Hearts and Arrows Box Set

by Staci Hart

  Her tone was flat. “Apollo conspired to harm you, but it was Ares who killed you.”

  Adonis stepped back, then sat heavily on the ground. “How did you come to know this?”

  “Mnemosyne. She gave me the memories from that day.”

  “So, Apollo—”

  “Did not deserve to be kept from Daphne.”

  He sat stunned. “All of this time, I have been wrong?”

  She nodded. “We were both wrong.”

  “Then I have no qualms with Apollo. This changes everything.” He turned to her, his face soft when he stood.

  “This changes nothing.”

  He moved to her, and his brow quirked, but a smile lit his face. “What do you mean, love? All is well.” He held her face, but she turned away from him.

  “All is not well, Adonis.”

  “I don’t understand.” His smile fell.

  She turned back to him, her face sad. “If you loved me, if you truly loved me, you would have respected my feelings, at least enough to speak to me. And through all that has happened over the last few weeks, I have realized something very vital.” She took a deep breath. “I can’t do this anymore. I need your respect. I need your partnership. I need you. But you can’t give any of that to me.”

  His eyes were wide. “Aphrodite—”

  “Please, I’m not finished.” She laid her hands on her stomach, steeling herself. “Ares has betrayed me. You will never compromise. You do not see me as your equal. And I am lost. I need to find myself. And to do that, I must be alone.”

  “For how long?”

  “From you, sweet … forever.”

  His mouth went slack. “Aphrodite, you cannot mean …”

  “Adonis, I cannot lay my heart in the hands of someone so willing to throw it away.”

  “I never thought that this would be forever. I believed we would eventually be all right.”

  “You thought that you could ignore me? Avoid it? Did you think that I would idly wait for you to decide that it didn’t matter to you? Do you realize that because you left me, I found the truth about my feelings for you, and yours for me? As abandoned as I have been, I see all things differently.”

  He had nothing to say as he sat, dazed. Dita watched him, wanting to scream, to cry, to touch him, but her heart couldn’t be moved. All that was left was a cold stone in her chest.

  “I’m sorry, Adonis. For everything. I have loved you for so long, but that love was a lie. I wanted you, but I didn’t know you. Not as I should. And your love for me is not what you think. We have idolized each other, the distance making everything we feel seem like more than it is. And it can’t go on.”

  She knelt next to him and touched his beautiful face. She looked into his eyes, the eyes that had worshipped her, that saw her for the first time. And then she stood and turned, and walked away.

  Day 16

  DITA STOOD IN HER INFINITY closet, holding up a very small bikini top, wondering if she should pack something more modest, but shrugged. Greece didn’t give a fuck. She probably wouldn’t wear a top, anyway. She tossed it in her leather weekend bag and turned to her drawer to dig for a few more.

  “Hey,” Perry said from the doorway.

  Dita turned with a smile. “You ready to go? Because I could really go for some baba ghanoush and a glass of wine.” Perry chewed her lip, and Dita’s smile fell. She placed a hand on her hip. “Please, tell me we’re still going.”

  “We’re still going, but we need to talk. You should sit.”

  Dita’s fingers went numb as she sat down on her round bench in the middle of the room. “Okay. Lay it on me.”

  Perry stood in front of her. “Adonis came to me. He told me what happened.”

  Dita’s brow furrowed. “You already knew what happened.”

  “I know, but then … well, he asked me to do something, and I need to tell you before I can agree to it.”

  “What?” Dita whispered.

  “He wants to drink Waters of Lethe, Dita. He wants to forget. Everything.”

  Dita’s breath hitched. “Oh, gods.”

  Perry sat down next to her. “I didn’t want to do it without you knowing, but I have to respect his wishes.”

  Dita’s heart broke again. She was shocked that she could feel any more pain. The way that they left things felt final for her, but there was a crack left open, a window that she could climb in. Once he drank Lethe, there would be no turning back. She had no right to stop him and didn’t know if she would ever reach a point where she wanted to. But soon, the window would close indefinitely.

  “I can’t blame him. There’s a large part of me that wants to forget, too.” A tear spilled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with the pads of her fingers. She turned to Perry. “Can I take it to him? Can I say goodbye?”

  Perry pulled a small vial out of her pocket. “I thought you might want to.” Dita held out her hand, and Perry placed the small, cool glass tube into her palm. “Do you want me to wait for you?”

  Dita shook her head. “I’ll come find you when it’s finished.”

  Perry wrapped her arms around Dita, who squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Okay.” Perry wiped away her own tears and turned to go.

  Dita walked into the clearing in the soft sunshine to find Adonis sitting under the tree with his back to her. She laid her hand on his shoulder, and he turned, his face full of grief. She knelt down next to him.

  “Persephone told me. I have brought this for you.” She extended the vial, and he waited before taking it. He closed it in his big fist.

  “I did not believe you wished to see me again,” He stared down at his hands, at his fate that he held between his fingers.

  “I could not let you go without saying goodbye. Once you drink that, there will be no place for goodbyes or apologies.”

  Adonis looked up at her, and her breath caught when he spoke. “I cannot stay here. I cannot go on here without you, not without forgetting.” He looked down at his hand. “I can erase the pain. I cannot live forever here without you. My whole life has been you. It’s always been you, Aphrodite.”

  Dita sat down facing him and placed a hand over his. “I will remember. I will remember our love, and your face, and all of the trials and eons that we have been through together. I will remember the good. I will remember you, Adonis. I will always love you.”

  Adonis looked at her with eyes the color of the ocean as they welled over with tears. Her breath hitched, and she reached for him.

  He opened his arms and held her as she breathed deep, his scent that she would never forget. After a long moment, they moved apart. He held her face and stroked her soft skin with his thumb before he leaned in and brushed his lips to hers, the lips she knew so well.

  “I have always loved you, Aphrodite.” Adonis opened his palm and pulled the cork from the vial. He paused, watching her again, and as her tears fell, her hands covered her mouth, holding back the pain, holding back her heart caught in her throat. He tipped his head back and poured the Lethe into his open mouth, and when he swallowed, he closed his eyes.

  When he opened them, he was gone.

  His eyes were clouded, blank, as he stood and walked away, never looking back, never seeing her as she fell in a heap, never hearing as the air filled with the sounds of her pain.

  Owner of a Lonely Heart - 1984

  KATSU TOOK A LAST LOOK at his closet, then glanced back at his suitcase. He would be in Vegas for a week, tailing a mark for the Yakuza. He didn’t know many details, only that he was to follow Nakano, who ran in the inner circles of the clan, and report back. When the task was given to him, he had a feeling it was a test. He was still considered new to the Tanaka clan, even though he’d been there for two years. At some point, he would earn his place, and the sooner, the better.

  He zipped up his suitcase, carried it into the foyer, and set it next to the door.

  Katsu scooped up his keys and wallet from the bowl, turning when he heard Yuki’s heels clic
king on the hard wood floor. She flipped her long, glossy black hair over her shoulder as she sauntered over to him. Her hips swayed in her silk, cobalt jumpsuit, her dove-white skin a shocking contrast to the deep blue.

  “Leaving already?” she asked, playing coy.

  He glanced at his Rolex, mostly for show. The last thing he wanted to do was have an extended conversation with his wife. “Yes, I am running late.”

  She stopped very close to him, too close for his comfort. “You’ve been so busy,” she said as she slipped her hand inside his suit jacket.

  He pulled her hand away and placed it by her side. “I have to leave, Yuki. I do not have time for your games.”

  “You never have time for me. You’re never even here.”

  His eyes narrowed as hers went big and soft, and her full bottom lip pushed out. She was as beautiful as she was shrewd.

  He let out a heavy breath. “I have to go, Yuki. Do you have enough money?”

  Her face instantly morphed into a sneer. “You and Father always think you can buy me off. I’m not that easy, Katsu.”

  “No one ever accused you of being easy, Yuki.”

  Her lips pinched. “Take me with you.”

  “I am going for work. For your father. This trip is not for pleasure.” He picked up his suitcase and turned for the door. “Call your father if you need anything. He knows how to find me.”

  As he closed the door, he heard her screech in frustration, punctuated by the sound of her heel stomping on the hard wood.

  Katsu took the elevator to the lobby and slipped into the back of a black Town Car. As they made their way to the airport, he wondered how he ended up where he was. Encounters with Yuki always left him picking apart his life, trying to make sense of what it had become.

  His father, Ito Kazuki, had forged the opportunity for him in New York with the Tanaka clan. His older brother would succeed and become head of the Ito clan in Japan, and he was always destined to be second to that. By coming to New York and marrying Yuki, he had the chance not only to rise up in the ranks but to establish an ally in America for his family. It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up, even if he had wanted to, and even though he had to give up his family name to become the Tanaka heir.

  So he came to America and married a stranger, apprehensive about what his relationship with her would be like. Everyone in the family knew about Yuki. Her reputation for making scenes and causing trouble was a topic of gossip across the clans, which led to whispers about Tanaka Hayate, her father, the clan boss. His skills as a leader were constantly undermined by his inability to keep his wife and daughter under control. Any conflict that arose was solved with a credit card and a bottomless bank account, and, in effect, the two women ran amok. Tanaka’s solution was to send his wife to London as soon as Yuki was grown, and to banish Yuki from functions where her attendance was not mandatory. Tanaka did his best to keep her out of his business otherwise. If he hadn’t been such a successful boss, he would have lost power many years before.

  Tanaka was second-generation American, and Yuki was so Americanized that she had less respect for her father, or himself, than Katsu was entirely comfortable with. She didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘no’ and had never been taught respect. The combination had turned her into a beautiful Medusa, fully equipped with the ability to turn any man to stone.

  Katsu dreaded coming to America knowing that he was to marry her, but when he saw her for the first time, all of that was forgotten. She was kind and gentle, and he was taken by her beauty. For a moment, hope sprang, and he wondered what all the fuss was about.

  In the beginning, he thought that he could love her. He tried to love her. It didn’t take long before her façade fell away, revealing the spoiled, entitled child that she was. As soon as he saw it, all of his hope faded to gray. He tried to understand her, to find a way to build some kind of life with her, but every attempt was met with resistance. She always wanted more, and she would badger, manipulate, and fight to get what she thought she deserved. He was caught in Yuki’s trap, and every time he moved, she squeezed tighter.

  To compensate for the lack of love, he had thrown himself into the clan. It was all that he had.

  Katsu stepped out of the car and made his way into the airport, lost in thought. He boarded the plane and leaned back in the cushioned first-class seat, thanking the fight attendant who brought him a scotch. The city shrank away as the plane took off. The scotch in his glass tilted at a steep angle as they arched through the sky, and he wished again that he could change his lot. But it was his alone.

  ———— Olympus ————

  Dita sat back in her bed, flipping her feathered blond hair with a huff.

  “This is so unfair.”

  Perry rolled onto her side and propped her head on her hand, clad in fingerless mesh gloves. “Totally.” She wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. “Yuki blows.”

  “Does she really think that’s the way to keep a guy? By being a total bitch?” Dita shook her head.

  “Right?”

  “I can’t blame her for trying. Have you seen his bod?”

  “All those tattoos. Gimme.” Perry’s lips bent into a dirty smile.

  “It sucks that he’s so lonely.”

  Perry slapped Dita on her acid-washed thigh. “Aww, you like him.”

  “I’d totally get horizontal.”

  “Why don’t you?”

  Dita shrugged. “I’d rather find him a match. I don’t know if he’d go for just a fling.”

  “I’m sure you could convince him.”

  “I could, but it’s out of his nature.”

  Perry giggled. “The goddess of matrimony would be so pissed. You know Hera hates it when you mess with married men.”

  “And you know how much I love to piss Hera off.”

  “It’s like your favorite pastime. Make Zeus fuck around. Watch Hera go bananas. Rinse. Repeat.”

  “It really is fun to watch her when she goes crazy, isn’t it?”

  “It never gets old.” Perry rolled off the bed and fluffed her black pettiskirt. “I need a snack.”

  “You always need a snack,” Dita said as she crossed the room to the elevator.

  The goddesses walked into the kitchen, where Hera sat reading Good Housekeeping. She raised a blond eyebrow at them as they walked in.

  Perry, at least, tried to play nice. “Hello, Hera. How are you?”

  Hera popped off a short “Fine,” and dropped her eyes back to her magazine, flipping the page with a snap.

  Dita rolled her eyes as she pulled out a bottle of nectar from the fridge. She poured some into a glass and closed her eyes. When she opened them, the scent of roses hung in the air, and a can of Tab sat in front of her. She picked it up and turned to lean against the counter, popping the metal ring. Tiny bubbles tickled her nose as she took a sip.

  Perry grabbed a plate of ambrosia from the fridge and cut a slice off in the awkward silence. “So, Hera, we were just watching Katsu and Yuki. What’s her story?”

  “I’m not quite sure what you mean, Persephone.” Hera’s eyes narrowed, her red lips pressing into a flat line.

  “Um, well, I just mean…she’s just…”

  “I think what Perry means to say is that Yuki’s a brat,” Dita said. “The fact that she thinks her methods are going to work only means that you’ve had a hand in her mess.”

  “If by ‘hand in her mess’ you mean that I’ve been helping her, then yes, I have.” She propped her elbow on the bar, and her shoulder pads accentuated the steep angle of her shoulders. “Katsu is her husband. He is bound to her, and she’ll have him, wholly. That’s all she wants.”

  “She wants to own him, and wants him to submit. There’s no way he’s going to go for that, and if you think so, you’re just as demented as she is.”

  “He will bend, and she will make him. She just needs a little guidance.”

  Dita snorted. “I’m so sure.”

  “I’m actua
lly quite sure, Aphrodite.”

  “Like your ‘guidance’ is ever helpful.”

  Hera stood, pushing back her stool. She clipped over to Dita with her face drawn. “Don’t underestimate me.”

  Dita straightened up and set down her drink before folding her arms across her chest. “Seriously? Their marriage is a joke. Katsu deserves real love.”

  “Love is nothing without commitment.”

  “That’s bullshit, Hera. I wish you would figure that out. You’d be a lot happier.”

  Hera’s eyes flashed, glowing green. “What do you know of my happiness?”

  “You know exactly what I mean.”

  “You don’t believe that I can make Kastu love Yuki? Because I can. Yuki is my pet, and I can see every move that she should make to win him over once and for all. He’s just a man. Men can be controlled.”

  “Let me know how that’s working out for you.” Dita pushed past her, their shoulders connecting.

  Hera grabbed Dita by the arm and dug in her nails.

  Dita looked down at Hera’s hand, eyes sparking hot blue light as her lip curled. “Back off, Hera.”

  They stood locked together as the wind whipped around them, the air between them crackling with tension.

  Perry stood with her mouth hanging open stupidly, frozen as she watched. She shook herself and snapped her fingers, and the slice of ambrosia in front of her turned into a massive ice cream sundae. Her eyes were huge as she snatched up the bowl and hurried across the room.

  “So, that was fun. We’ll see you later, Hera.” Perry touched Dita’s arm. “Come on, Dita.”

  Hera dropped her hand, but the sneer never left her face. Dita gave her a last look before turning for the elevator. She pushed B1 and scowled at the metal doors in silence.

  “What’s her damage? I cannot believe that bitch put her hands on me,” Dita said as they stepped off the elevator and made for the couch.

  “In all fairness, you totally called her out,” Perry said around a mouth full of ice cream.

  Dita eyed her bowl. “Glad you didn’t forget anything.”