Soul in Darkness (Page 33)

“And once I began to give him a chance, I found that we cared for one another, and I trusted him. He may be a creature of the godly realm, but he is no evil monster.”

“Wait.” Dawn stopped me. “You have never touched him with your hands or seen him?”

“Not once,” I said. “But I learned there is reason for it. And this is where things get mysterious and tricky. My husband is a powerful creature of Olympus—I’m not certain what, exactly—but he can control the atmosphere here. This land is his.” I waved my arms. “But someone, somehow, has either cursed him or bewitched some sort of deal upon him. Someone has power over him, and the two of us must work together to break it.”

My sisters shared a wide-eyed look. I wished they would not appear so spooked.

“I know this is hard to believe. Trust me, I’m living it, but everything I’m telling you is the truth.” I explained the game analogy to them, but skepticism was all over their faces. I began to feel panicked, talking faster and using my hands to explain, but Miracle buried her face in her hands and Dawn grimaced.

“It is too late,” Miracle murmured into her hands, and when she looked up, it was at my other sister. Dawn nodded, grim.

“What is too late?” I asked.

She cast me a look of pity. “Psyche.” She took my hand. “There are…rumors.”

“What rumors?”

“About your husband.”

My heart, which had been steady this entire time, began to trot.

“What about him? I already told you, the ‘serpent’ part of the oracle’s claim was metaphorical. He is like a strong, powerful man with wings. Not like any sort of creature we learned about.”

She peered at Dawn again, and I really wished they would stop sharing those damned conspiratorial glances, as if I couldn’t handle whatever knowledge was between them.

“What is it?” I said, using all of my self-control not to shout.

“Have the two of you…been intimate?”

I blinked, the heat rising to my face. “He’s my husband,” I said as way of explanation. I pulled my hand from hers and began pouring myself a cup of tea while they exchanged yet another look. This time they did not bother to try and hide their horror.

“He forced you,” Miracle said with anger.

“No, he did not,” I assured her. “He waited until I was ready. It was my choice.”

“Your choice?” Dawn asked. “You chose to have a monster rutting over you—”

“It’s not like that!”

Her eyes widened. “You take pleasure from him?”

“He is my husband,” I said again, flushing. “Do you not take pleasure in yours?”

Dawn’s eyes lowered to her lap and I felt a prickle of pity as I remembered Prince Drusus. Probably a selfish lover.

“Oh, Psyche,” Miracle whispered.

I should not feel ashamed. Of course, they wouldn’t understand. They had never spoken to him. They had not lived these awful days, not knowing what to believe, thinking they would be shredded to death at any moment. They had no idea the tenderness of his touch or the softness of his lips. That type of affection could not be faked.

“There are things you need to know,” said Dawn. Her voice was stiff, like how she used to sound when she was jealous, but she couldn’t possibly be jealous of me in this situation, could she?

“One week ago,” she said stiffly, “we came together as a family in Athens to make sacrifices on your behalf. Papa was begging the gods to release you.” I covered my mouth at the thought of our father doing that, and Dawn continued. “An old woman was there, a seer. She told us of your husband.”

My mouth went completely dry at her ominous tone, but I couldn’t bear to lift the teacup with my trembling hand.

“Her tale is ringing true with what you have told us,” Miracle said, picking up the story where Dawn left off, speaking more gently. “She said that he is a creature of many faces, able to change his appearance at will. But his true form, the one he takes while sleeping, is the serpent.”

“Everything is all right,” I assured them and myself. The thought that he could shift, that he was a serpent at night, was unnerving, but it was not the worst thing possible, was it? I started to lift the cup to wet my parched throat when Dawn began again, her words coming faster.

“His goal is to lure you into a false sense of security, Psyche. To gain your trust and seduce you, body and heart. Once you completely succumb to him, giving him your heart, that is when he will strike. He thrives on human emotions. He is a soul-sucking beast!”

Her eyes were wild, and I dropped the teacup over the saucer with a clatter. My hands shook, and my heart raced. Soul-sucking.

“That is not true!” I shook my head, sickened by the old doubt rearing its head again. “I will not believe some crone’s gossip!”

Miracle stood and came around to me, kneeling at my feet and taking both of my hands in my lap. “You must believe us, sister. What reason would we ever have to cause you undue pain? Look how you tremble. You know there is truth in our words.”

I shook my head and shut my eyes. “No.”

“This is no way to live, sister,” Miracle said. “I know, and I am sorry. I wish I could steal you away this very moment, but we both know I cannot. You must be strong. Can you do that for us? Because the seer said one more thing.”

I sniffed, my chest heaving. “What?”

“She said his powers over you cannot last forever. If the creature cannot seduce you into loving him within a certain time, his power over you is lost. We aren’t sure what that means, but we are hoping you will get to return home. Or be released to live your own life in this realm at the very least. Can you do that, Psyche? Can you stay strong, my love?”

A sob choked out of me, and Miracle came up on her knees, hugging me hard. I hugged her back. My heart felt as if it were being cleaved completely in two. How could this be? How could my instincts have been so wrong?

“If you have any doubts remaining,” Dawn said fervently from the other side of the table. “There is one way to prove this to yourself.”

“How?” I asked.

She smiled, and it was the cunning grin she used to give me when she wanted to do something that would get us into trouble.

“At night, as he sleeps, light a flame and have a look at his face.”

My heart jumped inside my chest. “What if he wakes?”

“Only light it for a split moment, just long enough to get a glimpse of his face, and then quickly blow it out. But if he wakes…” She pulled a small blade from her pocket, and bile rose in my throat. “Stab him here.” Dawn pointed the tip of the knife in the tender spot under her chin.

Nervousness wracked me. Our two primary rules: I could not see him, and I could not touch him. If I broke one of those rules, the game was over. Unless he’d made up those rules and the game so that I wouldn’t discover his true self. Oh, gods. My stomach lurched at the thought that the man I’d come to love had been fooling me in the worst sort of manner. I pressed a hand to my abdomen.

“I do not have means to light a flame,” I said. “He lights and extinguishes them all with his powers.”

Dawn and Miracle both reached into their pockets. Of course. I had always kept fire starters in my pocket at home, too. I took Miracle’s flint and oil-dipped pine stick with a shaking hand, feeling as if I might pass out. She covered my closed hand with her own.

“You were always fearless,” she said. “Remember who you are. You are that same girl who kept every guard at the castle on their toes. You are the soul of our isle. You are Princess Psyche. You cannot let him win.”

I nodded, though I felt none of that strength right now. I didn’t want to believe them, even when it made sense, which it did. I wanted to run over the hills and through the trees, straight into the river and let it rise over my head.

No. I brushed away that thought. Hurting myself was just another way to let him win. Dawn slipped the blade into my palm, and I pocketed all of the items, sick to death.

The door to the palace opened, and we all jumped to our feet.

“Renae?” I called.

“Yes, Highness,” she responded from the steps. “I am very sorry to interrupt, but the carrier is here and will await your sisters at the foot of the hills. I do hope you enjoyed your time together.” Oh, heat of Hades, she sounded so believable. Did she know the truth of my husband? Surely, she must. The two of them together had soundly tricked me, and the bitter sting of betrayal cut deep. It felt as if I had lost two people I’d come to love.

She clomped back inside and shut the doors, and I turned to my sisters, hugging them fiercely. I didn’t want to let them go. They pried themselves away, calling back to me with worried eyes and encouraging words as they left. The carrier, Zep, or whoever he was, remained invisible to me. When my sisters were out of sight, I crumpled beside my chair, all of the heartache, loneliness and deception building up to a rolling boil inside of me.

I lifted my face to the sky, that false, vivid blue, and I screamed.

ONE LITTLE CANDLE

Was it really only this morning I had felt lighthearted and filled with hope? Even the animals could not break through to me as I dragged myself to the bedchamber with no will to eat or bathe or even think. I felt as if I would die if I didn’t learn the truth.