by elda lore
“I don’t even know where to start.” She giggled as her fingers covered her lips, but her eyes told a different story. Troubled and sad, I sensed their rendezvous was short-lived.
“He can’t stay long. And he’s only here because he’s been summoned, as was his father, for the party tonight. He heard I was present on the estate. I never knew this was one place he could visit freely.”
I stared at my friend, too overwhelmed and confused by all the details I’d been learning.
“Harris Black wasn’t real.” The statement sounded like a question, but I had my answer. A dead man cannot revive, and the man who captured my friend in his arms the other night stood very much alive.
“Hades has powers…” I raised a hand to stop her. I nodded, as if I understood.
“Did you see what Solis did the other day?” Pea lowered onto her own bed, sitting opposite me. My heart sank as I remembered what I’d heard. Babysit me? He was only with me because his father told him to watch me? How dare Zeke, but furthermore, how dare Solis? He’d played me well with his romantic gesture to steal me away and show me the peacocks. I couldn’t even allow myself to think of all the kissing we shared. How dare you, I cursed myself. I’d done just what I told myself not to do. I fell for Solis. But despite my aching heart, the uncertainty of his being and the presence of his back haunted me.
“I heard. Are you okay?” Her brown eyes questioned mine. She didn’t seem concerned by what she’d heard as much as worried about my response.
“It’s a lot to take in.” I sighed.
“It certainly is,” she smiled slowly. Her cheeks fell softly. “But I love him,” she whispered, “and I see you falling for Solis, too.”
My head shot up and my back straightened. “I am doing no such thing.”
“Vee, I see…”
“You see nothing.” At the curtness of my words, my friend straightened in response.
“I see more than you think. I see my best friend, whom I love and adore, throwing herself at men all the time in attempts to prove her mother wrong.”
My mouth fell open in disbelief, but Persephone rose her hand to stop an interruption.
“And repeatedly getting her heart broken, despite the bold front. And I see you fighting Solis, whatever the attraction is between you, you’re fighting it. Afraid of it, when maybe you should embrace it. Let him in.”
“He used me. Or rather, he’s only with me because his father told him to watch me.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Yeah, well, there’s a lot I wouldn’t have believed either, but after spending time here, I think anything is possible.”
“Why do you think this?” Persephone shook her head, still not trusting my words.
“Mel and Di were talking outside the showers behind the pool house. I overheard…”
“You overheard two jealous girls making up a story to discredit Solis and his affection.”
“Affection?” I snorted. “Solis and I…” My voice faltered. Had he been affectionate? My lips tingled where he’d nipped them. My tongue brushed at the back of my teeth, knowing he’d invaded my mouth with his. My thighs clenched, recalling tender fingers between them. Despite all those attentions, it had been the look in his eyes as he hovered over me. Tender. Questioning. Trusting. In me.
“Veva, what did you do?” My friend’s voice sounded nearly pained as she asked. Something in my face must have given away my thoughts. My eyes drifted to my lap and a tear splashed down to my bare thigh.
“It wasn’t like that; it was just sweet, actually. He was sweet, and I guess I misunderstood.” I swiped briskly at the moisture on my cheeks and faced my friend. I shrugged a shoulder like it didn’t matter, but my heart began to squeeze, and I couldn’t take in air. Persephone shifted to my bed and wrapped an arm around me.
“I don’t believe he didn’t care. I don’t believe he isn’t falling for you.”
“I don’t know what to believe,” I whimpered into her shoulder and let the tears slip slowly.
“I believe my cousin is a fool.” Persephone and I both spun to face the cold glare of a blue-faced man. A white scar crossed his lips, and another curled down the side of his face. His lips pursed, his deep eyes softened as he looked at me.
“Hello, Veva. I didn’t mean to intrude.” Persephone and I both stood. I wiped at my cheeks again.
“How did you get in here?” Persephone admonished, but the smile in her tone wasn’t forceful. She stepped to him, and he opened his arms to her.
“I came to see if you were getting ready. And if you had found Veva. I heard she ran off.” His eyes shifted from glowing adoration as he spoke to Persephone to stern pebbles of blue as he looked at me.
“Did he tell you what happened?” I closed my eyes after asking, cursing myself for caring.
“He told me about a bunch of silly girls who set a trap to hurt you. He’s been looking for you.”
“Well, he didn’t look very hard,” I snorted. “Besides, I’ve been right here.”
Persephone eyed me. “Actually, it’s been nearly two days. Where have you been?”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t want them to know that I’d taken the liberty to wander the grounds, and I stumbled upon some of the homes of the migrant workers. I applauded Zeke’s effort to give them comfort, but I still disapproved of their missing amenities. I helped several children with infected cuts and scabs, and talked with a few women who were pregnant. I held an infant, showing a young mother how to hold the baby to relieve pressure from gas. The presence of these people, and their appreciation of my time spent with them, calmed me. It was another reminder of home, and how much work I’d done among the children and women who spent time on our fields. I missed my mother in moments like these, although she’d never understand my predicament. She’d admonish me for giving into a man with a track record for broken hearts. Then she’d scold me for using my body as a tool instead of a temple. Let them worship you, and revel in what they will never have. Her words haunted me. What about what I would never have in return, then, I wanted to ask.
“Is it almost time for dinner?” I changed the subject, focusing on the other part of Hades’ questions.
“It is. I don’t think either of you look dressed.” His eyes roamed up and down Persephone, and without a thought, he kissed her neck. He spoke softly to her and she blushed, her eyes shifting to me to see if I’d heard what he said, then lowering as her skin flushed darker.
“Well, I think you need to leave so we can get dressed.” The words teased him and his head shot up. My smile reassured him I wasn’t kicking him out, just asking for a few minutes. “Unless you are going like that.” I waved at his dark appearance: black jeans, black hoodie, black T-shirt. He nodded at me and turned to kiss Persephone on the lips.
“I leave you two to dress.”
+ + +
An hour later, we walked down the hall, Persephone and I each linked with an arm through Hades’. I felt like a third wheel, but Hades insisted and Persephone agreed. She looked lovely in another dress of white, cut over one shoulder and dipping precariously low over one breast. Wrapped around her, the material belted at the waist, then fell straight to the floor. She looked Grecian and regal, and together, in Hades’ opposing black, they stood as the epitome of black and white, night and day, king and queen.
I, on the other hand, wore a dress of royal blue silk. Bright and daring, the slit up the side revealed the ink covering the length of my leg, highlighting that feature of my body. The neckline dipped low, and two thick straps covered my shoulders. The back draped to my waist, leaving my skin exposed. It was sinful and sexy, and when I walked, the silk seduced my legs while it slid between my thighs. The exposure of my back made me feel seductive, not like I revealed something to anyone who noticed, but instead offering temptation. They would never have the full view of me, and in response to any question Solis might ask, I wasn’t wearing underwear or a bra. Demi-cup tape strips held me in place. No
thing covered my lower region. It felt risqué and freeing, but the electric current of achy need poked and pecked at me with every luxurious step.
We met Solis immediately, as he stood to the left of his father. His sister, Athena, stood on the right. She was an anomaly to me. Solis spoke of her, but I hadn’t spoken much with her. In the receiving line of greeters, she posed proudly next to her father, who kissed each cheek and shook each hand. When I reached Solis, his hold lingered on me.
“You look stunning.” He leaned in to kiss my cheek as the custom directed, but stopped. His clean-shaved face, slightly out of place for him, rested against mine. Warm breath tickled under my ear.
“You’re the blue sky to my gray.” When I pulled back, I noticed his charcoal gray attire. He gave suit porn the label: Dress pants and an open coat, with a white shirt underneath, made my mouth water. A rainstorm did not compare to the deluge of desire that overtook me. I cursed my body, hyperaware of his nearness, charged by the attraction. “Save me every dance. All of them belong to me.” I didn’t think he was referencing the dance floor of the ball room, but the slow rhythm of a few nights ago, private and intimate in my room.
A cough beside me signaled I’d lingered too long on the host, and I turned to see Mel had squeezed her way between me and the next guest. Solis’ arm wrapped around my waist, and he dragged me to his side. “Stay with me,” he muttered. “This is torture.” To our surprise, Mel slipped her arm through Zeke’s, but turned to rake over the protective arm Solis held on me.
“I think I’ll leave you to your godly wonders.” I patted his chest, playfully, so as not to make a scene, and broke free of his arm. I hadn’t taken two steps before a lingering weight of warmth rushed down my spine. The pressure so real, the presence so warm, I turned. To my surprise, Solis still stood by the entrance, but his eyes were on me. The corner of his mouth turned upward. My heart fell to my toes with his heated stare. Desire filled those eyes, but I wanted an explanation before he could have any part of me. I turned my back on him to tell him as much.
SOLIS
The party was torture. Dinner, a feast of gluttonous proportions, only delayed my getting near Veva. She avoided me at every turn. The whole night was turning into a dance. One step forward to the bar where she pressed on her side waiting for a drink. Two steps back when I finally reached it to find her gone. One step left when I saw her talking to Triton in a corner. Two spins to the right when she disappeared before I made my way to their corner. The room was aglow with enough candles to start an inferno. The circular tables smattered here and there kept people close but allowed each table their privacy. Finally called to dinner, from the main table, I had a clear shot of Veva seated at the nearest table along with my father’s two brothers, Idon and Hades. Hades Sr. epitomized an older rock star with his long dark hair, streaked with gray. The open shirt and longer jacket over leather pants rocked his stature as ruler of the underworld. Idon, on the other hand, wore a linen shirt, dark dress pants and slides on his web-toed feet. Not used to wearing a shirt, I noticed my cousin, scratching occasionally at the material covering his greenish skin. Veva retreated often during the meal, only to return finally with two beautiful women, one on either side of her.
“Hera,” my father exhaled as he stood. Instantly I recognized a woman who could only be Veva’s mother. Regal in stature, feminine and pure, her face held an edge of distrust as she scanned the room. She was an older version of her daughter. Her eyes were a rich, bark brown matching Persephone’s, but that acorn hair was signature to Veva and her mother. Mel flinched next to me as she’d taken a seat at my father’s left, forcing me one seat from my customary position. “Demi.” He added, stepping around our seats and retreating to the two women who had entered our gregarious feast. The second woman had hair the same color as the first. They could have been twins for the similarity in figures and stance, only the second woman had a livelier expression on her face and embraced her daughter, Persephone, the instant they connected. Veva and her mother did not touch. A table was set at the back of the room, as all tables were full, and the women took their seats, as did my father. Veva joined them there.
After several minutes, I stood, too curious about the back table to concentrate on the second course. At the same time, Heph stood. He took his time to reach the back of the room. He addressed the table, being acknowledged by all, but the cold glare of Hera’s face left me questioning. Veva’s head spun from Heph to her mother and back. Something was said before I appeared at the table, and Heph retreated. A heated word crossed between Veva and her mother, and Veva followed Heph. I’d lost her again, but I felt obligated to meet the two women my father had never been able to tame, and the two women who claimed his heart.
“Good evening,” I addressed the table, and Zeke stood.
“Ladies, it’s been so long since you’ve been to the estate. Allow me to present, my son, Solis.” Hera eyed me warily, knowing the prophecy, I assumed. Demi, on the other hand, stood and circled the table to embrace me. She smiled weakly as she pulled back, her hands lingering on my biceps.
“Take care of our girl,” she spoke, and tipped her head subtly toward the exit where Heph and Veva passed. Instantly, I took her meaning and jealousy reared at the thought that Veva would comfort Heph or vice versa. As I walked down the hall, remembrance of her tender kisses down my back and soothing caresses on my skin prickled up my still-healing spine, and my feet picked up the pace. Her lips sucking at my skin and her fingers working in care tickled over my back and I suddenly raced down the corridor, spinning my head into every crevice of privacy. I was at a full run when I found them standing in the main foyer, caught between the residents’ hall and the guest wing.
Veva’s delicate fingers brushed down Heph’s large face, crossing over his growing scruff, her eyes gazing upward at him as her second hand came to his chest and held over his heart. Heph lowered his head, the stance a form of submission from him. He stood too tall to match their heights, and my heart hit the floor envisioning his mouth drawing close to hers. As the click of my dress shoe hit the tile, I heard Veva’s soft, questioning words, and I froze.
“You’re my brother?”
VEVA
The question lingered between us as I stared into eyes that did not match mine. They were my mother’s, only deeper in color. Heph’s body stature was pure Zeke—broad, bold, and tall—but his eyes were all Hera’s. My mother. His mother.
“How?”
“A long, long, time ago, Zeke and Hera were together.”
“A long time ago, but you and I are roughly the same age.” I was only twenty-three to Heph’s twenty-seven-year old appearance, but how often had things not been as they seemed on this strange estate?
“That’s not exactly true,” Heph’s voice, typically gruff, softened. His eyes lowered, and my forehead pinched. At the same time, I heard a tap on the tile floor to my left. Twisting at the neck, I saw Solis standing on the edge of the circular foyer. His eyes begged me to understand all the mysteries I learned.
“Did you know?” I barked. I released Heph and stepped toward Solis. My fists clenched at my sides, fighting for permission to strike out at him. “Did you know the truth and not tell me? More lies. More secrets.” My voice rose and echoed through the round hall. Under our feet, a mosaic tile portrayed the sun in garish golds, yellows and orange. I stomped my foot in attempts to crush the brightness.
“I had an inkling. Zeke has so many offspring, it’s hard to keep track.”
“Well, I think this one would be particularly important to remember,” I shouted, my voice echoing in the circular space. Solis lowered his head to agree.
“How?” I snapped again, turning my frustration to Heph, who I adored for his gentle giant ways and didn’t wish to frighten with my anger. Lowering my voice, I stepped back to him. “Heph, please, I need someone on my side. I need to understand.”
Heph nodded once. Looking over my head, he spoke.
“It was so long ago.
They always fought. Zeke loved her, but he couldn’t tame her. And he couldn’t tame himself. They were too young. I was too big. Born deformed and ugly, Hera didn’t know what to do with me. Zeke got angry at her lack of motherly care and she disowned me to spite him. He brought me here, and I didn’t travel much after the accident. One day Zeke and I fought. I wanted to know her. I wanted to hear from her that she didn’t want me. In my travels, my uncertainty about the world, I suffered…travesties…” He pointed to the scars on his face, covered by his scruff. He kicked his leg, forcing a snap of his prosthetic. A large hand wiped down his solid face.
“I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”
“But you knew? When we first met this summer, before I even came here, you knew. That I was hers.” He nodded once. “And in the library, when you…when you…”
“When he what?” Solis stepped forward primed for a fight. His body tense, his fingers circling my wrist to draw me near him.
“When you recognized my eyes were different, you knew then. Why didn’t you tell me? When did you come to see her?”
“Before you were born.”
“Zeke isn’t my father.” It was a fact I knew well, but in questioning everything, I suddenly questioned this again.
“Zeke is not your father. I’d never seen him so angry to discover Hera had a daughter from another man. But it wasn’t you he was upset with.” Heph’s large hands covered my shoulders. “You can never think it was you.”
“But I feel guilty toward you,” I emphasized. “Why me and not you? You’re…you’re amazing. And I adore you, and there is no difference between us.” My voice was adamant, and tears filled my eyes. I saw nothing different in Heph. Despite his slow speech and subtle ignorance of women, he had a kind heart, regardless of the large exterior that would frighten a lion. I meant what I said. I adored him.
As I watched his face, with my words, his eyes welled. He blinked rapidly, releasing his hold on my shoulders.