Heph: Modern Descendants 3, page 13
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Hestia planned a special feast for dinner the following night. The festive ritual would occur afterward and I felt privileged to partake in the dance of worship to the fire goddess. We girls were giddy with excitement, but Flame remained in her room. We didn’t learn much more of her meanderings other than she harbored Pan in the stables and Puma out in the woods. Playing both boys, she tried to help form a truce between two obvious rivals. I would guess they each adored her and someone would eventually get burned in the triangle of friendship. Zeke and Pollo left sometime during the late hours for rooms at Temple’s stable, a place I avoided as a former city girl who was afraid of horses.
“Dammit.” Reaching for a pot, it clattered to the brick floor and a thin layer of water splashed outward. I bent at the waist to pick it up and swore again. “Shit.”
One hand held wrapped in the other, the sting of a fresh burn boiled on my palm and the edge of my thumb. Ember stepped to my aid.
“What are you doing?” She giggled with her non-scolding tone.
“I was trying to help. I boiled water.”
“And you burned yourself?” Ember tugged my hand to the sink as she questioned me, but she should have known better. I was a nightmare in the kitchen. Picking up the pot, Heph stood near enough for me to get a whiff of his balsam pine scent. I didn’t know where he came from. He placed the metal cookery on the counter near the sink, and looked into the pot, where minimal water remained.
“Did you burn boiling water?” He chuckled, and I turned to give him a scathing look. “You can make fire, but you can’t cook?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. The warmth of his eyes washed over me, bringing me instant comfort after a restless night. “Well, you can make weapons, form artistic sculptures, but your aim sucks.”
He burst into laughter. His laughter grew louder like hammers pounding wood, and I found I liked the rhythm of it as it beat out of his chest.
“Phyre, you know my aim does not suck. I explained it to you.” His eyes playfully stared at me, daring me to take his meaning. “I have a strategy of hitting around the target,” he said, drawing a circle in the air around my head, “before taking aim at the center.” His finger pointed at my heart—the center of his target. It ached to be speared by him. The arrow already punctured me deep with a wound I was certain to never recover from when he left. I was sorry for my outburst the day before, shouting my history at him and then walking away in frustration.
If we were to build anything between us, we would have to remain a secret, even if I didn’t want to be another notch in his belt. He’d already had an affair with Adara. As much as they thought it was concealed, Hestia knew of its failure. I didn’t want to be a failure either, but I’d fail myself if I didn’t give into the desire I had for this man, who surprisingly cupped my face, in the middle of the kitchen and kissed my forehead.
“God, I love you,” he chuckled at my ear, and my heart leapt. I stared up at him, the words on the tip of my lips when another clatter broke the spell. We both turned to find Adara near the large six-burner stove. “The expression on your face, I mean,” he corrected louder, and I turned back to him. His eyes shadowed a bit. “I love the expression on your face.”
His hands remained on my cheeks and my shoulders lowered, not even realizing I had tensed at his words. He pinned me in place with the intensity of his eyes. I couldn’t move, despite the awareness we were the center of attention in the kitchen. I had a sense of Ember near me by the sink, and Adara remained by the stove. Hestia had walked into the room from the large dining room, and Ashin worked on the counter behind Heph. But none of that activity mattered while he looked at me like that, holding my face tenderly between his large hands. His head lowered, and my lids closed. His breath warmed my face, and just when I thought his mouth would touch mine in the middle of the chaos, Seraphine called his name.
“Heph, can you help me elongate the table? It’s rather stiff at one end.” Her words rattled in giggles as she teased, and Heph turned a deep shade of red. He kissed my nose, despite the audience. So much for secrets, I decided, as he stepped back to help assist with the table for our additional guests.
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Dinner preceded our celebration. Flame returned to the fold, her transgression not mentioned. Whatever happened would have to wait for later explanation. Zeke and Pollo joined us with chatter from Zeke’s estate, Olympic Oils. I watched Heph, who ate with an ear to his father, ignoring the gossip and rumors while waiting for news that involved him. There was no mention of the girl to whom he had been engaged, and I sighed with thankful relief as our meal progressed. The feast shifted our energy, filling us not only with good food but the laughter and cheer of good company. The energy of love between Solis and Veva, and Persephone and Hades, covered our table and we toasted to love in any form: home and hearth, family and friends.
Gathering in the yard after dinner, we formed a circle of sisters, and unheard music danced in my head. The forest became our instruments, strumming out the opening chords with the faint rustle of leaves waving in the wind.
So the song goes
Of a girl who is gone,
Somewhere, she lost her way.
My feet found the rhythm I’d practiced for weeks. Instantly entranced, I moved. A simple drum beat in my head as I held my torch and stepped toward Ember, my partner. Not looking at one another, but lost in our own worship of our gift, we circled arms and spun in opposite directions.
Follow the flame,
It knows the way
To safety free from harm;
Releasing one another, the tempo increased, violins strung through the whisper of trees rustling, calling to me, and I turned to face the dark limbs. Arms spread wide at my sides, I twisted left and then right when the blare of bagpipes crunched from the cold leaves at my bare feet. Nature played the rhythmic sounds that entranced me.
A home for the fire
A hearth for the heart
A place for the weary to stay.
With a sway and a skip, my fire sisters and I shimmied and slithered in a circle, intricately weaving amongst each other in silent praise. Dressed only in white, with mountain laurel crowns on our head, we danced like princesses, offering up soul and body to our protectress.
Be who you are
Free from the harm
Let the fire sway.
My arm swung graciously outward at my side, reaching for one sister and then pulling back in search of another. Consumed by the sisterhood and the swirl of the flames in my torch, I twirled and tiptoed over the damp grass as the music of nature played on.
So the song goes
Of a girl needing home,
The brave will find her way.
The drum of the wind rumbled on as the pipes from the leaves at my feet hit a crescendo too high, and over the earth, my feet did fly, carrying me away in my head. Time stood still while we moved, as I became one with the flame in my hand.
To be who she is
To live how she pleases
To see her fire as strength.
We drew closer to our destination, pacing the dance without thought as we travelled the trail to the temple hidden in the woods. The foliage skittered in response, whistling with a whirl as the final string strummed in the trees, and the last beat of a drum brought the sounds of nature to a sharp end.
Set the flame free
Dance round the rings
Let the fire sway.
We stood, breathless and anxious, with our gift in hand as the final words hummed from silent lips.
So the song goes
A girl found her home,
The light, within, her way.
We circled the set of columns structured as twelve large pillars representing twelve months under a domed sky. The river roared a background waltz as we fell into step and surrounded the marble structure. Each sister stood outside her set of pillars, separate from one another, but then in unison we turned and entered the gaps for the center. A stone basin filled with kindling lit instantly as we bent in worship to the wood, sacrificing itself so we may spread our flames. The fire whooshed upward, igniting instantly and filling the small space as six faces watched our inner gift take flight. The space lit to orange and yellow, dancing in shadow over our cheeks as eyes twinkled in wonder at the power before us. When Hestia entered, we turned one by one to leave, letting our mother have a moment alone with the flame.
In exhaustion and exhilaration, we walked home silently, allowing the experience to wash over us. A smaller replicate of the fire burned in the fire pit in the yard, surrounded by chairs awaiting our return. Heph sat among the seats as did Hades and Persephone, Solis and Veva, and Zeke. They watched the dance as quiet observers, knowing they witnessed something sacred, but separate from them. Wine was passed by Zeke as we sat. Hestia would not return for a while.
As the ancient ritual settled around us, a new tradition occurred. Seraphine would sing to us. Her guitar rested near a stump and she reached for it when the timing seemed appropriate.
“Solis,” she prompted. “Care to join me?”
“Oh, I can’t sing.” His laughter boomed breaking the last of the lingering thoughts for celebratory fire and the first of the crackling spirit of flames.
“Oh, he can,” Veva giggled. “Trust me, he can sing.”
Solis shook his sandy blond hair and nodded at Seraphine to pick something. If he knew it, he’d try his best, he said. To my surprise, he instantly knew the tune, a song of longing, a call for home, and a need for connection with another. Instantly my eyes found Heph’s over the smoky aura of the flames. The meeting of our eyes formed an intense moment, similar to his watching me in the woods the first time we met. Do I know you? he asked, and my heart leapt with yes, before I realized the answer. Something within him spoke to something in me that first day, and I had wasted days in between. I couldn’t wait any longer.
When the song ended, Seraphine broke into more soul piercing songs, folksy and rich with her smoky, flirty tone. The atmosphere shifted but I remained on edge. My heart thudded under the white shift. I didn’t want Heph to get away from me. If all I had was one night with him, I wanted to take it and keep securely wrapped within it. I would not drag forth the past, nor would I smother the future. As the night drifted on, the more restless I became. Eventually, I excused myself to watch a private flame, in need of reflective quiet and solitude to calm the volcano threatening to erupt within me. I lit the candle in my room, and sat at the window, letting cool air seep inward to suck out the smoke. Shortly after taking my window seat, I noticed Heph’s broad back standing at the entrance to the studio barn. He stopped for a moment and turned in my direction. Hands at his sides, the slightest of nods gave me the courage I needed to seize the night.
phyre
My heart raced as I ran from the house for the barn. Not bothering to check for witnesses, I slipped through the large sliding door. The wooden structure awash in darkness did not deter me. I knew the way. I followed the rough wall to the stairs and took them two at a time to the loft. The first door on the left stood closed with a thin ray of light seeping under the door. I knocked but didn’t wait for an answer. I cracked open the door as I did the night I watched him pleasure himself. That image of him consumed me and my heart nearly leapt from my chest as I curled around the door, closing it quickly.
“Hang on.” The gruff voice of Heph carried through to the living room. The light from his bedroom illuminated the small space. Instantly, his presence filled the doorframe as he buttoned up his jeans. Standing shirtless, his head rose slowly and drank in every inch of me still clothed in the white slip of a dress, pressed against the door to his space.
“Phyre.” His voice breathed my name, and I sprinted for him, afraid I’d lose my nerve if I didn’t just leap from the flames licking inside me. He met me halfway in the dark room, and my arms circled his neck while my legs trapped his hips. His mouth crushed mine, and my hands snaked over his head, holding him to my face. Lips rushed with licks and sparking sips of sensitive skin on cheeks and necks and jaws. He carried me to his bed, and we fell in a tumble to cool sheets under a too-bright light.
“Let me get the light,” he muttered between sucking my chin and nibbling at my neck.
“No,” I exhaled, afraid to let him out of my arms. His large body half-covered mine. A heavy leg perched between my thighs, and my hips forced friction as desperation ached at my center. With a tender push, I pressed Heph to roll on his back, and my legs straddled him. Instantly, my core met the length of him, thick and thrusting upward against me. A guttural sigh escaped my lips. I was lost. My hips rocked, rubbing the damp, thirsty center of me, parched from a year without drink, over the seam of his jeans.
Sitting upward, my hair tumbled forward. A thick hand rose and wrapped long strands around his fingers.
“You are so beautiful.” The compliment was filled with awe and something more, something I longed for, but didn’t dare to ask aloud. Do you love me, Heph? The words rang desperate in my head. The devil side of me decided she didn’t care for an answer. I rippled over him, allowing my hips to take control, flickering at the wick beneath my thighs. My thoughts lost in a smoky fog of desire, I pulsed over his thickness, anticipating the spark.
“Heph,” I ground his name through clenched teeth as I concentrated on the uncontrollable passion slowly erupting inside me, volcanic and ready for release. Tumbling and tickling up my skin. Curling and folding at my knees. Climbing and crawling over my thighs. The edge of the lava, ready to leap.
Little Spark, I heard shouted, but muffled through the roar of magma, licking and lapping at my inner walls. I ignored the cry, letting my body roll onward: rubbing, searching, seeking a path I’d suppressed.
Phyre, cried somewhere in the distance, garbled, as if said through thick wood. Wood that burned and bent under the power of seductive flames, kissing and cursing in its destruction. I could not respond to my name. My body fell forward, gripping at anything to tether me as the eruption neared the mouth of my core.
Suddenly, the world spun and I dropped several feet, landing with an umph on something hard. Instantly, something heavy covered me entirely, and I rolled to my side on the coolness of the wood floor. Tender pats and heavy beats rumbled over my body as the sound of my name filled my ears, like being underwater and breaking the surface.
“Phyre?” The strained voice of Heph questioned me. Breathing heavily, my eyes focused on the ceiling as I heard the shuffling of feet near my head.
Too heavy, I whispered in thought. Too hot.
A blanket rested over my body, smothering me, as the smell of burnt fabric filled the air. Rolling to my side again, I tried to lift my upper body, pressing down with my hands to sit up. Instant pain rippled over my palms and shot up my forearms. My elbows gave way, and I tumbled downward, smacking my face on the floor.
“Phyre!” My name roared to life as thick hands covered my shoulders and pressed me back. I stared upward as Heph knelt over me. My eyes blinked in confusion. A heavy palm brushed over my forehead, cool to the touch. My face felt warm, and my skin dripped with sweat.
“What happened?” My throat croaked the infamous question, choking on the words as if I’d inhaled smoke.
“Fire.” His gruff voice whispered in concern. He tugged on my shoulders, lifting me upward to a seated position, and the blanket over my shift slipped to my waist. My trembling hands lifted to my eyes to find them blackened and smoldering.
“What did I do?” Tears instantly filled my eyes and clawed at my throat. I turned to Heph, finding a storm within those sweet chocolate eyes. “What did I do?” My voice shrieked in harsh quiet.
“You set the bed on fire.”
I couldn’t even cover my face with my hands in embarrassment. I simply hung my head. Instantly, hoisted into the air, Heph carried me into the bathroom and stepped into a lukewarm shower.
“Should I get Ember?” His voice trembled as he held me pressed against him under the weak stream.
“Don’t leave me,” I whispered and his lips brushed my forehead. He set me on my feet and lifted one hand at the wrist to hold it under the stream. It burned at first, and I flinched.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Suddenly, something occurred to me. “Did I hurt you?” My eyes scanned his partially clad body. The solid structure of his chest, the hard ripple to his abs, and the strength of his biceps glistened with sweat. Rivers of water slithered over his glorious skin.
“Did I burn you?” Tears continued to fall as did my voice. How could I do this again? I’d practically attacked him when he was no threat to me.
“I’m fine.” A thick hand brushed over my hair, partially hit by the spray. Looking down, I saw my sodden dress, smudged with ash in places, charred in one spot, forming a burn hole large enough for a fist. Heph’s jeans grew darker as they soaked up water on one side of him.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’m fine.” Lips came to my forehead again, pressing tenderly against my clammy skin. “I think we just need to cool you down.”
“I ruined everything.”
He responded only by shaking his head as we stood under the stream. After a few minutes, I shivered.
“Hang on a second.” He stepped from the glass enclosure and exited the bathroom. Returning, he lifted a flannel shirt for my attention before hanging it on a hook at the back of the door.
“When you’re ready,” he spoke sheepishly, looking at the tile floor while I remained fully clothed in the shower. “I’ll wait in the living room.”
My heart ripped from my chest the instant the door closed, shutting him off from me.
What have I done? I wanted to scream, but the truth of the details lingered, as if in a dream. The excitement, the desire, possessed me, and the fire remained uncontained. Without concentration or thought, the flames broke free as my body craved something it hadn’t had before. Heph’s touch gave me a taste. Now, my body wanted a feast. In my desire to consume him, my gift nearly did. A living, breathing thing, fire has its own hunger, and I’d been on a diet too long.
