“Well,” he said, standing and clapping his hands together, “once again, it’s been fun. Wonderful getting to see all of you, but that’s not a curse that I’m willing to tempt. Hecate, you give men nightmares, me included.” Hermes leaned over the counter, in an outrageous act of bravery and kissed her cheek once more. “Never change.”
Hermes walked out towards the door, clapping his hand on Hades’s shoulder before he leaned in and spoke in a voice only Hades could hear.
“I don’t know what you and Poseidon are planning, but I could always bring you a message from Cain if you’re looking for advice.”
Hades snapped his head towards Hermes with a growl, but the messenger was already down the hall, laughing to himself and running a hand through his gold hair. There was a moment of silence before Hades cautiously took another step inside the kitchen. Hecate had crossed the room and was tossing a few different herbs into the fire, watching as the flames and smoke sparked in different colors. There was a tense atmosphere in the room as the imprints of all the god’s power still hung in the air. Hades noticed that there was something on Hecate’s face that looked tired, if not just annoyed. She went about her work methodically and hoped that by ignoring him, he would get the hint.
“I believe you were dismissed.” Her tone was final, and Hades fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“Erebus is on the way. I thought it would be helpful if I were here for this.”
Hecate stood slightly and sat down on the workbench at the table, running her hands over her face.
“When all of this is over, I am going on a very, verylongvacation from the Underworld.”
Hades gave her a soft smile, something indecipherable washing over his face. “You would deserve it.” If Hecate had a response for him, there was nothing apparent on her face and nothing was said out loud.
“Here he is.”
Hecate sat up straighter, looking towards the door. Only a moment later, a whirlwind of shadows appeared, spinning into the mortal form of Erebus. He blinked a few times, looking back at Hecate and finding himself surprised at Hades’s presence. Erebus was tired, and it was written on his face. He carried with him the weight of a man who had been pulled in too many directions.
“Oh, um, hello, Hades…” His tone was sheepish, some of his normal confidence gone, and he ran his hand through his hair nervously. Hecate stared at him like a mother who was waiting on her son to confess his sins.
“I already know,” Hecate quipped, leaning her back against the table as she turned her gaze once more to the flames. “You can drop the act.”
There was total silence in the kitchen.
Hecate was more than willing to let the men stew in it until they cracked. Hades looked over to Erebus with a shrug as if asking‘what did you expect?’Erebus’s shadows were moving under his skin, desperate to break out and push him from this mortal form. He was uncomfortable enough without being in the bounds of a physical body, which he often only enjoyed with Nyx. The only sound was the snapping of the fire, which continued to change colors and send out different sparks of magic. Hecate stared at them as though she was studying them, and honestly, she was.
It was another few moments before Erebus caved. He sighed deeply, a heavy, fatigued sound that went far beyond the situation they all found themselves in. For a moment, it filled Hecate with pity. She knew that Erebus wasn’t anything like the gods; he was just a man, faced for the first time in his long existence with the idea of life without Nyx. But… gods, were all men thisstupidwhen it came to women?
“Erebus.” Hecate broke the silence, her heart softening for him just an inch. She turned to face him, sighing when she saw how sad his eyes were; they held so much hope that this was somehow the right decision. “It’s a battle of gods, not primordials. You’d do well to know that you are bigger than this. If you cannot see it, maybe, you aren’t.”
The last of the hope left Erebus’s eyes.
16
Nyx didn’t react when Erebus had woken up and slipped away without saying anything. They both knew that there were things unsaid between them. The night that they had spent together, regardless of what had been said out loud, carried too many unspoken fears.
Erebus was afraid that Nyx thought their relationship, after millennia, was fragile. Nyx was worried that if he had been tempted by the gods once, Erebus would be again. If he saw any benefit to stepping into their pantheon,doing his business in the light,then how could he love the darkness they shared anymore?
So she let him go.
There was a rumbling in Tartarus as Nyx stirred, dredging herself up to the meadows. She felt like there was something in her that had calcified, burying her heat deep down in her chest. A melancholy had taken up presence in her heart that she had never experienced before. It was a rare thing to break the heart of a primordial.
If this is what these mortals experience, no wonder they weep and bleed for the attentions of Aphrodite.
Nyx hid herself in the skies, wanting to keep away from prying eyes. There was no one that she wanted to see and no one that she wanted to perceive her. When she was in this form, only Erebus could detect her presence. A small part of Nyx’s heart admitted that she was only traversing the Underworld in this form to get Erebus’s attention. The rest of her heart ignored it.
As she circled over Asphodel, there was a shift in power that got her attention. There were very few gods who had enough of a presence to make Nyx pause, even if it was just for a moment. This was three gods. She knew Hades’s signature immediately, but the other two took a second. As soon as she had identified them, a snarl crossed over her invisible face and a surge of anger went through her.
Zeus, Zeus, Zeus… What a bold little mouse to come into the den of the cat. Do you really think that passage with your brothers would save you?
Nyx had a short temper and a broken heart, variables which had proven disastrous for women for centuries. The wind had picked up, signaling the arrival of Poseidon in a mortal form, and she let herself float down to the stratosphere as the gods came into view. There were four figures standing on the banks of Styx in a stand-off.
Just as I thought. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades… Erebus!
If she had been in a mortal form, Nyx would have released a shriek that could’ve drowned a siren. The personifications of her heartbreak began to rage against the cages of her body; her borders were liquid and amorphous as magic threatened to choke the sky. Before she plunged the entire world into obsidian, Nyx managed to take one shaky breath and get closer. She watched in utter horror as Zeus pulled a ring off his finger and tossed it to Erebus.
