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Chapter Twelve

The Newlyweds

Prometheus:

“N ice kitty,” I murmur, backing away slowly.

The lion disregards my compliment and prowls closer. By the shape of a lightning bolt shaved into its fur, I would wager this is no ordinary lion. In fact, if the entire purpose of this storm was to somehow transport this lion here, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Zeus always had a flare for dramatics.

Since the lion clearly isn’t listening, I decide to address its master instead. I wish I knew Zeus’ Ren , so I could summon him like Hebe’s village summoned Dionysus— who then called upon Atum. The rifts opened automatically with the uses of True Names. It takes much more energy to open rifts without them. Though, considering the storm and now this lion, mayhap it is good that I cannot summon Zeus. He is obviously playing dirty.

But just in case he can hear me from wherever he is, I say, “I told you I was considering an alliance.”

The lion takes this personally and lunges.

I fall backward, just barely escaping my face being gored by its claws. However, my prone position makes it easy for the lion to land on me.

It hurts far more than when Hebe fell on me.

If I still had any air in me, I’d groan. As it is, I can’t even breathe. All I feel is crushing weight threatening to break all my bones.

So, I suppose I’ll just become something without bones . . .

Hebe:

I’m running as fast as I can, but instead of wrenching Prometheus’ spear out in passing, I have to stop and tug. The winds threw it deep, and I need to be careful not to lose the spearhead in the extraction.

As I tug, I lift my gaze to the lion. Just in time to watch it fall onto my husband.

“No!” I scream. Suddenly, the cruelest words I ever heard return to my memory. It was something my childhood tormenter whispered to her friends a little too loudly when I passed by once.

“How repulsive must you be to drive a man to choose death over kinship with you?”

What would the wanax’s daughter say now that the husband who threatened divorce after one day of marriage has now widowed me?

A guttural yell escapes me as I tug the spear free. Then I charge at the lion.

It lifts its head and stares at me with something akin to confusion. I’m confounded, too. What in Olympus’ name am I doing?!

I stop in my tracks, suddenly second-guessing every decision that brought me to this point.

A serpent slithers out from beneath the lion, and for a moment I wonder if I’m facing a chimera. But the lion has a golden tuft on its tail rather than a serpent.

The lion rises, and I realize it’s too late to turn back now. My two fates are avenging my husband or dying with the attempt.

With that certainty, I call upon Puraltas’ training. Staggering my feet, I pull back the spear, and then thrust it forward.

My aim is true, and the spear reaches the lion’s hide. I expect it to slow the lion at the very least. But then the spear merely bounces off the lion’s hide.

I stare in horror, trying to make sense of what I just saw. Then I see the mark of a lightning bolt on its hide.

So I shall die in the hunt, just as my father before me.

Before I can turn and try to flee, the serpent grows in size.

Suddenly, my husband, larger than life— and still wearing little more than a loincloth— pounces on the lion. At his current size, he is nearly as tall as the lion is long, though the lion is still greater in girth.

I stare in profound bewilderment at the man who came from the form of a serpent. “What have I married?”

Prometheus:

What have I married?

The last thing I was expecting to see when I slithered out from beneath the lion was my brand-new wife screaming at a creature that could swallow her whole. Yet, instead of running the other direction, she stands her ground.

“Why?” I ask aloud, as though the lion I am wrestling will respond. Now that Hebe’s demonstration has proven that its hide is impenetrable, I’m attempting to strangle it. Unfortunately, the lion tries to bite at any part of me that strays too close to its maw.

Its ears are twisted toward me, so I take advantage of a creature actually listening to me. I may very well still die in this fight. Shapeshifting, which was once an effortless act, draws far too much energy. I don’t know if I have the strength to outlast this lion.

But if it is my final act while enjoying any semblance of life, I will discover this last piece of knowledge. It seems too unfathomable to be true, yet I saw it with my own eyes. Why is the mortal bride who was so reluctant to wed me risking her life for mine?

“Just because mortals are doomed to die doesn’t mean they enthusiastically embrace it,” I inform the lion as I twist so that I’m on its back. This gets me farther away from its snapping teeth, so I can focus on wrapping my arms back around its neck. “Quite the opposite, in fact. Half of what they’ve invented was to help delay their inevitable demises.”

So, what under Olympus could drive a mortal to run toward danger to save my skin?

The lion moves to roll over, and since I don’t have the strength to turn serpentine again, I jump off its back. Then I take off running, knowing full well that it’s giving chase.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hebe rushing to reclaim the discarded spear.

“Its hide is impenetrable!” I call, though she should have figured that out by now. But I suppose it’s too much to ask for a bride who is both bold and bright.

“What about inside its hide?” she calls.

I freeze, and then have to jump when the lion lunges, grabbing onto its fur before I slide past it.

It’s a miracle— my new wife is clever after all. “Aye, that might work.”

Then my focus is torn away from my brilliant bride as I cling to the lion. It bucks beneath me and gives up trying to bite me. It extends its claws instead.

However, I have just discovered a possibility of deliverance from a particularly cruel form of torment. I’m not going to let that slip away.

Ignoring all potential consequences, I release my grip on the beast and lunge forward. I grab hold of its snout, desperately holding onto just the very top and very bottom so my fingers don’t get caught between its jagged teeth. Healing takes much longer since the war began. Eternity is a very long time to risk living without all my appendages.

Hebe comes running, keeping some distance between the lion and herself. She frowns, and I know by how close my hands are that its mouth isn’t open enough for her to risk a spear throw.

The lion shakes violently, trying to throw me off. Any moment now, it will try rolling again, and I’ll have to use what strength I have left to flee.

I won’t be getting very far.

Since this is my final option, I channel all my remining strength into prying the lion’s jaw open.

The lion is surprised by this tactic and mercifully doesn’t fight me. But any moment it could clamp its jaws back down—

Hebe throws her spear, and I brace myself while keeping the lion in position.

The spear finds its mark, disappearing into the lion’s maw.

The beast convulses and then drops. I roll off its body since I have any strength left to cling to it.

It’s fear that drives me to my feet and has me staggering backward. However, the lion doesn’t rise.

Cautiously, I round the beast’s still form and look into its eyes. There is no light left in them.

I nearly double over from relief but remain upright as I turn to face my Hebe.

My bride stares back at me, the breeze blowing her muddied curls around her face. But they can’t disguise her shining eyes or the victorious lift of her lips.

Though I have seen Aphrodite in her finest silks, there is something about the maiden wearing mud and rags that steals my breath. I did not know that mortals could possess such beauty, but my bride wears victory well.

Despite my bone-weary exhaustion, a strange sort of excitement moves through me as I realize that I am victorious as well. I am alive and whole. I have also discovered that my bride is brave, clever, and strangely striking.

I step toward Hebe, a new sensation filling me. Gratitude . It is not often that I have owed anyone for anything. My duties have always been on my shoulders alone, and my survival was my priority.

Is this what it is like to have a wife? Is it possible that she can be my helpmate rather than a burden? With Atum, it has always been me supporting him .

How does one show gratitude to one’s wife? Is there a mortal tradition I can learn? Instinct drives me to do something . Should I embrace her? Pat her head? Being a trailblazer is a thrill in every way until it comes to establishing new social norms.

Hebe doesn’t close the distance between us, leaving that task to me. I do not complain, though, when I reach her.

I wait a moment for her to initiate the appropriate gesture shared between spouses who survived a lion together. However, she stoically stares up at me, not saying a word. Her frail form shudders, like her body thinks it’s still in danger. Are those tears glimmering in her eyes?

“You’re alive.”

“Indeed.” Since I have to do something with my hands, I take one of her curls between my fingers. “A good aim and sharp observation skills.”

She frowns.

As do I. I did not mean my words to be so caustic. Staring at the curl that is actually quite soft where it isn’t coated in mud, I try again. “And you’re also not as hideous as I first believed.”

If she reacts to my compliment, I know it not. Evidently, my words exhausted the last of my strength.

In the most humiliating way possible, my legs buckle beneath me, and then I collapse into my startled bride’s arms.