Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows. It means a lot. It chapter is bittersweet for me, while some characters leave, new ones are introduced. Characters that I wanted to write in since the prologue but couldn't until know.
Chapter Nine
Kopkos Palace
Rhodes Chambers
Rhodes
"Pathetic." Damos commented from the cushioned chair as Rhodes wrote furiously on the blank tomes at the table.
"If you want to lose your tongue keep talking." Rhodes threatened not looking up from his work. The moment after he got back from leaving Psyche, he locked himself in his chambers and began documenting himself within the tomes.
"I did not know you were so easily offended." Damos kept talking; it was obvious he had a death wish.
"Just easily annoyed." He replied as he wrote of his first vision of the future.
"Then your limits will be tested today." Damos carried on. Rhodes continued writing about his first meeting with Cyrene but Damos soon found himself with a dagger a mere fraction away from his neck.
"Leave your progeny alone." Helios commented materialising upon the bed. He immediately grabbed the first of the tomes and began to read. Rhodes removed the dagger and moved the book from Helios's grasp to the desk in front of him. "Why must you always destroy my fun?"
"Why must you touch what is not yours?" Rhodes retorted.
"I'm a god. It is allowed."
"You're a god?" Damos asked, looking at Helios wide-eyed. Rhodes looked back at his page and began writing faster than ever. He was a god; no one ever showed him that gratitude or devotion. Just because he wasn't allowed the term god doesn't mean he didn't love the worship.
"Lord Helios at your service. Although I cannot do anything against your master. That is my loyalty rather than my fear." Helios answered as he created a mini sun in the palm of his hand.
Damos did not look impressed, "If you're Helios, why are you not pulling the sun? Daylight still shines through the windows but your here. Who is riding your chariot?"
"It's on auto-pilot." Rhodes muttered but the joke went ununderstood. Damn the time difference.
"There's a lot you need to learn about the world, boy. I only pull that golden piece of rubbish an hour a day, maybe two depending on the stupidity of the mortals. The Selene does most of the work, replacing me with the moon. She lost a bet to me last year."
"Oh." Was all Damos said then returned to the book Rhodes had been making him learn.
"I need you do to me a favour." Rhodes spoke after Helios was done playing with his sun.
"What type of favour?" Helios asked slowly.
"Become Patron God of Karpathos after I leave." Karpathos was the small island between Rhodes and Crete that Hekate used to be Patron Goddess of. Upon Rhodes re-birth from Hades, after all his power was unlocked, she gave Patronage over to him for the island. Most Gods and Goddess had a city they were Patron over. Zeus had Olympia, Aphrodite had Kopkos, Athena had Athens and Helios had Rhodes. It was purely coincidental that his name was the same as his best friend's own island.
"They won't like it." Helios commented but Rhodes saw that he hadn't refused. But then he hadn't accepted either.
"I don't give two fingers about what they think." Rhodes replied to which Helios gave a small smile.
"I know you don't. But I have to live with them on Olympus. I know you have secrets there, but giving it to me won't keep them away." Helios stated. Rhodes spared a look at Damos, who was immersed in correcting his letterings. But that didn't mean he could not be listening. After much debate he decided it didn't matter if Damos knew or not, were Rhodes to die, so would Damos.
"The terrain makes it the perfect safe and trap but you're right the stupid temples give those other gods the leverage to go to Karpathos."
"The mountains and rocks are a good stronghold but how much have you hidden there?" Rhodes just looked at Helios, "Right, end of the world and all that."
"And all that. How do I get those Gods off my tail? They already hate me." Rhodes thought hard but everything ended with them winning and him being flayed alive. He would hate to look that weak. And ugly.
"You could always remove the temples." Damos called as he turned around to them.
"Excuse me?" Helios warned.
"Not all the temples," Damos corrected himself, "But the ones that you don't want. They then can't enter that easily since they do not have a temple."
"But the people will revolt." Helios replied, shooting down the idea.
"Not if you regulate it."
"Just learn your letters, boy."
"No. He's right. The gods would not have a leg to stand on were there no temples. They'd be able to go there but removal of anything would have to go through the Patron." Rhodes replied after some deliberation.
Helios smiled and clapped Damos on the back, "The boy isn't all bad. I see why you made him your second in command. He'd be a good leader in your steed."
Rhodes ignored the two, "If I get a god-like tyrant to replace the king, who's a sap anyway, then they'd have to ask him too."
"You could get one of the Eight." Helios offered to which Damos sent him a confused look.
"There a group of eight people, picked out at the start of time and bestowed with supernatural powers. They each have a patron god or goddess and they in turn are that gods progeny. They are constantly reborn from the start of time to the end of time. They constantly fight the monsters and do the God's dirty work when needed." He explained then turned back to Helios.
"Apollo, Aphrodite and Athena are put out with me as of now so they won't help. Xander isn't much of a leader."
"Neither is Nysa, although Dionysus is good to have on your team." Helios inputted.
"So Ty, Ambrus or Ampyx?" Rhodes asked.
"The bigger question is Hermes, Hephaestus or Ares."
"I spoke to Hermes before coming here and Ty has yet to receive his memories."
"He could have by now." Helios replied but finding out would just be a waste of his limited time.
"Let me go destroy some temples and find Ambrus." Rhodes decided as he opened a portal into the wall.
"Want some help?" Helios asked.
"No. Try and persuade Hephaestus to let us use his progeny." Rhodes said as he began to walk through but then jumped back into the room, "For the love of the Gods, do not let the boy touch you." Helios nodded and Rhodes walked through the portal, it closing behind him.
Mount Parnassus
Eros's Palace
Psyche
Psyche woke up to feel soft wool under her fingertips. Confused, she pulled herself up from the very comfortable bed to sit on its edge. With every breathe she took it became clearer that she wasn't in the little grove on Mount Parnassus where she had fallen asleep. Instead she was in a lavish chamber filled with ivory and gold. The bed she had just awoken upon was in the centre of the room and the biggest bed she had ever seen, much bigger than her father's own at Kopkos. She could see the oak door directly in front of her and large window behind her. There was an overly sized wardrobe to one side, full of clothes she was sure, and a beauty table beside it.
Everything about the room was breath taking, which made it seem all more a dream. But she trusted herself enough to know it was not a figment of her imagination, she could never dream something so beautiful.
"Is she awake yet?" Someone called from outside, a girls's voice.
"I do not very well know. I am hardly psychic." Another voice answered older than the first.
"Desist, my ladies." A softer, calmer voice spoke. "I will check upon the mistress. You prepare her bath. I presume she is weary and disorientated from her travel, it will be disruptive for us all to meet her at once." Never once did the girl change her voice to anything other than calm.
"Yes Kyria." A moment later she could hear the shuffle of footsteps and then the large oak doors opened to reveal Kyria. The girl was stunning; there was no lesser word for her. She looked younger than Psyche, perhaps fifteen or sixteen; her beauty would only increase with age. She wore a simple light pink dress and a chain with a pink gem sitting in a silver case in the middle. Her hair was left open, the soft brown curls coming over her shoulders while her purple eyes shone with kindness. What was odd was that she did not wear any sandals even though the marble floor was stone cold. There were purple ribbons on her legs from her ankle to knee. Psyche remembered seeing her in Kopkos a few times, but they had never spoken.
Upon seeing Psyche, Kyria bowed low, so low that her hair touched the marble floor. Psyche sat confused before letting out a 'please rise' which made the girl stand up straight. Her eyes held no annoyance had being made to bend for longer than needed.
"How are you, My Lady?" Kyria asked from her stop by the door.
"Confused, mostly. A little in love with the decor." Psyche answered.
"Yes, I do think minimal is best, your husband has great taste." Kyria answered.
"My husband?" Psyche asked. She had already deduced that her change of habitat had something to do with her new matrimony but she had not thought he would have made a brand new place for them to stay.
"Yes of course. He even called me to be in charge of the house. So if you have any problems or requests please let me know and I will try to resolve as best I can." Kyria replied sounding much older than the age of fifteen.
"How old are you?" Psyche asked.
"Are you not curious about your husband?" Psyche shook her head; she'd rather talk to her husband face to face rather than second hand information for a small girl. "I am fifteen. I've been in service, you could say, to his family for many years."
"Since when?" Kyria looked like she was about to answer than stopped herself. Psyche hoped it was not from her childhood days, she hated when children were made to slaves. If that was the case then she would free Kyria, regardless to the consequences.
"I only started when I became of age. Have no fear My Lady, nothing I do is against my wishes," she paused, "and I am able to care for myself quite well."
Psyche stayed silent for a while as she tried to keep her cool. "How did I come here?" She asked finally, "I was sleeping upon Mount Parnassus."
Kyria straightened out her dress then smiled at sweetly at Psyche, "Lord Zephyrus brought you here once he was sure you were asleep. It is dangerous to be asleep upon the mountain."
"Why?" Because of the creature I am to marry?
"Your husband is not a creature, My Lady." Kyria answered suddenly defensive. "He has not made this home to compensate for deformity or to overcome some misfortune that has befallen him. He made it so you may feel at ease with the building that is to become your home for now on." Kyria answered, even answering the questions that Psyche had been thinking. "Your husband is loved not feared; he is adored not despised although there is sibling rivalry." She smiled.
"Are from Kopkos, Kyria? You have the accent and you call me My Lady." She asked.
"I call you My Lady because your husband is My Lord. But yes My Lady I was born in Kopkos, but I left when I turned twelve."
"You left?" Psyche asked. That explained why the girl seemed familiar.
"Families are always the one that cut the deepest, wouldn't you say?" Kyria asked her voice soft yet with a layer of contempt. "I must check upon dinner. If you need anything just ask one of the servants for myself. I will come as soon as I can. If there is nothing else?"
"One thing." Psyche said, there was something she needed to know but she was at a loss of how to ask such a thing. The prophecy said her husband would be a feared creature, a creature of bloodshed and war. That he wouldn't be human or a half blood. The way Kyria talked of him made him sound like none of the things she had been told. Was he hiding himself? If he would, could have Kyria and the other ladies be too? Were they human or something else?
Psyche bit her lip to accurately phrase the words, were this Kopkos she would have said it straight away, but this wasn't her homeland. In fact she did not know where she was. Before she could ask anything Kyria picked up her dress with one hand and used the other to remove a small dagger that was clasped to her thigh. She drew the dagger over her arm, and blood poured out. Bright red blood. Bright red human blood. It was not green or blue or a yellowed shade, it was blood red. "I'll call someone to guide you around your home." Kyria called as she bowed before leaving.
Psyche fell back onto the bed. What had she just done? She'd made a young girl draw blood to ease her conscience. What type of person had she become or what type of person was she turning into. But she had not asked Kyria anything. She had only thought of asking, but she knew she would not be able to. Kyria had done so of her own accordance but it was too much of a coincidence, Kyria would not just cut her skin for her own amusement. Was the young girl a seer? Psyche decided to be weary around the girl.
She picked up her small satchel from beside the bed and began to put away the contents within. Her clothes did not compare to the dresses and gowns she found within the wardrobe, they were much to plain and simple. The gowns were lavishly designed and sewn to perfection. The jewels are simple however, at an odd with the heavily embellished dresses, but then that suited her just right. She mixed her own jewels with the pile. At the bottom of the satchel lied the box that Rhodes had given to her, she tried to open it again but as before the lid did not budge. She placed in upon her vanity table and went to change for dinner.
Mount Olympus
Throne Room
Eros
Eros sighed and bit his lip in irritation from his place by his mother's throne. Deimos was beside their father but Harmonia and Phobos were missing from the room. The twelve main gods were present and others included Helios, Selene, Hekate and Persephone who stood behind her own mother. Tycho, commonly called Ty, stood behind Hermes, his sword strapped to his back, a smirk in place. It was quite obvious who the meeting was regarding and what Zeus wanted to do.
Couldn't the bastard just stop complicating everything?
"I want him dead." Zeus said once everyone had become quiet. Eros rolled his eyes; Zeus had been saying the same thing for a long time. Why couldn't someone actually kill the boy so he could stop coming to meeting and be allowed to spend him with his new wife. Who he still had to marry but who was keeping record.
"The child is immortal." Ty spoke coldly; it was weird that a boy of thirteen was reminding a god of this. "And already dead. Technically."
"I know that!" Zeus shouted obviously at the end of this tether with that excuse. "I want ideas on how we will bypass this little hitch."
"I presumed we were to leave Rhodes to the humans?" Hera asked as she exchanged a look with Hermes.
"They are taking too long."
"It has only been a day." Athena spoke as Eros's thoughts returned to the small problem he had back home. It wasn't Psyche rather Kyria. Kyria belonged to his mother and was only helping him because he was a god and her mistress's son. His mother would be able to find her whenever she wished and if Aphrodite saw Psyche in the mansion, he would be in deep trouble. But Kyria was the only one he trusted with Psyche's safety and capable of keeping it. He had thought of Nysa but she and Psyche were too opposite that they may end up killing each other.
"And in that day he has managed to demolish out temples at Karpathos." Zeus said as the room broke into murmurs. If Rhodes destroyed all the temples at Karpathos he was decreeing war. War against the Gods. Rhodes might think he was all-powerful but he was not as powerful as he presumed. His powers nowhere matched that of the twelve Olympians and he was a fool to think they did.
Zeus again waited for the gods and goddesses to quieten down before he looked at Ty, who in turn stared back, his eyes ice cold. "Find a way and kill him." He decreed.
"With all respect, my orders are not given by you." Ty answered causing Zeus to strike him with lightening. Expect Ty was on the other side of the room, sat beside Hera's throne before the lightening could even touch his hair. "My Lady?"
Hera looked gleefully at her husband before nodding at the boy. Ty bowed to her, then to Hermes who in turn also nodded. With that the now executioner was flashed out of the throne room by Hera.
"How do you know the nuisance?" Zeus asked. It took Eros a while to realise that Zeus was talking to him.
"My Lord? I do not understand." He replied.
"This is the problem with the modern generation, too self absorbed. Karpathos only hold's temples to five gods; Hekate, Helios, Hades, Artemis and you. Why do you have a temple there?" Eros didn't know he had a temple anywhere.
"I do not know my lord. Perhaps he wished for a love deity that was not my mother." He answered slightly put out that he was being singled out among the group. Why was Artemis not being questioned?
"Insolent child." Zeus muttered.
"Was there not a temple to himself?" Ares asked which saved him from the line of fire.
"No, but he is not a god."
"People at Karpathos do worship him however." Dionysus answered as he sipped his wine.
"They worship a child." Hera answered as she held her husband's hand.
"We are done here."
Kopkos Palace
Palace Halls outside Rhodes Chamber
Ty
Ty held the blue gem of his necklace in his hand as he waited for the King of Crete to walk by. He needed to find the annoyance's weakness and more than enough personal experience told him that was almost always family. Since he could not manipulate Hekate, he did not have a death wish; it would have to the child's mortal family.
He leaned against the wall, powers in full use, as two slaves walked past talking about how they were to attend the Dionysian Festival that night. Ty scoffed, the times when all he cared about was that night was a thing of the past.
After an hour of waiting, the king walked past and pushed into the child's chamber. Ty stealthy slipped in behind the king, his powers keeping him from sight.
"You were expected at the banquet!" The king shouted.
"I didn't know my presence was needed." Rhodes replied as his progeny looked up at the noise. Ty could feel the power dripping from the man but it was all hidden, untapped.
"It was not needed, you are not that important. It was merely a formality in your brother's wedding. You do still wish it to happen?"
"I have no feelings towards the matter. He can't impregnate her so what is the point of the marriage. He cannot be with her the whole year around, and we both know it is not because of an army or work abroad or even a scandalous lover he has hidden in the fringes."
"This will bring wealth."
"From this two bit farce of a city."
"You proposed the alliance."
"When it benefited my needs. They are now fulfilled and I no longer need to be here."
"You no longer need to be on this earth but if we have to endure your distasteful presence you have to endure Kopkos." Rhodes didn't say as he returned back to what he was writing. This did not bode well with his father, "Were your needs this boy? Because there are more than enough at Crete."
"My needs regarded Psyche." Rhodes answered absentmindedly. Only the slight stop in his writing said that he had not meant to say that. Many people did not pick on his millisecond slights but Ty was not many people. In fact he was not even people. Technically.
"Having her married was your need? You barely knew the girl. Unless the prophecy was about you. 'fiend of war' that sounds like you does it not? No wonder you were so eager to take her way you wanted her to yourself. 'Dragon scaled' and 'not marry a human or half blood' we both know what you really are, a demon."
"Father I think you should move to Delphi and interpret the Oracle's jumble. You will do an incredible job." Rhodes spoke his voice dripping with disdain.
"I wish you had stayed dead." The King called before he left the room.
"If it's any help I wish you had stayed dead too." The progeny called.
"I wished you had stayed dead too. Unfortunately I had one of my morality moments and now we're stuck together." Rhodes answered. "I'll be back." He said picking up the seven tomes from the desk and creating a portal in the wall. Once Rhodes was gone, Ty dropped his powers revealing himself to the twenty-something man.
"Not another of you power freaks. You're a child, fourteen at most. Come to show me how you're more powerful and special than me." The boy complained which heightened Ty's spirits.
"Something along those lines." He replied as he shoved his sword in the man's stomach. He pulled it out a short while later and waited to see if the wound healed over. It did.
"Hey! You cannot stab people. Did you know I would heal?" The man kept going which was starting to anger him.
"No." Ty answered as he picked up the man by the throat, holding him against the wall. He shoved a dagger through the man's stomach hard enough to pin him to the wall, then another through his neck to hold up the body. He had sure not to sever the head as that would be a highly ineffective message. He could feel a portal forming behind him so used his powers to camouflage against the wall.
"What the-" Rhodes began but was interrupted by another voice.
"You became too big, my son. Know the gods have taken action. They've sent Ty to kill you."
"I'm immortal. And dead." Rhodes called which made Ty smirk; he'd said the same thing.
"If Ty wants you dead, you'll die. Just be pleased you'll retain your dignity when you do." Hekate replied. While the start made him smirk the latter part of the sentence made it drop. How dare the woman speak out against Nysa. No one spoke out against Nysa in his presence. When they did he made sure they said little else afterwards, typically because their tongue had been cut out. It was a destructive, complicated and poisonous relationship but he wouldn't change it for the world.
In response to Hekate word's he twisted the daggers in the man next to him and used his last dagger, his blue gemmed dagger, to carve the words 'Ty' into his forearm.
"What is happening mother?" Rhodes asked looking at the man next to Ty in confusion.
"He's sending you message." Hekate spoke as Ty once again lost his camouflage.
"I'm giving you two hours. Best of luck." He smirked before speeding to the Graeae's caves.
The Kings's words had given him an idea; why not make Rhodes a demon? In exchange for a flask of his blood, the Graeae gave him the spell he needed which he then presented to the King of Crete. It would take Rhodes and anyone of his bloodline, therefore the progeny, to the Demon Realms until they are released by blood of family. Since the brother could not have children Rhodes would be trapped in the Demon Realms for eternity. Never aging and always in pain.
Within the next hour the annoyance that was Rhodes would be eliminated.
Mount Parnassus
Eros's Palace
Psyche
Psyche walked silently beside Kyria as the younger girl showed her around the palace. It was a beautiful place, with large windows to let in the sun and high ceiling from which different plants drifted down. Kyria was telling her stories about the servants, what their names were and their hobbies but the information was too much for Psyche to understand and so she only nodded or smiled every time Kyria turned towards her.
"This is the dining room." Kyria smiled, ending the tour with the opening of two large oak doors. Psyche expected a large banquet table, like at Kopkos, yet instead it was a small rectangular that sat six people at most. The table was made from wood with intricate carving of laurels and ivy along the sides. The room was decorated with wall painting of different cities, she could see the Kopkos Palace in one and the Knossos in another. The temple of Apollo, with a small blonde girl was another. The only other one she understood was a group of women in a clearing clearly in a trance of some sort, probably a Dionysian Festival. In the foreground of the same painting was a girl of twenty sitting on a rock, wearing a red version of the necklace Kyria wore.
Psyche didn't say anything only stared at the other painting to work out what they meant. However her eyes were always drawn to the one of her homeland. She had said that she would not look back once she was her but she had grown up at Kopkos, leaving it behind would not be easy.
"Have a seat, My Lady; dinner is to be served soon." Kyria spoke pulling out a chair for Psyche. Psyche thanked her and held the sides of the chair to let the girl now she would take it from there. Kyria started to walk away when Psyche called her back.
"Will you not be eating as well?" Psyche looking at the empty room with discomfort. She did not want her first meal here to be alone.
"No My Lady, I have a few things I need to attend to before dinner."
"Could you not do it after dinner?" She asked, her voice pleaded. Kyria walked closer, hugged Psyche then kissed her temple.
"I understand this is very new for you and you miss your Kopkos. But trust in me, My Lady, no one here wishes to harm you both physically and emotionally. It will be scary at first, somewhere new that you do not quite understand but you will soon come to love it here." Kyria swallowed and bit her lip, "When I first left Kopkos, I was alone in the scary world of Greece with no one but myself to rely upon. I had been sheltered and that meant I didn't know about the horrors of the outside world. But I survived even though I was scared. You might be scared now but unlike my life you have absolutely nothing to be scared off."
Psyche felt odd, her she was a girl of eighteen seeking the advice and solace of a fifteen year old. But the words that Kyria spoke did not make her seem like such a young girl. She seemed older. "Are you still scared?" She asked, hoping for a nice. Kyria paused as if debated how to answer. She did not, instead walked towards the oak doors and opened one. "Answer me," She spoke but Kyria still didn't answer, her hand hovered over the brass handle.
"No, I am no longer scared." With that she clasped her hand over the handle as closed it behind her. Psyche knew in the pit of her stomach the girl had just lied.
Psyche let out a deep breath and sat facing the large painting of her palace, the servants set the table for two, set the food on the table and she absentmindedly thanked her for it all, never once taking her eyes off the painting.
"You have still to give me your name." Someone spoke as they took the seat beside her. The voice sounded familiar but she was too entranced by the painting. There seemed to be a figure in the window of Alexis's chamber and she could not work out who it could have been.
"I do not give my name to strangers." She answered, resting her head on the left hand.
"I am well versed in that argument of yours." The voice answered the mirth evident in his voice. "Did you take in the child you wished then?" Only then did Psyche divert her attention from the painting. It was an odd thing to ask a person, especially one that you had not met before.
She turned to her right to see the man of her dreams staring back at her, smirk in place. His green eyes were exactly as she had remembered them, wild and mad. His straw hair was just as messy as it had been the last time they met. She smiled and bit her lip remembering all the times she had thought of him. When they had first met and she had not cared about his status or hers and wanted only to kiss him by the fountain. Or that night when she had the dream that seemed so real. How he had cupped her cheek with his soft hands and kissed her temple like she was the most important person in his world. How she was ready to leave behind her status as princess and claim to her lands so they could run away and be married.
And now they were married as she was the happiest she had ever been. "They told me I needed a husband." She answered a smile on her face.
"It is a good thing you have one then." He said as he poured some wine for her and then himself. "I still stand by my initial comment all those days ago of asking your name."
"Would it not be better to live in mystery, preserve the magic?" She joked even though she knew his name. Eros. It fitted him excellently.
"I think of other ways of keeping the magic." He smirked as he lightly placed his hand behind her hair and pulled her in for a chaste kiss. He pulled back and placed his forehead against hers, "I've been waiting for so long to do that."
"Then do not stop now." She answered pulling his lip to hers. It was a soft kiss but it was euphoria. His hands moved down from her hair to her waist, turning her towards him then swiftly pulled her to his lap. She gave a sound of surprise but he took her lips back before she could let out anymore sounds. Before they could go any further, her stomach let out a growl of displeasure which caused them to break apart. She looked down at the offending stomach then back at Eros who only back at her to see what she would do next. She gave him a single kiss then tried to go back to her seat so she could eat, tried being the operative word. Every time she tried to move to her own seat, Eros would tighten his hold on her waist and smile at her not saying a word. Once she realised he was not going to let her go, she turned herself to sit on his lap and pulled her plate towards her. She would then pick one bit of the food, eating one herself and giving him the other.
For her first meal in her new home it was going incredibly well.
Once they were finished the servants came to take away the plates while Psyche took Eros's hand and led him out of the room.
"Why were you in Kopkos all those days ago?" Psyche asked as they walked down to her room. She had wanted to ask many other questions but it could wait until tomorrow.
"I was only passing by with my brothers. I saw a pretty lady and decided to try my luck." He answered intertwining their fingers.
"You must have very good luck." She replied.
"I think I may have the best luck in all the kingdoms. I found you." Psyche smiled glad that he had not said 'the most beautiful woman' or something else similar to that. It made her happy that he liked her and not her pretty face as other people did.
"Which kingdom are you from?" She asked as they stood before her door.
He paused then replied, "Olympia." She had never been to Olympia; it was located in the western coast of the Peloponnese while Kopkos was near Delphi. She had however heard incredible stories from messengers growing up.
"Do you miss it?"
"Sometimes, but not as much as I should. I left a long time before and travelled with my brothers to different kingdoms."
"Where have you been?"
"Many places; Kopkos, Athens, Thrace, I went to Crete although I was not accepted well there."
"I've always wanted to visit other places, I've never been allowed much outside Kopkos."
"I could take you. One day. Maybe tomorrow." He smiled.
"Let's not be hasty. I have yet to know you."
"I thought there was little for you to fear."
"Am I to be amazed by your memory of your conversation or afraid by your ability to recollect every word?"
"You could be afraid of your amazement. The best of both worlds."
"And it would inflate your ego as well."
"A beneficial side effect." He smirked while she began laughing.
"I would presume so." She held her hand over the brass circular handle and turned to face him. "I must bid you goodnight now."
Eros took a step closer then another until he was pressed against her, a hair's width between their lips. Psyche looked at them and bit her own. If she moved only a fraction forward they would be kissing again and she did not know when she would be able to stop. "Are you not going to invite me in?" She knew what he was thinking, even she was thinking of it. But she could not be with him this quickly. They had only spoken two sentences to each other today and she had already been on his lap. She wanted more than anything to let him in but she needed time to understand and get to know him better.
"Not tonight." She smiled as she opened her chamber door.
"Eros. That's my name."
"Psyche." She couldn't help but give him a quick kiss before running into the room, falling onto the bed and screaming out loud in happiness.
Mount Parnassus
Eros's Palace
Eros
Eros smiled as he walked to his chambers, beside Psyche's own. He had made his own because, knowing him, he would soon do something that would anger her and he was not a fan of sleeping in the parlour.
He closed the door behind him, changed his clothes and sat on his bed. Psyche was finally here, in the room beside him. And they were married, by human terms. The only way they would be married in God terms was if they got Zeus and Hera's blessing. But that did not matter; all that matter was that the woman he loved was happy to be with him. They might have a chance still.
He was brought out of his thoughts when there was a soft knock at this door.
"Come in." He said, pulling off his boots. Kyria walked in, closed the door behind her and sat on this seat by his writing desk. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"How long are you going to keep her a secret?" She asked.
"As long as I can. You know as well as I that if she is discovered, she and myself will die."
"And I will grieve for you, for I cannot keep controlling the minds of these nymphs. Either send them away or tell them what they are doing. I will not keep their free will away from them for much longer."
"No one has asked you to control them."
"You did not ask me, but you implied that was what I was to do. Out of respect and loyalty to your mother I did what you wanted. But I will not use my powers when they are not needed."
"You are the only one I trust with her, Phoena. You are the only one that can keep her safe."
"And I will the best I can. But if your mother calls me or another god does or even Ty, I will have to answer. You know the rules."
"Don't bring my mother here."
"I am not a moron, Eros. I know your mother detests the girl." Even thought Kyria was frustrated her voice never once lost if soft tilt, although she did sound like she wanted to punch Eros for his comment. "After your mother gave you the task of destroying the girl, she told me to make sure you did so."
"But you did not. Why?"
"I do not destroy mortal lives, that is the work of Ty or Nyra, not I. She was an innocent and that is someone I cannot harm. But you solve these problems or your mother will be the least of your problems." Kyria rose from her seat and began to walk out.
"What will you do when she starts to ask questions about what you are? She knows you are not human or a demi god." At his confused look she added, "Apollo's prophecy."
"I'll lie." He answered falling into bed while she shook her head and left the room.
Kopkos Palace
Great Hall
Rhodes
Rhodes stormed into the Great Hall, Damos behind him, but he cared little about that. Ever since Ty had declared his time limit he had been working nonstop to work out a way for himself to stay alive. While he doubted the gods could think of something to kill him, Athena withstanding, Ty was the real deal. If he wanted someone dead they would get up on the banks of the River Styx. Now his father had summoned him to the Great Hall, the time coinciding with the time Ty had given of his 'death'. No doubt the boy was choosing his father was a vessel for whatever plot he was devising.
Not many people were in the Great Hall; only a few dignitaries, who were all irrelevant to him, King Athan, who was equally irrelevant and his father who was the most irrelevant of them all. His step mother and Nikandre were also there. No doubt Ty was camouflaged against a wall somewhere.
"If you're here to kill me do not bother, I'm already dead. Remember?" He reminded but the smile did not leave his father's face. A few murmurs broke out and the Kopkos King had a look of confusion at their family drama but that was what his father wanted. He lived to make a public spectacle of Rhodes.
"I have a spell here that will trap you for eternity. What good is your immortality if you only spend it in the presence of death?" The father smiled.
"You have no magical blood, you cannot cast a spell." Rhodes said creating a ball of fire in his palm, "but I can." He fired it at the wall behind his father hoping to scare him. It worked. His father remembered just who he was dealing with.
"I'm told you don't need blood to cast the spell. Only blood." Rhodes cursed to himself, Blood magic was the strongest of all magically form. So strong that not even he dared to practise it. The only way to undo blood magic was by the blood of the descendants whose blood was first used. Whatever Ty had planned there was little chance of him freeing himself from it once the spell was completed.
He set alight the paper in his father's hand only for the man to laugh. "The boy memorised the spell and made me memorise it too." Damn, Ty was good.
"Whose blood?" He asked.
"Aren't you going to run? Create a portal and run away like you always do." But there would be no point, how far would he run. But then a wicked thought came to him. An army of death was better than an army of living. He could turn this to his advantage. Once he secured his army he would take the world for himself. And defeat those Gods once and for all. And no one ran from the Eight, it was a death sentence in itself.
"Whose blood?" He repeated.
"Nikandre." His father answered holding up a golden goblet, no doubt filled with her blood.
"Sweet." He mocked and turned to his sister, "May you be blessed for you sacrifice."
"Do not talk to her you monster." Kristina cried.
"Blame your husband for my parentage. He was the one who was unfaithful." He mocked then remembered he needed to create a spell so Nikandre's decesdents knew what to do. But it would have to be short, before Ty knew what was happening. "Blood of the brother; trapped forever below. Remember what happened; hide and stow. Children of the sister; will know when to free. The name of Rhodes; will answer their plea."
"Witchcraft." One of the men muttered, afraid.
"And I've been hiding here the whole time, bedding your daughters." He laughed, ready to leave. "Before you obliterate me I want to see the face of the boy who sentences me."
"It is me. And I am no boy." His father replied, Rhodes only laughed.
Ty showed himself from behind Nikandre. The thirteen year old boy looked as terrifying as a new born baby. His blonde hair was flying in all directions and his silver eyes danced in the moonlight. He was short, not yet hitting his growth spurt so only came to just under Rhode's shoulder. His clothes didn't show aristocracy, they were a blend of browns and grey, commoner clothes. He didn't wear any footwear on his feet but seemed to not feel the chill of the marble. The only expensive items were the blue necklace around his neck and the sword strapped to his back. "I assume you wish to fight." Ty spoke coldly, seeming ageless.
"Then I won't need to convince you." Rhodes smiled as he threw a fire ball at the boy but Ty deflected it with his sword. He had moved so quick that no one in the room saw his withdraw the weapon.
"This is hardly a fair fight. Leave the magic." Ty spoke as he threw a throwing star at Rhodes. Rhodes burnt in the space between them.
"Asking me to leave my magic would be asking you to leave your powers." Rhodes countered.
"How are you fighting for?" Ty asked as he appeared behind Rhodes. He moved his head behind Rhodes but by the time Rhodes turned Ty was behind Nikandre. "How long do you think it would take me to scare her?" He trailed a finger up Nik's arm; Nik looked more scared than Rhodes had ever seen her "Seduce her?" Then the finger moved across Nik's neck as if to cut it, "Kill her?"
"Touch her and you won't live to see you next sunrise." Rhodes threatened, throwing Ty's dagger from earlier back at him.
"I know you Half Blood." Ty spoke as he caught the dagger in his palm, blood dripped onto the marble but he didn't seem to care. "And I can get to know her."
"This wasn't part of the deal!" His father shouted.
"The deal will change if you don't continue chanting. Fools. Every one of them." Ty muttered. His father started chanting faster but Rhodes decided not to intervene.
"When I see you again, you are dead." Rhodes growled.
Ty only laughed. "Then I'll live again and you'll have your body brunt at the centre of the earth. Do not make an enemy of me."
"Do not make an enemy of me!"
The two of them stared at each other as Nikandre trembled under Ty's hold. Kristina clutched her chest as if she was seeing her daughter die and Damos was standing against the wall, one foot in front of the other. Rhodes could feel the spell working as he felt himself freeze and dematerialise at the same time, looking at Damos, the same was happening to him.
"I'll offer you some clemency," Ty started. "Nysa will donate to your brother. A few diamonds and sapphires every century."
"Why are you trying to be nice?" Rhodes asked suspiciously.
Ty didn't say anything. He gave a kiss on Nikandre's cheek from behind her then looked like back at Rhodes to taunt him. Kristina cried out at the action but Ty only smirked. Never had he hated the Eight more.
Rhodes materialised in the red waste land, fire and sand was all he could see. Everything was hot and cold at the same time. This wasn't earth anymore. This was the Demon Realms.
"Better get used to the heat. We'll be here for a while." Rhodes said to Damos as they walked the red sand dunes. Rhodes wondered if it was red from blood or just the normal colour. They needed place to set up base, to live. They would be here until someone from Nik's silly bloodline set him free. "From now on, call me Phenix."
End of chapter.
No Alexis, Zoe or Teodor in this chapter.
This chapter was all about Rhodes. It was his departure chapter, no more Rhodes in the foreseeable future. He might make an appearance in the epilogue but I have no plans for him at the moment. Like Hekate said he did get too big, it was unlikely he could be that powerful and the Gods not do anything about it. The start between Helios and Rhodes about Karpathos is important for the later chapter and the next (possible) story. Sorry Rhodes fans, but this one is staying gone. As is Damos.
This chapter also is the introduction of the Eight, although only two of them have speaking parts; Ty and Kyria. They rest are only mentioned. They are important to the rest of the story, particularly Kyria. What did you think of Ty? And Kyria? I would love to hear your thoughts.
There was only a little bit of Eros/Psyche but I thought it would just the right amount. This chapter was about Rhodes but it was also an important chapter for Psyche and Eros as they finally met. I decided on keeping it sweet and short since I don't think Psyche could handle much more drama in one day. There was much information exchanged between them but it was only their first meeting. What did you think of the Eros and Psyche interaction?
Also I've written 4/5th of the Dionysus/Ariadne first chapter which makes me hesitant to make it T rated. I know I said it would be but writing it there themes that wouldn't be T friendly. I might cut them out but I need to finish Angelic first.
Remember to review, it keeps me happy
