24
The sunlight enters the room. Swarming like it was trying to assault me.
Stretching, I open my eyes. The bed was large and plush. Much larger than the size of my guest bed.
Pulling the sheets to my chest, the cool air collides with my bare back as I sit up. The room was two stories tall with a series of floor to ceiling windows facing out toward the sunrise in the east.
This must be Apollo’s room, I reason.
Looking over to the other side of the bed, I can tell that it was slept in, but the occupant has long since gotten up for the day.
Damn early risers.
“Duh,” groans Ari. “Next time you two are going to be disgusting like last night, warn me.” My red-haired friend sits across the room with a cross look plastered onto her face.
Someone woke up on the bitchy side of the bed,I think to myself.
“I heard that!” she shouts. Her cheeks become as vibrant in color as her locks of curls.
“That was kind of the point,” I mutter to myself as I wipe the sleep from my eyes. Gods, looking outside, I can tell how early it is.
Why in Gaia is Apollo up already?
As the Sun God, can’t he urge the sun to come up later?
Now that would be convenient.
Lifting my covers, I swing my legs over the side of the bed.
Standing, I wobble slightly.
Dear Gaia, I’m sore!
Now where are my clothes? They have got to be around here somewhere.
Wait a minute… The malaka burned them yesterday.
Damn it.
Looks like it’s either the most humbling buck ass naked walk of shame in existence or it”s time to borrow some clothes from Apollo.
God, what if Artemis or Ov happens to pop into the hallway.
I think I might die of embarrassment.
With that in mind, I swing open his wardrobe. Rifling through his clothes until I find a toga of Apollo’s. Its amber threads sparkle like pure sunlight.
As I slip it over my shoulders, I suddenly become even more grateful for our size difference. The toga fell to my mid-calf. Shorter than I normally wear but long enough to make me feel uncomfortable.
Exiting the room, I climb down the stairs.
Every muscle seems to be aching right now.
But Gaia, it feels so good.
Standing at the hearth, I find Apollo boiling some water.
“Morning.” He smiles cheerfully. The energy in his voice was so starkly different from when we first met. Right now, he is acting as eager as a puppy.
What’s up with morning people? How are they so happy in the morning?
“Morning,” I managed to murmur back at him. Shuffling into the room, I wrap my arms around his waist, peaking out onto the stove. “Is the water ready for some tea?”
I NEED caffeine this morning.
Especially with the sun hardly having risen. “Almost ready,” he replies with a grin. “It’s good to see you up so early. You practically rose with the sun.”
I moan dramatically, “I know. It’s awful.”
Apollo shoots me a wounded look. “Watch it. Mornings are the best time of the day. I promise that you’ll get used to them.”
Yippee, I groan to myself.
I can’t wait for an eternity worth of morning to come.
“Why don’t you go rest on the sofa while I prepare our cups?” Suggested Apollo. “Then you can absorb your caffeine properly.”
Nodding, I mutter a sleepy thank you before stepping into the sitting room. Crawling under a thick blanket, I sit on the plush seat for two.
After several minutes, Apollo entered with a cup in each of his hands, slowly he walked to me before gently handing one over.
The hot liquid steams up. Water collects on my face as I’m immersed in the fragrant smell of the tea.
Apollo sits next to me. Casually sipping our tea together, we rested in companionable silence.
The memory of last night was never too far from my mind.
I want him so bad. Perhaps even more now than I ever knew I did before.
But for our relationship to work, I need some answers. That and some boundaries lifted.
“Who owned my room before me?” I ask. But in my mind, my heart knows the answer. I want it to be anything other than what I suspect. “Did the other mortal maidens also once live in my quarters?”
Shaking his head, he murmurs his response, “You”re only the second occupant to live in those rooms… The first was Persephone who lived here one hundred years ago. Daughter of Demeter and the heir to the Court of Arva. My former fiancée.” Apollo reminisces, instinctively I frown. He spots my look instantly. “No, it wasn’t like that.”
But even then, I ask, “Why did you put me in the same room as your former fiancé?”
Something ached in my soul. I want Apollo so bad but how long could I have him. He’d be young forever while I’d grow old. He needs someone like Persephone.
Someone who understands the court of the gods.
Someone who won’t die.
“It- It- It felt right with you,” he flushes. “When I met you, I’m not sure you realized how hard it was to keep my hands off you. Even in public. Even in front of crowds. I wanted to be touching you. Loving you. Worshiping you.”
A blush springs to my cheeks.
The man knows how to make a maiden feel special.
“It felt like the right time. I thought you’d enjoy her room. You both had a love of plants and I thought it would suit you. Persephone and I grew close over time,” he whispered against my temple. “Our marriage was arranged. Made for political reasons.”
“So, you didn’t love her?” I clarified. Almost gobsmacked at what he said.
“At first, no and I don’t think it would be a stretch for me to say that Persephone felt the same way. We were trying to figure out a new normal. The only people who understood what we were going through was each other,” he explained.
“I don’t know what he did to her, but I felt lost for years. Life was aimless and I was trying to manage.” Apollo explained, “To make matters worse, we’d barely usurped my father and it was like a power vacuum to the area. A war of House Zeus, trying to see who the new ruling house, House Leto or House Hera, would be.
“If Persephone were there, that would’ve helped greatly. I would’ve likely secured the favor of House Demeter who could’ve more than likely placated her sister. But without Persephone as my queen, the alliances were drawn.
“We truly loved each other. We were once happy here. After her absence, I was thrown into a pit. Left to be torn apart, limb from limb. Scraping at the edges, trying to pull myself away from my demons.” Explained Apollo. The words poured from his mouth like a waterfall.
I could feel that he doesn’t want me hurt.
He wants me to know the truth.
“Can we talk about my room?” I ask with wide eyes. “I think I understand why you barricaded me in there.”
“Confining you in the suite was a moment of weakness. I didn’t want someone else who I”m responsible for to be lost,” he explains.
“What happened to her?”
“Olympus is wonderful but there are dark forces at work in the kingdom. Rumors of war. Much like the assassins who came here to imprison me. They could’ve hurt you or held you hostage. If something were to happen to you or Artemis…” His voice trails off. “I”m not sure if I could forgive myself again.”
I nod softly, placing a comforting hand on his arm.
“Could you ever love again?” I ask. My body starts twitching.
The flower snakes between his fingers as he rests his head between his knees. Shoulders shaking, he fights against the tears, “I loved her. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her safe and here with me. But when she disappeared, when she was taken, I missed her so much. Every day I would pray to Gaia that she’d walk through the front gate but now, I”m not sure. It has been decades. I”m not sure if the maiden I loved would still be there. But see, this is what I like about us. We’re here. We can choose each other.”
My eyes widened at the show of emotion. A stark contrast from his typical emotional behavior.
Everything felt like it was coming together. Making more sense, “Which is why you didn’t want me wandering.” Cautiously, I pat his back. Rubbing circles like how my dad used to comfort me. I prepare for him to flinch away from my touch, but he leans in, welcoming the contact.
He nods as he wraps his fingers in his long golden curls. The yellow peeks out from its grasp.
Looking at the solemn man beside me, he appears sad. Lonely.
“Can we make a compromise,” Apollo sighs.
I smile, “What do you suggest?”
“You may have free range of the grounds during the day.” Lifting the blanket on the sofa, he sits beside me as he asks, “How does that sound?
Once he is settled, I lean into his warm form and ask, “Why should I not be outside alone in the dark?”
Apollo sighs, “Enemies of the sun lurk in the dark. Foul creatures. Worse than you can imagine.”
I raise an eyebrow, “But your twin sister is a Goddess of the Moon.”
A calculating expression spreads across his face, “Regardless, the night is cover for my enemies. My sister’s is one of the only lights in the night sky. The only source that gives us the ability to find those bad actors.”
Pausing, he mulls over his words.
“Speaking of my sister, Artemis has told me that you want access to the apothecary, books, and the garden” Apollo grins mischievously.
My eyes widened slightly, “Yes?”
“So it will be done,” he mutters while grinning. “Not that you’d have necessarily listened to me telling you no.”
I smiled wide as he winked at me.
Pursing my lips, I look over to him. A single dimple appears on his cheek. “I have notified the keeper of recorders that you”re permitted in any section to bring tomes back to your room in order for you to continue your research,” he explains.
“Really?” I question as my eyes light up.
During previous expeditions to that wonderful room, I was always having to duck away from the shrew record keeper.
“Thank you! I can’t wait to explore your collection and the rest of the grounds.” Smiling, I try to avoid admitting to breaking his rules.
“Funny, as if you haven’t seen the majority of my palace,” he scoffs. Apollo rolls his eyes, his voice drops low, “You and your proclivity for finding trouble is remarkable.
Scrunching my nose, “That’s why you keep me around.”
“I keep you around for more than that.” Apollo freezes, silently looking down on me.