Page 251 of Styx

It was as though my love

had curdled. Zeus’s decree

had taken all my warmth

from me. I could only feel

a faint echo of any love I once had.

I had turned into something else.

‘He has made me a monster, Pallas,’

I whispered hoarsely.

‘You should… you do not have to

be with me if you do not want.’

Pallas tilted my chin up

so that our eyes met.

‘I will always love you.

Nymph. Goddess. Monster.

My love for you will remain.’

His lips brushed mine

and he kissed me deeply.

Perhaps hate had not yet

destroyed every part of me,

for I kissed him back with as much

fervour as the first time eons ago.

Before I Left

I had something I needed to do.

One final act of sisterhood.

One final act of defiance

to Zeus. I searched for a messenger.

I found one hiding in the cave

Asteria and I had once loved so much.

He was wearing Perses’s seal.

He was injured, but his wings still worked.