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Ineedthis.
“Yes.” My voice is hoarse. Even as I speak, part of me is all too eager to point out that this is just as selfish as everything I’ve ever done. Two birds, one stone, or something like that. I don’t know. I can’t think clearly. “I’ll do it.”
Charon’s thumb strokes my throat, a tiny movement so brief I’m half-sure I imagined it. “What do you say, baby? He’ll give you all the submission and pleasure to balance out all the fear and pain. Is it a bargain?”
She frowns at him, obviously searching his expression for answers. I don’t know if she gets what she’s looking for, because her gaze drops to me and goes complicated. “You’ve never submitted once in your life, Orpheus. You were a selfish lover and a selfish boyfriend. You’re going to get tired of this within a day, maybe two, and go back to your life in the upper city.”
She’s wrong. I don’t have much life to go back to. Saying asmuch won’t convince her though. I don’t knowwhatwill convince her, but ultimately this isn’t something I want to bully her into doing. I never would have dreamed this was a possibility when I crossed the River Styx, but now I need her to say yes more than I need my next breath.
I hold my inhale, waiting.
Eurydice focuses on Charon once more. “You’re sure about this.”
“I meant what I said last night.” His tone goes lower yet, downright sinful. “I saw the way you watched some scenes more intently than others. You’ve spent months watching, figuring out what interests you—in theory. Time to put it into practice.”
She searches his expression. Some kind of silent communication flickers between them, a testament to their shared history and the strength of their relationship. I knew it was happening—he wouldn’t have come to me to give her closure if he didn’t care—but witnessing this small, intimate moment is a knife in my guts.
Eurydice shifts her attention to me. “You’re sure about this.”
There’s only one correct answer. “Yes.”
“So be it.” She flicks a hand at me. “Orpheus, if you’re going to insist on being on the floor, the least you can do is clean it.”
Surprise flickers through me, quickly followed by my bruised pride. Clean thefloor?I thought she was going to command me to lick her pussy or something. That, I would have been all too happy to do.
She arches a brow, and it’s like a different woman stands before me. Gone is the innocent, sweet girl who used to stand at my side, replaced now by a proud queen. “But before we begin, you will pick a safe word. Use it at any time, and the scene stops.”
“I don’t need a safe word to do chores.” I sound like a brat, but I can’t quite help it. “If you wanted a maid—”
“Pick a safe word or this goes no further.”
I bite down a curse. Either I meant what I said about penance or I didn’t. I don’t want to crawl around and clean the floors, but the only other option is going back to the upper city. Which is no option at all. I swallow hard. “Grace.”
“Good. Charon will show you where the cleaning supplies are.” She turns back to the bowl of batter, effectively dismissing me.
It stings…but that sting feels almost good. Maybe thisisthe way. I can’t time travel back into the past and change my behavior, and I can’t battle all the invisible shit between us, but I can do this.
I jolt when I realize Charon still has his hand on the back of my neck. I look up to find him watching Eurydice with a thoughtful expression on his face. He glances down at me and squeezes, just a little, before releasing me. “This way.”
I start to rise, but Eurydice’s voice stops me. “Crawl, Orpheus. It’s what good dogs do.” She speaks without looking over her shoulder, but there’s a new tension in her spine that makes me shiver.
Okay. I can do this. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I can do this. I turn carefully and crawl after Charon to the closet tucked around the corner. He sets a bucket, cleaner, and a brand-new sponge in front of me.
I stare. A mop would be easier, but I suppose that isn’t the point, is it? In the old stories my mother used to read me when I was a kid, there were always impossible tasks the heroes had to go through in order to get their just rewards. I don’t know that I deserve a reward, but I can do the task.
Crawling with a bucket and cleaner is awkward as fuck, but I manage to get back to the kitchen and fill the bucket halfway with hot water. By the time I’ve started on one corner of the decently sized kitchen, Eurydice has finished cooking the pancakes and served them on two plates at the small dining table in the next room over.
Charon doesn’t even look at me as he steps around me to take a seat across from her. “Thanks.”
“I am not happy with you.” But she nudges the syrup over to him. “Can you talk about last night?”
I keep scrubbing, giving myself over to the repetitive motion. The floor is already pretty clean, which means I don’t have to pause in one spot too long. As I inch along, it strikes me that I’ve never done anything like this.
Oh, I’ve always picked up after myself, but even from the time I was a small child, we had a housekeeper. I might have been cut off from everything else in my normal life, but my mother has sent Thyia to me on a regular basis to assure herself I’m not wasting away in filth.
There’s something…soothing about this.
Charon and Eurydice’s conversation filters over me. He sighs. “Someone destroyed the greenhouse.”
