thought I was dead. I was the worst sister ever.

Alexa pulled harder on my arm. “Hurry, Psyche. Get inside the palace. Before it’s too late.” Her voice was urgent, pleading, frightened.

Still, I managed to shake my arm loose from her grasp. “What are you talking about? That’s my sister calling for me. There’s no danger.”
 

Scurrying toward my sister’s laments, I followed her voice back to the cliff where my parents had been forced to leave me. Alexa followed in my wake, desperately pleading with me to turn back. But I couldn’t stop. Chara was up there. She was so far above, and I was standing down where the West Wind had deposited me, hidden by a fresh forest of limbs and leaves.

“Chara!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. A heavy breeze rustled my dress and played my cry back to my own ears like an echo. I called out for her again and again, but each time the wind dampened my voice and kept it from rising.

“Favonius, stop that!” I screamed at him. “I need my sister to hear me. You let her hear me!” Tears and panic bit at me. I had to let her know Aris hadn’t harmed me.

And then the wind was gone, as if it had never been whipping around my ankles in the first place. I called again to my sister and this time she stopped wailing.
 

“Chara! It’s Psyche.”

“Psyche! Is that you?” Chara’s voice call back to me.

Alexa put her hand on my arm again. “Psyche, we need to go back. You don’t know what you’re doing. This is a mistake.”
 

I ignored her.
 

“Yes!” I answered Chara. “I’m fine. Don’t worry anymore, okay?”

“How can I get down there?” she called.

“Favonius,” I commanded, “please bring my sister down here to me.”

Stillness.
 

I waited for Chara to appear in the clearing, but she didn’t arrive. The wind made no indication it had heard me.
 

“Psyche? Are you still there?” Chara called to me again.
 

“Yes! I’m trying to get you down here.”

“Just tell me how. Where’s the path.”

“There is no path,” I shouted back. “You need the West Wind’s help. Favonius,” I hollered again, searching the sky around me for any sign of a breeze, “bring me my sister!”

Everything remained still, but the Wind’s booming voice shook me from inside as it answered. “Aris forbids it.”

“He can’t!” I sobbed. “He has to let her come see me. To at least see for herself that I’m still alive.”

The Wind didn’t answer. He’d given me my answer and moved on.
 

I racked my brain for what to do as my sister continued calling down to me. “I didn’t understand. Did you say the path was to the west?”

“Can you come back tomorrow?” I shouted up to her.

“I don’t want to leave you,” Chara called down.

“I’m fine. I promise. Tell Mother and Father I’m fine.”

“Father’s sick,” she called. “Can you come home?”

“I don’t think — I don’t know.” I could barely yell anymore over my tears. Father was fine when I’d left five days ago. What could’ve gone wrong already? “Come back tomorrow. You can visit. Please.”

“Fine,” she answered. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

I took my time wandering back to the palace, barely hearing Alexa shuffling her feet behind me over my own sniffles. I had a problem. I’d promised my sister a visit even though I knew Aris had already forbidden it.

But why had he said no before I even asked?

Chapter 30 - Eros

He paced in the forest, barely hidden from view, waiting for night to fall so he could return to Psyche.

He’d known Chara would come. She’d prayed to Hermes for a safe journey to Sikyon. And Hermes had warned Eros. He knew if Chara was returning home so soon after her marriage, it could only be to mourn Psyche. Which meant she’s be headed for the cliffs.
 

Eros did everything he could to try to keep Psyche and her sister from reuniting. He warned Alexa — made her promise not to let Psyche near the hilltop. Alexa had assured him it wouldn’t be a problem; Psyche only stayed in the gardens.

No one had figured Chara could wail so loudly.

Eros had kept watch over Psyche the entire day. He saw Psyche’s attention suddenly snap toward the hills. He saw Alexa tugging at Psyche’s wrist, pleading with Psyche to go back inside. And he saw Psyche’s stubborn will win out as she shrugged free of Alexa and hurried to the base of the hill.

Watching the scene unfold had been tortuous. Eros wanted so badly to intervene. To save Psyche from herself. He knew in his heart that Psyche would demand a visit with Chara. What sister wouldn’t under normal circumstances?

But things between Psyche and Chara weren’t going to be normal any more. Chara’s hatred for Psyche festered in the days following her arranged marriage. Chara was miserable and she blamed Psyche. Her grief on the cliffs was real enough — Eros could feel that. But she was more mourning the whole relationship they’d had. And sobbing for the misery that had become both their lives in such a short time.

When Chara and Psyche finally turned away from each other, Eros collapsed against the cool stucco of his courtyard wall. Chara was headed home; she wasn’t going to try to find a way into their valley. He wiped the sweat of his brow with the back of his hand and huffed. What good was being a god if all you could do was sit idly by and watch? He never wanted to relive another moment like that one.

But he also knew he wasn’t entirely out of the woods yet either. Zephyrus had answered truthfully when Psyche asked why he wouldn’t carry Chara down — Eros, or Aris rather, had forbidden it. And for that decision, Eros figured he would likely suffer for awhile under Psyche’s anger, disappointment, or grief. At least he hoped it was one of those more benign emotions. Because facing her hatred was something he would never be prepared for.

Chapter 31 - Psyche

I rushed through dinner and hurried back to my bedroom before the sun had fully set. When I entered my room, I stopped in my tracks.

The room was overflowing with fragrant, white flowers. Roses and lilies. Orchids and chrysanthemums. I leaned over a bouquet of roses and inhaled. Their scent was so perfectly sweet it was almost intoxicating. I pulled one of the long-stemmed beauties from among the others and traced it under my nose. It felt like softest velvet.

As I stood back to admire the flowers more fully, I noticed how the white petals glowed mysteriously in the candle light. How the heady aroma of fresh blooms wrapped around the room like a cozy quilt. It was sort of funny — how he’d tossed away the orchids I’d brought him last night only to make it up to me with this. He definitely got points for style.

But then I remembered that he had forbidden my sister from visiting me. No matter how much I appreciated everything he’d given me, I couldn’t let him keep me from my family. Especially not now.

Darkness was only starting to envelop the palace when Aris flew through the window and swept me into his arms. He kissed me deeply. Not passionately, but as if he were afraid he might lose me if he let go.