Cry of the Moon

Chapter 16: The Rest of the Curse

I don't know how long I lay in that cave, curled next to the body of my husband. It could have been days or months or even centuries, just fading in and out of consciousness. All I know is that, as I fade back to sleep at one point, I feel a warmth spread over my body and see a glow fill the cave before everything goes dark again.

The next time I wake up, I'm lying in a bed piled over with thick blankets. Instinctively I reach next to me for Endymion before reality catches up to me and I begin to cry again.

"It's alright," a voice whispers from beside me and I turn to see Eos sitting next to the bed, tears filling her eyes.

I force myself to smile at her but can't bring myself to talk just yet. What point is there in speaking if my darling Endymion isn't there to respond? Instead, I just reach my arms out for my little sister and she climbs into bed with me, hugging me tight. We lay there for a long time, hugging each other in silence until a new set of footsteps comes into the room. I feel the end of the bed sink as someone sits down and Eos and I sit up. Helios is perched by my feet, smiling at me softly.

"Good morning sister," he says, reaching forward and grabbing my hand. "How are you feeling?"

I just shrug in response. Helios glances worriedly at Eos and I don't miss her tiny head shake. Helios sighs, letting go of my hand and standing up. "Well, you need food now and I won't let you sit around in bed for a week like you did last time." At the thought of my time healing at Endymion's house, fresh tears spring to my eyes. Eos reaches forward and snacks Helios.

"What?" He protests before seeming to realize what he had just said. "Oh. I'm sorry Selene, I didn't mean it like that."

I don't respond. Instead, I slide under the covers and pull a pillow over my head, trying to will myself to stop crying.

"She needs to get up," I hear Helios say to Eos. "She can't sit around taking her time to recover this time. We need to tell her what's happened, everything Hera -"

"Shush," Eos says and I feel the bed shift as she gets up. "She can hear you. She doesn't need to worry about that right now. Let her rest. What's done is done and it doesn't matter if she finds out today or tomorrow."

I want to sit up and ask what they're talking about but at the same time, I know it can't make any difference to me. What more could Hera do to hurt me?

As my brother and sister walk out of the room, I let myself pass once more into the warm embrace of sleep and hope I dream of my beloved Endymion.

The next time I wake, the sun is high in the sky and I am alone in the room. I sit up, already feeling tremendously better. My head is clear and my body doesn't ache every time I move. I slide out of bed, thankful to find a pair of sandals placed beside the bed for me. One of the rules of the Palace of the Sun is that you should never walk its halls barefoot as the floors were made from the lava of underwater volcanoes and are capable of burning even a Titan.

I make my way to the kitchen where I find Perse lounging on a couch, the remains of breakfast laid on the table.

"Finally, she wakes," Perse says when I walk in. "I thought we had lost you to Hypnos forever."

I don't give her the pleasure of a response. My stomach leads me to one of the couches around the food-laden table and I collapse into it plucking a ripe strawberry from the bunch. It tastes like heaven in my mouth and I quickly grab two more. I'd forgotten just how amazing the food of immortals is and suddenly I can't believe I survived 10 years without it. Before I know it, I've downed a bushel of grapes, a plateful of oysters, a handful of olives, and half a loaf of bread with olive oil. When I finish, I lick my fingers to get the last crumbs and look up to see Perse smirking at me.