Alex, standing in the middle of Euryale’s island cave, held his bride in his arms, completely enamored. With the stars covered by clouds and the fire pit burning low, there was little else to see in the cave other than Euryale, but he didn’t care. He loved watching the firelight dance on her red chiton and trace every curve the silk made as it clung to her body. Shadows played on the hood she wore, and the sparkle from her eyes pierced the veil that covered her face.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, pushing the veil aside and letting the hood slip back.
Euryale blushed and rested her head on his shoulder. Her serpents wrapped around his neck while the pair of red ones tasted his cheeks. “I’m glad you think so,” she said. She looked up slowly. “Alex,” she said. “Will you always love me?”
The question caught him off guard, and he reflexively pulled back an inch or two. “Why would you ask that?”
“Will you?” she repeated.
“Always,” he said. “I promise.”
Euryale smiled and snuggled back into his shoulder. “I only ask, Alex, because I fear I may have bullied you into this. I was impatient that day, and I knew what Athena had threatened you with. It would be tempting to marry me simply to avoid Aldora’s beak.”
“I know, but that’s not why I did,” Alex said. A sliver of doubt ran through his heart, but he pushed such thoughts away before they could gain strength. There was no need to trouble her with such things, anyway. “I admit this went faster than I’d anticipated, but waking up at your side was a thousand times better than waking alone.”
Euryale’s hands drifted down and she gripped his forearms as she stepped back. “Who was the girl with you at the feast?”
“You know about her?”
Euryale’s eyes darkened. Her nails felt unnaturally sharp against his skin. “Who was she?”
“Jessica.”
The gorgon’s grip tightened, her teeth lengthened, and a faint hissing came from her head. “Your Jessica. Your love.”
“Former,” Alex corrected. “Nothing happened. I swear.”
Euryale laughed. “Do you always toss around oaths so lightly?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Am I frightening you?” There was an ancient power to her voice, one that could cause dragons to heel or hurricanes to silence.
“Concerned,” Alex said. He tried to pull away, but her grip intensified and her eyes mirrored the burning coals in the fire pit.
“Tell me why you’ve brought this woman back into your life.”
“I didn’t!”
“Tell me!” She bellowed.
Alex staggered. The flutter in his heart worried him, but that was nothing compared to the fear he felt when he saw the foliage nearby wither. “Stop it,” he said. “Why are you being like this?”
“Because you need to see who I am,” Euryale said. She shut her eyes and breathed deep. The strength in her grip faded, and her claw-like nails all but disappeared. Once again, she was the soft beauty Alex had always seen before.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I apologize for working myself up so, but we all have our ugly sides. I wanted you to taste mine.”
“Taste?” he said with a nervous laugh. “Is your actual ugly side that much worse?”
Her head dropped. “It can be, and I hate myself when it gets the better of me. I want you to know all that because if I ever do…change, please love me, stay with me. I’ll come back to you…eventually.”
“What’s eventually?”
“A week? A month? It’s not that long, considering we’re immortal.”
“Maybe we could find a way so you don’t have to change,” Alex said.
“It’s tied to my anger and something only the Fates can remove,” she said. Euryale shrugged as she went on. “Part of my curse.”
“So essentially you’re the Greek Hulk on steroids.”
“The what?”
“Never mind. Look, I promise I didn’t have anything to do with bringing Jessica to the banquet. Yes, I was happy to see her, but my life with her is over. My life with you is what’s important now.”
“Do you swear that is true?”
“On everything I hold dear.”
Euryale grabbed the back of his head and kissed him. “Then let’s leave discussions of the past alone and look to our future.”
“As long as we’re confessing,” Alex said once they parted. “I hope I can perform as well as you expect.”
“Are all famed artists this troublesome?” she teased. “If anyone can perform, it should be you.”
“It’s not the same. My days were filled with getting a piece to perfection,” he said. “It drove me crazy to make mistakes, even if no one noticed them but me.”
“I have no illusions of perfection, Alex,” she said. “But if it troubles you so, perhaps you should spend those countless hours practicing a new craft.”
“Such as?”
“Learning how to be with me,” she replied. “With such dedication to everything else, how can you not rise to greatness in my eyes?”
With his worries melting, Alex opted to change the subject. “How do you like the new body?”
“I like it very much,” Euryale said. She ran her hand up his muscular chest and gave his biceps a squeeze. “Hades spent some time remaking you. Have you found it suitable?”
“Aside from being a little horny, it’s fantastic,” Alex admitted. His fingers were making their third round trip across her body as they spoke. “Apollo says it will also help in the games, so I’m trying not to be nervous about it.”
“Trying, but not succeeding,” she said with a smile.
Alex nodded. “Any advice?”
“Do your best and the rest will work out in time,” she said. “Anything else I should know?”
Alex thought for a moment, but came up empty. “Not that I can think of.”
Euryale rose on her tiptoes and peeked over his shoulder at the clump of packages that had been brought to their home. “Shall we open our presents?”
“And take my eyes off you?”
“I appreciate the flattery, but I think we should see to our gifts.”
Alex squeezed her and kissed her forehead. “I think we should retire for the night,” he said, looking to the bed in the corner. With the coals all but out in the fire pit, the mood lighting was perfect. “We can keep each other warm.”
“No, Alex.” she said, laughing and pushing him away. “The bed will always be there. Surely you can wait five minutes?”
“Around you, how could I?”
“There may be days when you will have to endure much more than that. Think of this as good practice,” Euryale grabbed a log from the wall nearby and tossed it into the fire. Within a few passing breaths, the fire came to life, and their cavernous abode was lit once more. Euryale made her way to the pile of gifts that sat atop a large, oak table. “Now are you going to join me or not?”
“Fine, fine. I’m coming,” he said, all the while deciding whether or not he really wanted to suppress his libido. A hop, skip, and a smooch on Euryale’s cheek later, he was at her side. “I’ll be good,” he said as the gorgon rolled her eyes at him. “I promise.”
“I’ve heard that before,” she remarked.
“Yeah, well, have you seen this before?” Alex reached down and plucked a small, golden-wrapped gift box and placed it in his wife’s hands. He tried to appear calm, but his nerves weren’t making such a look easy.
“From you?” she asked, reading the note attached. She gave the box a shake and brief inspection. “A ring?”
“Maybe.” Alex said, trying to keep his face straight. “It’s a little something I made on the way over here. It’s nothing fancy.”
“I’m sure I’ll love it.” And by the look on her face, when she pulled out a sharply folded origami ring—one that perfectly fit her finger no less—she did. “It’s perfect,” she said, admiring its new home on her hand and giving him a kiss. “I’ll treasure it always.”
Alex’s eyes shifted to the pile of gifts. “What did we get?”
Euryale reached down and grabbed a long javelin, complete with a pink ribbon and small card attached. She gave it a twirl before handing it to Alex. “Envelope is addressed to you. See what the card says.”
Alex reluctantly took the weapon from her, unsure why someone thought he needed an impaling device, or why it was an appropriate wedding present to begin with. Must be a cultural thing, he decided as he took the card and read its contents. “To Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Weiss, blah, blah, blah,” he said. “I, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, do hereby bless the consummation of your marriage, blah, blah, blah, and I pray that this javelin will serve you well.”
Euryale raised an eyebrow. “Blah, blah, blah?”
“Well, that was the gist of it.”
“Perhaps I should read them from now on,” she replied. “Does it say anything else?”
“There’s a P.S. at the bottom.”
“Stop ogling my body and tell me what she said.”
“Right, sorry.” Alex tried to sound sincere in his apology, but he was certain he failed. Not that it mattered, anyway. As if he needed to excuse such things. “P.S. I was going to get you a bow, but Aphrodite insisted that you would rather have one of my javelins, so I obliged. Let me know if you’d like the bow instead.”
“That was thoughtful of her,” Euryale commented. “Sounds like she spent some time on it.”
“I don’t want either, to be honest,” he replied, dropping the card on the ground. “I mean, what am I going to do with a spear?”
“It’s a javelin, Alex, and not the same thing,” she said, scooping up the card. “And whatever you do with it, where on earth are your manners? Don’t throw cards away. It’s rude.”
“Sorry, bad habit. What else is there?”
Euryale went through the pile and found a pair of swords. “How sweet of Hephaestus. Do you know what these are, Alex?”
“Swords?”
“Of course they’re swords, Alex. What kind?”
“Short ones that don’t have a card attached?”
Euryale sighed. It was the type of sigh any male might receive after not properly identifying the latest Prada, lace-up, round toe booties with covered heels and leather soles—or whatever their mythological, Greek counterpart was. But instead of answering directly, Euryale flipped the scabbards around and pointed to the name engravings made on each.
“He made us His and Her swords?”
“Close enough.” Euryale laughed and placed the weapons to the side.
“What kind of god gives His and Her swords?”
“The kind who’s the God of Smiths,” Euryale replied. “He’s made countless weapons and armor for the Olympians. Why wouldn’t he make us some as well?”
Alex shrugged. “Don’t know. But it’s not what I was expecting.”
“Don’t be like that, Alex,” she playfully scolded. “Appreciate the gift. It was sweet of him to give us something so personalized.”
“Eh, I suppose,” Alex replied. He looked over his shoulder to where his new chariot was parked. “I guess it’s a little manlier than the wagon and ponies.”
“It’s a chariot and I happen to like the ponies.”
“Well I’m glad one of us does.” Perhaps it was fate, or merely a long-lost friend calling out to him, but whatever the reason, Alex shifted his eyes from his wife’s ass long enough to spy a small package tucked away and neatly wrapped. The paper used was smudged with something dark, chocolate or fudge perhaps, but was otherwise folded neatly. Alex held it up to his ear and gave a rattle, but was unable to determine what was inside the box. Shrugging his shoulders and at the prompting of Euryale, he read the card:
To Alex.
From Hermes.
Thought you might like one of these. Give a whistle if you need anything else!
Alex carefully unwrapped the gift as if a wrong tear or overeager rip would detonate a miniature bomb inside. When all the paper had been removed, and the lid to a small box opened, Alex found himself looking at a Rolex—his Rolex, to be precise.
Euryale yawned and stretched. “Come, Alex,” she said, taking him by the hand and pulling him toward the bed. “You’ll need your rest before the games tomorrow.”
Alex followed without question. Given the way she looked at him over her shoulder, he was quite certain several cups of coffee would be needed in the morning.