Aphrodite's Flame

12. Flare

I learned to run. A woman in my position needs to know how to run if she can't fight. Sometimes I am envious of Athena and Artemis. When it comes to fight or flight, they brace themselves whereas I fly like the wind.

I can hear two pairs of hooves following me, shallow breathing which soon becomes panting. I can smell their arousal. Zigzagging through the trees I try to get rid of them, but they appear all the more excited for the hunt. My mind is fully with Adonis and hoping he is safe, while my feet are pushing me through the winter woods. 

One of the satyrs falls and rolls through the mud and dried up needles, and the other leaves him behind, still tracking me. Is this- I realise I recognise my surroundings and now I'm breaking out in a sweat. I am running in a giant circle, trailing back to Adonis. I scream out his name, hoping he can hear me when a gush of wind catches me by surprise, stopping me in my tracks. Something flew past me, hitting the satyr behind me square in the eye. Gargling and squeaking the hybrid falls down, grabbing at the arrow in his eye socket. The satyr is squirming in pain when I see Adonis coming toward me, steady steps, looking only at the prey at his feet. He lifts his bow again and releases another arrow, killing the satyr on the spot. 

Now I am only looking at him. He lifts his bow again, aims his arrow and releases his weapon. The second satyr, the one that fell and got up again, goes to the ground again. This one doesn't even squirm. Adonis' arrow hit him straight through the heart. I take a deep breath when he lowers his bow and walks up to me, taking me in his arms. 

'Are you okay?' he asks with the most serious tone in his voice. His flame has flared up, sending sparks up my spine. His usually handsome face is retorted into an angry grimace. I know he wanted to protect me. He did protect me. I could've shook Hades and Earth, but I didn't. I froze on the spot and he saved me.

'Let's go home,' I whisper. He presses a kiss on my hair and picks up my hand, kissing my knuckles as well. I am concerned for his well-being, seeing the amount of blood on his face. 

***

In the following days I take care of him, cleaning him up and kissing his wounds. Adonis is very sweet for me, making light of the situation so I don't worry too much about him. It's different from when Ares was wounded. Adonis knows this too and he clearly loves it. 

Our winter together is special, the more because our feelings echo like shards of a mirror inside me. We are staying inside the cabin in the woods near the river, perfectly solitary. The only times we come out is when it is absolutely necessary - to gather wood or to get water and food. I've never liked it so much in the mortal realm, but I do with him. I don't think I've ever been here such a long time.

One particularly lazy morning in the coldest month we are laying in bed, listening to the rain that dances on the roof. 

'Can I ask you something?' he murmurs, still half asleep. Grey golden sunrays are shining through the window, making shadows play on his skin.

'Of course.'

'How old are you exactly?' I laugh and roll on my side to face him. He opens one eye and looks at me intently. He is serious. I shrug.

'Time is no matter to me, because I only exist. I'm not alive, so I don't count the years that I roam the worlds. I will be here forever, anyway.' He smiles and turns to his side as well, wrapping his arm under his pillow.

'That is a dreary way to see the world.' He tucks my hair behind my ear. 'Therefore, I declare this day the day you are born. You are now 0 years old, like a tiny naked baby seeing the first light of day.' I laugh, not missing out on the irony of the fact I am indeed naked.

Our winter tale goes on endlessly, and I love every minute and every second of the time we spend together. There is nowhere for us to go, except maybe the two times we ventured out into town. The remaining days are either spent in bed or in front of the fireplace. I still haven't looked for something bigger, something more luxurious. Maybe I don't even want it anymore. This little box of a cabin holds so much of the both of us, I can't just leave it behind. 

So when the last snow melts under a burning sun and the first snowdrops shows their little white heads, I see it as a bad omen. Everything will change when Persephone comes back Up and he can go fishing and hunting. I realise I'm unreasonably jealous of all the minutes in the world others can spend with him, and I don't know why I feel this way. I never felt this way before and again, it feels like a trap. Love feels like a trap. When she gets back, I really need to talk to Persephone.