24. Caelus
Caelus
“Ready for another round?”
Charon shuffled the deck lazily, with the ease of someone who’d done it a thousand times before.
He didn’t even watch his hands, choosing instead to observe the gods who had unwittingly wandered into his domain.
He doled out the cards with a flick of his fingers, and as I reached to scoop mine up, our hands clashed with a minute static jolt.
“Sorry about that,” I murmured.
He eyed me curiously before muttering, “Don’t mention it.”
I was beginning to suspect the pomegranate wine had had less of an effect on him than he let on.
His eyes were sharp — assessing. He paid especially close attention to Nyssa and how each of us interacted with her, beasts included.
His posturing suggested he was ready to jump up and protect her at a moment’s notice.
Good.
What is she to him? Are they just friends, like they say?
I sent the thought down the bond to the wolf lying beside my chair, his large form blocking most of the fire’s heat.
I believe them , Lykos sent back. Their scents are intertwined, but there is no deception in their manner.
I studied the goddesses at the window, their profiles as different as night and day.
Aphrodite was undeniably beautiful with her sun-kissed skin, sea blue eyes, and long blonde hair.
But it was Nyssa who captivated me. She had bewitched me from the moment I’d laid eyes on her at seven years old.
I found it hard to look elsewhere when we shared the same room, the same air.
She sat on the window seat, wrapped in a rare moment of ease, her guard seemingly down within these four walls.
Her long legs were tucked to her chest, one arm draped gracefully around them, the other cradling a glass of wine that sloshed gently as she spoke.
Her long hair, having been released from its usual braid hours ago, cascaded in loose waves down to her waist, and her pale skin gleamed softly in the starlight, as though crafted from the glittering sky itself.
If I didn’t know better, I’d assume she was Nyx reborn — the primordial goddess of night.
But I did know better. I knew she wielded death as easily as I did storms. Most feared her for that ability alone.
And then there was her bloodline — daughter of Hades , the most feared god in all the realms. A name we barely spoke, lest we conjure him to claim our souls.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you look at her,” a voice whispered startlingly close to my ear. My head whipped around, almost headbutting the god who’d spoken.
Charon held my gaze firmly, clearly not as intoxicated as he’d led us to believe.
Clever.
Indeed, Lykos replied. The slippery one has lulled you all into a false sense of security, plying you with drink and banter to loosen your tongues.
If only you’d had a bonded creature wise enough to scent the lack of wine on the Ferryman’s breath and warned you not to drink so much yourself, he drawled through my mind, voice dry.
I shot him a glare. He merely blinked at me, and if wolves had eyebrows, I’d swear he lifted one in silent rebuke.
“You look at her with indecision warring across your face. Do you like her? Hate her? Are you friends? Rivals? You don’t even know what she is to you, do you?” Charon glared as though the answer should be obvious.
“She might as well be my lightning,” I hissed, throwing my hands up and scattering my cards across the table. “She is brilliant and bright, flashing across my sky so quickly that if I blink, I’ll miss her. I spend the majority of my time learning how not to blink, just to catch a glimpse of her.”
The gods were rigid — frozen by my unexpected declaration. Thankfully, the goddesses were still so deep in their own conversation, they hadn’t registered my outburst.
“She is brilliant and beautiful, yes. But she is deadly, too. And if I stand too close, I’ll burn.”
“No, that’s not it,” Charon murmured. “You look at her as though you don’t know whether you’d rather fight her…” he trailed off, leaning back in his chair.
Aros smirked knowingly, sipping from his glass. “…or fuck her.”
Aros — the cocky bastard — grinned. “I’d fuck her,” he goaded, voice low and taunting.
“Well fucking aware,” I snapped.
Both gods cracked smiles, laughing at my lack of verbal control. Aros had a way of getting under my skin, digging until he struck a nerve I preferred to keep hidden.
“Either way,” Charon said, “I won’t be making it to the ball.
Godly duties and all that,” he added with a scowl.
“So, one of you will need to be Nyssa’s escort.
She trusts you both to some extent, or you wouldn’t be here.
Do not let anything happen to her. Or you’ll find out exactly what a ferryman is capable of. ”
He let the threat hang in the air for a few heartbeats. As curious as I was to know what his power was, I wasn’t keen on becoming its victim.
No, that privilege could belong to Aros.
I had slowly come to realise that as much as I craved her presence, as much as I needed her laughter more than I needed air, I needed her safety more.
She was already in Artemis’ line of fire — even more so after Diana’s disqualification tonight. If my mother knew how close we were becoming, Nyssa would only be leaving the trials as a passenger on the Ferryman’s skiff.
I wouldn’t risk it.
I wouldn’t risk her.
Especially with my father’s killer still lurking, their motives still unknown.
“You can have her,” I said to Aros.
His red brows shot upwards, clearly unprepared for a distinct lack of battle.
“But do make sure you dress to match,” I added with a wink, feigning a humour I did not feel.
“Golden!” Nyssa called, and I was powerless to resist her. “Don’t think you’re getting out of that bet,” she said, grinning.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” A small smile tugged at my lips. Gods, she was so captivating that even the goddess of beauty beside her paled in comparison.
“I expect your gift by the night of the ball.” Her self-satisfied smile gave my heart pause. It literally stuttered in my chest, restarting twice as fast just from a look on her face.
In that moment, I knew I was done for.
Ruined for anyone else.
Fully, inconceivably hers — whether she realised it or not.
And I would do anything to keep her safe. Pay any price. Cross any land barefoot. Fight any monster. If it meant she could still smile like that.
Even if it meant I could never have her in the end.