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"Oh, that. People added that later on when they were recounting the story. They embellished a lot, actually. Paris did judge, and Zeus was the one who made him do it, but there was no parading around naked in front of him. Can you imagine Athena or Hera even agreeing to that?"
"I've never met either of them," I admitted.
"Well, humans got some of it right and some of it wrong. Hera isn't the most fun to be around at parties, that's for sure. Especially when you're the result of Zeus' philandering. We were all relieved when they finally got divorced. Athena is like a big sister who looks down on me for being anti-feminist because I like to wear nice dresses and get my hair done." She took the apple from me and placed it back in the cupboard.
"That sounds like a challenging family dynamics."
She shrugged. "That's the gods."
I picked up my mug and took a sip. "Okay, I'm going to concede that the Greek coffee is really good."
"It's the best," she agreed, slipping back into her seat. "I don't have much in for breakfast though. I think eggs and salmon is about it."
"Interesting last ingredients," I said.
"When I had my shopping delivered, I didn't think I'd be having an overnight guest. If I haven't completely scared you off with my past, I'll make sure I do better next week."
"You haven't scared me, Aphie. I already knew the stories."
"But maybe you dismissed them as not true or exaggerated."
"I honestly never really thought about it. But I do know that there's always more to the story than people let on to begin with. And more than that, it's reasonable to expect people to change after thousands of years. I haven't even seen a hint of the temper the stories attribute to you."
To my surprise, she laughed. "Oh it's there. But I started to work on getting it under control as soon as I realised that I didn't have the same power and influence I once did so I couldn't pull off my elaborate revenge plans. It was good for me, I wish I'd done it sooner."
"But you did it, and that's the main thing."
"I'd like to think so. But it was kind of forced on me. Honestly, my magic is kind of pitiful, I can do less than you can. Immortality and eternal youth aside."
"A lot of people would say those things were pretty sought after," I pointed out.
"Maybe, but I doubt those people have thought about what all of the other gods can do. I can't make storms like Baal, or turn into a reindeer like Beaivi. I'm just...able to remove a few wrinkles." Something in her voice almost broke me, as if she believed she wasn't as worthy of the other gods of her magic because she couldn't do anything else.
I reached out and put a hand over hers. She turned it and entwined her fingers through mine.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to get so melancholy. We're supposed to be having fun."
"I'm interested in knowing all sides of you, Aphie," I said softly. "The fun, the really fun, and the not-so-fun. Though maybe I do want to stay away from the thirst for vengeance."
She let out an amused laugh. "I'll see what I can do about keeping that under control. I've heard one way of avoiding it is to keep me really satisfied in bed."
I snorted. "Is that so?"
"Not really, it just sounded kind of flirty," she responded. "Do you have plans today? Is it too soon for us to spend another day together?"
"You tell me, you're the goddess of love in this equation."
"Hmm, well I say it's okay. If you're free. And you want to."
"I am." I met her gaze. "And I'd like nothing more."
Her whole face lit up, making me certain that my response was the right one, and that I wasn't going to regret it even slightly.
Twelve
Aphrodite
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