Hell Is An Empty Body (Book Two of The Triple Moon's Chronicles)

08 | Body Of Salt Water

War was a terrible deed, and the Titan Oceanus and his wife Tethys knew far too well the true meaning behind this word.

Beginning with Cronus's rebellion against Uranus, it came to an irreversible end when the latter was castrated. Following that, they both swore to remain out of any future family conflicts, as they detested all forms of violence.

Something they had passed on to their thousands of sons and daughters living underwater. It was no surprise to anyone that the aquatic royal couple remained neutral when Rhea, with the help of her own children, launched the Titanomachy.

They took instead under their care a young Hera and raised her as their own daughter, and to further seal their Titans' blood to the younger generation of Olympians, they offered Metis as consort to Zeus. Unbeknownst, the latter would die during the Titanomachy. Following the confirmation of the rumours, Oceanus and Tethys didn't avenge the tragic loss of Metis, but they only forgave to never forget.

It wasn't in their customs to solve blood by blood.

A tradition that was lost once it reached Triton's generation. However, they still dreamed of a sacred bond between the two divine realms. Perhaps it wasn't by happenstance that Poseidon was appointed as their king in the new share of the world, as he was the only one of the male Olympians who hadn't fallen yet for any of their sea daughters.

To welcome him into their large family, Oceanus and Tethys granted him the hand of their newly mature daughter, Amphitrite, as consort and queen. She had just bloomed into a beautiful goddess at the same time as Hera, who was now given back to the realm of the sky.

It wasn't love at first sight for the future groom and bride. Poseidon was still fond of Demeter, while Amphitrite only burst into tears and ran away from her home.

It was with a knowing grin that Poseidon asked his then-herald Delpinus, King of the Dolphins, to find Amphitrite with him. Through a long and perilous journey, they eventually reached an abandoned mortal temple. The grotto was humid all season, with a river of fresh water running through it. Amphitrite hid there for several days, legs in the water and body melting into the cold stones.

Lying there half-alive, waiting for her time to come quietly, Amphitrite had ceased feeding herself in her new home. There was something she dreaded in the arrangement of her parents—something worth letting go of her own immortal life.

Upon his arrival, Poseidon's gruff voice, rough in the hurt that someone could dislike him, woke Amphitrite from unconsciousness with that one question: "Why are you escaping your destiny to become my consort and queen of your land, Goddess of the Sea Amphitrite?"

"King Poseidon, I do not escape your reach." Her tone, as opposed to his, died a little more with every spoken word. "I am not afraid of who you are!" Sniffing, she bit down on her bottom lips. "If I accept my destiny and choose to be your consort and to be the queen of my land, I have to live through our Heiros Gamos."

Poseidon rubbed his hands over his face, muffling a heavy sigh from his lungs before shaking his head at Amphitrite's reason. His knees then buckled down near her. "I won't come near you, if that is your concern."

Staring back at his clueless expression, Amphitrite suddenly sat up. "This wasn't my concern." She then wrapped her frail body into her arms, making herself even smaller. "My King, you are not familiar with our customs. For a pacifist nation like us, our Heiros Gamos is one of the most horrendous. This is the true nature of my escape. As a maiden, I fear the most that moment when you will have to deflower me in front of my whole family."