Forsaken Deity

Epilogue

Two months later…

“I am never giving you access to my suitcase again.”

“Why? You look nice.”

“I look a hooker, Hermes. The clothes I had packed were fine.”

Hermes walked over and pulled the towel covering her body away from her. She was wearing a black bikini with blue shorts. The sun was nice on her skin but she was too busy glaring at Hermes and trying to cover herself to notice. “There’s no one around, Peaches, and I’ve seen you naked many times. Last night even.”

“I feel uncomfortable though,” she complained.

“Don’t care,” he grinned. “I like to have a nice view.”

Groaning, she grabbed the towel back from him and laid it down on the sand, lying on top of it. Crossing her arms, she closed her eyes and felt Hermes lie next to her, his hand coming up to rest on her stomach. She placed her own hand over his, entwining her fingers with his.

Since she had come back from the dead two months ago, Hermes had barely left her side. She wasn’t complaining; she loved spending alone time with him and since Cronos was back in his cage, the Gods had left them alone. They had caught up with Apollo once; he’d burned down his house, adamant he could no longer live there, and rebuilt on the opposite side of his field. Some of the nymphs helping him move his belongings were having a hard time with his constant flirting and Thea pitied them. Artemis had disappeared into Gaia’s forest and had yet to reappear. Thea prayed she didn’t go nuts and kill all the animals in there. Zeus hadn’t bothered her yet, but she had a feeling he was just biding his time until Hera stopped breathing down his neck.

Once Thea had explained what Gaia had done for her, Hermes had helped her give Josh a proper farewell. Shae and Josh weighed on her mind, their lives lost because of her. Hermes tried to tell her it wasn’t her fault but she couldn’t help but feel blame. She had wanted to see him in the Underworld but Hades had advised against it. He promised her that Josh would be given the same choice as Shae and he would keep her updated on his decision. For now, though, he felt it was best if Josh was given time to adjust and come to terms with his death. Seeing Thea might halt his acceptance and Hades didn’t want that to happen. Thea had reluctantly agreed to keep away and Hermes tried to keep her distracted. His fingers moved over the same place on her stomach, where Cronos had stabbed her, and she felt his fingers trace the faint scar.

Gaia had done as she said, gifting her with immortality, but she hadn’t been able to remove the wound altogether. For the rest of her life, she would be stuck with a reminder of her sacrifice. Even now, the thought of eternity scared her, but knowing that Hermes would be there eased that fear. She’d been terrified to tell him at first in case it wasn’t what he wanted and Gaia had been lying, but she hadn’t even been able to finish her explanation before Hermes had scooped her up in his arms, delighted that she would always be by his side. He had then thanked Gaia for the gift she had given them both.

“What do you want to do today?” Hermes asked.

“I don’t know. I’m happy to stay here. Work on my tan.” She rolled over to face him. His hair hung in his eyes and she brushed it aside. He caught her fingers as she moved away and kissed their tips. “What about you? What do you want to do?”

“I was thinking we could meet Apollo in Vegas.”

“Vegas? But this is our Caribbean holiday. Why would you want to go to –?” Realisation dawned and she frowned. “What trouble has he gotten into?”

Hermes chuckled. “I’m not sure how much you want to know but I’ll just say that Apollo has a weakness for call girls and the last time he was in Vegas, it didn’t end well…”