40. Nyssa
Nyssa
Another banquet table greeted us as the shadows dispersed, smaller than Hera’s, but no less elegant. It seated six, cozy enough to feel almost familial. Comfortable.
Aphrodite had conjured various bottles of shimmering liquids and plates of delicious-smelling food, each more enticing than the last. I eyed a particularly sweet-looking chocolate cake.
Stare any longer and you’ll drool on your pretty gown, Vel snorted into my mind.
“Hush you,” I laughed, catching the attention of the curvaceous, golden-haired goddess lounging at the head of the table.
“Hello, Nyssa,” Aphrodite purred, channelling a hefty dose of her powers. A subtle twinge bloomed deep in my core, and I raised a solitary ebony brow in her direction.
She laughed. “Just setting the mood. Take a seat, the others shouldn’t be far away. Not all of us have the luxury of shadow-stepping.”
I settled in the chair to her left and poured a glass of something pink and shimmering. It smelled like candy and joy. Just as I raised it to my lips, a gentle, perfectly manicured hand pressed down over mine.
“I wouldn’t,” Aph warned. “At least, not yet.” She winked knowingly, as if letting me in on a secret I should know but didn’t. I suspected I would become aware shortly.
Apollo arrived next, offering a signed greeting and a warm smile. He sat at the far end of the table, shooting a wary glance at Aphrodite that I couldn’t help but smirk at.
Aros appeared next, dressed in a fine green chlamys that did wonders for his fiery red hair. It was clasped at one shoulder with a silver, sword-and-crown-shaped brooch. The design was vaguely familiar — like I’d seen it somewhere before.
He dropped into the seat beside me, smirking mischievously as Caelus stepped through next.
The storm-wielder took one look at the seating arrangements and, jaw set, chose the seat directly opposite mine.
It was almost a perfect mirror of Hera’s banquet, only this time, it wasn’t the last remaining seat.
He ignored Aphrodite’s and Aros’ greetings, instead, he stared intently at me. His silvery gaze skimmed over every visible bruise, glaring at them like they personally offended him.
“Are you lost, Golden?” I drawled, my voice low and taunting.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “You could say that.”
Aros shook his head, feigning disappointment. He leaned over the table and raised a hand to his cheek in a faux whisper. “That’s when you’re supposed to woo her with a clever line about being lost in her eyes, man.”
I grinned fully then, reaching for the glass again — subconsciously looking for some task to keep my hands occupied — but my fingers flared when I remembered Aph’s hushed warning. I wondered again exactly what she had planned for us — and what was in that glass.
Archimedes arrived last, unhurried as ever. He wedged himself between Apollo and Caelus with a small, genuine smile.
“Now that you’re all here,” Aphrodite began, sitting straighter in her seat, “I’d like to propose a toast.” She gestured to the bottle I’d poured from earlier and gifted me a salacious wink as the males poured themselves a healthy dose of whatever the pink liquid was.
When everyone had a full glass, Aphrodite stood and raised her own.
“To beauty, love, and lust,
Honour, truth, and trust.
May the men have good luck,
Or at least be good fucks,
And the women, an ample bust.”
She tipped her glass back and downed the pink liquid, smiling devilishly as we all followed suit. The moment it touched my tongue, I had to stifle a carnal moan — it was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. With notes of sugar, underlined by fruity bubbles, I immediately reached for more.
Aphrodite laughed, claiming the bottle before I could grasp it.
“I love you, Nyssa, but you’ll hate me if I let you drink more.”
I pulled a face, bemoaning the lack of pink liquor in my flute.
“Try something else.” She gestured to the cakes. “You’ll be feeling the effects of the drink in about thirty seconds — do try to behave yourself when you do,” she advised with a wink.
I frowned. No one was acting strangely. Aros reached for something resembling a tart — a round pastry with a lemon-yellow centre, roughly the size of his palm.
He took a tentative bite, eyes widening with glee, then shoved the whole thing into his mouth with a groan of delight.
My body responded instantly to the sound.
A flush rose to my cheeks, my nipples peaked beneath the soft black fabric of my gown, my core throbbing involuntarily.
Around the table, I saw similar reactions: quickened breathing, shifting limbs.
Apollo clenched his fists and shifted in his seat; Arch readjusted the groin of his tight leather breeches; Caelus bit his full lower lip as he watched me squirm.
And Aphrodite laughed delightedly.
Whatever was in that shimmery pink liquor had caused an intense bodily reaction in each of us, and my senses were going crazy. Everyone’s specific scents intensified tenfold, assaulting my sinuses and increasing the relentless throbbing of that tiny bundle of nerves between my thighs.
It was only with my godly strength that I managed to stop myself from leaping across the table and into Caelus’ lap — to finish what we’d started weeks ago. Especially with the expression on his face and hunger in his eyes, like he was imagining the exact same thing.
Aros shot to his feet, knocking over his chair in the process.
“What the fuck?!” he yelled, staring down at his crotch. “Aphrodite, what did you do?!”
The goddess in question cackled mischievously.
I stared, transfixed, eyes wide as saucers. His breeches grew tighter with every passing second; then, with a sharp rip, the crotch seams burst open, revealing his white undergarment-clad package, which was growing at an alarming rate.
Rufus, his manticore, sniffed at his pants and growled at the still-growing appendage. It grew until it looked painful.
“Careful, Aros. If you turn, you’ll poke my eye out,” I joked, giggling at the predicament he’d found himself in.
“You ate the lemon pastry, didn’t you?” Aph howled knowingly. “Of course… it’s affected you… like this.” She barely managed to get the words out between giggles. “That particular pastry enlarges the thing you find most physically attractive about yourself.”
The table erupted in laughter. Even Aros found the humour in it, swinging his arm-sized cock around. The undergarments were quite literally holding on by a thread, but Aros showed no shame in his exposed… truth.
As the laughter subsided, I reached for a glass of water, trying to quell the increasing heat within me. Only after finishing it did I register the lavender-like aftertaste.
Oh, shit. That’s not water.
This should be interesting, Vel drawled from her corner of the room.
I didn’t feel any different. Yet.
I looked down — none of my appendages were growing, shrinking, or changing in any way. I turned to Aphrodite, ready to question her, but froze with the words partway out of my mouth. Where my friend had been sitting a moment ago, now sat a muscular bearded man. A mortal, judging by his attire.
“Who are you?” I questioned the long-locked man, and I felt four sets of godly eyes snapped to me in confusion.
The man’s brows pulled down as his eyes darted to the empty glass before me.
Understanding lightened his features, and he laughed — a tinkling, distinctly feminine laugh. Aphrodite’s laugh.
Godling, are you alright? It’s Aphrodite, Velira’s voice sounded puzzled.
I sent back a mental image of the male I was apparently hallucinating and felt her confusion trickle down the bond. Vel rose to her full height and padded over to sniff at the stranger. She sent back an image of Aphrodite lounging in her seat — in exactly the same pose as the mortal.
It’s definitely her.
“Who do you see?” the man asked in Aphrodite’s soft voice.
“A man — a mortal, I think. Deep brown eyes, tanned skin, like he’s lived his whole life outdoors.” Aph inhaled sharply. I continued, “He has long chestnut-coloured hair and a close-cropped beard in the same shade. He looks sad. Aph? Who is he?”
“Adonis,” she whispered as the man clawed at the skin over his heart.
Giving her a moment, I turned away to take in the rest of the room. Figuring the animals were a safe bet, I looked directly at my dragon.
“Vel,” I breathed, “you’re huge! And covered in steel armour?” She only hummed in response.
“You’re seeing our greatest desires,” Aphrodite explained softly. I heard Caelus shift in his seat, but I wasn’t quite ready to confront that particular truth.
I narrowed my eyes at the next object hovering midair.
“Steak,” I said quietly. “Thick, juicy steak.” Aros guffawed, which I assumed meant it was Rufus I was now looking at.
“Lykos looks the same, maybe a tiny bit smaller?”
A pause. Then, “He says it must be his mate you’re seeing. He lost her when the Khyonian wolves died out,” Caelus clarified, his tone exposing the melancholy he felt from his wolf’s bond.
“Your fox has turned into a bunny, Arch,” I laughed as the little critter bounded around the room, zipping under the table and peering out from behind the god’s legs.
“And your wolf is as big as Lykos,” I signed to the god of sun. I looked up at where Apollo had been seated and frowned. It was not a person in his place, but a gilded, gleaming lyre.
“An instrument?” I asked, expecting no answer since the lyre had no visible limbs with which to sign back.
When I realised why Apollo would appear as such an object, I almost fell apart. I choked on a sob, knowing my face was an open book, judging by the reassuring hand gripping my knee.