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Then I stood in my room. Alone. Surrounded by silence, I felt lonelier than ever.
CHAPTER 22
After a restless night, I woke up at dawn. Still slightly dazed by the alcohol and other events of the previous evening, I took a dip in the pool's refreshing water. It helped me clear my head again and suppress the pain in my temples. I then picked out a pair of black jeans, a dark shirt, and light sneakers from the wardrobe—just right for our meeting with the Amazons.
I was looking forward to finally seeing Aspasia, Maggy, and Emma again and hoping they were doing well.
On the first floor, I followed the all-too-familiar smell of pancakes, eggs, and bacon until I reached the quaint eat-in kitchen. Hungry, I plopped down next to Hecate, who had apparently also fallen out of bed early. This woman usually gave the impression of being self-control personified—attentive and wide awake. But today, a reddish glow covered her silver eyes. Slumped down, she leaned her elbow on the table's edge, and it looked like she would fall asleep at any moment.
I eyed her worriedly from the side. "What's wrong with you, Hecate? Are you ill?"
"Goddesses can't get sick," she replied, yawning. Her familiar sharpness was utterly absent.
"Then what's wrong with you?"
Something stirred inside her, and when she looked at me with wide eyes, I could see it in the dull silver of her irises—fear.
"I don't know, Myrina." She sighed. "I haven't been able to sleep all night, and I can't explain why."
"Then eat something; it will certainly help," Stephan assured her, placing a plate with an omelet in front of her.
With her eyebrows drawn together, she pushed it away. "I don't have an appetite," she mumbled.
Stephan and I looked at each other in confusion. Not being able to sleep and not having an appetite? That wasn't a good sign. If she were human, I'd say she'd caught a disease and send her back to bed with some chicken soup. But Hecate wasn't human, and illnesses couldn't affect her.
Just as I was about to reply, the kitchen door opened, and Chris came in. I was surprised to see the black rims under his eyes and his slurping gait. Was he ill, too?
"Good morning, Chris," I greeted my brother. "Didn't you have a restful night? Neither did Hecate. Did we have a full moon?" I gazed at the two of them thoughtfully.
At Hecate's name, the priest flinched slightly. His gaze darted around the room until he spotted the Goddess of Magic. His exhausted posture immediately disappeared, and Hecate sat bolt upright in her chair. Highly concentrated, she cut the omelet into small pieces and spread them on the plate.
"No, I had a wonderful night," my brother replied far too hastily.
I gazed from one to the other in amazement until I finally realized what was going on. They hadn't spent the night together because then their mood would have been completely different this morning, but apparently, they had been thinking about each other and, therefore, couldn't sleep.
I could no longer suppress a small smile and an "Oh."
Hecate narrowed her eyes and gave me such a deadly look I quickly ate the pancakes Stephan had brought me. He also tried to solve the mystery of Hecate and Chris's insomnia. When I saw he had found the answer, I stared at him and warned him not to say anything. I didn't want to upset Hecate. And anyway, if they were earnest about each other, we would find out more soon enough.
Although I was itching to pair Chris and Hecate up. They were just so surprisingly cute together. Even the Goddess of Magic and I would never have associated the word cute with her before.
Before I could continue to revel in these two young lovers' happiness, the door opened again, and Tanael entered the room without Zuri. I peeked over his shoulder in surprise, not only because I was looking for the beautiful angel at his side but also because I discovered the villa's corridors in the underworld behind him. Was the kitchen door a portal to both worlds?
"Good morning, Myrina," he purred. "Did you sleep well?"
A low growl escaped my throat. Of course, he had heard it anyway and laughed out loud.
"Kitten, you can do better than that," he challenged me and sat down, not in his usual place at the head of the table but right next to me.
Not even that! His closeness always threw me off kilter and, above all, into embarrassing situations or difficulties.
I scooped up one of the two pancakes as quickly as I could and tried to wash down the large lump of batter and maple syrup with my tea—with boiling tea, mind you. Stephan quickly slid me a cold glass of water, into which I dipped my burnt tongue.
"Maybe you should take it a little slower," Tanael whispered close to my ear. "Savor every bite. Take your time and savor all the nuances of sweetness." His gaze swept demonstratively over my body as he picked one of the strawberries from my plate with his fork and popped it into his mouth. Slowly. Very slowly, his gaze constantly fixed on me.
"Oh," I snorted in frustration. "You're driving me crazy. Stop doing that. I'm not one of your pawns, got it!"
I stood up with a jerk, pushed the chair back, and stormed to the door without paying any attention to him or the others in the room. Just as I reached for the handle, it opened, and Zuri stood in the doorway. She was wearing a dark blue, floor-length, tight-fitting silk dress that made her beautiful red hair glow like a living fire.
