Destined (8 page)

“Psyche, don’t be like that.” The lines around her eyes creased. “You’ve always been the understanding one. Try to see things from our perspective.”

“What perspective is that?” I tossed the scroll down to the foot of the bed and began waving my arms at her as my voice perched on the edge of a yell. “The perspective that you decided to sell off your daughters because we’re at the peak of our bride price, even though you promised Chara she had at least another year? Or the perspective that you just let Chara dance off to a wedding without even knowing who her husband is going to be?”

Mother didn’t answer, so I scooted off my bed, unable to stand sitting next to her any longer. “How am I supposed to trust you?”

She sighed, long and heavy, as if weighing the possible responses. Finally, she said, “You knew about Chara, huh? Why didn’t you tell her?”

Now it was me who didn’t have an answer. I didn’t want to admit I’d been too afraid to act. That the looks from Rasmus and Father had frozen me. That I’d convinced myself Chara’s temporary happiness would be better for her than the truth.

“I know, Psyche,” she said. “Things aren’t always as straightforward as they seem.”

Keeping my back to her, I rearranged the perfume and lotion bottles on my vanity. The sudden sense of losing everyone I cared about, even Aphrodite, nearly overwhelmed me. She hadn’t been back since our fight and I missed her sprawling herself across my room, playing with my hair, letting me try out every new fragrance I got on her first. Did our girl chats not mean anything to her? Was she missing me at all?

When the lily scent of the last lotion I’d used on Aphrodite hit me, I had to swallow back a sob that threatened to choke me. How had my life gone so completely wrong in just four days?

To keep from crying, I jerked my hair into a tight braid, pulling harder every time I thought I felt tears forming. And I focused my attention back on Mother. “Whose idea was it to let Chara go like that? Tell me it wasn’t yours.”

In the mirror, I saw her looking down at her clasped hands. “Not mine, no; but I’m as much to blame as anyone. I didn’t stop it.”

I spun around to face her head-on. “Why? What possible reason could you have for tricking her like that?”

Mother’s eyes snapped up at my accusing tone. “Have you seen her the past few days? She’s been sullen and withdrawn. There was no way she was going to pull it together unless she thought she was headed off with someone like Rasmus.”

“I still don’t get
why
though.Why not wait for another suitor? It didn’t have to be the first one that came along.”

 
Mother sat up, arrow straight. “The role of a royal daughter is to solidify alliances with her marriage. Do you know how powerful Mycenae is? We weren’t willing to turn them away because Chara was weepy-eyed.”
 

I was too shocked to answer. It was one of the coldest things I’d ever heard her say. But as she stared at my shuttered window, the flame from my bedside lamps amplified the moisture pooling in her eyes. “Do you think your father rode in on some white horse and I got to choose him from among other suitors? Our marriage was arranged before I was barely old enough to understand what the word meant.” Her words dropped to barely more than a whisper. “It’s through time and a shared vision for this City that we’ve grown to love each other.”

My shock fell away as I realized she’d been through this exact same thing. Maybe it was awful that she was willing to sell off her daughters; or maybe it was just the way things worked and no one could change that. Either way, I felt like I saw my mom from a slightly different angle now. Like her scars had been made visible under different lighting. Did she have other wounds too hidden for me to know about? I didn’t want to hold grudges against her that weren’t hers to bear.

She must’ve seen me soften. When she patted the bed beside her, I obediently sat. “So, how’d
you
know about Chara?”

I told her about finding Rasmus alone and the talk we had in the alcove, but left out the details that’d suggest we’d been flirting. Better she not think I’d ventured too far down Aphrodite’s path already. Then I told her about my odd dream and suspicion there could be more to it.

As I described it, Mother pinched her lips closed in thought. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but our family has a history of receiving prophetic dreams.”

I rolled my eyes. She might have mentioned it once or twice.

Slowly, she repeated the words of my dream. “Go inside, Psyche. Someone will come for you soon.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Prophecies can be very double-sided.”

I flopped back against my bed and let my arms sprawl out to the side. “Typical. I finally get some hope and…” I paused, blinking back fresh tears. “I don’t think I can handle any more bad news today, Mom.”

She blew out my lamp and smoothed the few strands of hair around my face that I hadn’t forced into a braid. “Just sleep, baby. Tomorrow’s a new day and I have a feeling the prophecy will reveal itself soon.”

Chapter 9 - Eros

As soon as Eros launched toward home, he began plotting. Of course, Aphrodite couldn’t know about this since she apparently hated her new daughter. And she’d demanded Psyche fall in love with someone wretched.

So if Aphrodite couldn’t know about his plans, it meant he had to keep Psyche in the dark to some extent too.

Talk about “hating” something.

The idea of never showing himself to Psyche again hit harder than a kick to the kidneys. She deserved better than never knowing the name of the man who loved her, never seeing his face looking down upon her when she first opened her eyes in the morning.

But how long could a mortal keep his identity a secret? It was a risk he couldn’t afford to take. No, he knew the only way to ensure Aphrodite didn’t figure things out was to ensure Psyche herself never knew.

But then what did that mean - keeping himself a secret? How do you spend the rest of your life with someone and not know their real name? How do you avoid ever seeing their face?

He could blind Psyche, but that’d be torture for them both. Without her sight, she couldn’t possibly be happy. She’s never be able to read, or watch a play, or enjoy blooming flowers again. He wouldn’t sacrifice so much of what she loved out of life for his own happiness.

That alone had to be a sure sign he was really in love — Psyche’s happiness mattered far more to him than his own. Eros almost smacked himself for being such a sap. But he couldn’t be angry with himself when he thought of Psyche.

Retreating to the courtyard of his palace, he trained his second sight on Psyche. For the time, watching her was all he needed. The pulse of her lips as she spoke filled him; the flutter of her eyes restored him.

As the hours slipped by, servants scrambled to bring the god something to rouse him from his trance, but Eros couldn’t be moved. All he wanted was to gaze at Psyche until he thought of a way to hold her without risking both their lives.

Life.

That’s what he wanted with her. But how? How, when his mother had forbidden it? How, when Psyche despised him? How, when the way to get what he wanted involved tricking the only two women who mattered in his life?

As Eros looked on, a caravan of suitors approached the gates of Sikyon; nobles with their horses and wagons paraded up the hill from the port. A cold sheen of sweat coated Eros’s brow. The threat of losing Psyche to someone else,
and
failing to carry out his mother’s sentence, slapped his googly-eyed brain into motion. Finally, Eros knew what he had to do.

His first stop was Aphrodite’s palace. Praise Zeus she was on vacation. She never let anyone
look
at the natural antidote to her powers, let alone
take
some if it. There’d be no way to explain what he was doing if she caught him helping himself to the potent waters. He filled two flasks from the Spring of Abstinence, surprisingly delighted by the thought that the suitors would enjoy a full month of absolutely no sense of love or lust. Usually he prided himself on inflicting such sweet torture, but perhaps a lack of passion was something even worse.

With his flasks filled, Eros disguised himself as an old servant and sped to the gates of Sikyon just as the suitors approached.

“Hail good Lords!” Eros called to the men. “My master, King Darion, awaits your arrival at his palace, but he knows you still have some distance to travel before you arrive. Please accept some water on behalf of the King to make the rest of your journey more comfortable.”

“Now this is hospitality,” one of the men said, brusquely snatching a flask from Eros’s hand. After taking a long drink, he threw the flask to another of the nobles. “Krios, I don’t remember you sending out water bearers when I came to visit you.”

“Heh! You’re lucky I even let you in my City.”
 

“Lucky you let me in? You’re the one who should be thanking me for gracing that rat hole with my presence.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot,” Krios replied. “Your great grandfather’s second cousin’s uncle was related by marriage to a god. Why, you’re practically a god yourself.”

While the barbs flew, the suitors passed the flasks between themselves, laughing and drinking.
 

 
When they’d emptied the flasks, the suitors continued on their way to the palace, never looking back at the aged servant who’d already disappeared.

Chapter 10 - Psyche

The afternoon following my dream, I snatched a glimpse out my window to see a line of suitors marching toward us. For once, Mother’s skepticism was misplaced. My dream was a good prophecy that was coming true already.

I watched as no less than a dozen kings and princes bore through the mob and were welcomed into our home. After a while, Maia came and told me the men had caravanned together from the port of Corinth. She also told me — in no uncertain terms — that my parents wanted me to stay in my room until they sent for me. They were planning a banquet and Maia was under strict orders to keep me hidden until then.

As if waiting to lay eyes on me would somehow add to my allure or something.

I rolled my eyes and thought of trying to slip past her out of sheer defiance, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. No doubt Mother had elaborate plans for tonight and I didn’t want to be the one to ruin them.

But the waiting made me anxious. By the time the sun was low in the sky, I’d tried on nearly every dress in my wardrobe and had Maia redo my hair three different times before she finally had to leave to help Mother prepare. I wasn’t sure why I even cared what I looked like. My sister was gone and I hadn’t heard from Aphrodite in days. If getting myself married first was a game, I’d already lost. What was the point in continuing to play? Other than, as Mother said, to solidify an alliance for our City?

Someone stop me from fainting; the sheer romance of it all might overwhelm me
.
  

When darkness finally arrived, Maia came back to my room.