She is my wife, Mother. My heart. Let me wake her. Please.
Venus glides toward him, sneering.
VENUS
Your heart ismine. Your loyalty ismine. Your eternal existence ismine.
She grips his chin in one hand, squeezing until his face twists in pain.
VENUS
The life of a single mortal girl matters not. Your place is at our side, fighting our foes: Juno, that treacherous bitch, and her allies.
CUPID
If I fight alongside you, will you promise to spare Psyche? To save her?
Jupiter strides toward Cupid, livid, and backhands his grandson, who crumples to his knees.
JUPITER
A puny, mewling demigod does not question the will of all-powerful Jupiter. Your precious mortal will be dead before this battle ends, a fitting punishment for your defiance.
Cupid weeps. Venus clasps him to her bosom and dries his tears.
VENUS
Do you understand, my son? Do you now understand what obedience means?
CUPID
I do. I will obey.
Cupid strides from the room without another glance at Psyche.
2
THE FIRST TIME ALEX ENCOUNTERED THE CONCEPT OF“extra,” he’d related to it immediately, on an almost visceral level.Oh, yes, that’s what I am. Much like the moment his mother had explained what his diagnosis of ADHD meant.
Not everyone appreciated his personality, but so be it. Not everyone appreciated deep-fried turkey on Thanksgiving either, and that was their loss. If he was congenitally, delightfully “extra,” however, the dour woman across the room was the opposite.
Nondescript tee. Cardigan. Dark jeans. No jewelry or makeup, and no natural color in that pallid face. Even her eyebrows were relatively pale. Her avian qualities—her sharp features, her short, round frame—were the only memorable things about her appearance, really, other than those eyes.
It might help if she actually said something.Anything.
But she didn’t. If at all possible, she didn’t even acknowledge him.
“Hey, Lauren, pass me that medicine ball,” he called out to her. “The one to your left.”
She answered without looking up. “Nope.”
An hour ago, she’d settled herself on a weight bench in the hotel’s empty fitness room, eyes on her e-reader and not him. Even though he was both sweaty and shirtless, states which—he had been informed by trustworthy sources—showed him to best advantage and reliably drew the attention of anyone attracted to men.
Huh. Maybe—
“Hey, Lauren, are you into dudes? Like, at all?” He raised his arms over his head in a luxuriant stretch, then flexed his biceps appealingly, in hopes the incentive might induce her to raise her head.
Again, not a single glance upward. “Not your business.”
