But it still didn’t explain why their house was off all by itself.
“Why do we have our own place when the other Charonte don’t?” Simi asked as they landed on the doorstep.
Sighing again in irritation, Xirena opened the door. “Don’t ask those kinds of questions.”
“But why?”
“It’ll make Matera sad.” Xirena set her down by her side.
Confuzzled by that, Simi skipped into the cottage to find their brother, Xedrix, leaning against the wall as if he was waiting on their arrival.
Xedrix jerked his chin toward Simi. “You know we’re going to have to tell her one day.”
Like Xirena, he had yellow eyes, but his skin was swirling blues that reminded Simi of a cloudy sky. But he could change that if he wanted. They all could. The one fun thing about being Charonte was that they could have any body color they wanted. And most of them liked wearing multiple, swirly colors.
Simi preferred looking like her mother the mostest. She had no idea who her brother and sister looked like or why they picked their colors. Those colors were pretty, but not Matera pretty. Just normal pretty.
Matera was extra special beautimous.
Xirena hissed at Xedrix. “It’s not our place.”
He shook his head before he scooped Simi up from the floor. “Hungry?”
She smiled happily. “Always!”
Xirena tucked her black, feathered wings down as she headed to the cupboard where they kept Simi’s favorite foods. “She’s an eating machine. I have no idea how she can stay so tiny and eat so much.”
“Maybe we should turn her loose on the Atlantean gods.”
Xirena hissed again. “Careful! What if one of them heard you?”
Opening the cupboard before Xirena could reach it, he scoffed, then moved aside for Xirena to pick through the icky healthy things to find Simi’s snacks. “They’re terrified of Apollymi. They don’t listen to what we do here. They don’t dare. If any of them showed their faces, Apollymi would rip their hearts out and feast on them. She’s just aching for an excuse to burn the entire world down and especially that pantheon. Which will probably happen as soon as her son turns twenty-one and comes into his powers.”
With a ragged breath, Xirena rubbed Simi’s back while Xedrix held her, then handed Simi a piece of dried beef. “I don’t understand Matera’s loyalty to her.”
“Because Apollymi is equally as loyal to Matera. And we’re lucky for that. If she wasn’t?—”
Xirena placed a hand over his lips to silence him. “Stop it! Matera doesn’t want our Simi to know.”
“Know what?” Simi asked.
“Nothing,” Xirena snapped.
Xedrix rolled his eyes. “She’ll learn. They always do.”
Simi frowned at her sissy and bro-bro. They often talked like this, but she didn’t understand, and they always refused to explain it.
All she knew was that akra-Apollymi had a baby boy which was why the goddess lived here in Kalosis instead of their old home in Katateros. Them evil Atlantean gods had trapped her here because they believed the baby akri would kill them all.
They were scared, but it made no sense to the Simi. Who could be afraid of a tiny little baby? A baby, even a god baby, couldn’t hurt a big god. It was stupid.
Them gods were silly things. Personally, she’d just eat the baby and not worry. But then, she was a Charonte and not a god. And while she didn’t know any Charonte who’d ever eaten a baby, babies might be tasty to the tummy.
And speaking of tasty …
“Can the Simi have more?” She held her hand out to her sister.
Growling at her, Xirena handed her another piece. “Isn’t it your bedtime?”
