We stepped through the gates and it was truly another world. Everything was covered in muted light even though there was no visible source. Beautiful shades of blues and greens abounded, accented by reds, corals, pinks and oranges. It was an absolutely breathtaking underwater paradise. Only, we weren’t in water. It boggled the mind.
“Actually,” Poseidon called over his shoulder, “I think you will stay the night before I move you. It will please my wife to have visitors.”
“He’s married?” Brennan whispered to me. Before I could warn him that gods could hear practically anything, Poseidon answered him.
“Of course I am.”
Brennan looked at me sheepishly. As time went on, he would be able to hone his own senses and he would realize that he too had the super-sensitive hearing of a god. But we would work on that later.
As we strolled down the bronzed walkways, I couldn’t help but stare around us. It was amazing here. An entire underwater civilization surrounded us. People strolled, worked and shopped. Quaint shops and tidy homes made from stone lined the streets and in the distance, a large palace rose from the horizon. It seemed to be built from glass.
I heard Brennan suck in his breath as he saw it and I couldn’t help but feel the same sense of awe. The glass walls of the castle glistened majestically, seemingly drawing us nearer.
“Your home is beautiful,” I murmured to Poseidon. He nodded.
“Yes, it is. We are very comfortable here.”
“You say that you have ‘other properties’?” Brennan asked curiously as he examined our surroundings. Poseidon looked annoyed that Brennan had spoken at all, but he still chose to answer.
“Yes, of course I do. I am the god of the sea. All waters fall under my realm, including any small islands that they may contain.”
Well, that was vague enough. So, apparently, any island in the world belonged to Poseidon. Good to know. And that meant he was probably going to stash us on a remote island somewhere.
We had made it to the flower-lined walkways that lead to the palace. I gazed ahead of us and it was truly something out of a fairy-tale. The walls were, in fact, made from thick glass. You couldn’t see through it to the inside of the palace, but they sparkled like diamonds in the light. It was mesmerizing.
“How is Amphitrite?” I inquired of his wife politely as we climbed the path to the front doors. Large palace guards moved aside to allow our passage and I turned to Poseidon for his answer. He smirked.
“She is as she has always been. But you will soon see for yourselves.”
Brennan caught my eye and he gave me a what the hell? expression. I smiled. He would soon learn that the complicated world of the gods was complex and frustrating. So many of the gods were pompous and demanding, while others were fairly kind and just. Poseidon was just to his people, I had heard, but he was certainly not a charmer. He was arrogant to the core.
“Welcome to my home,” Poseidon said again as he pushed open his front doors.
We stepped inside and found that the inside of his castle was every bit as beautiful as the outside. Polished glass floors gleamed beneath our feet, beautiful tapestries hung on the walls, sparkling chandeliers hung from the tall ceilings. A massive grand staircase opened into the foyer and as I glanced up, I saw Poseidon’s wife poised at the halfway point.
She was waiting for us, that much was for sure. She was posed, probably to allow us to see her in her best light and angle. But she wasn’t that beautiful. Her hair was mousy brown and hung limply around her shoulders. Her eyes were also mousy brown and overall, she did actually remind me of a mouse. After she was sure that we had seen her, she finished her descent down the stairs and held out her hand to me.
“Empusa!” she cried joyfully, although her tone was just as staged as her pose. I found myself cringing away from her fake niceties, but covered up by quickly grasping her hand and demurely nodding to her.
“Amphitrite!” I greeted her warmly. “It’s been far too long!”
She smiled and hugged me, kissing me quickly on each cheek. “You look beautiful, child,” she gushed, but her expression was disapproving. She was very, very insecure because Poseidon was very, very unfaithful. Amphitrite was suspicious of every beautiful woman that she came across….As though every beautiful woman was out to steal her husband. Not hardly- not this woman. I’d rather poke my own eyes out with a sharp stick.
“And who do we have here?” she mused, her gaze running over Brennan’s lithe form. “Wait- you don’t have to tell me. This must be a son of Apollo!” she exclaimed.
“However did you guess?” I asked wryly.
“Why, I’ve never seen a son resemble a father more than he does!” she gushed. And it was true. As Brennan stood in the muted, ethereal light of the palace, he could be his father’s twin. He was radiant.
“I wish I knew my father,” Brennan offered. “If I look so much like him, it would be nice to actually meet him.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassured him. “Someday soon you will.”
“Well, enjoy that,” Poseidon muttered. “I fear you will be greatly let down. Apollo might be handsome, but he is empty-headed and flighty. I hope you possess more substance.”
Brennan looked almost irate, but I shook my head slightly at him. We could not anger Poseidon. As guests in his home, we needed to get along with him. I could see that Brennan understood my unspoken plea and he acquiesced, saying nothing. I squeezed his hand.
“Would it be possible for us to rest for just a bit before dinner?” I asked politely. “We are weary from the journey here. Traveling to the bottom of the sea is quite a trip.”
“Of course, dear,” Amphitrite said cordially, as she clapped her hands for a servant. “Please- go rest. Dinner won’t be for another hour.”
“Son of Apollo,” Poseidon said gruffly, “You go ahead. I need to speak with Empusa alone.”
Brennan looked to me questioningly and I nodded. “Go ahead, Brennan. I’ll be along shortly.” A servant clad in white whisked him away and I stood alone with Poseidon and his wife. He raised his eyebrow at Amphitrite.
“I said alone,” he reiterated.
She scowled and took her leave. I knew she didn’t want to leave Poseidon alone with me, but she had no other choice. Poseidon had spoken and he wasn’t someone to trifle with- even if you were his wife, which in my mind, was a dubious honor.
I stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something earth shattering, something that he couldn’t say in front of anyone else. I itched to move away from him so that he wouldn’t be tempted to touch me. I imagined his fingers to be ice cold, just like his stare. But I resisted my urge and remained with my feet planted and my arms crossed over my chest.
Poseidon crossed the room with long strides and poured ice cold nectar of the gods from a silver pitcher into sparkling crystal glasses. He sipped at his as he offered a glass to me.
“I know that nectar doesn’t have the same effect on you as it does on me,” he acknowledged as he handed it to me, “But it is still delicious, at any rate.”
The nectar of the Olympians kept the gods immortal. It flowed in rivers and creeks in the Spiritlands and the gods drank it to stay young. It didn’t help me right now. I had to drink souls for that purpose. But he was right, I discovered, as I sipped at the icy goodness. It was truly delicious, like nothing I had ever tasted.
“You seem pale,” he observed, drawing one hand across my cheek. I almost flinched, but didn’t. I remained still as he caressed my face. I had been wrong. His hands weren’t cold. “Perhaps you should stay the night before we travel on.”
“I’m fine,” I answered, pulling away from him. “If I just rest for a few minutes before dinner, I will be as good as new.”
Lie. All of the teleporting and conjuring and such had left me drained. I needed blood to replenish my energy. But I would never tell him that. He would likely send for a mortal to feed me and the unfortunate person would probably never be returned to the mortal world. I would never do that. I swallowed and returned his unflinching stare. He could tell I was lying, I was certain, but he didn’t argue.
Instead, I focused on him. “What were you wanting to discuss?” I asked politely.
Oddly enough, he shook his head. “Nothing really,” he answered slowly, swirling the last two swallows of his nectar around in the bottom of the glass. “I just wanted to ask if you’d like to spend the night to rest. You do look weary.”
I studied him for a moment, but could see nothing in his face to give away his true motive. Had he been planning to make a move on me and then had thought the better of it? I decided that was likely.
“Well, thank you for the kind thought,” I replied briskly. “But it isn’t necessary. I would, however, enjoy a nap before dinner.”
“So be it,” he nodded and then called for a servant. A tiny maid appeared at his elbow and he motioned for her to take me to a bedroom. I followed the spritely girl up the stairs. Looking back, I found Poseidon standing at the windows, looking absently out them. What a strange man.
The slight girl stopped in front of a closed door. “Here you go, miss,” she curtsied. “If you need anything else, just let me know.”
“Thank you,” I replied, opening the bedroom door. “You’re very kind.” She disappeared down the hall and I entered the bedchambers.
And then I stopped in my tracks.
A girl with flame red hair was wrapped around Brennan.
Chapter Ten
“Am I interrupting?” I asked coldly. Brennan’s head flew up and his expression was astonished and dismayed. The girl stepped slowly away from him, not upset in the slightest. In fact, she looked almost pleased.
“No!” Brennan exclaimed. “Not at all, I assure you.” He stepped even further away from the girl and appealed to me with his startled eyes. “I promise,” he added firmly. I studied him for a brief minute and had to say, I believed him. He was certainly sincere. But the girl…
I narrowed my eyes as I focused my attention on her.
“Who are you?” I asked coldly.
She stared back at me unabashedly, even though in her enthusiasm to seduce Brennan, the straps of her flimsy gown were falling over her shoulders and she seemed half-naked as her breasts almost spilled over the top of her dress.
“I’m Adelpha,” she announced proudly. “Daughter of Poseidon.”
Thrusting her shoulders back, she skirted around Brennan to stand in front of me.
“And you are Empusa, daughter of the witch.”
“I am Empusa, daughter of the goddess of witchcraft, yes,” I snapped. “And I am a witch, as well. So. Watch. Your. Step.”
My tone was ice cold and she smirked slightly, trying to appear that she was unfazed. But I could see the fear in her eyes for a scant second before she masked it. She wasn’t sure what I was capable of and that made me dangerous to her. The unknown should always be considered dangerous.
“Welcome,” she replied icily. “My father summoned me so that I could lead you to our island after dinner. But first, you are to rest.” She gazed at me. “Clearly, you need it. You look… tired.”