Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

E ris hid her shock by wrapping her arms around Enzo's wide shoulders and stroking his hair.

"Tell me what happened, Enzo," she said softly. "Let it out."

Enzo wiped his hands from his face. "My ex, Katarina, started out as a patient. I knew getting involved with her was a bad idea, but when she was good, she was an unstoppable, positive force that lit up the world. When we started seeing each other, I referred her to another doctor. I knew she had problems, but while she was on her meds, she was fine. We got married," Enzo said, his eyes glassy and staring at the ocean.

"It was a few months after that she started to get obsessive. Suspicious. She didn't want me to have female clients. She would throw violent tantrums if I so much as thanked a waitress. She was constantly up and down, and I didn't know what I would get from day to day. After a year of this, she got worse. She would turn up at work and cause scenes. She started to fight with Bianca. You can imagine how well that went."

Eris didn't say anything. She just stroked his hair and let him talk it out.

"Katarina attacked Bianca when she was working in the bar. She broke the front windows and hurt a customer. Bianca called the police on her, and Katarina was taken to the hospital. Maybe I just wasn't strong enough to love her anyway, but I couldn't handle it. I knew I couldn't help her. So, eventually, I divorced her," Enzo said, and a deep shudder went through him. "That was when the stalking started. She would break into my offices and trash them. Leave dead birds on my doorstep, threats about what would happen if I didn't come back to her. I told the police. I had cameras installed in the apartment and my business. Had all the locks changed. It stopped her for a time, and I thought she was finally over it. That she had moved on."

"But she hadn't," Eris guessed. She smoothed the tears off his face. His eyes were so full of torment and shame. "Tell me the rest, Enzo. I won't judge you. I never will."

Enzo still hesitated, so Eris gave him her water again. After a few mouthfuls, he seemed to settle.

"I will say it quickly," he said, sniffing back his tears. "Katarina broke into the apartment to kill me. If she couldn't have me, no one could. I stood between her and the door to Bianca's while she called the police. I tried to stop her without hurting her, but she pulled a knife on me and cut whatever she could reach. My survival instincts kicked in, and I… I shoved her as hard as I could. She fell and hit her head on the edge of the marble counter. I thought she was knocked out. I tried to get back to Bianca's, but I had lost a lot of blood and passed out. When I came to, I was in a hospital bed. I found out that Katarina had killed the doorman in order to get into the building. The cameras I installed in the house had everything on film to prove what had happened. I hadn't checked on her after I knocked her out. I… I killed her, Eris. The police had all the evidence to prove it was self-defense, but I still killed her. It took months to recover, and I shut my business for good. I went back to work at the bar because my nerves just couldn't take it anymore."

Eris was torn between sorrow for him and pure fury at the dead woman who had hurt him. "Oh, Enzo," she whispered and gathered him into a hug, his head resting on her chest. "None of it was your fault. You are not cursed. She was sick, so I can forgive much of what she did, but she also hurt you over and over. You don't do that to someone you love." Her hands stroked his back, felt every ridge of the swiping scars his wife had inflicted on him, eager to kill him. To wipe his bright soul from the world.

Enzo held her tighter. "You don't think I'm a monster?"

"Oh, baby, you are so very far from a monster," she said, kissing the tears off his cheeks. "It was an awful thing to have happened, but you never set out to harm her. You loved her, and she was going to kill you, Enzo. You were only defending yourself and Bianca. Don't feel guilty about that or about wanting to move on from someone so toxic."

Eris tilted his chin up, so he was forced to look at her. "If you really want to argue and play who is the bigger monster here… I started the Trojan War, baby. You will always lose this ridiculous game."

Enzo let out a choked laugh. "You do have a point. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to have a breakdown here of all places."

Eris stroked her fingers through his thick curls. "Can I ask what triggered it? What did the palladium show you?"

"Dido and Aeneas. Her killing herself. And finally, I saw a vision of a temple to Athena. A big one. I'll have to check my copy of the Aeneid when we get back to the ship, but I think it was Castro," Enzo replied. He put the palladium back into its bag and rubbed at his face. "I need a drink. All the drinks."

"Bar or boat?" Eris asked, hating the sadness still in his eyes. It was a good thing that his ex-wife was dead because Eris was feeling an overprotective rage towards her human that she had never experienced before.

"Boat. I don't want to be on this ground a second longer than I need to," Enzo admitted. "I don't want to spend the night in this place in case I have another vision."

Eris held out her hand to him. "Then come here, and I will show you a trick."

Enzo raised a brow, a flash of his usual humor back in his eyes. "Should I be worried?"

"Always," Eris said, tugging him close to her. "Put your arms around me. Tighter. We wouldn't want you to get lost." Enzo held her to him, so she was pressed in between his lovely pecs.

"Tight enough?"

Eris rubbed her cheek against the firm muscles because she couldn't help herself. "Yes, this is perfect."

"Is it now?" he asked with a short huff of laughter.

"Hold on," Eris said, wrapping the glittery darkness of her power around them.

Enzo gasped, and the world dropped away. They were in the dark void for a few moments and then reappeared on the boat's deck. Enzo stumbled, but Eris held him upright.

"Holy crap. I thought you said your curse would drop in weird places when you teleported," he said, still clinging to her as if he was too afraid to let go.

Eris tilted her head up to give him a cheeky smile. "But the curse doesn't work when you are close to me. It was worth the risk." She reached up and kissed his cheek. "Go and have a shower, Enzo. Wash the day off. I'll take us out."

"Wait, you can sail?" he asked.

"I can get us going. Navigating is up to you," Eris replied with a wink.

Enzo laughed softly and slowly let his arms fall from around her. "I'll shower quickly. Just in case."