For the Love of God

A | twenty-six

TYHI JOGGED OVER TO JOIN ME. His hair flopped onto his forehead like an unruly curtain and the first thing I did when he reached me was push them away. "Why am I summoned, my lady?" he asked and I flicked his head lightly.

"Exactly why you think I summoned you," I said, crossing my arms with a smile on my face.

"You want me to undress you in Lord and Lady's chambers? That's highly ambitious of you," Tyhi smirked, inching close to me. My eyes widened at his statement and my body turned hot everywhere.

I pushed him away. "Would you stop thinking of that? I was talking about checking the room to see if the trap is really set. You are the only one who has seen the net. I explained the plan to you, remember?"

"Ah, right," he said, rubbing his chin. "What about Helios?"

"Blissia is keeping him busy so that he wouldn't oversee what we do and get suspicious," I explained.

"Then what does it matter what we really do in there?" Tyhi whispered into my ears. His lips were so close that they almost brushed the shell of my ear. My body froze in my place and burned with warmth at the same time. He wrapped his arms from behind me, laughing at my red face and pushing me inside the chamber.

I had so much to tell him and many questions to ask but he looked so happy that I didn't want to spoil it just yet. I lived in the moment for now and focused on how tight his grip was around my waist.

The chamber was huge and insanely spacious. With a pang of jealousy and disappointment, I realised that the chamber alone was bigger than my whole flat. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in the abode of Gods, a totally divine and unearthly world. The first thing that caught my eye in the room was the bed. It was a four-poster, roofed, glisteningly polished wood cot with a white downy mattress.

Wide windows and ceramic pots were the next catchy things. The chamber smelled like Aphrodite - smoked roses. "Is this the first time you are entering?" I asked Tyhi.

"No, I've come in here twice before. Though, that painting of the Lord and Lady wasn't here the last two times," he said, studying the painting. It was both of them, Aphrodite in red and Hephaestus in black, smiling at each other in a chariot. The details in the painting were intricate and breathtaking. It was so real.

"I wish we could have a painting of us," Tyhi said. So that we won't forget each other.

The unspoken confession was deafening against the pensive silence. I couldn't bear it anymore. I stepped closer to him and took his hands to place it on my cheek.

"Look at me, Tyhi," I whispered. He raised his eyes.

"I know." I began. "I know that Lord Janus has opened the doors and that tonight might be my last night here. Don't fake a smile for me."

Tyhi looked away. Tears built in his eyes.

"I am not angry at you for not telling it to me. I am not angry at you even for not telling me that you applied for Lord Apollo's school. I don't care why you did it because I don't want to spend what could be my last day here, arguing with you. I am sure you had your reasons and even if you didn't, I don't care. I am really happy that you applied and I am so so proud of you."

Tyhi refused to meet my eyes. He was fighting a battle of his own, warding away the sobs in his heart. I could see the conflict in his face.

"That's why I want to tell you something that I should have told you before."

That got Tyhi's attention. He turned his gaze on me.

"I-I discussed about us with Lady Aphrodite and there's a catch. She said if I leave you I might be heartbroken and end up messing with the predetermined storyline of my life. And to prevent that, Lady Aphrodite will"--I paused to look at Tyhi and bit my lip after seeing the mild fear in his eyes-- "erase my memories before I go back."