Only a few moments had passed, but suddenly, the conflicting forces were gone.
Hera had vanished. Hecate dropped her hands and fell to her knees. She tried to catch her breath as her hand went up to her chest, her other arm holding her up. Her power slowly flickered out, and she breathed deeply, as if she was gently coaxing her magic to retreat. There was a soft sheen of sweat on her brow, and flickers of magic still existed in the shapes of snakes on her arms.
Aeëtes immediately moved over to her, tucking his head up under her chin, standing there, saying nothing…until she buried her head in the wool and leaned her weight against him.
Hera was gone.
There wasn’t a word spoken between them.
12
“We should stay here.” Hecate finally broke the silence between them, lifting her head and pulling herself away from Aeëtes. She leaned back against one of the broken Cyprus trees, closing her eyes. “It’s too much of a risk when you’re turned. Hera must be able to track you when you’re under her curse.”
Hecate quieted as her thoughts trailed off, her eyes popping back open. She straightened up, and Aeëtes turned his head to the side as he waited for her to continue.
“…and me. Of course. How could I be so ignorant? Hera can sense any god using their power. All immortals can.”
Aeëtes made a noise in protest, and Hecate raised a hand in acknowledgement.
“Sorry. Most of the gods can, not every immortal.” Hecate let out a long breath and leaned back against the tree, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. “We’ll have to be more careful. No traveling while you’re a ram, and I can’t use large amounts of power. She’ll be trying to find us that way.”
“Will you be okay? Not…not using your power?”Aeëtes let the question slip before he had the good sense to bite his tongue, asking presumptuous questions about gods and their power. As soon as he said it, however, he found that he didn’t really care. He had never exactly been known for his restraint, but what little pieces he did have, he lost around Hecate. The goddess startled, looking at Aeëtes with a quizzical expression formed into her brow. She was careful to not let her thoughts be known, but Hecate chewed over the question, not remembering the last time that someone had asked her that.
“What do you mean, will I be okay not using my power?”In lieu of a shrug, Aeëtes shook his head a little once more.
“I haven’t been around the gods but it seems…personal when you use your power. More than I’ve heard of any other god. It feels like it might be, frustrating, if you have to…bottle it up.”
“You shouldn’t be concerned with what I keep bottled up.”Hecate’s response was defensive, her eyes narrowing at him. There was mirth in Aeëtes’s eyes that was unmistakable, and Hecate found herself wanting to turn him into mutton for it.
“What can I say? I’m a giver. If you think that you need to release a little…pressure…”
“I will hunt you for sport,”Hecate nearly growled, picking up a small twig and throwing it at him.“Shoo. Go wait over there and don’t cause any trouble until you’re a man again.”
“You’ll let me cause you a little trouble when I’m a man then?”
“Aeëtes!” Hecate snapped, and he trotted a few paces away from her, making a noise that she swore sounded a lot like human laughter. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, content to nap off the afternoon until it was time for them to finally depart for the harbor.
? ? ?
The unlikely pairwaited in the tree line, just out of sight from the road, until dusk. Hecate blinked her eyes open and held up her hand against a soft, warm glow of golden light that expanded until it covered her vision. Once it had faded away, she stood up without looking over at Aeëtes, pulling the shawl from her shoulders and tossing it in his direction.
“Don’t tell me that you’re suddenly shy?” Aeëtes’s voice was so full of life, sometimes it made Hecate’s shoulders tense. She had never met someone who was so full of it—both life and the capacity to drive her insane.
“Is it terribly hard for you to encounter a woman who has no interest in seeing you naked all the time?” Hecate rolled her eyes and looked over at Aeëtes, who filed in behind her as they headed back towards the main road.
“Is it terribly hard? If you’d look, you’d know.” The chuckle was apparent in his voice, and Hecate turned around, shocked to find him so close to her. She had forgotten how…bighe was. Everything about him was just large, even for an immortal, and it matched his personality in such a way that she wanted to send her dogs after him. It pushed and grated against memories that she wanted to bury and never resurrect. She took a step back and shook her head, pointing a finger at him.
“We are going to have to work together for some time to figure this whole mess out. If I can’t use my magic without Hera finding us even quicker than she probably already will, it’ll take even longer. Can you please attempt to be civil?”
Aeëtes scratched his jaw, rubbing his fingers over the overgrown stubble there as he appeared pensive.
“Don’t hurt yourself too hard thinking,” Hecate quipped, turning on her heel and storming off down the road towards the docks. Aeëtes, once again, only laughed in response, jogging up to her…and it took far too much of her own strength not to stare. He had wrapped her shawl around him and tied it in the style of chlamys, but without a chiton underneath, his entire side was exposed—including his thigh.
“Don’t hurt yourself too hard staring,” he grinned in return, reaching her side and tossing an arm around her shoulders in a way that was entirely too casual. Hecate nearly froze.
“What are you doing?” she hissed, moving away from him. Aeëtes’s expression changed immediately as he stared at his arm and looked at her. His face contorted until there was an expression there that was equally challenging and playful.
“If you want me to let go,” he said and when he spoke, his voice was low, as if he was speaking to a frightened animal, “all you have to do is say the word.”
