Heph: Modern Descendants 3, page 17
“I love you, Hephaestus.”
heph
“I love you.” The words lingered in the smoky air of flames blown out and fragrant candles, flickering over my heart and warming my insides. I love you, I responded in my thoughts, certain she heard me. But when I woke to the pounding at my door, and not a trace of her presence but melted candles and dripping wax, I believed I imagined the night.
“Heph!” The banging on my door rattled the frame. “Heph, I need Phyre!” Hopping to the door as I slipped into my jeans, I found a pacing Ember standing in the hallway. Her eyes travelled past me.
“Heph, I need Phyre. And you. You come too.”
“I…” I didn’t know where she was. “What’s going on?”
“I’m so sorry.” Breathing heavy, her hand covered her chest. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s Adara. Please, come quick.”
Stepping back into the room, I reached for a shirt and slipped into shoes.
“What happened?” I asked, panicking myself at the loss of Phyre and the concern for Adara. “Adara. She…she walked into the sea.” Ember’s breath caught, and her hand covered her mouth, holding back a sob.
“What?” I bellowed, tugging the door closed and following after her.
“She didn’t come to dinner. When I went to check on her, the balcony door was open, with no sign of her. I had a strange feeling something wasn’t right. Just a gut feeling.” Her fist covered her lower belly. “Seraphine headed toward the beach. When she found her, she called out for Ashin.”
“What happened?” I asked again, racing toward the beach where the iridescent glow of something large and green bent over a body on the rocky shore. Ashin knelt near the huddled body, sobbing and rocking as the green creature curled forward to cover Adara. Seraphine beat on his back, slapping frantically at the scaly skin.
“Get off of her! Get off of her!” Seraphine shrieked.
“Hey,” I shouted, reaching the rocky shore and sprinting the final steps to Adara. Suddenly, I stopped. “Triton?”
Not breaking his motion, pumping on Adara’s water-sodden chest, my cousin bent to cover Adara’s mouth, breathing into her. The irony of my cousin working to save the life of a woman on the shore startled me. Typically, he took the breath of those consumed by water, releasing them to the sea.
“What happened?” I asked a third time as Ember caught up to our gathering. And where is Phyre?
“I found her in the water.” Triton sat up, continuing to work on her chest. “Come on, baby, breathe.” His endearing demand surprised me.
“Do you know her?”
“No.” He pressed again, and water spurt from her mouth, choking her in a flood of salty spew. Triton turned her sideways, allowing the water to pour from her lips. Placing her on her back, he lowered to cover her lips. It was more than giving her oxygen. My cousin kissed her, and Adara’s mouth responded. The kiss was brief, and Triton released her slowly. Their eyes held one another as he pulled back, and finally looked up at me.
My raised eyebrow questioned him.
“She was in the water,” he repeated, and then his eyes shifted down to her. His green-skinned hand covered her forehead and brushed back her dark hair. Adara’s eyes remained on her savior, but Ashin fell on her sister.
“What were you thinking? What were you doing?” Her sobs fell harder, and Adara’s head turned slowly. A limp hand came to the back of her sister.
“Who are you?” Ember asked, eying the strange coloring of my cousin.
“I’m Triton. Heph’s cousin. Man, what are you doing here?” His jovial face broke into a wide grin despite the tragedy before us.
“I’m…this is Adara. One of Hestia’s girls.”
“Hestia lets her girls leave the home?” His questioning black eyes fell back to Adara. Their eyes held one another and I felt uncomfortably like an intruder on something private.
“Maybe we should get Adara up to the hotel.” Ember’s voice behind me startled me from my observation of my cousin and my ex-lover.
I bent to lift her at the same time Triton scooped her up in his arms. He stood without effort, holding her close to his chest.
“You can’t go up there like this, can you?” I nodded to the bed and breakfast, knowing my green- skinned cousin could not walk among the humans with his odd coloring. He needed time to morph, and we didn’t have time to wait.
“Are you a fish?” Seraphine asked, regaining her composure after beating on his back while he tried to save her sister.
“If I were, I’d be fish pâté by now, from the beating you gave me.” His smile spread across his face, and Seraphine stared at him and his teasing tone.
“He’s not a fish. He’s my cousin. His father is Zeke’s brother.” The girls stood around exchanging glances while Adara rested in his arms. Taking note of their compromising position, he stepped toward me and handed me Adara.
“Take care of her.” His voice faltered as he looked at her. “Stay out of the deep end, baby,” he said to her. He spun and quickly ran for the ocean, gracefully diving into the waves. An iridescent glow filtered at the surface before disappearing into the dark water.
“What is he?”
“He’s a god,” Adara stated.
“Uhmmm…mmm…mmm…” Seraphine replied. “That he is.”
Ember began to laugh, and the sadness of the moment broke, while Adara soaked my shirt in my arms.
“Let’s get this fish to your rooms.” I tried to tease, but the question of her presence in the ocean lingered among all of us. As we barged into their room, I noticed Phyre sitting on her bed through the open door. Instantly she stood and stepped toward us.
“What happened?”
Laying Adara on the bed, I brushed back her hair, feeling the weight of Phyre’s eyes on me.
“I’m sorry,” Adara croaked, looking up to me, her throat rough from the salt water intake, and her hand cupped my cheek.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” I said, brushing back her hair. Looking back, I caught Phyre watching me. Her eyes drifted to Adara and back to me. The sorrowful expression on her face tore at my heart. She misunderstood, but guilt ate at me. Did Adara try to kill herself because of me? Seraphine’s voice interrupted Phyre’s troubled gaze.
“We need to get her changed,” the spunky, blue-streaked girl said.
Phyre looked away from me, and on that note, I took my leave, worried once more that I had lost Phyre forever.
heph
The next day, I dressed quickly and went to the girls’ rooms. Swollen, red eyes met mine.
“Ashin, what happened?”
She shook her head and opened the door. Adara sat up in bed, the covers pulled over her waist. Instantly, I noticed the second room sat empty.
“Where did they go?” I addressed Adara.
“They left. Seraphine wanted to get to Hestia. Ashin decided to stay with me.” Her sad dark eyes looked at me. “Our sister is getting married.” The words hit me hard. “And she’s having a baby.”
Images of tiny girls with cherry-rosebud hair filtered through my mind. I didn’t even know if it was safe for Phyre to carry children, and I’d never thought of having my own until that moment, but none of it mattered, as Phyre was gone, and I still didn’t understand what happened.
“Why didn’t you go back with them? You could have returned later for the wedding.”
Adara’s eyes shifted to the open curtains, draped around the large glass door.
“I wanted to stay. It’s time, Heph. I can’t keep hiding at Hestia’s.”
I looked at Ashin, who sat on the second bed and lowered her head.
“What are you hiding from?” The question came from somewhere deep in me.
“Life, Heph,” she smiled weakly at me. A new thought struck me.
“What were you thinking last night?”
She shrugged a shoulder and the guilt of her disappointment seized me. Had I done this to Adara? I asked myself. Did my return and subsequent rejection drive her to such extremes? Surely, jealousy could not be the reason she walked into the ocean and hoped to drown.
“I…” she paused, clamping her lips tight. After the midnight swim, her true color returned today. Adara shook her head, and a tear dripped from Ashin once again.
“What secrets do you keep?” I sat next to Adara, my hand coming to her covered knee. Her head shook as her eyes closed briefly. “You can tell me anything, Adara. After what we shared, I still consider you a friend. Practically family. Let me help you.” My eyes watched her face as a silent tear trickled down her cheek. Beautiful skin, soft and supple once under my rough hands, she could have been everything to me. I would not have denied her anything, but Phyre confirmed that I deserved more. I deserved more than giving of myself to someone who only half-heartedly wanted me. When Adara refused to answer, I moved onto another question stabbing at me.
“Did Phyre go with them?”
Adara’s head swung back to me.
“She did. I’m so sorry.”
Why? My head screamed but my mouth didn’t ask. In some ways, I knew the reason. Phyre had her own guilt. She felt the same as me. Adara had tried to kill herself because of the lost love, the happiness of her family around her, and the future she didn’t see.
“I’m here for you,” I offered and a slow smile crossed Adara’s lips. Lips that once worshiped my body but did not whisper I love you in the night. Her hand reached for mine and slipped into my palm.
“I know, Heph. I know.”
+ + +
Three months passed.
I escorted both Adara and Ashin to their sister’s wedding, taking pleasure in the pride they found in honoring her day. They walked her down the aisle, giving her away to her human husband, Malek, who seemed like a decent man. Still slender, a tiny bump at Eshne’s belly hinted at the growing pregnancy. No one in attendance seemed to care she was pregnant before the wedding, too wrapped up in the happiness shared between the loving couple.
Adara looked lovely in a dress of leaf green, while Ashin wore something sunshine yellow. The contrast to their typical darker shades, clothing of jeans and flannels, brightened Adara’s mood. Day by day she smiled more and lost the far-off stare. Ashin wanted to return to Hestia’s Home, as she told me in private, but I didn’t think it safe for Adara’s fragile feelings yet.
“I want to go home,” Ashin whined one evening. I’d moved the girls into a small cottage on a short street that dead-ended with the beach. They shared a room while I took the second bedroom.
“I know, but not yet.”
“How long, Heph?” Ashin sighed heavily. “California is beautiful, but I don’t want to stay here. I miss Flame.” Attached to the younger girl as a substitute for her own sister, Ashin had a special bond with Flame. Being estranged from their younger sister for a few years, she didn’t feel as protective of Eshne as Adara had. In fact, the attraction of her wayward husband to her younger sister still stung, feelings suppressed but present. No one wants to feel as if she is second to someone else. I thought of Adara. She would have replaced Lovie for me, and I replaced her with Phyre.
Guilt cut through me at the thought of Phyre. At first, I cursed her for leaving without an explanation. Then I swore at myself for not following her, trying to figure out what happened, but I’d already chased after her once. I came here because of her. I remained here because of Adara. Only Phyre burned in my thoughts, my destiny flickering like a lit candle where I made a wish for love. I did not hide my feelings for Phyre, although I didn’t speak of her absence. I hadn’t followed Phyre, in that moment feeling a greater sense of duty to Adara and a commitment to Hestia to take care of her daughters.
“It’s almost spring. Everything will be in bloom,” Ashin added, her thoughts far away, up the coastline, in another state. Taking in the sunshine and the rolling sea waves, I had to agree my thoughts matched hers.
“Did you ever call her?” Ashin asked breaking into my thoughts.
“Call her?”
“You know, on the phone.” I stared at Ashin, so similar to her sister, and yet a softer look graced her face.
“No.” I snorted, like it was a ridiculous thought.
“It’s the twenty-first century.”
I stared at her. I didn’t have need of a phone. There was no one I wanted to call. When I lived on the estate of Olympic Oil, everything I needed was there. When I travelled, I didn’t have a care or concern. I didn’t own a cell phone.
“I…I wouldn’t know what to say.” Time had passed, and again I’d let another relationship fail; only this one lingered, deep in my heart. In trying to do right by Adara, I let Phyre slip away. I often thought of our night together: the feel of her around me, the touch of her hands on me. My hand came to my forehead, scrubbing as if holding in a headache, wiping away the thoughts of her tenderness.
“Don’t you miss her?”
“With every breath I take,” I whispered. At a shifting-sound behind me, I looked up to see Adara standing in the patio doorway. Her arms crossed, she smiled softly. It didn’t reach her eyes, but her eyes didn’t look as sad. Being in California was a good fit for her. The warmer temperatures and sunny days brightened her face.
“I think you should go,” she said, shifting her gaze to the ocean behind me. “She’s waiting for you.”
“She left me.” I paused. “And you don’t know that.”
“Yes, Heph. Yes, I do.” Her smile remained the same, frozen in place as she turned away from me. Ashin looked at me, her curved lips silent, but her eyes spoke the truth. Adara knew about waiting, and I did, too.
+ + +
“What the fuck are you thinking?” Solis stormed the cottage door, passing me for the small living room one night. Veva followed, but stopped to kiss my cheek.
“Well, great to see you, too,” I muttered. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” I asked louder.
“We heard you were still here. Zeke knows everything. More importantly, where is Phyre?”
“Home.” The word snapped from my lips.
“Home? Hestia’s Home? Then isn’t that where you should be?”
“I’m helping Adara.” Relief washed over me that the girls were on a walk outside.
Veva stared at me. “I think you’re hiding.”
“From what?” I snapped.
“Love.” The word hung in the air between us like a rain cloud.
“I thought you loved Phyre,” Veva’s voice softened.
“I do.” The words tumbled out. I hadn’t told anyone, not even Phyre. I should have told her my feelings that night. Maybe she wouldn’t have left. Maybe she wouldn’t have misunderstood. I should have told her, only I thought I’d have the next day with her and every day after that.
“I’m confused. You love Phyre, who isn’t here, but you’re here, helping Adara.” Vee’s eyes narrowed. I stared at my fast-talking sister, her hands on her hips. Her sapphire eyes rimmed with turquoise gleamed at me. Solis came to stand by his girl.
“There…there was an incident with Adara, and after Phyre left, I decided to stay.”
“Phyre left?”
“Yes.”
Veva’s arms crossed and her foot tapped.
“Oh, boy, not the foot tap,” Solis teased. My sister glared at him, but he winked in response.
“But you love Phyre?” Veva repeated.
“Yes,” I sighed, not certain where she was going with this inquisition.
“So why are you here again?”
“Ad…” Adara, I was about to answer, but Veva raised her hand.
“No, no, don’t answer that. Adara is a big girl. She can take care of herself. You’re hiding, and I won’t let you. You get in that fast car of yours, and you get your ass to Hestia’s.”
I stared at my sister, her arms waving dismissively toward the front door, as she glared at me.
“I love you, Heph.” But you aren’t the smartest guy, I expected her to say next, reminiscent of my father. “And you deserve a woman who loves you. She’s waiting for you. You know about waiting, right Heph?”
“Solis always said the right girl was waiting for me.” The moment the words crossed my lips, my heart pinched. I did know about waiting. Waiting to find the right girl to love me. Oh gods, did someday come and go? Did some night as well? A hand came to my forehead to rub the crinkled skin and puckered scar.
“I messed up, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” Veva sighed.
“Not yet.” Solis interjected. “You need a grand gesture,” his tone mocked me. “I remember someone giving me that advice. Sunsets and rainbows, I think he said, because I’m a god.” Solis’ reminder of me telling him to take advantage of who he was and go after Veva was being used against me.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“We’re here to help you,” Solis said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “But first tell me what happened with Adara.”
phyre
Heph’s body ran warm, and I needed some air. Pulling up my hair, I entered the balcony and stared out at the rolling, black ink off in the distance. The water had a powerful sound, so different from the quiet of the woods around Hestia’s Home. The only moving water I’d ever heard was the river, softly rippling, versus the harsh rolling of the waves in the ocean. Cool air blew around my neck, chilling my skin covered in Heph’s shirt. I hugged my arms around me, holding in his scent, recalling his body moving with mine. A smile crossed my lips with the memory, and my body longed for a repeat. Turning to glance over my shoulder, I saw Heph still resting, his chest rising and falling peacefully as he lay stretched out on his back.
