Styxx (Dark-Hunter 22)

A tic worked fiercely in his jaw. "We barely have five years before she releases his powers and the two of them attack us. Something that won't go well for you either ... I can feel him out there. I know he's alive and well."

"Then you," she pressed her fingertip against his massive chest, "find him. As his father, it should be easy for you."

He growled at her before he stormed off.

Rolling her eyes, she pulled the small bit of Hector's chiton from her pocket and smiled at the softness of the cloth. She lifted it to her nose so that his scent could warm her again.

How foolish of her to be so smitten over a mere boy, especially since she'd always mocked the gods who took human lovers. She'd never understood the appeal of them. They were frail and pathetic, whiny creatures.

But not Hector. Even while he'd bled all over her, he'd been funny and sweet. Kind. Considerate.

Precious.

"Bet'anya? Are you all right?"

She met Chara's gaze as the Atlantean goddess of joy joined her in the foyer of their main hall in Katateros-the Atlantean paradise realm where the gods made their homes. With flame-red hair and skin the color of alabaster, she was absolutely stunning. Tall and voluptuous, Chara was forever smiling and laughing.

Bethany returned the cloth to her pocket before the other goddess saw it. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You're smiling. It scares me."

Bethany laughed at that, which then caused Chara to take a step back from her.

"Now I am terrified. When the goddess of wrath and misery is happy ... it cannot bode well for others."

True, but then Bethany couldn't help it. She was born of Darkness, Chaos, Death, and Tears. It was hard to be lighthearted with that kind of conception and upbringing.

But just the thought of Hector made her heart light.

How ridiculous am I?

"Have you ever..." Bethany hesitated, unsure if she wanted to let anyone else know what was on her mind.

"Have I ever what?"

Bethany glanced around the huge, white marble room to make sure no one else could hear them. "Been with a human?" she whispered.

Chara flashed a bright grin. "Many, many times. They can be very entertaining."

"So it seems."

That made one of her red brows shoot straight up her forehead. "I take it you found one in particular who pleases you?"

Bethany shrugged with a nonchalance she definitely didn't feel. "It's stupid, isn't it? He'll be old and dead in no time...."

"He doesn't have to be. You could spare him that."

"Why would I? Infatuation never lasts more than a breath or two. I'm sure I'll be bored with him the next time we meet. If we meet again."

"Don't let Agapa hear you say that. You'd hurt her feelings."

Bethany snorted. "The goddess of love can take her seeds and put them in a most uncomfortable place. I don't want her poison taking root in me. Ever."

Laughing, Chara wrinkled her nose. "Now that is the Bet'anya I know and love. Ever a pessimist."

"Ever a realist. You should try it sometime."

"No, thank you." Chara rocked up onto her tiptoes. "I prefer to dream and see the beauty in the world and all its possibilities."

"It shrivels and it dies. All things do."

"But not us," Chara reminded her. "We are eternal."

"Only with limitations."

Chara held her hands up. "I concede this fight. It's nice to see Her Holy Crabbiness back. I've missed you so."

Bethany was crabby and cantankerous. She'd always been that way. But for one brief afternoon, she had been lighthearted. And she'd laughed ...

"I must be getting sick."

And she had better things to do than waste time with some mortal nothing. She had a missing god to find before the goddess of destruction was unleashed and destroyed them all. That and that alone was what she needed to be focused on.

June 25, 9532 BC

Styxx held his breath as he made his way back to the small clearing where Bethany had said she'd be. It'd taken him hours to get away from his father and tutors. After yesterday, his father had taken to watching him much more closely and he'd been forced to sneak away.

Had he taken too long? Was she gone already?

Emotionally wrecked at the thought, he broke through the trees and winced as he saw no trace of her. Damn it! He'd missed her because of them.

Suddenly, he heard the faint steps of something moving away in the trees.

"Bethany?" he called.

The noise stopped instantly. "Hector?"

Relief flooded him so fast and furiously, he almost lost his balance. He rushed toward her voice and found her just a few feet away, in the dense woods. Dressed in a light green gown, with her hair pulled up into a beautiful cascade of falling curls, she had a basket on one arm and her pole in her other hand.

"I'm here." He let go of his horse to touch her shoulder so that she could locate his whereabouts.

She smiled instantly. "I thought you'd changed your mind."

"No. Never. I'm so sorry. I just couldn't get away any earlier."

Bethany shivered as he took her hand into his and kissed it. The warm, masculine smell of him filled her head and made her heart pound. A scary, unexpected urge to hug him went through her and she had to force herself to refrain. "I brought you some lamb and cheese with wine."