On the bed, with the end of day light streaming in through the window and the bells from the castle on the hill ringing, Demi moaned and arched her back as Charles held her hands above her head and had his way with her, teasing her sex until she couldn’t take it anymore. She absolutely had the strength to push him away and satisfy herself, but Demi loved how deliciously exposed she was, completely vulnerable to his whims.
Her thighs started to shudder, and Charles finally relented, giving her the attention she craved and enabling the intense release she needed. Endorphins rushed through her and her strength left her, replaced with what felt to her like the purest love she’d ever felt for anything or anyone.
Looking up at the man who knew her body so well, and who now knew the breadth of her being, she almost told him as much. Before she could, however, he whipped her around as if she was as light as a feather, pulling her torso up until he had a hand around her throat and his mouth was on hers with a veracity and passion he’d never shown before.
His stiff manhood entered her again, impaling her in a flood of fervor and slight pain that quickly blossomed into pleasure. Another moan escaped her lips, but was muffled by Charles’ mouth on hers, the scent of their mingled sweat filling her nostrils.
Completely wrapped in his arms—her muscles too weak to hold herself up anyway without tapping into her powers, of course—Charles exploded deep inside Demi, filling her to her core with an ardor that couldn’t be mistaken for anything but love. They may not have said it out loud to each other, but it was being communicated with each touch, whisper and moan.
Finally, his arms fell away and Demi let her body collapse onto the daybed. She turned, expecting Charles to immediately pull her toward him again, to curl up into his warm embrace, but he was in his own world.
Eyes closed and arms under his head, Charles wasn’t exactly the picture of post coitus comfort. Still, Demi approached quietly, running a soft hand along his side and resting her head on his chest.
Charles promptly kissed the top of her head, and brought an arm down to drape around her shoulder.
“You okay?” Demi asked gently, and she felt Charles nod silently.
“Just tired.”
“Ah, I see. I’ve tuckered you out. Are you saying I’m too much to handle?” she teased, trying to lighten the mood after their heady encounter.
The silence that followed worried her somewhat.
What is he thinking?
Mind reading is not a talent I’ve ever prayed for, but all of a sudden I wish I knew more about it.
Finally, he slipped a finger under her chin, and tilted her face up so her eyes met his. There was something dark lingering on the other side of them, but she couldn’t tell what.
“You are a lot to keep up with, but I promise to do my best. You are the most incredible... person, if I can call you that, that I’ve ever been with. I just want to be worthy.”
Again, the words I love you pressed up against her lips, but Demi resisted uttering them. Something about the moment wasn’t right, even though she could tell Charles needed some kind of reassurance.
“Oh, you are very worthy. Did you not feel the way I... you know, the way my body responds to you? I can honestly say I’ve never felt this way with anyone,” Demi babbled, trying to say the right thing without scaring him off with her seriousness.
Charles nodded, kissed the top of her head again and looked up at the ceiling.
“Is it terrible for me to say I think I want a nap? I’m sure you have things planned for us to do this evening, but I could use a quick bit of shut eye.”
Demi swallowed her disappointment. She did have a whole evening on the town planned out, but it was nothing a short nap would get in the way of.
“I could go for a nap myself,” she lied for his benefit. Sex always boosted her energy levels, but she understood that it was different for men. Sleep, as part of life, was easily controllable for her, and she could put herself to rest for a bit while Charles napped.
Maybe after a rest he’ll be in a better mood.
This is all going better than it could’ve.
I’ve heard about humans seeing purgatory for the first time and having heart attacks—if they’re still alive in the first place—so I can’t blame him for being a bit weird about the whole thing.
Besides, he’s still here, and that’s what counts.
The warmth of Charles’ chest as her pillow soothed Demi, and it wasn’t long before she was fast asleep, lulled by the calmness of her man’s breathing. Despite all her worries, and the nagging intrusive thoughts, she’d never felt closer to anyone before, god or human.
The sound of a rooster crowing woke Demi up, and she peeled her face off of where it had been resting on her own sweaty wrist. Looking around, the memories came flooding back: the passionate afternoon with Charles, the confusing emotions coursing through her, and how they’d fallen asleep tangled in each other’s limbs.
Only, Charles wasn’t beside her anymore, and light was streaming through the floor to ceiling windows.
She’d slept through the entire night by accident.
Why didn’t Charles wake me up earlier?
Ugh.
Now we’ve missed a whole night of fun.
How did that happen?
I didn’t even feel that tired.
Groggily, Demi swung her feet off the daybed and onto the tiled floor, wondering if Charles was downstairs already. Maybe he was making her breakfast.
“Good morning, lovebirds! Did you have a... tiring night?” Hera’s voice came lilting up the stairs, and Demi could hear the sound of pots and pans.
Someone was making breakfast, but it wasn’t Charles.
“Just one lovebird here. I don’t really know what happened! I just slept for about a million hours. Where’s Charles? Did he come down for dinner last night?” Demi asked, reaching for the coffee Hera had already poured.
“No, I haven’t seen either of you since you went to give him a tour of the apartments.” Hera pursed her lips, and a pang of worry stabbed through Demi’s heart.
“Where the hell is he, then? Maybe he went out to grab coffee or something. I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Honestly, I’m proud of him for venturing out on his own. Purgatory is hardly the easiest place to navigate. Ugh, I hope he didn’t get lost. Do you think he got lost?” Demi’s cool demeanor was quickly falling away, replaced with obvious anxiety.
Hera put down her own mug and stepped closer to Demi, putting a hand on hers.
“Hun, I’ve been up for hours, and no one’s left this place this morning. If he’s not here, then... he must have left during the night.” Hera was clearly trying to use a very gentle tone, but her words felt like thorns pricking Demi’s skin and her breathing quickened with panic.
“Why would he have left? Yesterday was a lot, I know, but we... Well, we really connected and I thought…” Demi trailed off, her mind racing.
“Listen, maybe he just went out to explore in the night and got lost. Have you tried calling him?”
“No. Right, let me do that.” Looking around for her phone, Demi finally found it and scrolled through to Charles’ contact, definitely disappointed to see that she hadn’t missed any texts from him.
Why are my hands shaking?
Everything’s fine.
It’s all going to be fine.
He’ll pick up, and he’ll tell me he got distracted by all the incredible views on his walk and just didn’t want to wake me up.
Only, he didn’t pick up.
Demi let the rings go by, until the voicemail clicked through. She immediately went to hang up, but Hera urged her to leave a message.
“Hey, Charles, it’s Demi. Just wondering where you ran off to! Hope you’re okay. Give me a shout when you can.” She hung up, and sank down onto the chair in the breakfast nook behind her with a shuddering sigh.
“Okay. Let’s go have a look for him. I’ll swing by Delphi’s, and see if I can get in touch with Apollo. If there’s anyone who will know where he ran off to, it’s Apollo. We’ll find him. Don’t worry! Purgatory is a much safer place than it was even a year ago,” Hera reassured her.
Running her hands through her hair, Demi tried not to panic. Purgatory was a safe place, but there were still plenty of things that could have happened to Charles.
Zeus wouldn’t...
I mean, he’s unpredictable, but he would never...
How would he even find out about Charles?
No, Zeus isn’t here.
I’d know if he was here.
He’s safely away on Mt. Olympus, and I doubt he even thinks about me anymore.
Right?
Her ex, Zeus, was certainly guilty of being a jealous man from time to time, but Demi was sure he’d moved on to some other obsession. Besides, he knew better than to try and harm someone she cared about.
“Thank you, Hera, that would be great. I’ll retrace our steps from yesterday. Maybe he went back to one of the places I showed him. At least purgatory isn’t a very big place.” Demi sighed, trying to regulate her breathing.
“Good luck. Text me as soon as you hear anything. I’m sure he’ll call you back any minute now and all this worrying will be for nothing.” Hera flashed her sister what was actually quite a convincing and calming smile—one of her greatest skills—and pulled Demi into a warm hug.
Demi quickly pulled on a loose, plain shift dress, built for comfort more than anything else, along with sandals that she could walk for miles in, and plaited her hair down her back.
Seconds later, they were both fully dressed and out the door, going their separate ways.
First, she went back to Athens Bar. Dionysus was sure to be in bed for at least the next five hours, sleeping off the debauchery of the night before. She swept around the building, asking anyone she ran into if they’d seen Charles.
“He’s tall. Tall for a human, anyway. Wavy but tamed brown hair, not like Pan’s. Brown eyes. Strong arms, straight nose. Handsome. The handsomest human you’ve ever seen,” Demi explained to a blinking Achilles.
“Watch who you’re calling the handsomest human. You know I’m half mortal, right? Anyway, no, I’ve never seen him. Have you talked to the vamps? I think Eve was in town last night. She definitely has a sweet tooth for exactly the kind of man you’re describing,” Achilles said, unhelpfully.
“Actually, Eve was the one who introduced us, but that’s a good point. Maybe she does know where he is. I’ll call her. Thanks, Achilles.”
“Anytime. And listen, if things don’t work out with that human, then you know where to find me.” Achilles flipped his golden curls away and flashed her an overly confident smile before strutting away. If there was anyone who could give Narcissus a run for his money in terms of ego, it was Achilles.
Demi groaned before sitting on the curb in the blinding heat and calling Eve. As it was the middle of the day, it was unlikely she’d pick up, but it was worth a try anyway. Five rings went by, and Demi started to lose hope, but finally Eve picked up.
“Demi, why in hell are you calling me at eight thirty in the morning? I only got to bed a couple hours ago. This had better be important,” Eve growled.
“It is. I heard you’re in purgatory?”
“I am, though it’ll just be a quick stay. Burned the midnight oil at Athens Bar last night. I get into too much trouble here in purgatory, as much fun as it is. I behave myself better topside, that’s for sure.”
Demi kept trying to find places to interrupt Eve, as she knew the woman loved to talk, as much as she complained about being tired.
“Listen, did you see Charles last night? I took him to purgatory for the first time, and now I can’t find him anywhere. I’m afraid something happened to him.” Explaining the situation out loud really brought to light just how serious the situation was for Demi, and panic started to set in again.
“Charles? Oh wow, you finally told him who you really are! I don’t think I saw him last—oh, wait a moment. Right, this is ringing a bell. Sorry, you know how I get when Dionysus is behind the bar. I did see him walking by... we didn’t talk for long, but he was asking for directions, I think?”
“Directions?” Demi immediately interjected. “Directions to where?”
This is not the kind of scavenger hunt I had in mind for today.
“Well now, that’s a good question. I want to say... he was looking for one of the gates? Oh yeah! He was asking about the Sphinx, and I was telling him about that time that we all—”
Demi stopped listening to Eve, the last words echoing through her head.
The gate.
Hera mentioned something to Charles last night about the closest gate through to the topside, and getting by the Sphinx.
Shit.
He tried to go home.
Why didn’t he just tell me?
I could’ve taken him home myself if that’s what he really wanted!
If he got even one of the Sphinx’s questions wrong, then... then he’s probably already dead or floating in some in between metaphysical plane!
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Thanks, Eve. I’ve gotta go.” Demi hung up unceremoniously, immediately starting to rush toward the gate that Hera had mentioned the day before, her thoughts going a mile a minute.
Had Charles really been that uncomfortable and put off by everything Demi had revealed to him?
The sex they’d had had been so... so intimate. It was mind boggling to think that he would just up and leave after something like that. Demi couldn’t decide if she was livid, heartbroken, or scared for Charles’ life. If she was honest with herself, she was a bit of all three.
Out of breath, Demi finally reached the gate, approaching the monolithic creature guarding it. The arches were finely engraved into marble, but the impressiveness of the Sphinx put the delicate handiwork to shame, her cat eyes glimmering with a thousand different flecks of color.
“Demi! To what do I owe the pleasure? You aren’t normally the type to require my services,” the Sphinx cooed silkily, resting her chin on her paws.
“Did you let him through? Did he get the answer right? Please tell me you didn’t send him to some random plane,” Demi begged, fully aware that the punishment for a wrong answer to the Sphinx’s riddle was death.
“Who are you talking about?” she purred.
“You know who. The human who tried to pass you last night, or early this morning.”
“Ah yes, the handsome one. He did look tasty, but his demeanor was tainted with bitterness, so I decided to let him go with an easy riddle. You know, the classic: what goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening? Clearly someone was paying attention in his classics class, because he knew the answer immediately. I assume he’s safe and sound topside now.”
Relief coursed through Demi’s veins, replaced by immediate anger.
How dare Charles leave her like that, after everything they’d been through together?
After she’d opened her heart to him!
Ugh.
Growl.
The vibration of her phone broke Demi out of her funk, and her heart jumped a little, hopeful, despite it all, that Charles was calling her.
It wasn’t Charles. It was Hera. Still, Demi quickly picked up.
“Demi? I couldn’t find Apollo, but it doesn’t matter. Charles tried to go back to the topside last night.”
“I know,” Demi revealed before Hera could go through the whole story again. “Wait, how did you find out? I’m here with the Sphinx. She says she let Charles go through without any problems, so at least I know he’s safe.”
“Oh, that’s good to know. I, uh, I came back home and started looking around for more clues. I guess we should’ve looked around the place more carefully before we went on such a big search, because he left you a note.”
“A note? What does it say?” Demi asked.
Hera went silent, and Demi wasn’t sure her heart could take any more uncertainty.
“Why don’t you come home and read it yourself?” Hera suggested gently, which was a clear sign to Demi that it was bad news.
“No. I can’t wait that long. Tell me what it says, now.”
“All right. It says... ’Demi, thank you so much for showing me around your world. This place is just as beautiful as you are. I’m sorry I have to leave so unceremoniously. Something’s come up at work, and I have to go on a trip to Colorado. I don’t know how much service I’m going to have once I’m there, so I apologize if I’m not quick to respond to calls or texts. I’ll be thinking of you every minute I’m away. Xo Charles.’ I’m sorry, Demi. I guess he just... needed to be alone.”