The Heart of Love

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Two Thousand Years Ago

Olympus, Greece

Psyche

Why does it hurt so much when you fight with the person you love? Why does it physically tear your heart into two, leaving yourself to bleed all over the floor. I spend the entire night tossing and turning. I hated it when we disagreed and the fact he left without talking it through with me... It hurt like hell. I only wanted to understand why someone wants me dead. Is that so bad that I want to know? My thoughts trail back to him. Would he even come visit me tonight? Tears roll down my swollen eyes. Curiosity has always gotten me in trouble. Now, I've hurt the only person who saw me for who I was.

A gentle knock at my door brings me out of my thoughts. I sit up sighing, rubbing my eyes. They hurt like hell.

"My lady?" Zephyrus calls out. "Your sisters have arrived."

I quickly put on a toga before opening the door. Like always, I am greeted by nothing but a cyclone. "Do I l-look a-alright?"

"You look beautiful, my lady." He says.

"Thank you, Zephyrus." I look down at my shaking hands, sighing. The excitement in seeing my sisters faded as soon as we fought. I was in no mood to get out of bed, how was I going to socialize? My sisters were going to have questions as well and I don't think I have the right frame of mind to answer them. They are going to want to know if I am alright. If I don't look like it, they won't believe me when I say I'm fine.

Gathering all the courage I can muster, I move past the west wind and walk down the hallway. Pretending to be alright should be easy. After all, I have had to pretend the last eighteen years of my life. It is like second nature.

"My lady?" Zephyrus calls out.

I stop walking, not turning to face him. "Yes?"

"Your husband... he sent a message for you." Zephyrus vibrates.

My shoulders drop. "I'm sure you are tired of the monster you have married". That was the last thing he said to me before he left last night. Was he going to end our marriage? Send me back home with my sisters? I regret pushing him for answers he was not ready to share with me.

"He says that he hopes you enjoy your visit with your sisters, and he'll be back tonight." Zephryus says.

A heavy weight lift off my chest. He wasn't sending me home but... "He isn't mad?"

I feel the west wind whirl around me as we start walking once more. "Mad, my lady? Why would he be mad?"

I chew my bottom lip. He wouldn't have told him what happened last night. I shouldn't have brought it up. "Oh... nothing."

"My lady?"

I frown for a second, curiosity nibbling me once more. I am never going to learn. "He was sent to kill me... wasn't he?"

Zephyrus stops moving. "Your husband is many things, my lady, but most of all he loves you."

My heart drops in my chest. "He was sent to kill me, Zephyrus... Did you know this?"

Zephryus stays silent for a few minutes before speaking, "He loves you, my lady."

My stomach twists with uneasiness and I clutch my chest. They knew about this. They knew and acted like everything was fine in the world. That my husband loves me but at one point, he was planning my death. Did he even love me? Was he planning to break my heart before he finishes the job?