Chapter 19

When Pan blinked his eyes slowly open, he immediately started cursing. He was mortified to realize he had fallen asleep, which was the last thing he wanted to do. Eurydice had been sleeping in his arms, and he didn”t want to miss a single moment of that bliss. He sat up and quickly looked around, his melancholy going bone-deep when he saw Eurydice was no longer next to him. Pan was sitting on the edge of the clearing, between some trees where he’d hauled Eurydice the previous night to achieve only a modicum of privacy. All around him, the ground was covered with fresh baby”s breath. It was as thick as wool, woven like a heavy carpet across the ground. Pan blushed furiously when he noticed a fully grown oak tree had sprung up from the ground near his feet.

”Oh god,” Pan grunted, running his hand through his thick curls. He slowly stood up and stretched out his arms, relishing the soreness in his shoulders from clutching Eurydice to him all night long.

I can”t believe she left. Pan”s heart was collapsing inside of his chest. He knew that last night wasn”t going to go anywhere...but he at least expected to see Eurydice”s face in the morning to soften the blow. Creatures of the forest weren”t often prudish when it came to sex; everyone ended up getting into bed with their friends at one point or another. It happened eventually when you gathered with each other to celebrate the god of wine and the god of fertility. The nymphs and dryads, belonging to Pan, had adopted a culture of ‘what happens at the banquet, stays at the banquet.’

Sex wasn”t anything to be ashamed of; it was the most natural part of themselves. The fact that Eurydice had left Pan the morning after cut deeper knowing that whatever she was thinking when she woke up, it superseded that long-held mentality of Dionysian devotees.

If I made her feel ashamed or uncomfortable... The thought sat in Pan”s stomach like sour wine.

”That is the most depressing look I”ve ever seen on anyone”s face, ever.”

”Fuck!” Pan nearly jumped out of his skin when Hermes”s voice suddenly cut through the empty clearing. ”Are you always hellbent on greeting people in the most chaotic way possible?” Pan crossed his arms over his chest and mustered his best attempt at a glare aimed at his father.

Hermes was looking cherubic as always, his golden hair forming a nearly perfect crown around his head. He was dressed casually, without his staff or winged sandals, the impish grin always present on his face.

”Chaos is what I do, my child, and don”t act like it doesn”t run in your blood too,” Hermes scoffed playfully.

”Knock it off with the ”my child” nonsense. You may be my father, but we”re both as old as Greece itself at this point.”

”You should never remind a lady of her age.” Hermes clutched at his chest dramatically.

”I don”t see Hercules around,” Pan quipped back, and Hermes nearly fell over with laughter.

”Ha! I have taught you a thing or two.” Hermes suddenly looked wistful. ”He is pretty though, isn”t he?”

”Yes,” Pan rolled his eyes, ”your husband is very pretty, father dearest. Did you come here for a reason or just to torment me specifically?”

”Touchy, touchy!” Hermes”s brows raised. ”What”s got your horns in a twist? I heard you were celebrating the full moon in Greece last night, and then you suddenly whisked away to the Underworld without a word.”

”I”m allowed to celebrate the full moon wherever I choose. It”s my celebrations after all, next to Dionysus.”

Hermes held up his hands in mock surrender. ”I never said that you weren”t allowed to.” Hermes”s face contorted into a softer expression. ”I can tell that something happened. You”re being pricklier than usual, and you”re half goat.”

”Fuck off,” Pan grunted, rubbing his hands over his face in exasperation. ”I don”t want to talk about it right now.”

”The only thing that has ever gotten you this worked up is... Oh my god!” Hermes sucked in a sharp breath. ”Eurydice! Did something happen?” Hermes crossed the small clearing to get closer to his son, gossiping like one of the Fates.

Pan dropped dramatically back down into the field of baby”s breath, resting his chin on his knees. A few of the flowers started to wilt in a perfect circle around him.

”Gods,” Hermes whistled in a low tone. ”You are upset.” Hermes studied the flowers that were rapidly decaying around Pan”s presence. ”I”m assuming you saw her with Orpheus, or...”

”Don”t mention that shit musician”s name in my presence,” Pan growled. A wave of angry, powerful green power rippled over Pan as his satyr form broke free. His beard lengthened, and the hair over his body turned coarser, even his horns stretched out further as he shifted.

”I can see that.” Hermes raised a brow. ”So nothing happened at all with that darling muse?”

Pan said nothing for a few moments, not knowing how much he wanted to divulge to Hermes. He trusted Hermes unlike most deities, not only because Hermes was his father, but because he knew the gossip around Hermes”s reputation was just that—gossip. He could keep a secret for millennia if it was required of him. Finally, the heaviness on Pan”s heart outweighed his hesitations.

”She called for me last night,” Pan muttered, looking anywhere but at Hermes”s face.

”Oh.” Hermes did an excellent job at keeping the emotion out of his voice. ”She called to you during...during a full moon celebration?”

Pan looked up at Hermes, mortified when a few tears sprung free. He nodded.

”Did you...” Hermes turned around and stared at the oak tree that had sprung up out of the ground, fresh dirt still upturned around it. He spun back around and looked at Pan, his face surprised and delighted. ”You did! Or didn”t you? I”ve been forced to hear plenty of rumors of how you make the forest grow...” Hermes”s trailed off, scrunching up his face in displeasure.

”Oh my god!” Pan flushed, covering his ears. ”I do not want to discuss this with you.”

”Okay, that”s mutual,” Hermes assured him, waiting until Pan removed his hands from his ears. ”Why do you look so upset then? If you two... Oh.” Hermes quickly put together the scene before him. ”She went back to him?”

Pan didn”t say anything, resting his chin atop his knees again. He was torn between the raging loss and heart-wrenching sadness within him to come so close to Olympian levels of bliss and have it ripped away from him again. He leaned into the numbness that was threatening to consume him, clutching onto memories and the scent of Eurydice that still clung to him.

”That fucker,” Hermes growled. ”I can”t stand that she doesn”t know what happened.” Hermes”s winged sandals appeared on his feet as a golden aura of power fluttered over his skin. Pan appreciated the outward show of magic, knowing that it was his father”s powers reacting in displeasure to the heartache that Pan was suffering through.

”I know,” Pan sighed heavily. The tears were falling freely down his face now, and he did nothing to stop them or brush them away. ”She”s not even happy with him now. He treats her like shit, but she feels pressure to stay with him because they”re ”Orpheus and Eurydice”.” Pan grunted the names with displeasure.

”She told you this last night?” Hermes pressed. Pan couldn”t decipher the expression that popped up on Hermes”s face.

”No, she didn”t say much last night.”

”Did she say she wanted to fuck you? Explicitly?” Hermes growled, his temper suddenly flaring. ”If she was drinking and if you...”

Pan was on his feet in a flash, throwing his body weight at Hermes. They crashed into the oak tree with Pan”s forearm against Hermes”s throat.

”I would never,” Pan hissed, ”and I”ll kill anyone who tries to hurt her.”

Hermes”s face beamed with pride as Pan caught his breath and released his father.

”Just checking. So she”s told you she”s upset?”

”Yes,” Pan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and beginning to pace. ”I don”t know what to do. Part of her has to remember what happened because she”s unhappy with Orpheus and doesn”t know why.”

”Well, the answer is he”s a prick,” Hermes scoffed. ”She doesn”t need to remember his betrayal to not want to be with him.”

”Correct, but she thinks they have this great love affair that was tragically cut short. She”s staying in that relationship based on a precedence that isn”t there. It”s practically cruel to watch, but Hades is determined to let Eurydice suffer.”

Pan”s melancholy morphed into something darker, a righteous defensiveness of the woman he”d loved for a hundred years.

”Now, now,” Hermes scratched his chin, ”Hades is a rule follower, and that”s for a good reason. He wouldn”t want anyone to suffer. Especially in his realm.”

”He”s doing a shit job of it,” Pan growled, beginning to pace back and forth. He grew more agitated, and Hermes didn”t know what to do with it; he watched helplessly as Pan worked himself up into a frenzy. When he finally dropped to his knees, Pan released an anguished scream that ripped through the trees.

Hermes ducked as the trees shook, watching in horror and awe as all the vegetation as far as he could see shriveled up and died. The landscape around them simply disappeared, withering away to nothing. The lush, green forest turned into a twisted mess of thorns and weeds. Hermes was one of the few deities who understood just how fucked the world was if Pan was this devastated; there wouldn”t be a living green thing left alive when he was done. Demeter would have a fucking conniption, and they”d all had enough of her tantrums.

Hermes”s heart ached for his son, and he walked slowly towards Pan on his knees, weeping softly in his hands. Hermes sent a ripple of power out through the ether, requesting the presence of one of the Underworld”s gods.

Hermes got down on Pan”s level and opened his arms, clutching his son to his chest like a babe. Pan”s silent cries erupted into a barrage of sobs, and his hands held tight onto his father. Hermes sat there patiently while Pan cried, his mind made up. A soft breeze drifted over the dried and dead ground. Hypnos slowly appeared on the winds, his figure half obscured by white clouds. He tilted his head curiously and yawned, studying the scene in front of him.

Pan didn”t even notice the god”s presence. Hermes nodded, a silent conversation happening between the two gods. Hypnos nodded once and stepped forward, gently placing his hand on Pan”s back. As soon as he touched him, Pan”s sobs quieted, and he fell into a deep, heavy sleep.

Hypnos disappeared without a word while Hermes muttered his thanks to the wind. He laid his son down on the earth, which sprung up to meet him. Hermes breathed a sigh of relief as another fresh mound of grass and flowers grew around Pan, cradling the god while he slept.

”At least your dreams must be pleasant,” Hermes whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his son”s brow. ”When you wake, it”ll be to a different world.”

Hermes vanished in a cloud of rippling, golden power, sprinting across the Underworld to his destination. Orpheus had caused too much suffering, and Hermes wasn”t going to let it go on any longer.

* * *

Hermes moved in total silence. His footfalls were devoid of noise, even the wings on his circlet and sandals were quiet. The god of thieves had a legacy to protect and creeping through Hades”s halls was difficult enough, even with a thief”s magic.

The long, winding hallway was covered in thick carpets and had arching ceilings. The walls were made with glittering obsidian and flecked with jewels. There were tables and heavy chests lining the sides of the hallway, covered in shining weaponry, gold and silver, and even more jewels and treasures of priceless value. Whenever Hermes was inside Hades and Persephone”s home, he was filled with the undeniable urge to start pushing things over, like a cat knocking things off a tabletop.

Hermes”s thoughts were then interrupted by a very loud crashing sound, followed by the sound of breaking glass. Hermes clapped a hand over his own mouth to keep himself from reacting out loud, spinning on his heel to see the cause of the chaos.

”Hercules!” Hermes hissed, whisper-yelling down the hallway. ”I told you to be careful!” Hercules was bent over the remnants of a shattered vase, an embarrassed look on his face with his cheeks flushed pink. Hercules, Hermes”s consort and the greatest warrior Greece had ever known, was horribly clumsy at times when he wasn”t very literally counterbalancing his own weight with a sword.

”I told you not to bring me!” Hercules whispered back, delicately stepping over the broken shards of glass. ”I don”t know why I”m necessary for a reconnaissance mission, Hermes.” Hercules tiptoed over to his husband with a pout.

”Because…” Hermes exhaled in relief when he realized they hadn”t been caught, ”if we run into Cerberus, he likes you more.”

”Cerberus guards the gates of hell. He”s not inside Hades and Persephone”s household.”

”Of course he is,” Hermes scoffed and continued walking down the hallway. ”Persephone demanded that Cerberus be allowed to sleep in their bed.”

”Do I want to know how you know that?” Hercules flushed a little deeper, and Hermes shivered pleasantly. There was nothing he loved more than the big demigod when he got pouty and jealous.

”I”m the god of thieves, my love.” Hermes winked. ”It”s my job to know the comings and goings of guard dogs.”

Hercules said nothing but crossed his arms over his chest, clearly skeptical. Hermes went up on his tiptoes and quickly kissed Hercules on the chin, relishing in the hazy look it gave Hercules.

”Let”s hurry up, and we can go home.” Hermes waggled his eyebrows, his seduction apparent. Hercules held his hand out towards the heavy double doors at the end of the hallway, indicating for Hermes to get on with it. Hermes stole another kiss from Hercules and squeezed his hand.

”Wait here and watch daddy go to work.” Hermes chuckled to himself, dissipating into a soft cloud of golden magic. He slid effortlessly towards the doors to Hades”s office and slipped through the crack in between them, reappearing on the other side.

”Not even a little ward or some magic to stop me?” Hermes whispered to himself as he headed straight towards the apothecary cabinet behind the oak table Hades used as a desk. Hades”s office looked like every other room in the house, which was elaborately decorated and stockpiled with riches that would make mortals and immortals alike weep. There were hundreds of tiny shelves nestled across the walls, each small alcove holding anything from a sparrow”s skeleton to a ruby the size of an infant”s fist. You never knew with Hades.

However, Hermes was looking for one thing in particular—something that would help him skirt around Hades”s rules and hopefully bring Pan some peace. It might result in a little chaos first, but it would—he hoped—inevitably ensure that at least Eurydice was making fully informed decisions.

Hermes”s hands glowed as he started tracing his finger over the wooden shelving, feeling the little cracks and pops in the atmosphere from the magical signatures of all the tiny keepsakes. Hecate may have been the goddess of witchcraft, but if she ever needed an ingredient she couldn”t find, she asked Hades if he had it.

After a couple desperate minutes of searching, Hermes giggled to himself when he landed on a tiny, sealed jar. It was made with a typical red clay, nothing fancy, with a wax seal over the top of it. Arguably, it looked like the plainest thing on the shelf. Anyone who didn”t know what they were looking at would inevitably leave it behind, assuming it had no value.

”Hello, my pretty!” Hermes cooed, snatching the jar off the shelve and reading the label. There was a small piece of parchment tied around the lip of the jar with string that had nearly rotted away. Hermes read the tiny, neat handwriting.

“Krasi tis alitheias.” Hermes”s smiled widened. ”Oh, you lovely thing, you.”

Hercules hissed through the door. ”I don”t know what you”re talking to, but it better not have a pulse!”

Hermes had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing too loudly; he could never get enough of a jealous Hercules. He could never really get enough of Hercules at all, which was partially why he found a reason to bring Hercules everywhere he went.

Hermes slipped the tiny jar into a small drawstring bag, looping it across his body before tiptoeing as quickly as he could out of the office. Hermes swung the doors open and grinned at the shocked expression on Hercules”s face.

”What”s that look for? We can go... Oh.” Hermes”s eyes widened as soon as he realized Cerberus was sitting at Hercules”s feet, and a very angry Hades was standing in the hallway.

Hades had very clearly been pulled from bed, only wearing a bedsheet haphazardly tied into a loincloth around his waist. It was one of the few times that Hermes had ever seen him without a single piece of jewelry, except for the gilded string he wore wrapped around his ring finger. Hades”s face was twisted in anger, but Hermes could tell it was giving way to meager frustration. The lord of the Underworld must have assumed there were actual thieves in his office. Knowing Hades, he would have been less bothered about any missing material items and more livid that something in his home had potentially jeopardized Persephone”s safety.

”Hermes,” Hades growled. His voice was low and groggy with sleep, and he pushed his shoulder-length black hair out of his face. ”I should have known. Do you want to even try to lie and tell me why you”re here?”

”Shit,” Hercules cursed, getting both Hermes”s and Hades”s attention. Hercules gave them an awkward smile and immediately turned around to start petting Cerberus again.

”Well,” Hermes cleared his throat, ”there”s a very good reason for this, my liege.”

Hades rolled his eyes. ”There always is, if you”re the god of thieves.”

”Quite right.” Hermes”s lips pulled into a thin line. ”I suppose you want the truth?”

”The truth is probably what will keep me from stringing you up by your sandals outside the gates of hell for a few days. It won”t hurt you, but I imagine your pride will suffer to have you as my lawn ornament.”

Hermes cringed. He screwed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He leveled his gaze at Hades, pushing his heart out on his sleeve.

”It”s for Pan.”

Hades”s countenance changed instantaneously. The furrow between his brows softened, and the frustration on his face ebbed away. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, as if he couldn”t decide what he wanted to say. Hermes”s heart started beating faster. Hercules must have sensed the tension, and he stood behind Hermes, placing a heavy, warm hand on his back for comfort. Hermes leaned into it, grateful for the touch. Finally, Hades turned around and started walking away without a word. Hermes stood shocked for a few seconds before he called out after the god.

”You don”t want to know?”

Hades reached the opposite end of the hallway and turned around, a mischievous smirk on his face.

”Plausible deniability,” Hades grunted. ”I can”t stop you from breaking the rules if I don”t technically know it”s happening.”

Hades patted his thigh twice, and Cerberus bounded over to join him before they made a quick exit. Hermes looked over at Hercules, somewhat shocked.

”I didn”t expect that reaction out of Hades,” Hermes admitted. Hercules only shrugged, slipping his hand into Hermes”s and walking them out the front door of Hades”s home.

”I did.” Hercules looked up at a tapestry depicting Hades and Persephone. ”He”s terrifying...but he”s fair.”

Hermes nodded in agreement, and the pair slipped back out into the night, the tiny jar labeled ”truth wine” in Hermes”s pocket.