Aphrodite's Flame

56. Wildfire

Harmonia is a little over six months when I start to leave. She smiles, she laughs, she cackles. She rolls over on her stomach and grabs the rattle Apollo gave her. She loves that thing. By now she doesn't need breast milk as much anymore, and Cato has started to give her pieces of soft bread, soaked in milk.

'Do you have everything packed and ready?' Cato asks as she walks into the room and hugs me from behind. I lean back in the embrace of my friend, sighing satisfied.

'I'm all ready to go. Please-'

'No divine interfering. She will be perfectly fine. And we will see you after the offering next month. Harmonia is nothing but the adopted daughter of a high priestess.' Turning around, I smile at her.

'I will go to your temple one last time and give it my blessing. Your temple will be the most famous one in all the world.'

She scoffs semi mocking. 'Isn't it already?' I laugh and pull the hood of my peplos over my hair, as to look decent and hardly recognisable. Then, after peppering Harmonia's pretty little face with kisses, I leave the townhouse for the temple.

It is a beautiful day today, with the last snow piling up in the streets of Corinth. Soon, Persephone will come back Up and the flowers will start to bloom again. Humming, I follow the winding steps up to the top of the mountain, up to the temple. Tomorrow I will be at Mount Olympus once again. Hopefully they will have forgotten my mistakes over the past year.

I open the door to the insides of the temple. The second I close them, I freeze. I can smell him before I hear his voice or ragged breathing. My heart is pounding in my chest, looking for a way out.

'The very second you released your essence, I knew it. And you know what I wanted? Not the nymphs throwing themselves at my feet - not my wife, embarrassing the court by taking off her clothes in the damn throne room, splaying herself on the Table - not any of the pretty little goddesses willing to give themselves to me. Aphrodite, I wanted you, the epitome of desire and lustation. I wanted to have you.' Zeus is slowly walking up to me, while I fumble for a door handle which is no longer there.

'And I couldn't find you anywhere,' he rumbles. 'But here... you... were. Right under my nose. The burning hasn't subsided, Aphrodite. I fucked my way over here after you took my hunger from me - and since you've given it back, it's worse than ever.' His fingers scorch my skin as they graze the visible inches around the seams of my dress.

'You can't do this,' I tell him, impressed with the resolute edge to my voice. 'Not here. Not in my temple.' He shrugs.

'I don't care where I do it, really. You'd rather I did it in the room where you're keeping your pet? Imprint the glorious victory of Zeus over Aphrodite on her peanut sized brain?' I swallow, feeling something cold in the pit of my stomach. I'm standing flush against the doors, caught like a mouse waiting for execution.

He laughs bitterly. 'You really thought you could keep her a secret? You know your brothers and sisters can feel it when something like this happens. They can sense it. Tell me, is it indeed Ares'?'

'It is mine.' He looks around.

'Pretty temple,' he remarks nonchalantly, before he rips off my right sleeve. I whimper. 'You want to be treated like a mortal?' He rips off my left sleeve. Think, Aphrodite. You say if and when. I say if and when. 'You want to be your own priestess?' I shove him against the chest, pushing him away from me.

'Stop!' I scream, tearing the sleeves off my arms, throwing them on the floor. 'Raping me won't still your hunger. Rape me, and I will curse you with an insatiable hunger that has you roaming the earth for bodies - each and every one leaving you limp and barren!' Slightly surprised, he looks at me before he starts to grin.

'My beautiful goddess - after I had you, my hunger will be gone. You think I felt pleasure on my rampage through the lands, trying to find you? You already took that from me.' He then jumps toward me, grabbing my by my backside and pulling me against him with a burning vengeance. He is large, hard and completely merciless.

'In here you cannot have your way with me,' I snarl, pushing my hands in his face.

'I gave you time to grieve,' he mutters in my ear, the feeling making me sick. 'I have been a good guy. You have made a promise to me that goes unfulfilled still. No one deceives me.' His tongue slides along the shape of my ear. Then, he grabs me by the hair and pulls my head back so he can look at me - so I can look into his eyes, crazed with lust and desire. The grey of storm clouds has left a void of black and nothingness, as he admires my form and fear.

'Let her go,' comes a threatening low growl from the other side of the temple. I can hear metal gliding over the marble floor tiles. Who is that? Zeus starts to shake with laughter when he looks in the direction of the voice. Recognising a chance when I see one, I push him off me and run away toward the dark shadows behind the columns, tripping over my feet and the length of the peplos.

'Oh, Me, are we gonna play? Really, Hephaestus, you're making me enjoy this game a lot more already.'

Hephaestus?

Before I see him, I see how he whips up the chain he is holding, wrapped around his wrist and arm. He looks mightily pissed off. As he steps into the light, everything I ever felt for him comes rushing back and I whimper softly, retreating only a little.

Zeus holds up his hand as to call on Thunder and Lightning.

They won't come to his aid. Not in my house.

Surprised, he looks up at his empty hand, when Hephaestus whips the chain in his direction again, hitting him on the ankle, pulling him down. With a smack, Zeus hits the ground - but he wouldn't be King of the Mountain if he would leave it at that. He grabs the chain that captured his ankle and tugs on it. As Hephaestus braces himself, he hardly moves - but I know this takes every little bit of strength he can muster. His legs won't hold.

I scramble to my feet when Hephaestus whips a second chain in Zeus' direction. This one, Zeus catches with his hand.

'A promise was made!' the God of Gods bellows.

'She broke that promise and you sentenced her for it!' comes the roaring reply from Hephaestus. 'She owes you nothing!'

'She owes me everything, cripple fire boy!' He pulls the chains holding him in position apart with an earth shattering scream as he jumps to his feet. A terrifying, steady grin spreads across his face.

'And this time, I will. fucking. kill. you.'