Maybe Aphrodite has it all wrong.Hecate mused as she left the cabin.Maybe it’s Hephaestus that we should pray to when we are broken, when our hearts and minds are shattered with feelings of affection. Hearts are fickle things, and they must be put back together carefully… Maybe we need the craftsman to fix us when we splinter, not the Goddess of love.
Hecate was deep in her thoughts as she stepped onto deck, expecting that it would be empty so close to sunrise. It would be busy enough soon. There was no time to waste, but this early, she was praying for a brief reprieve in the sea air.
She didn’t get it.
As soon as she looked up, there he was. Aeëtes was standing across the deck from her, leaning against the railing. He was staring right at her, having turned when he heard the door from the galley open. Hecate paused as her heart got stuck in her throat, nearly choking on her own surprise. She quickly pushed her face back to stoicism, hoping that he hadn’t seen the flicker of surprise on her face.
He had.
Aeëtes pushed himself off the railing and began walking towards her, slowly. Yet again, he reminded her of a predator, his gaze leveled at her with gentle eyes that still seemed lit from within. Hecate swallowed thickly and raised her chin slightly, hoping that she looked every bit composed. How this conversation played out would define how they related to one another after last night.
She took a few steps away from the door, positioning herself at the side of the boat, overlooking the water. Aeëtes quietly came up beside her, joining her and saying nothing. They both stared out at the endless horizon, getting lost in the clouds and the sea. Hecate could feel his body next to hers, and she knew that he didn’t have magic, but she was questioning it these days. She could feel his presence like witchcraft, a heavy, heady feeling that consumed her senses when he was around her. Even though they weren’t touching, just the presence of him so close to her was enough to trigger a barrage of memories of the night before.
It didn’t help that he looked positively sinful in the early daylight, a true son of Helios. It was as if his father’s favor meant that he looked desperately delicious in each turn of the light, dark curls brushing his shoulders, set free from their usual leather cord. Hecate might have felt a little bit better if she knew that he was equally unhinged by her presence—and Aeëtes’s thoughts were possessed.
My gods.When he had watched her emerge from the galley, it took everything in him to not run towards her.I’ve never seen a single thing that compares to her face in the morning.He fought to keep his eyes on the horizon and not openly stare at the goddess next to him, who glittered with magic and power. He knew she could destroy him and barely lift a finger. He wanted to run his hands through her braid and let it loose, to watch how the salty winds would whip it around her face…what she would look like carefree. It was the one expression that he hadn’t seen on Hecate’s face yet. They had come close on Aeaea, he could tell, but something was holding her back.
If you tell me what it is…I’ll slay it.Aeëtes found himself promising silently to Hecate’s profile.Whatever is keeping you from me and from this, whatever makes you deny whatever I feel is happening between us…tell me what it is. I’ll destroy it.
They sat there for a few more moments, neither person wanting to be the one who broke the silence. Aeëtes, as usual, had no problem playing the fool, so he did.
“Sleep well, Hecate?” He propped one elbow up on the railing and turned to look at her, angling his whole body towards hers. Hecate’s lips curled up into a small smirk, even if she didn’t turn to look at him, and he counted that as a win.
“I don’t think there would be any point in denying that. Yes, I slept well.”
Point one for Aeëtes.He couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he mentally cheered himself.
“You were asleep before I even left,” he noted, a playful tone in his voice. He knew better then to take it to a serious place too quickly. He had to be cautious with her; he’d seen the night before how she reacted to him admitting his feelings.
“I was,” Hecate turned to face him, the slightest blush on her cheeks. “I do suppose that means I owe you.”
Two points for Aeëtes!He nearly pumped his fist in the air but managed to give a slight shrug.
“Nonsense.” He leaned in closer, an arm tentatively going to wrap around her waist. “If I ever have the pleasure of getting your lips, or any part of you, on me, little witch, it won’t be because youowe me.”Aeëtes nearly purred the words in her ear, and Hecate found her hand tightening on the railing as she nearly melted into the floorboards. “It will be because you are begging to touch me, to feel me…as much as I needed to touch you.”
Aeëtes pulled away, releasing his grip on her waist and giving her a small shrug. He leaned back against the side of the ship, bearing his weight on both of his elbows.
“You’re awfully confident of that. Again,” Hecate chided him, but they both knew that there was no heat in her voice. He merely shrugged, turning to look at her and winking. The silence settled back over them, but it was comfortable this time. Ironically, acknowledging the attraction between them had made it less awkward. At least they both knew that they were suffering.
Hecate reveled in the ease of his company for only a few moments until she could feel her treacherous mind working overtime again. Her thoughts drifted to her anxieties once more, always waiting in the wings, enforcing that he only wanted her for one thing. That Aeëtes couldn’t possibly feel anything for her beyond the bounds of lust. It didn’t matter what he said or did. She sat there for another few minutes, feeling suddenly like she was about to explode, her anxiety coming on quickly and building in her until she felt pressurized.
You’ll see.Her brain was wicked.Ask him. Ask him why he loves the sea, why he doesn’t want to return to Colchis or be king.She blurted it out before she could control herself.
“Why don’t you want to be king?” She turned to look at him, and Aeëtes looked stunned. He recovered quickly, shrugging and running a hand through his hair.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to be…chained down, I guess. I have love for my adoptive parents, but it’s hard. If I stay in Colchis and take up the crown after my father, then, well, that’s who I am. It feels like doing that would erase part of me. The wild part. The immortal part. I don’t know if I’m making any sense…”
“I get it,” Hecate held up a hand gracefully, cutting him off. “It’ll stifle you if you have to conform in any way. You’ll have to deny parts of yourself if you were tied down, as you said, in any way.”
Aeëtes snapped his fingers in response, looking at her with a smile.
“Yes! That’s it. You understand.”
“I understand perfectly.” Hecate’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as all of her worst fears were confirmed. “If you’ll excuse me.” She stepped away from him quickly, disappearing back below deck, as Aeëtes watched her fleeting form in confusion. He shook his head, letting out a long, slow breath as he looked up towards the sky.
I don’t know what it is that has you so spooked, little witch…but if you think I’m going to go anywhere, you’re wrong.
19
