Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

C astro was a coastal town packed with people eager to cool off in its blue-green waters. They pulled into the port alongside smaller boats filled with snorkeling gear and teenagers eager to explore the coastline.

Eris took it all in with a relaxed smile. Maybe it wasn't because the curse wasn't affecting anyone around her, or because Enzo had given her some of the best orgasms of her life, but the thought of dealing with people didn't bother her as much as it usually did.

Enzo organized their docking for the day and helped her off the boat, just like he always did. He was also wearing a lazy, relaxed smile whenever he glanced her way. Eris had always been a fuck-and-run sort of person, and her lovers had never fought to stick around longer than that. Enzo didn't seem to want to go anywhere, and neither did she.

They hadn't moved past kissing and mutual head jobs, and Eris was okay with that. Enzo hadn't pushed her for more either. Was this what people meant by taking it slow? She had never been sure because she had never tried to have a relationship before.

"What are you thinking about that has that grin on your face?" Enzo asked, his mouth twitching.

"Gelato," she lied and pointed where a man was selling them from a cart. "I just love having cream in my mouth."

Enzo gave her a heated look. "Do you want me to walk around with a hard-on all day?"

Eris batted her eyelashes innocently. "I don't know what you mean. I was only talking about ice cream, Enzo."

Enzo only shook his head and went and bought them two cones. He passed a chocolate one to her. "Here, put this in your mouth and behave yourself."

"I'm the goddess of discord. I don't know how," she replied and gave her gelato a slow lick.

"I can play that game too, goddess, so be careful," Enzo warned, ears turning red. He quickly looked away from her and towards the roads. "Let's find a ride up to the Castello Aragonese. The older Messapian walls and the remains of the structure they think was Athena's Trojan sanctuary are there."

"Yes, sir," Eris replied sweetly.

"Oh, goddess, I won't believe for a second that you are submissive in any way." Enzo huffed out a laugh before he leaned in closer and whispered in her ear. "But if you stop teasing me, I'll take you into my cabin tonight and fuck your pretty cunt with my tongue until you soak my beard with your come."

Eris's pussy clenched, and her breath caught. She was so distracted, she didn't see her gelato melting before it splattered on her chest. Enzo wiped the chocolate off with his finger and licked it. Eris growled softly, and Enzo gave her a swift kiss.

"Let's go before we get too distracted," he said, offering her his hand. Eris let out a breath and tried to tell her aching pussy to have some patience. Enzo's smile widened as she took his hand, and her heart tripped a little.

There's no fool like an old fool , she thought. And developing any kind of feeling for a mortal, let alone a mortal of Aphrodite's blood, made her a terrible fool. Had the Fates seen this in her journey to break her curse as well? She didn't want to think about it, but as they sat in yet another taxi trying to weave through narrow, busy streets, it was all she could think about.

You're so perfect in every way, he had said. No one had ever thought she was perfect before.

Under the privacy of her sunglasses, she stared across at Enzo. The sea breeze blew about his dark curls as he talked animatedly to their driver.

I want to keep him. Please, Fates, let me get to keep him . She had never asked them for anything before because all she had ever wanted was to have her curse broken.

Was it too much to ask to have this mortal for her own? Enzo looked at her like no one else had. He saw through her surly bullshit and could make her smile even when she didn't want to. He did that before she even knew he was the key to her curse.

The Spanish castle rose into view, and the taxi slowed to let them out. Eris stepped out of the way of a gaggle of sticky children being herded by sunburned parents. She automatically tensed, expecting her curse to make the crowd turn on each other. Enzo's hand rested on her back, and she instantly felt grounded.

"Are you okay? We just need to move out of the square and find a quieter spot," he said reassuringly.

Eris nodded, her throat going tight. It was such a small courtesy, and yet it wasn't one anyone had ever given her. Enzo took her hand again, and they walked out of the main meeting place of people.

"Is the palladium giving you any clues yet?" she asked, focusing on the touch of his hand and the cool breeze against her skin.

Enzo reached his spare hand back to touch the bottom of the bag. "Not yet. I was talking to our driver, and he said that the site for the sanctuary of Minerva/Athena wasn't open for tourists. The small figures and parts of statues that they have found are being shown at the museum, but we might have to do some illegal fence jumping again if the palladium insists on being placed in the area of the sanctuary."

"I will be able to put up a disguising spell if it comes to that," Eris replied. She felt a lot more confident using her powers with him close by to ensure they worked as they should.

"I have a question for you, being a real goddess and all," Enzo said as they walked through the medieval streets. "Was the Roman Minerva different from Athena? Or were they the same goddess?"

"Some of the goddesses like Bellona were never mixed up, but Minerva and Athena were. Minerva was a goddess of wisdom and got the war part attached to her when the Romans tried to sync her with Athena. It always annoyed her, but mortals will be mortals," Eris said with a shrug. "This site was founded for the Trojan Athena, and then, as time passed, she willingly shared the site with Minerva's followers. For the most part, gods didn't quarrel about such things. Well, the women didn't anyway. Like most women, they were more interested in survival. Gods change with time, just like humans. We grow and evolve, or we disappear and are forgotten."

It was something that Eris's current family of gods understood, which was why they hadn't gone crazy from existing for an eternity. Isis and her island of lost goddesses proved that not as many had gone as they had thought. Some were just waiting for the time when people needed them again the most. Eris wondered if Athena would one day show herself too.

Enzo nodded, his expression thoughtful. "That makes sense. You are a goddess of chaos, of change, and that's what life is. That's comforting."

"How is it?" Eris asked. "Most people hate change."

Enzo lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. "The nature of life and humanity means you aren't going anywhere. I don't like the idea of you disappearing any time soon, Eris. Not now that I finally found you."

Eris stopped walking. "You are getting a little possessive there, mortal," she said, her heart racing.

"Yes, and I don't think I'm the only one." Enzo looked down at her, completely unafraid. "You really think I'm going to walk away after we get to Troy? That I won't want you or that I will toss you aside once your curse is broken?"

"Experience dictates that yes, you will," Eris said, hating the hitch in her voice and pain in her chest.

Enzo's lips brushed against hers. "Then it's time for a new experience."