CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN #2
He turns and immediately trips over the feathers trailing from his shoes.
With that achieved, I set about obtaining a cup of wine myself.
I catch sight of Dionysus speaking to a goddess, her hair swept severely back and each article of clothing pinned firmly in place.
I don’t know who she is until I see the pin of her peplos is shaped like a cornucopia.
Demeter – goddess of the harvest. She oversees natural order – so I wonder if she sees Dionysus’s frenzy as an affront.
Or perhaps, as goddess of fertility, they’re trading grapevine-harvesting tips.
I’m so distracted watching them that I don’t see the goddess who isn’t supposed to be here. Or, rather, the one we didn’t think would come.
She appears before me, as imposing as she was when she raked her nails across my face.
‘Well, you seem remarkably cognizant,’ Hera says – those arrow-sharp features pinched into a sneer. ‘Your cousin’s work, I assume.’
‘I …’
I don’t want to lead Medea to this woman’s wrath but I also don’t want to reveal the extent of my powers in case she finds a way around them.
She waves my distress away like it’s distasteful. ‘I can’t curse her worse than I did by inflicting Jason upon her.’
‘We are so honoured that you would join us,’ I say, trying to catch Dionysus’s eye, but he’s moved on from Demeter and I can’t spot him in the crowd.
‘Relax, mortal,’ she says – though she clearly enjoys my panic.
‘You are incidental. A convenient way of stabbing at the brat, but what need do I have for that when his immortality is faltering as we speak. I’ll admit he’s stronger than I’ve seen him but that’s all about to come crumbling down.
’ She gestures at the stage. ‘Interesting that he dabbles in performance, hoping a facade might save him, when it is a string of falsehoods and rumours that will undo him in the end. Isn’t that so delightfully mortal? ’
I try to stay calm, but I’m twirling my bracelet about my wrist and if she means only to make me panic then it’s working. But I won’t give her the satisfaction of pleading for explanations.
Hera grins, like this is far more entertaining than any play.
‘He’ll be remembered as little more than a crab in the Heavens, as a many-headed snake, as a terrorizing boar – that is to say, when they tell the tales of Dionysus, it will be as a monster the heroes faced.
And you, stupid girl, will not be remembered at all. ’
‘Why does everyone think I care about that?’ I snap.
‘Theseus, Perseus – all so consumed with how the world will see them and how their stories will be told? What matters is here, now – living my life with those I care for.’ I step forward, unthinkably, as though I might face off against the Queen of the Heavens and live beyond my final sentence.
‘I care about a love that traces its shape in the stars. The people below might tell whatever tale they wish, but the truth is in the Heavens. And I trust anyone who needs that story will find it.’
I run while she’s too taken aback to retaliate.
I practically hurl myself down the stones, away from the party. Alright, so my celebrations are over. It’s the thiasus – there will be more parties.
Voices carry from up ahead. I slow, not wanting to disturb them.
‘You’ve done well.’ The words are loud and booming, reaching me even around the sharp-edged rocks that swallow all sound and the wind that whips it right away. ‘Phenomenally well.’
Then I hear Dionysus. I don’t want to eavesdrop – but I can’t interrupt what might be a crucial gathering of allies and I can’t return to the party so I’m stuck, ducking behind a jut of rock.
‘Thank you, Father.’
Father? Oh gods, he’s talking to Zeus …
‘Wine was inspired. But the revelries? The festivity? I haven’t had such fun in aeons. Now this? Theatre? It’s genius.’
‘I’m pleased you enjoyed it.’
‘You ought to join us.’
‘It would be an honour to host a revelry on Olympus. I could bring my retinue next equinox, perhaps, or –’
‘No.’ The answering voice is blunt, almost forceful. ‘You’re powerful, son. We all bore witness to that. And such power belongs on Olympus. Permanently.’
‘Permanently? But my followers …’
‘Are followers. Have them set up temples; they have no need to trail after your every step.’
I find myself leaning closer, my heart pulsing hard and fast, like it might leap nearer still.
‘I … I appreciate it, I do. But I have a life here. I am married and –’
Zeus laughs. ‘Fates below, son, don’t be such a fool.
We can annul the marriage. Or keep her, if you like.
Put her up somewhere and visit when you want a quick tumble but don’t refuse Olympus for her.
Besides, I’m sure you’ll find the nymphs and goddesses of the Olympian court far more appealing – human women are great fun, I assure you, but occasionally you do want someone with the stamina to keep up with an immortal. ’
I don’t even dare breathe – and I’m not sure if it’s my own outrage or fear of what Dionysus might reply in turn.
‘I must pass, Father.’ Dionysus’s voice is tight, outrage scarcely concealed. ‘Though I would be happy to honour the reverse – to remain down here and visit Olympus.’
‘What is it you want?’ Zeus bites. ‘A seat on the council? Done. I know my wife has tormented you. I can’t be alone in wanting to spite her and surely you can see how much this would infuriate her?
Yet another of my bastards taking up power.
On Olympus you’d be stronger than ever, untouchable even to her. ’
Oh gods.
None of the heroes would be able to threaten him. They wouldn’t be able to reach him, let alone bleed him of the immortality thrumming through his veins.
He’d be safe – and we’d be … well, as Zeus says. In temples. I could do that, couldn’t I? Settle in a home nearby, surrounded by the thiasus. He could visit. We could stop running because we would be protected by a god on the council. We could –
‘No,’ Dionysus says again. ‘Thank you, Father. But no.’
There is a moment of silence, broken by Zeus’s bark of laughter.
‘You’ll regret that when you sober up, I imagine.
In kindness, I will keep my offer open. But I wouldn’t take too long.
I do so hate to be refused and it would be a true pity if Hera slaughtered you before I could swell the ranks of Olympus with the bastards she so merrily attempts to snuff out.
Though if it came to it, I’m sure I could cope with her winning just this once. ’
Footsteps crunch towards me and I duck further behind that rock.
The king of the gods stalks past, his every footfall thunderous.
He is long gone when Dionysus calls out: ‘New girl, it’s awfully rude to tell me to go on without you then follow me anyway. Now, will you please stop skulking?’
I emerge, scowl readied. ‘I was not skulking, I just … happened to run into you and didn’t want to interrupt. But perhaps I should have.’
‘Excuse me?’
The mountain ledge widens into a small plateau but the edge is sharp and sudden.
There is enough light from the party behind us and the stars above to make out Dionysus, a golden beacon against the night, but it is not bright enough to see where the sudden rocks meet the endless sea and where the ocean touches the Heavens.
It is all just darkness – beyond him, there is nothing.
‘Why did you refuse him?’ I demand.
Dionysus scoffs. ‘I should think that obvious.’
‘Is it?’ I push, nearing him now. ‘That would have solved everything. The heroes couldn’t reach you. You’d have power. You’d finally accomplish everything we’ve been working towards – that you and the thiasus have been fighting years for.’
He arches a brow. ‘Is that all?’
‘Is that all?’ I repeat, disbelieving. ‘You turned down a place on the council of the Olympian gods. The change you could have enacted in the world! And you’d have been safe within it. You would have had such power!’
His jaw tightens. ‘I would have had nothing.’
‘A home, a –’
‘I have a home.’
‘For how long?’ I cry – and, gods, I can feel it all churning within me.
Anger, yes – but frustration and fear and something I don’t even know to name, only that it is white-hot within me and, gods, it burns so brightly it hurts.
It’s all such damn agony. ‘How long until someone gets lucky? How long until they kill you, Dionysus? How long until Hera shifts her sights from Heracles back to you or a new hero comes along and succeeds where the rest have failed? How long do I have?’
Dionysus winces. He doesn’t answer at first, just reaches for my hand but I snatch it back and that hurt flashes in his eyes. Good. I shouldn’t be the only one feeling all this. ‘I don’t know how long,’ he says darkly. ‘But I would take an hour here over an eternity on Olympus.’
‘That’s stupid. That’s so unbelievably stupid – no one was forcing you to choose. You could have had forever and still had –’
‘I don’t care for forever, Ariadne. Not if it’s without you.’
‘You could have had me too!’