Daughter of the Earth and Sky (14 page)

“We’ll work it out.”

She laughed, tears chasing each other down her cheeks. “And you’re so damn nice about it that I can’t even be mad at you. That’s the worst part.
You
understand! You get how incredibly screwed up this is. It’s my mom who doesn’t. She just keeps telling me that you saved me, and I’ll live forever, and I should be grateful, but she doesn’t mention how I shouldn’t have been killed in the first place. She doesn’t mention how screwed up it is that I was used as a divine bargaining chip, and the only person who protested was
you
. They were going to let me die, Persephone! She had already accepted it because you are so much more fucking important than me.”

I was silent for a moment, unsure of what I could possibly say to that. “What can I do?” I asked finally, unable to bear the thought of my best friend being so miserable.

“Keep her away from me. I’m not asking you to choose between us, or anything that petty. I know helping her is important. I just don’t want to have to look at her.”

I nodded, my heart beating uncomfortably hard in my chest. “Did you want me to stay away from you, too?”

She didn’t answer, but there was pain etched across her face. Seventeen years’ worth. I turned away, unable to face what I’d done to my best friend.

“I’ll go,” I croaked, my voice hoarse. I stood and took a step backward. “I’ll take Aphrodite and just charm the teachers into thinking we’re finishing out the year. Our parents don’t have to know. At school at least, you’ll get to lead your own life. And I promise, I’ll work out the college thing. You don’t have to be around me to be my priestess. Mom has hundreds of them all around the world. There’s no reason I can’t do the same.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.” She stared hard at the ground beneath her feet.

My already frayed temper snapped. “I didn’t ask for any of this, you know! Do you honestly think if I had the chance to just go back and make it to where we were both just normal that I wouldn’t? I don’t want you for my priestess any more than you want to be my priestess. I just want to be your friend.”

I wanted to throw in some witty retort like “apparently that’s too much to ask,” but that was the problem with not being able to lie. You can’t be too dramatic. Whatever else happened, Melissa had been a great friend. I just hadn’t returned the favor. Instead, I settled for a dramatic exit. I spun on my heel and stormed off.

Each step felt progressively harder to take. By the time I reached the classroom, I felt so heavy I worried I’d sink through the earth. I grabbed Aphrodite’s arm when I got into the classroom and looked my professor full in the eye, for once not even feeling a pang of guilt for using my charm. I was past caring. “You think we stayed for the whole class.”

“Yes,” he agreed.

“Great, and you’ll say we were here every day, right? Turning in every assignment and making straight As.”

He nodded, starstruck.

I hesitated, fiddling with my necklace. Me getting straight As would be nearly as conspicuous as failing for non-attendance. “Oh fine. Just average me out to a low B.”

I turned to Aphrodite. “Charm the students with the same message. I’ll get the rest of our teachers.”

I stormed out of the classroom, tossing my name tag in the trash as I left. So much for normal.

“Get
away
from me,” I snapped to a Reaper as I made my way to the parking lot.

The Reaper took one look at me, and the smirk faded from his face. He stepped back.

“Persephone!” Aphrodite’s heels clacked on the cement as she hurried after me. “What’s going on? What happened?”

Just let me get to my car
, I thought in desperation. One look at Aphrodite’s concerned face crushed what was left of my composure.

“A minute,” I gasped. “I just need a minute. I’ll tell you everything in—” I cut off before a sob broke through my voice and threw up a shield. I gave myself thirty seconds to cry, scream, and beat out my frustration against the shield. I spent the next thirty seconds regaining my composure.

“Is it Zeus?” Aphrodite asked when I dropped the shield. “Has he come for me?”

I closed my eyes against the wave of guilt that rushed through me. “No, I just…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Melissa and I…I just—”

“Okay, that’s it.” She started back toward the school.

“Aphrodite, what are you doing?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“She needs to be put in her place. She bosses me around, she dared to upset you…” Aphrodite took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if I’m overstepping. How you deal with your worshipers is your business, but Persephone, she made you cry.”

“You don’t understand.” I explained as best I could, but Aphrodite wasn’t having it.

“You risked your own well-being for a nymph, gave her immortality, and treat her as a friend—no, family—and Melissa has the audacity to complain about it! And you! You not only let her get away with it, but you allowed her to upset you? Why do you care what she thinks? You’re a goddess!”

“I wish I wasn’t!” I exploded, throwing my hands in the air. “I’ve lost my best friend. I can barely look at Hades. I’m not even on speaking terms with my mom. This time last year I was
normal
!” My voice broke. “I can’t…I can’t
do
this anymore. I’ve got nothing left.”

“You have me.” Aphrodite draped an arm around my shoulder and steered me to a wooden bench. “I know you feel like you’ve lost something, your normal life, or whatever, but that life was a lie. The harder you try to hold onto it, the faster it’s going to slip away. You’re never going to fit in with humans. They can tell what we are. Look at how the children at this school treat you. They’re polite, sure, but they whisper. They know you’re different.”

“You
seem to fit in just fine.”

If she heard the bitterness in my voice, she ignored it. “That’s because I don’t pretend to be something I’m not. Humans understand their place. There are leaders and there are followers, and then there’s us. It makes them nervous when you act like their equal.”

I didn’t believe that for a minute.

“Persephone, I’m not friends with those girls. I don’t pretend to be, yet they follow me and they respect me. They would do the same for you if you just stepped up and behaved like a goddess.” She laughed. “It’s really terrible what Demeter has done to you. You’re not
just
a goddess. You rank. There are four major deities left. You’re the child of two of them and wife of a third. These humans shouldn’t have any power over you. If you’d been created like me, you’d know all this. She took the knowledge that was your birthright.”

“My mom wanted me to be able to fit in.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

I stared at the concrete. I wanted Aphrodite to be wrong. I wanted to keep my human life, to believe I still belonged here. But the knot in my stomach told me that wasn’t going to happen. And, really, what did it matter? I put my hand to my forehead and closed my eyes. I couldn’t think. I was too tired.

“Come on.” She pulled me up from the bench, voice gentle. “It’s time you learned how to behave like a true goddess. If you’re to rule with Hades then—”

I balked at that. “I don’t need to change. Not for you, and not for Hades. He likes me the way I am.”

“Does he? You just said you can barely look at him. What’s going on with you two?”

“We’re taking a break.” Her sympathetic nod made me defensive. “It was my idea.”

“Oh good!” She looked relieved. “I was afraid he’d fed you some crap about your age difference.”

My eyes shot to hers. “Why would that be bad? We’re like millennia apart.”

“He was one of the first beings created, so it’s not like he’s ever
not
dated anyone significantly younger than him, with the exception of Hera, I suppose.” Aphrodite met my eyes with a frown. “She would have been his equal in power and knowledge as well, wouldn’t she? Meh.” She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Doesn’t matter. I’m just glad it was your idea. If the age difference really did bother him, then that would mean he’s looking for something he could only possibly have had with one person. And being his rebound is beneath you.”

I couldn’t breathe. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest. Could that be true? It sounded reasonable.

Oh gods, was that all I was? Rebound?

“Anyway,” Aphrodite’s voice was a thin buzzing in my ear. “I’m sure you’re right. He loves you just the way you are. But, you are naive. And while I’m sure that’s endearing, isn’t it a bit of a security risk to his kingdom?” Aphrodite met my gaze.

I thought of the promise I’d unwittingly made to Thanatos. I’d endangered the whole Underworld with my ignorance.
Guilty
, Hades’ voice echoed in my mind. I touched my necklace and swallowed hard. That was how he felt when he kissed me. Like he was taking advantage of a child.

Maybe Aphrodite had a point. Maybe I was naive. I’d never fit in at school. Only with Melissa.
You’ve changed
, she’d said. What exactly had changed about me? I could stand up for myself. She’d rather me be helpless, just like my mother did. If I was helpless, then I was easier to control.

Rebound? He was the love of my life, and I was just rebound?

Maybe I was too naive.

I didn’t want to be helpless. I didn’t want to be controlled.

I broke away from Aphrodite’s gaze with a sigh. “What did you have in mind?”

She gave me a bright grin. “Let’s leave humanity behind, shall we?” She motioned to the parking lot. “It’s time you learned to behave like a true goddess.”

“This is behaving like a true goddess?” I asked dryly as Aphrodite tried on yet another dress.

“No. This is
dressing
like a real goddess. We’re going out tonight.” She put the dress back on the hanger and approached the saleswoman. “I’ll be taking this with me when I leave.”

The woman’s pupils widened as Aphrodite’s charm erased any objections she may have. “Would you like me to put it in a bag?”

I caught the woman’s eye and handed her my credit card, praying it hadn’t maxed out. Aphrodite had gone on quite a shopping spree.

“You don’t have to do that.” Aphrodite pointed out.

“Yes. I do. Otherwise it’s stealing.”

“Everything humans make is because we created them to make it. Don’t think of it as stealing. It’s like…an offering.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, it’s like mind control. This—” I snatched the dress “—costs money. Money keeps the store open so you can get more dresses. That woman gets paid money, which means she doesn’t starve. If she lets you walk out of here with a dress, she could lose her job.”

Aphrodite waved a dismissive hand. “You’re no fun.” She caught my eye. “Live a little. Pick out something. It’s fun.”

A flowing peasant skirt caught my eye. “I don’t need anything. I can just get clothes from the Underworld.”

“So what if you don’t
need
it? You’re a goddess. You should want for nothing.” She grinned at me and caught my eye.

Her smile was contagious. I picked up the skirt. Maybe I was being too uptight. After all, if it wasn’t for me, this store would probably still be covered in snow. This city kind of owed me one.

Of course if it wasn’t for me, Boreas would have never set his sights on Athens. So maybe I owed them.

I put the skirt down. “I’m starving. Are you almost done?”

She wasn’t. Once she finished picking out clothes, she moved on to shoes. Then purses, then accessories, then clothes and purses and shoes for me. We were stumbling under the weight of the bags by the time we made it to the food court.

“We need our own place,” Aphrodite announced. “I’m not living with that stupid nymph any longer, and you really should move out from under your mother’s thumb.”

“There’s an apartment above the shop.” I picked at my salad. “You can move in there. I may stay over sometimes, but it’s really not worth arguing with my mom over. As is, I only go home to sleep.”

Aphrodite’s eyes sparkled. “We’ll have to buy stuff for the apartment. That’ll be fun.” Something behind me caught her attention, and a smile spread across her face. “That guy is checking you out.”

I followed her gaze to a group of men a few tables away. A cute guy, who looked to be in his early twenties, met my gaze with a grin.

“So?” I returned to my soda.

“So?” Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. “I guess he’s not really much compared to Hades. Still fun to look at.”

I frowned at the mention of Hades. “I’m not…I wouldn’t feel right dating anyone else.”

“Who said anything about dating?” She smiled at me. “Look, we’re here, we’re having fun, and we turn every head in the building. If you see something you want, just take it. There’s no reason to feel guilty. I doubt he’d complain.” She glanced over and giggled when she saw the man was still looking at us. “Or are you seeing Joel?”

“No. We’re just friends.” I stirred my drink with my straw. “You really think that’s okay? You see something you want, or someone you want, and you take it? Isn’t that kind of taking advantage?”

“Taking advantage of what? We’re goddesses. You need to stop feeling guilty for having the upper hand. We were created to rule this strange little lot. Anything the humans make is ours for the taking. Including some of the hotter humans.”

“That sounds a lot like the way Zeus feels about us.”

Aphrodite fell silent. “I guess it does.”

I immediately felt bad. She had just been trying to cheer me up. She’d been going about it all wrong, but that didn’t change the intent. I tried to change the subject. “I think the apartment is going to look really nice.”

She brightened. “And it’s super close to all the bars and clubs. So I can walk home.”

I stared at her. “Bars and clubs?”

“Yeah! You should come with me tonight. They have some of the nicest people. Course it would be easier if your mom would authorize me to teleport.”

I ignored that last bit and focused on the important part. “Aphrodite, we’re not old enough to go out drinking!”

She laughed. “Oh come on, Persephone. You can’t think those rules apply to us. We should go out tonight. Just the two of us.”