Arcadian Nights (5 page)

Aphrodite made a very unladylike
sound. “That is not what this is about! It was funny at first, but
now it isn’t.”

“
You can’t stand to think
of it, can you? Him fucking me. Makes your blood boil, doesn’t
it?”

“
You conniving bitch! Let
him go, or I will make sure you pay for this.”

Eris laughed. “Pay for what? Making a
man horny? How many seduction spells has Zeus put on how many
women? How many times has mortal history changed because some god
couldn’t keep his cock out of a pretty little mortal? No one can
even keep count. Look, I’ve wanted him for a long time, and he gave
me a glorious opportunity to kill two birds with one
stone.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
If I can get Hermes to
say even one word in my favor, everyone will look at me
differently. I’ll bed a man I’ve had a craving for and teach all of
you a lesson.”

Aphrodite looked shocked, but then she
laughed. “No. That can’t be it. That can’t be all.”

“
Why not? You think I’m as
petty as you and my brother? Is wanting everyone to quit suspecting
me too noble, perhaps? Or do you think I’ll use their trust to get
them all in the end?”

“
You can’t blame us for
what we think.”

“
So I’m just evil, am I?
Is that why Hermes is so repulsed?”

“
I didn’t say that. If you
knew anything about him, you’d know he doesn’t just fuck. He has
feelings for a woman when he takes her. I really don’t see that
happening with you two.”

Eris moved the cats aside and stood
up, then walked over to Aphrodite. “Maybe I’ll make him love me.
Wouldn’t it be funny if I succeeded where you failed so
miserably?”

Eris hardly had time to catch her
breath as Aphrodite threw her against the wall.

Aphrodite got right in her face and
screamed, “He could never love you! There is nothing in you to
love. No one could love you!”

“
Someone does, you jealous
bitch!”

Eris got up to see her brother Ares
holding Aphrodite’s arms behind her. “I’m fine, Ares. Just let her
go.”

Aphrodite tried to free herself, but
Ares wouldn’t let go. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear,
“You touch my sister again, and I won’t care what Zeus and Hera
say.”

Eris saw the anger on Aphrodite’s face
slowly fade. Despair replaced it. Eris shifted on her feet. She
knew she couldn’t tell Ares what to do, but she didn’t want to
watch this. “Ares, come on. Get her out of here and be done with
it.”

Ares looked at Aphrodite as tears
rolled down her red face. He laughed. “That isn’t going to work,
Aphrodite. I’m not hurting you. You like it.”

She scowled at him. “I bet you want to
fuck me so bad. You love it when I’m angry. You can’t get enough of
it.”

He released her and stepped back. “I
think I’ll live. Go.”

Aphrodite looked at both of them, her
expression angry and hurt and humiliated. Eris didn’t know if the
goddess could tell she was uncomfortable about what her brother had
done or not, but it didn’t matter. Aphrodite would never believe
Eris hadn’t planned this. Anyone who got hurt around Eris blamed
her automatically.

Aphrodite disappeared.

Eris looked at her brother. “She
wouldn’t have hurt me.”

His eyes flamed again. “She had no
right to touch you. You did nothing to her. Are you
hurt?”

“
No, I’m fine. I put a
spell on a man she desires, and I turned her lover against her.”
Eris touched his arm. “I didn’t mean to cause strife for
you.”

Ares shook his head. “Her charm wore
off long ago. She’s a hard lover to leave though. My good fortune
is you just made it easier for me.”

“
Yes, no one seduces a man
like she does.”

“
No one drives men insane
like she does. I’m glad to be rid of her.”

“
I hope in time that will
be true.”

Ares scowled at her. “I’m not a
lovesick pup.”

“
I didn’t say you were.
You still want her though. Or at least to fuck her a dozen more
times.”

“
Maybe so, but that’s not
what I want to talk about.”

“
Hermes?”

“
Yeah. What do you really
want?”

“
I want to bed him.
Nothing more.”

Ares crossed his arms and narrowed his
eyes. “You sure about that?”

She stared at her brother. “Excuse
me?”

“
You’ve had your eye on
him for a while.”

She laughed. “I’ve never had my eye on
anyone. Aphrodite still wants him, so he must be good. He’s an
arrogant stick-in-the-mud, and I want to crack that perfect veneer
and see what’s underneath.”

Ares eyed her for a long moment. “And
what if you like it as much as Aphrodite does?”

“
No man is going to tame
me, Ares.”

He uncrossed his arms. “Is that what
you think Aphrodite did to me?”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t even
thinking that. You really don’t love her?”

To her surprise, he took a moment to
think about it. “Not now. Perhaps I did once, when she was
mysterious and enchanting. She never opened her heart to me though.
The woman who could make me happy will.”

“
That’s sweet.” The words
were out before she could stop them. She knew Ares would scoff at
her statement.

“
Don’t make fun of
me.”

“
No, it is. You and I
aren’t like the others. Our hearts won’t be captured by looks or
words or prowess in bed. You know that.” She knew there was more to
her brother than a dashing smile and bedroom tricks. If Aphrodite
couldn’t see that, it was her loss. Eventually someone who was good
enough for him would.

He smiled. “We’re better than everyone
else?”

“
More complex.”

“
You’ve always said
that.”

“
It’s true. Ask the
Fates.”

“
They don’t tell me what
to do.”

Eris looked down at the floor. “You
think that’s what they do to me.”

Ares shrugged. “In a way. You chose
that role though. It was not assigned to you. You really sealed the
deal with that golden apple trick though. You’ve been their
favorite ever since, but you could still walk away
anytime.”

She raised one eyebrow. “So I was not
fated to serve the Fates?”

He laughed. “No. You wanted a purpose,
and they had one ready for you. You weren’t compelled.”

“
You’ve been thinking
about this.”

“
From time to time,” he
said with a shrug.

“
I won’t hurt Hermes or
anyone else. If he doesn’t relent I’ll release him
eventually.”

Ares nodded. “That might do something
in your favor. If you meant what you said.”

“
You were
listening?”

He nodded. “I knew Aphrodite would
come, so I waited. She can be petty. I wanted to be here just in
case.”

“
No harm would have come
to me, and I’m too smart to have hurt her.”

“
Can’t blame me though.
You’re the only one who loves me more than you fear me.”

“
You think your mother
fears you more than she loves you?” Ares loved her openly, but he
rarely showed affection to his mother, though Eris knew what a high
pedestal he kept her on.

“
Yes.”

She couldn’t read him. His guard was
up again, and his eyes told her nothing. “Why?”

“
Just a feeling. It’s why
she protects me. She doesn’t want me to get too angry.”

“
If you say so. I don’t
pretend to understand Hera.”

“
Be careful, Eris. Hermes
is well loved.”

“
I won’t hurt
him.”

He walked over to her and held her
chin up so she looked into his black eyes. “Don’t hurt yourself
either.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ve got it
wrong.”

“
There’s something beneath
your veneer too, my girl. Maybe someday I won’t be the only one to
see it.”

She pulled his hand away and kissed
his cheek quickly. “Get out of here. Big brother has saved the day,
and I’m fine.”

“
We’ll see what happens.”
He smiled and disappeared.

Eris sighed. If she’d had the energy,
she would have told him off a little more for his implication. She
wanted a roll in the hay, not a husband or even a lover. She
wouldn’t make a fool of herself the way Ares had with Aphrodite.
She hadn’t meant for Aphrodite to be hurt in all this, but maybe it
was for the best. The Fates had told her any strife she created
would eventually come to good. She hoped they hadn’t done so only
to win her faithful service. All of Olympus would go from hating
her to eternally laughing at her, and she knew in her heart which
one was worse.

* * * *

Hermes entered Zeus’ bedroom and
waited. The king of the gods knew he was there and would pay
attention to him when he was ready. He emerged from the bathroom
wearing black dress pants and a dark blue button down
shirt.

“
Ah. Just in time.” He
began looking through the pile of ties on the dresser.

“
Going somewhere?” Hermes
asked.

“
I have a
date.”

Hermes paused. “Hera feels like a
night out in the mortal world?”

Zeus laughed. “I have no idea what
she’s up to tonight. I have a date with a very hot and very horny
stewardess.”

Hermes couldn’t help wondering what
this would do to Hera’s influence with Zeus. He knew the god
wouldn’t be very willing to help him otherwise.

“
I see.”

Zeus looked up. “And I see you still
haven’t bedded Eris. It’s hard to tell, but you do seem just
slightly tenser.”

“
What did you want me
for?”

“
Look, why not go for it?
She’s amazing. Very inventive.”

“
I don’t want to talk
about this.”

Zeus laughed again. “I think I hit a
nerve.”

“
No, but I don’t want to
discuss her at all. I especially don’t want to hear details of that
nature.”

“
Why? You gonna get
jealous? I’m sure she’d do anything you wanted if you’d go ahead
and give in.”

Hermes slammed his hand down on the
table. “Do you mind? Honestly, I know you think this is very funny,
but it isn’t.”

Zeus appeared genuinely shocked. “I
didn’t realize it was quite this serious.”

Hermes was not afraid of Zeus, but he
knew he had acted rashly and it scared him a little. What would
Zeus do? He hadn’t meant to sound so angry, but he couldn’t help
it. Eris had obviously had her share of lovers, but he didn’t think
that made it okay for any of them to go around flaunting their
stories. He wasn’t sure why he cared, but with each passing day he
found himself feeling more defensive of her.

“
I’m sorry. I couldn’t
help it.”

“
Forget it. I’ve just
never seen you angry before.”

“
Yes, you
have.”

Zeus tilted his head, as if searching
his memory. “No, I haven’t. I’ve seen you slightly happy and that’s
about it. Maybe a tad annoyed once or twice.”

Hermes sighed. “Just give me the
message. I want to go home.”

“
Forget it.”

“
What? Look, I’m fine,
just give it to me.”

“
I had ulterior
motives.”

Hermes knew what was coming.
“What?”

“
I was going to send a
message to Eris and invite her to dinner. She’d say no because she
thinks I’m boring, but that’s fine. I was only doing it to get you
over there.”

Hermes almost smiled. Zeus was
definitely not the most dynamic or complex deity by far, but his
power and charisma subdued most. It was interesting to find that
Eris openly thought him boring, especially after she had both slept
with him and been punished by him. It said something for her taste
that she would think and say what she wanted about him without
caring what consequences might come. “Well, I’ll be leaving
then.”

“
I still think you should
bed her, but we said we’d help and we will.”

Hermes shook his head. “I’m starting
to think I need to handle this myself.” He walked out of the
bedroom, wondering how exactly to start doing just that.

* * * *

“
Selfish, vulgar bitch! Of
all the nerve! Oh, and that asshole! How dare he! How dare
he!”

Hermes had arrived home to find
Aphrodite in his kitchen making a large pink drink with, he felt
sure, more than the required amount of alcohol. Now they were in
his living room, and she had been raving for ten
minutes.

“
You didn’t have to go
over there.”

“
I wanted to help
you
!” she
spat.