Page 40 of This Divine Revelry

‘Alright,’ he says – not needing any of that because apparently my yes is enough. ‘We’ll do what we can.’

‘Which is?’

He only glances to his cup.

I take a breath. ‘Could you take me back to Crete? My father will never let Theseus marry Phaedra if he knows what he did to me. You could even host a revelry there – the people of Crete could certainly do with some fun.’

‘Your father will execute you for treason.’

I swirl the wine in my own cup, watching the dark liquid sway.

‘Not an option, new girl,’ Dionysus scolds. ‘You didn’t come up with all those contingencies to give up your life for anything.’

Which is true. And my father would only take the city to war instead.

And Theseus would run, or fight, and spread his tales anyway.

If I give my life up, it won’t be to strike a mere blow but for his entire, irrevocable destruction.

I lean my head on the table, churning through options again and again.

‘We could go elsewhere,’ Dionysus proposes. ‘Spread the news that you live and of what Theseus did to you.’

I wince – not only at what that would mean but that I even have to explain it.

‘The abridged version, thank you. Most people would believe my abandonment was deserved for giving up my virtue.’

‘Most people are idiots.’

‘That’s precisely the issue – we don’t need them turning Theseus into their righteous hero. He had sex out of wedlock too, but I don’t see anyone insisting he be abandoned on an island.’

‘Trust me, if I had my way that’s exactly what would happen to him. But you’re right – all this is only going to make him more popular with a certain sub-sect of fools, amongst whom many Olympians are included.’

I sigh. ‘And, I imagine, it would be both Crete and Athens putting a bounty on my head if I went telling tales on far-off shores.’

We migrate to the floor sometime around midnight, both of us lying against huge stacks of pillows, staring at the ceiling like it might give us the answers. Sterope lies between us, having finally tired of demanding our affections.

‘I want to go to Crete,’ I say slowly, like listing it all might help. ‘But I’d be executed. I’d be killed no matter what I did, really, so I need protection. I could seek out Heracles, maybe? If I got another hero involved, some might side with me. It’s as you said – they’ll all turn on each other eventually. If we make Theseus the villain, someone else may be inclined to take a shot at him instead of the next monster sent from the Heavens.’

‘Well, I’d prefer you didn’t, given that would just bolster their attempts to take my place on Olympus.’ Dionysus throws a pine cone above his face. He has been fidgeting with it the entire time we’ve been lying here. ‘Though we can certainly consider it a possibility. Frankly, if they help, maybe they deserve my place on Olympus.’

‘I don’t want you losing your immortality, though. We aren’t trading your life for mine.’

‘That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’

‘Consider it my parting gift.’

‘Whatever you do, we’re not leaving your side. We have numbers. And I am a god. They might be trying to usurp me with whispers but they still wouldn’t dare cross me so blatantly. True, Poseidon might eradicate me if I really did turn Theseus into a dolphin, but that doesn’t mean I can’t threaten it.’

He tosses that pine cone too far, has to reach wide to catch it and instead it skitters off to take out a row of stacked cups.

‘Oh yes, quite threatening,’ I deadpan.

‘My powers – and, admittedly, my aim – might be somewhat unreliable but they don’t know that. And I definitely have enough energy for some dolphinification. Obscurity might threaten me but Theseus and your father certainly don’t. Really all I’m lacking is their ability to weave themselves into myth and legend. If I had that, I’d have nothing to worry about.’

‘Well, if they tell this story accurately, you’ll be the hero who rescued me when Theseus abandoned me. You’d only be more heroic if you married me yourself.’

There is a beat as we consider all that, then both of us are scrambling to our feet.