Chapter Thirty-Six
Hermes set out on a mission to not only seduce me but also romance me. And as I mentioned before, he was great at romance. After breakfast, we went on a shopping spree. He bought me several new outfits, down to the underwear, a few pairs of shoes for all the activities we might get up to, and accessories including some very expensive jewelry. I stopped protesting after the shoes, realizing it was futile. Surprisingly, it was fun after I let myself enjoy it. And not because Hermes was buying me things. I had enough money to buy whatever I wanted. No, it was the god himself. He was at his best, putting on a show for me as he had once done when he had first tried to gain my affection.
But I'd seen the show before, and I knew all of Hermes's tricks. By the time dinner rolled around and we were dining at Le Jules Verne, the restaurant on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, I was getting tired of the performance.
I waited until the end of the meal, when we were enjoying our chocolate souffles, and then said, “Hermes, you don't have to do this.”
Hermes had worn a bright smile all day. It cracked with my words. “But I want to show you how much I love you.”
“No, you want to win.”
“Yes. I want to win you back .”
“You want to win period. You hate the thought of me loving someone else, anyone else, because it would feel like you had lost. But this isn't a game, Hermes. And if it was, you stopped playing with me a long time ago.”
“That's not true. I've already told you, Lomasi—”
“Yes, yes.” I waved a hand. “You still love me. You just need to wander. And that will never change, Hermes. I want more than being with you a week, then living alone for months at a time.”
“You don't have to be alone. I'm all right with you taking lovers.”
“I want more than a lover. I want a partner. What we once were. And if you can't give me that, you need to let me go.”
“No.”
“Hermes, you say you love me. If you did, you'd want me to be happy.”
“I want you to be happy with me .”
“You aren't around long enough to make me happy.”
His face tightened. “You couldn't even give me a single day to convince you.”
“I did give you a day. I'll give you several days if that's what you want. But it won't make a difference. All you're doing is drawing this out and making me suffer. Is that what you want? You want me to suffer for daring to love someone else?”
“Maybe I do,” Hermes whispered.
I nodded. It was what I suspected all along. Maybe it wasn't his priority, but I knew that somewhere in his head, Hermes wanted to punish me.
“I gave you eternal life,” Hermes said. “I showed you the world. I protected you. I provided for you. I bought that damn gallery for you.”
“I know, and I have shown my gratitude for nearly four hundred years, Hermes. Four lifetimes. How many more do you need me to sacrifice to you?”
Hermes finished his dessert silently, then paid the bill. I kept silent too, waiting for him to process. At last, he stood up and escorted me out of the restaurant. The elevator was empty, so he used the opportunity to take us back to Fira. Right into one of his guest rooms. My new prison cell.
“You said you'd give me longer,” Hermes said. “I want longer. Goodnight, Lomasi.”
“Goodnight, Hermes.”
He walked out and shut the door behind him. Just a normal, unlocked door, but it might as well have been made of steel and bound with magic. I wasn't going anywhere.