“Poseidon,” Hecate answered simply. Aeëtes felt his chest constrict, fighting possessive and nearly overwhelming feelings of jealously.
“Should we be accepting favors from other gods?” Aeëtes’s tone was cautious. Hecate turned to face him, her expression quizzical as she nodded.
“I wouldn’t think you to be the mistrusting type all of a sudden. Did Hermes say something to you?” Hecate pressed, taking a step closer and looking Aeëtes over as if she could discern the answer. He managed to keep his face stoic, shaking his head.
“No, no, he didn’t. Well, he said plenty but nothing of consequence.” Aeëtes must have sounded convincing enough since Hecate scoffed and waved her hand in the air.
“That sounds like Hermes. It’s tough to come by genuine trust amongst immortals, yes, I’ll give you that. For now, we can trust Poseidon. The sooner that we can get to Colchis, the better.”
“Yes,” Aeëtes drawled, unable to keep some of the ire out of his voice. “The sooner that you get rid of me and this is all over, the better.”
“Excuse me?” Hecate snapped, her temper flaring up at the accusatory tone in Aeëtes’s statement. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I think that you know perfectly well what it means.”
“I most certainly do not!” Aeëtes took another step closer to Hecate so their bodies were almost touching as he shook his head slowly.
“Youreallylike making me spell things out for you, don’t you, little witch?” Hecate felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she made an irreverent sound, shaking her head but also unable to will her body to move away from him. She felt her heart beating faster as attraction and aggression warred with one another.
“Maybe it’s just impossible to understand what you’re saying! Always speaking in riddles.”
“Riddles!” Aeëtes laughed loudly. “Ha! Only someone who constantly is hiding from themselves would think that someone being direct is speaking in riddles. I’ve been more honest with you than you’d like!”
“Now you just sound ridiculous,” Hecate growled at Aeëtes, her magic sparking to life over her skin. She caught the way that Aeëtes’s eyes glowed at it, how her magic seemed to spark something in him, too. She would be lying to herself if she said it didn’t make her heart skip a beat. Her magic always had made man run away—always.
“You want this entire thing to be over as soon as possible, isn’t that right?” Aeëtes accused her, his mouth pulled into a taut line as his body seemed to tense.
“Yes, I want to make sure that this is over as soon as possible!” Hecate nearly shrieked, causing a few sailors to turn their heads towards the commotion, only to quickly busy themselves with other errands. Aeëtes let out a noise halfway between a snort and a growl, running his hand through his hair and nearly ripping the leather cord out. He looked away to collect himself.
“Because you want to be rid of me that badly?”
“Because I want you safe!” Hecate screamed, magic bursting from her as soon as she said it. Glowing, red sparks rained down around her and Aeëtes as she caught her breath, her hand immediately going up and covering her mouth in shock. Aeëtes stood immobile, his brain moving too quickly to try and process what she had just said.
They stood there for a few, dreadfully long seconds, as Hecate’s magic slowly diminished, and she released a long sigh. Hecate and Aeëtes started speaking at the same time.
“I didn’t…”
“You did…”
They both stopped. Hecate leaned her head back and closed her eyes, and Aeëtes turned to watch the horizon in a semblance of giving her a private moment.
“I wouldn’t want to see anyone come to harm under Hera.” Hecate broke the silence, clarifying her outburst like it was an amendment. Aeëtes said nothing, watching her carefully, his eyes studying her so intensely that Hecate thought she might fall under his gaze.
You’veneverfelt this way when a man looked at you,her traitorous brain reminded her, and Hecate nearly turned on her heel and went running for the galley. Her pride won out in the end, and she stared back at Aeëtes, her chin lifting in challenge in the slightest of ways. As soon as she did it, Aeëtes sighed, reaching up and tightening the cord around his hair.
“Of course. It’s all about Hera.”
“It is.” Hecate nodded primly, and Aeëtes shrugged in response, as if he didn’t believe her but was going to let her have her moment anyway. “Now,” Hecate cleared her throat, “Let’s see about going ashore.” She smoothed the folds of her chiton and walked briskly away from Aeëtes, leaving him standing at the railing as he watched her leave. He couldn’t help it as a small, hopeless smile etched its way onto his face as he thought about her reaction.
This might have started as something about Hera, but you and I both know that it’s not just about her anymore.
He turned to look at the sea and felt at ease, watching and waiting as the ship moved nearly effortlessly closer to the docks of Byzantium.
? ? ?
Hecate nearly ran awayfrom Aeëtes, trying to calm her heart rate. She couldn’t help her earlier outburst, as much as she was chastising herself for it now. She was growing increasingly anxious for them to get to Colchis, especially after Hermes’s arrival. If it was becoming a topic of gossip on Mt. Olympus, it wouldn’t be long before other gods did join the fray—no matter how much Hermes said that they didn’t seem interested. At least it looked like Poseidon was on their side. Even Hecate had woken up that morning and was surprised to see how swiftly they had made it, but it seemed like Poseidon still had the creatures of the Underworld in his good will.
She saw Pelias on deck, chatting with one of the cabin boys, and turned towards his direction.
