Part 2 (2/2)

It had been a mistake to kiss him, she decided. A terrible mistake born from a moment of weakness. She wished he'd let her apologize, but apparently he intended to avoid her for the rest of her captivity, however long that would be.

An idea occurred to her like a bolt of lightning and Psyche sat up so fast her head swam. The bowl! She could use the scrying bowl to find out where he was so she could apologize. The kiss may have destroyed their tentative friends.h.i.+p, but she might be able to rebuild it, if he was willing to start over.

Psyche slipped from the bed and tiptoed over to the door. As always, she heard no one, but she was beginning to feel that wasn't an indicator of whether she was truly alone. She pressed on the door latch and tugged until it opened. She had to press a hand over her mouth to contain a squeal of delight.

She poked her head out into the hall and waited. When no alarms sounded and no one shouted she shouldn't leave her room, Psyche cautiously slipped from the room and down the hall. She tried to remember the route she had taken with Eros, but after many twists and turns, she found the room mostly by chance. Her heart pounded as she approached the bowl beneath the window and peered inside. There was no water in it.

She chewed her lip, unsure of what to do. She considered going to the nearest bathroom and filling a pitcher, but what if it was some sort of special water? Magic water or holy water. She giggled at the last thought and choked back a scream when she heard a man laugh in response. She whirled around but saw no one.

It hadn't sounded like Eros. Psyche pressed a hand against her lips to hold back a cry of fear. She didn't know which direction to flee.

”Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry I scared you.” The man's form s.h.i.+mmered into solidity, and Psyche jumped, blinking at the newcomer. ”Wh-who a-are you?”

He was tall and lanky, a bit on the thin side, with dark brown hair and blue eyes that twinkled with mischief. He smiled at her and held up his hands to show he was harmless. ”I'm Merc. I'm a friend of Eros. His mom told me you were staying here, and I wanted to meet you.”

”Merc?” she asked.

”Mercury.” He grinned and gave her a courtly bow. ”At your service.”

Psyche sorted through the bedtime tales and tried to remember who he was.

”I also go by Hermes,” he said. ”That name is probably more familiar to you.”

Right. He was the messenger of the G.o.ds and the patron of business. She remembered winged sandals, and she peered at his feet, trying-and failing-to be subtle about it. He snickered and held up his foot, clad in a white sneaker.

”Sorry. Nike Swoosh. No wings today.”

It was rather disconcerting that everyone up here could read her mind. Psyche flushed and he gave her a coaxing smile. ”Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to tease. I don't spend much time around mortals, and Eros always tells me I have atrocious manners.”

Psyche's eyes widened at the mention of Eros's name. She'd been looking at a man for at least a minute now, and Eros had said she would fall in love with the next man she saw. She closed her eyes quickly as if she could unring the bell.

”Nah, you're good,” Mercury said, his tone casual. ”Don't worry.”

She cautiously opened an eye. She didn't feel like she was in love, but Eros had said- ”Really, you're okay. I'm not available. I've got a girlfriend.”

Eros hadn't said anything about only single men being subject to the spell. Psyche gnawed on her lower lip, her brow crumpled in confusion.

”I'll bring her by sometime this week,” Mercury said. ”I think you'll like her. Her name is Chloris. She's a nymph.”

”A nymph.” She supposed if she was going to believe the pantheon was real, she'd have to accept things like nymphs and satyrs and sprites as well, but she had difficulty wrapping her mind around it.

”Yeah, a real sweet girl. Nymphs usually are. Don't p.i.s.s her off, though, or she'll turn you into a flower.”

Psyche burst into laughter, and Mercury laughed, too. ”They don't really turn people into flowers, do they?” she asked.

”Yep.” Mercury grinned. ”She almost did it to me once, but I talked her out of it.”

”What did you do to make her mad?”

Mercury gave a sheepish shrug. ”I may have sort of . . . kind of . . . kidnapped her.”

Psyche laughed.

”What can I say? She wouldn't go out with me.”

Psyche shook her head. ”So you G.o.ds really do go around abducting people left and right?”

Mercury's grin widened. ”Many a great romance has started with a good old-fas.h.i.+oned kidnapping.”

”I would have turned you into a flower.”

The room was plunged into darkness so complete Psyche couldn't even see her hands when she lifted them in front of her face. There was a rumbling, and the floor shook beneath her. She cried out and staggered and might have fallen if Mercury hadn't grabbed her arm to steady her.

”Oh, s.h.i.+t,” he muttered. ”Eros! Calm down, man.”

”How could you do this?” Eros roared. His voice reverberated off the walls, and Psyche clapped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

There was a strange spinning sensation in her head, and when she opened her eyes, she was in her bedroom again. She raced to the door, but it was locked. She pounded on it and shouted Eros's name, but there was no answer.

Heartsick, she sagged to the floor and sat staring at the door, hoping she would hear his footsteps.

”Seriously, dude, you need to calm down,” Mercury said. ”You scared the bejeezus out of your girl.”

Eros collapsed into a chair. ”How could you do this? Why would you do such a thing? Why?” Eros had little experience with emotion, and he was unprepared for the pain. Was this what mortals felt when their hearts were breaking? He wondered how they endured it. He looked at the man who had been his best friend for millennia, and the ache of betrayal only compounded his misery.

Mercury was his uncle, one of Zeus's many children, but he had always seemed younger than Eros. Even when Eros was an awkward, emotionally stunted boy, Mercury had always been around to coax him into adventures, or simple pleasures like building a pillow fort. What fun Eros had in life he owed to Mercury who took nothing seriously and had an endless enthusiasm for pranks. Still, he was always good-natured, never cruel or thoughtless. Something like this was completely out of his character.

Mercury waved his hand and formed a chair beside him. He sat down in front of Eros and leaned forward. His expression was more earnest and serious than Eros had ever seen from his friend.

”It's all right, Eros. I wouldn't have met with her if I didn't know it was safe. She's not in love with me. Seriously. Go talk to her, and you'll see that everything is fine.”

”How can that be?”

Mercury's face lit up with a grin that grew until it seemed his face would split. ”I'm sure you'll figure it out.”

Eros glared at him, but Mercury's grin only got wider.

”How did you know Psyche was here?”

”I ran into Sis at Dad's place a couple of days ago. She's tickled pink about the situation.”

”Did Grandfather-”

Mercury shook his head. ”No, Dad's not messing with you. He's happy for you, too, actually. Listen, go talk to your girl. You'll see everything's okay. I'll be back later this week. I'll bring Chloris and we'll have a cookout or something.”

Eros couldn't think of a reply. His mind was a maelstrom. Mercury shook his head, and he actually looked amused. He vanished with a little wave.

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