(2 days till the start of the War...)
The air was still filled with that sll that lingers after sex. Dawn was beginning to paint the edges of the sky amber, while the first candles were being extinguished on the houses of Kaeron below, like golden fingers caressing a living map. anwhile, I was lying on the grass on the hill, my back still warm from the contact with her skin.
I was completely naked, my defined physique, result of so much training and quests accomplished, now was exposed for anyone to see. Along with, obviously, the python protruding from my crotch, which had grown to 15 inches during the intercourse, but had now returned to its normal length of 12 inches, accompanied by my heavy nutsack, which was the size of two tennis balls.
Aphrodite was next to , half turned toward , her tousled hair falling like a golden curtain over her naked chest. There was sothing different in her eyes now; they no longer had the sa calculated intensity as before. I didn’t know how to explain it, but now she seed better, more human, perhaps. Or was it just a different mask?
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice low, almost as if she were afraid of breaking the calm that surrounded us.
I nodded. ’I don’t know if and I don’t care if all this was part of the plan, but... yes, I’m fine."
She smiled, tilting her head. ’Not everything has to be part of an intricate plan to seduce you, Akhon. So things just... happen."
"And this was one of those things? Because I doubt it."
"Maybe." She leaned in slightly, resting her cheek on her hand as she looked at . "Or maybe I was just waiting for you to be less... cold."
"I’m not cold, Aphrodite. I just know when I’m being used."
"And that’s changed now?"
"I don’t know. Maybe? Or maybe I just decided I didn’t care."
For a mont, Aphrodite didn’t respond. Her gaze had turned toward the city, and she seed to be silently admiring it, as if she also needed a break from being herself. When she finally spoke, her tone was more serious.
"I wanted to include you from the beginning, you know? Beyond your potential to be a God of Olympus, you have sothing most don’t have, and that’s empathy. It sounds crazy, I know, but most gods only look out for themselves.
"And you’re not like that?"
Her gaze turned to .
"What do you an?" she asked with a confused expression. I just smirked.
"I’m talking about how, if my mory serves right, a few years ago, you asked for a specific favor, to distract your husband while you went to do who knows what with Hades."
Her expression changed quickly at that mont, going from surprised to sowhat lancholic.
"You...you...you’re right," she admitted, surprising , "I haven’t been a good wife to Hephaestus, and I haven’t been fair to you either. I’ve only turned to you whenever I needed you to do sothing, always thinking of myself and what I wanted...but I’ve changed."
I looked at her with a neutral expression.
"If you’ve changed, prove it. So far, you haven’t shown that you have," I said as I shifted closer to her, which she noticed, but she didn’t move. "Anyway, it’s not like I can judge you too much. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, but that doesn’t an that because I did sothing bad, I stopped caring about those around . That’s the problem with Olympus, always trying to look perfect, like they’re the elite, the best of the best, and yet they end up forgetting basic things like not being a dick."
Her gaze was lost on the horizon for a long ti, while the people of Kaeron began to co out and move about to do their jobs or activities below, one by one, like ants waking up with the city. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was thick, as if Aphrodite was digesting every word, sothing unusual for soone who always seed to have a ready answer for every situation.
"You know what the worst part is?" she finally said, in a softer, perhaps more... honest tone. "You’re right. And I’m not used to being told that. Straight up, without fear."
"I’m not like them," I replied. ’And if you want in Nesis, you’re going to have to get used to that."
"I know.’ She paused, taking a deep breath. "That’s why I wanted you with us, not because you might be useful, which you obviously will be, but because you’re different."
"I’m not a symbol, or a tool for anyone. The only ones I serve are my friends and my people. If you want my help, it has to be because you truly believe in what you’re building, because I’m tired of being part of power gas disguised as ’noble causes.’"
Aphrodite nodded slowly, still motionless. Her naked skin glowed in the first rays of the sun, and for a second I thought that perhaps, beneath all her divine charm, there was soone who also wanted to be more than her eternal role.
"I swear this wasn’t a trick," she said suddenly, looking at again. "Tonight, what happened between us. It wasn’t a ploy to break you down."
"And yet it worked."
That made her smile. A tired smile, the kind you don’t rehearse. "It worked because you let it work. Because maybe... you needed it too, even if you don’t want to admit it."
I looked away toward the city so I wouldn’t have to answer her. But deep down, I knew she was right about that part. Part of had sought this contact. This connection. After all, I had learned that the Hesperides are virgin goddesses, similar to Hestia, who cannot have sexual relations with anyone, not even a loved one.
That’s why the most we had ever done with Aegle was to touch each other a few tis, but never anything more than that.
As much as I felt guilty, thinking that this was already the second ti I had "betrayed" her, part of felt satisfied.
I don’t know if I’ve already explained this, but gods have a gigantic libido; it’s one of the reasons they leave children everywhere. The other, of course, is political. Having offspring among mortals—or among other gods—is a way of marking your territory, of establishing and expanding your influence. An ancient, constant ga played in the upper echelons of Olympus as if it were part of the natural fabric of power.
That... speaking of sons and daughters, I had rembered a certain person I t in the mortal world. He had seed familiar to from the first mont, but it wasn’t until now, with the mory of Aphrodite’s body still warm next to mine, that I finally managed to tie up the loose ends.
"Aphrodite, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go ahead," she replied, without opening her eyes. She was lying on the grass, still damp from the dawn, her silhouette outlined by the growing light. She had that post-ecstatic tranquility that only immortals can sustain without appearing vulnerable.
"Who is Harmony?"
Her eyes opened. Not suddenly, not with a start, but with a certain stiffness. As if I had said a word laden with weight, with history. The kind of na you don’t just blurt out.
"Where did you hear that na?" She asked, now sitting up slightly, looking at with sothing that wasn’t fear, but caution.
"I t her so ti ago in the mortal world. She didn’t tell who she was, of course, but... she looked too much like you. Not physically—although there was a resemblance—but in the way she spoke. The way she moved. She had a grace... instinctive. As if she had inherited it."
Aphrodite sighed, bringing a hand to her chest, as if protecting herself from a mory that still hurt. Or weighed heavily.
"Harmonia is my daughter," she finally said. "With Ares."
That made frown. Not out of surprise, but because of the subtext.
"And what is she doing in the mortal world?"
"She ran away," she replied, without embellishnt. "From Olympus and from expectations. She didn’t want to be part of all this. Not , not her father. She said she wanted to be... sothing more."
"And you let her go?"
His gaze locked on mine, a mixture of wounded pride and resignation. "I had no choice. Beyond the fact that as a mother, you want the best for your children, Harmonia cannot be controlled. She has sothing of , yes, but she also has sothing of him. She’s... different."
The way she spoke of her made think of sothing else. Of how the gods rarely spoke of their children with such care, with such sadness even. For many, they were nothing more than instrunts. To Aphrodite, Harmonia seed to have been a wound that had not yet fully healed.
Which gave an idea.
"And... wouldn’t you want to see her again?"
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