“My home,” Tethys breathed. “What have they done?” Before she could collapse to the balcony floor, Araes pulled her into his arms. They weren’t safe from the fire yet.
“We have to jump, my queen,” he said, guiding her to the railing. The night was quiet, save for the crackle of hungry flames. Tethys nodded as Araes flipped a leg over the side. He sucked in a breath and leapt from the burning building. His stomach slammed into his throat and air rushed across his cheeks. He lurched forward as his bare feet impacted with gravel, sending ripples of agony through his feet and up his ankles. His lungs compressed at the pain, and he grit his teeth to keep from crying out.
“My queen, you must jump now!” he called, holding his arms out in preparation. Tethys, without hesitation, straddled the railing and leapt into the night. As she descended, time stilled. The curtain of golden curls glimmered in a washing of moonlight as they flew around her body, cocooning her. She landed in Araes’s outstretched arms with a whoosh, coughing as she drew in the clean air.
“We should keep moving,” he said, tucking a curl behind her ear. She glanced back at the scorched building, a tear reflecting the scattering of stars overhead, and nodded.
They crept through the garden, keeping to the shadows, and found their way to the estate’s cliffside exit. Walking in silence, Araes winced with each step. They descended the hillside and trailed the fields of pampas grass marking the eastern cliffs. Gravel transitioned to dewy grass, cooling the fresh gashes now throbbing through hismuscles.
Only when the manor was merely a blazing amber blur on the horizon did they stop. Araes fell to a seat beneath an oak tree, watching the sway of its branches in the midnight ocean air.
“Are you burned?” he asked the goddess, now kneeling beside him. She stayed silent.
The cliffside breeze disguised her hushed sobs, but the rise and fall of her shoulders did not.
“Tethys?” He crawled to her side and braced against his knees. She sucked in a breath, swiftly wiping the flood of tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. His eyes softened and he pulled her into a gentle embrace.
“My home is gone,” she murmured through heart wrenching cries.
“I’m so sorry,” Araes whispered, brushing his lips across her brow. She tasted like ash and smoke.
“It’s gone. All of it,” she sobbed. “And the worst of it all, Araes, is that I wish you’d left me to burn with it.”
The night wrapped itself around them, allowing her a moment to succumb to her pain.
“It’s all my fault. The staff, the manor, everything in ruin, because of me. I could’ve saved them,” she whispered through shallow breaths. “Now, there’s nothing left.”
She was a queen, a goddess, an immortal being, but more importantly, she was a woman, lost in a world that inflicted cruelty in the most painful of forms. Unwavering loneliness. Frigid isolation.
Behind her beautiful facade, she was broken and now he feared she might never be whole again.
“I’m here,” he whispered. “I willalwaysbe here.”
Chapter 45
Tethys’s sobs quieted with the rising sun as Araes guided her through the silent streets of Antares. They’d crossed the bridge over the eastern river so many times before, but it felt different now. More final. More deliberate.
She sucked in a breath as she stepped on to the rough cobblestone on the opposing side. It didn’t matter where they were going. Only what they left behind was significant. Her home, her haven, was probably a pile of ash by now. She didn’t know if the staff had made it out. She prayed they did, but the pit in her stomach squashed that inkling of hope before it spread. The hour was late and the bomb’s destruction on the lower floors was near instant.
Her eyes burned with remnants of ash smoke and dried tears, and her body ached with exhaustion. Her bare feet, although not as mangled as Araes’s, were split and cracked from traveling through the streets.
The door swung open before they could reach the cottage steps and the girl, who Tethys assumed was Penelope,sprinted down the trail to meet them.
“Thank the gods you’re alright,” she cried as she slammed into her brother. Araes stifled a wince and embraced his younger sister.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t open your letter in time, Penelope.” He sighed and squeezed her tighter. The girl sobbed and clenched her fists around his back.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said, glancing at Tethys. Her eyes flashed with awe as they met the goddess’s.
“Pen, this is…”
“I know who she is, Araes. My queen, I’m so relieved you’re unharmed,” she said, placing her fist across her heart and bowing deeply.
“There’s no need for formality,” Tethys said, dipping her chin in response. She didn’t deserve the honor now laid at her feet. Araes brushed his pinky against hers—a grounding force she needed more than ever. Funny how amidst the empty promises and declarations of love made by her siblings, a simple swipe of his skin against hers calmed the raging sea of heartache more than anything else.
“Let’s get you both inside before the neighbors leave for the fields,” Penelope said. Her long brown hair swished across her lower back as she turned and started for the cottage.
“We’re safe here,” Araes said. She nodded, but before following in his sister’s tracks, her eyes met his, scanning his expression for the slightest hint of distress.
