“She speaks to you?” My voice cracked.
“They are past echoes of all the hopes and dreams she had for you. This is not the life she imagined for you. She would hate to see you so unhappy. I hate seeing you so unhappy.”
I wouldn’t say I was unhappy. Just . . . suspended. I felt as if I lived in a void. In an in-between, not belonging anywhere. Would this quest truly help me find where I belonged? How was falling in love the answer?
I could hear my mother say that belonging is usually not a place—it’s a person.
“Demi,” Father continued. “I know you believe I don’t understand you. But I understand you better than anyone. I locked my heart after Psyche asked for a separation.”
I stared at him wide-eyed. Stunned into silence.
“Yes, I have that power too,” he confirmed. “I didn’t think anyone would be able to unlock it, but then I met your mother.”
“She unlocked your heart. She was your true love?” I squeaked out, hardly believing it. Honestly, all this time, I thought maybe he’d used his powers on her. But it was she who used hers on him. Oh. Wow.
“She was. She is.” Father’s eyes misted over.
No wonder Psyche hated her—and me—so much.
“Then why did you leave us?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“That is a story for another day. Now is the time for the story you were meant to have play out.”
“What does that mean?” He made it sound like I had been placed in the wrong story.
Father shook his head, refusing to elaborate.
Resigned, I sighed. “Fine. Where does this quest begin?” I was thinking it would be Greece—the homeland, so to speak. So it shocked me when Father replied, “Jackson Hole.”
“Wyoming?” I spat out a laugh. “Who finds love in Wyoming?” Not just love. True love.
Hestia raised her hand. “I fell in love there once.” She fanned herself dramatically. “That cowboy. Wow. Amazing. He could—”
“Perhaps we could save that story,” Father interrupted her.
Was I ever glad. I had a feeling I was about to hear something I’d never be able to scrub from my mind. And here theworld thought Hestia was a virgin. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was just another thing mortals had gotten wrong.
Hestia giggled. “You’re right. This is not about my escapades.”
Thank the Titans for that.
“So, who’s in Wyoming?” I knew he wouldn’t tell me, but a girl had to try.
Father sat up straight and cleared his throat.
Hestia reached out and took my hand—a preemptive strike.
This. Could. Not. Be. Good.
“That is for you to discover. A special season ofLove Unscriptedis filming there, and you will be a cast member,” Father said casually. Way too casually, considering the bomb he’d just detonated.
All I could think was,OH. HADES. NO.I’d rather be an orchid for eternity. I could learn how to photosynthesize. Because this I knew: Roman Archer, the so-called Architect of Love, was never going to be part ofmyquest to find love.
He was the reason I’d locked my heart in the first place.
Chapter V
Demi
