Chapter 22

When Hermes finally landed, Eurydice blinked her eyes open as he gently set her on her feet. They were standing in the middle of a small courtyard, much quainter and more welcoming than the estate that Orpheus lived in. The small courtyard was surrounded on three sides by the house with a small altar in the middle of it. Eurydice watched as Hermes walked towards it, lighting a small stick of incense and placing it on the burning brazier. He held his finger to his lips as he stepped away from it and turned back towards Eurydice.

”You don”t want Nyx to know that you”re placing an offering at her altar?” Eurydice raised a brow, identifying the motifs in the mosaic at the base of the altar. Hermes shrugged his shoulders, beckoning Eurydice to walk towards the unassuming front door.

”It wouldn”t be very good for my reputation, now, would it?” He gave her a cheeky wink, and Eurydice scoffed playfully.

”I don”t think anyone knows what to do with your reputation,” she admitted. Eurydice was relieved that Hermes wasn”t treating her as though she was made of glass; his small attempts to lighten the mood pushed her impending total breakdown aside for a few short moments.

”Oh, my maiden of manslaughter? Are you in here?” Hermes suddenly called out loudly, ducking his head to not hit the low beam of the door frame. Eurydice blushed furiously, only now wondering where Hermes had brought her.

She followed him inside, where the front entrance opened into a small hallway that revealed a massive kitchen. There was a long counter, which held a mix of clay pottery and amphoras, all half-opened and spread out all over the surface. There were bundles of fresh herbs hanging from the open rafters. Eurydice brushed a sprig of lavender away from her face as she gracefully stepped around it. The opposite side of the kitchen had a roaring hearth, unlike any Eurydice had seen before.

A huge black cauldron was sitting atop a blazing fire. The flames flickered between red, green, and purple, indicating their obvious magical nature. Eurydice”s face broke into a genuine smile as her eyes landed on the long kitchen table with two black dogs sitting underneath it. They cocked their ears up as they viewed the visitors, paying practically no attention to Hermes. Both of the dogs stood up from where they”d been napping and trotted over to Eurydice, shoving their wet noses against her palms.

”They know a heavy heart when they see one.” A beautiful, powerful woman stepped into the kitchen. It took Eurydice one look at the bright red hair to know who she was talking to.

”Oh my gods,” Eurydice gasped, ”You”re Hecate!”

The goddess laughed and looked between Hermes and Eurydice. ”Who did you bring me this time, you fiend?”

Hermes chuckled, obviously not remotely put off by the nickname, and hopped up on the kitchen counter. He pushed a mortar and pestle out of the way, and Hecate slapped his hand.

”Don”t touch my things,” she quipped. Hecate settled herself at the counter near Hermes and got back to work, assembling varying ingredients from other jars and combining them before putting them in separate containers again.

”This is Eurydice,” Hermes said softly, his expression gentle as he looked between the two women. ”I was hoping that she could stay here with you for a night or two.”

Hecate dropped the small jar she was holding, her head snapping up to take another look at Eurydice.

”Eurydice,” she repeated. There was an intense look on her face that Eurydice couldn”t quite decipher. Eurydice blushed furiously and looked away, scratching the dogs’ ears while their tongues lolled in satisfaction.

”I can leave,” Eurydice squeaked. ”I didn”t know where Hermes was bringing me. If it”s a problem, you know. I don”t want to leave. You have a lovely home.” Eurydice started speaking faster; she was used to being around the gods often, but Hecate intimidated everyone. ”I can leave if it”s an issue, is what I mean.”

Hecate smiled softly, walking briskly over to Eurydice. Before Eurydice could open her mouth to apologize for the intrusion again, Hecate opened up her arms and pulled Eurydice into a tight embrace. Eurydice only faltered for a brief moment before the overwhelming safety and warmth of Hecate”s touch sent her into another bout of tears.

”There, there, sweet child,” Hecate murmured. She whispered the words against Eurydice”s hair, letting her cling to her bosom like a child to their mother. ”There”s always room for my heartbroken children here.”

”I-I”m not,” Eurydice hiccuped. ”I”m not yours though. I”m not an acolyte.”

Hecate made a soft tutting sound and pulled back slightly. She cupped Eurydice”s face with her hands, her thumbs gently brushing away the tears on her cheeks.

”Every woman has the right to call themselves my child, Eurydice.” Hecate was deadly serious. ”Every woman needs a safe place amongst other women. Speaking of,” Hecate turned around, ”Hermes, get lost.”

Hermes made an exaggerated gasp, licking some of the syrup off his finger where he”d been eating out of one of the jars on Hecate”s countertop.

”I want to stick around for girl time.” Hermes pouted. ”You always kick me out.”

”And why do you think that is?” Hecate countered, cocking her hip and putting her hand on her waist. She wrapped her other arm around Eurydice”s shoulders and pulled her into her side. Eurydice couldn”t help but feel warm all over at the receptiveness of Hecate”s attitude and the warmth of her kitchen. Simply standing in such a comforting room with a genuine maternal goddess was doing wonders for her poor nerves.

”I don”t know,” Hermes whined again, playfully kicking his feet. ”I like boys too! And I”d love to talk shit about Orpheus, personally.”

”You want to hear me talk about how I slept with your son last night?” Eurydice cringed, pointing out the obvious, which Hermes seemed to be missing. He paled immediately, his face screwing up in an exaggerated expression of disgust.

”Nope, nope. I can go until the end of time itself without hearing those details.” He hopped off the counter and sauntered towards them. He gave Hecate a loud kiss on the cheek and petted Eurydice on the head as though she were a small child. She didn”t even mind. It was nice to feel small for a little while, to be surrounded by immortals who were older and more powerful than she was and who didn”t care about the legacy of ”Orpheus and Eurydice.” She wasn”t one half of a couple or Orpheus”s missing piece standing in Hecate”s kitchen; she was simply Eurydice.

She realized she didn”t know how long it”d been since she felt like she was only Eurydice, simply and wonderfully herself. At that exact moment, admittedly, she was in knots about everything that had happened, but it felt good to be recognized as an individual after so long.

”Goodbye, Hermes.” Hecate said farewell almost like a warning; Eurydice assumed that she was implying Hermes shouldn”t try to worm his way back into her house.

”Goodbye, my virgin of vengeance,” he grinned, waggling his eyebrows as he gave them both an exaggerated bow and departed on swift feet without a second word.

”Goodness, he never changes, does he?” Hecate smiled, her expression clearly indicating that she didn”t hold any contempt or disdain for Hermes in the slightest. Eurydice didn”t know if Hermes understood how warmly Hecate felt about him, but she surmised those two had a relationship that only made sense to the two of them.

”In the short time I”ve known him, he”s been annoyingly consistent in his mischief.” Eurydice nodded, and Hecate clapped her hands together.

”Yes! Annoyingly consistent,” she chuckled to herself quietly. ”That does explain it. Well,” she raised her voice and looked at Eurydice, ”take a seat, I”ll get you something to drink.”

She turned back to her work bench, and Eurydice got comfortable at the kitchen table, admiring the intricate carvings on the side of it. It was worn and shiny with use, and it told the story of a thousand long evenings spent with company around it. Hecate”s dogs settled at Eurydice”s feet, one of them plopping their head on the bench within reach of Eurydice”s hand. It was clearly angling for pats, and Eurydice was in no position to ever deny them. She scratched the dog”s ears absentmindedly, watching the flickering, color-changing flames of the hearth as Hecate busied herself in the kitchen.

Time didn”t seem to affect Hecate”s space. Eurydice was lost in her thoughts, not unpleasantly, simply enjoying the serenity. She didn”t know how much time had passed before Hecate placed a steaming cup in front of her.

”Drink that, gentle one. It”ll help.” Hecate reached into a small satchel tied to her waist, getting a pinch of glittering powder and tossing it into the hearth. The flames popped and leaped up the chimney, licking the sides of the stone and bursting with bright pink sparks.

Eurydice squeaked and jerked away from the hearth. ”Was that supposed to happen?” Hecate sat down next to Eurydice and gently patted her shoulder.

”Yes, yes, you”ll have to forgive me. Getting Persephone”s attention requires some dramatics. Now, drink your tea.”

Eurydice”s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. ”Persephone?!” There was a tremor in her voice that she wasn”t proud of. She remembered sitting in front of Persephone in Hades”s throne room; it was the goddess”s influence that got Hades to agree to let Orpheus attempt to leave the Underworld with Eurydice after all. Hecate was studying Eurydice”s face, and she must have picked up on the hesitation in Eurydice”s expression.

”Oh, darling,” Hecate gave her a soft smile, squeezing her hand in encouragement, ”don”t be frightened. Persephone is no champion for Orpheus. She”s just a romantic. She also likes to contradict Hades every chance she gets. She pushed Hades to offer Orpheus a deal for her own reasons, not out of any admiration for that fraud.” Hecate sneered the last word, and Eurydice relaxed at seeing the goddess”s response to Orpheus”s name.

”I understand.” Eurydice offered lamely, grabbing hold of the cup that Hecate had offered her. She brought it up to take a drink before pausing, hesitation suddenly coursing through her veins. Eurydice placed it back down on the table and grimaced, looking across the table where Hecate had taken her seat.

”I don”t mean to be rude,” Eurydice swallowed thickly, ”but can you tell me what is in this? I”ve had a bit of a day when it comes to, um, ingesting things given to me by gods.”

”Oh, yes, of course.” Hecate didn”t seem offended in the slightest to be questioned. ”It”s tea.”

”Just tea?” Eurydice brought the cup to her face and smelled it. She was immediately knocked back by the heavy whiff of alcohol.

”Well, it”s tea mixed with some ambrosia.” Hecate chuckled to herself, dipping a spoon into her own cup and stirring it precisely three times. Eurydice was fascinated with everything Hecate did; every move she made seemed to be intentional. She tapped her spoon on the edge of her cup three times before setting it down and taking a long sip.

”Ah,” Hecate sighed, ”that always hits the spot.” She looked at Eurydice and nodded at the cup in her hands. ”I won”t force you to drink anything you don”t want to, of course, but I have always found that day drinking is really made better by drinking. According to my infinite wisdom.” Hecate winked, taking another long sip.

Eurydice stared at her for a brief second before she burst into laughter; whatever she expected from the goddess of witchcraft, it wasn”t this. Eurydice shrugged and knocked back half of her cup and its contents without a second thought. Frankly, there was no better way to be spending her day than getting a little shit-faced. It was well needed after finally fucking her best friend, realizing she was in love with him, discovering her husband and her best friend had lied, and she”d technically died twice.

”Fuck yes!” A cheerful, deep woman”s voice echoed throughout the kitchen. Eurydice sat up straighter with a start, looking around to see where the voice was coming from. Hecate started laughing but didn”t seem alarmed that a voice had called out from the ether.

The flames in the hearth crackled with pink sparks again and smoke started billowing out from the chimney into the kitchen. It was a swirling mix of pink and red, and scattered rose petals and pomegranate seeds started appearing on the floor. Hecate caught sight of the small whirlwind and rolled her eyes.

”Do you always need to make such a dramatic entrance?” Hecate called out to the ceiling, standing up from her seat at the table. She took her cup over to the counter, refilling it and filling a second cup before sitting back down. She placed the second drink across the table from Eurydice at an empty seat. The smoke continued to fill the room until Eurydice nearly couldn”t see anything else; it obscured almost her entire field of vision. She was about to cry out to Hecate in confusion when all the smoke vanished just as quickly as it had poured into the kitchen.

Eurydice gasped in surprise to see Persephone sitting across the table from her. The goddess looked as picture perfect as Eurydice remembered her. She had long, wavy blonde hair that practically reached all the way to her waist, almost in the style of nymphs. She was wrapped up in a himation that was blood red in color and slowly faded out to pink. There was a thin circlet made of gold around Persephone”s brow, with small, carved depictions of flowers and pomegranates. The circlet was set with black stones, which Eurydice rightfully assumed were memoirs of Hades.

”Eurydice,” Persephone looked torn between grief and pleasure, ”I”m so happy to see you, but not under these circumstances.”

”That”s why we”re drinking, Persephone.” Hecate smirked playfully. She snapped her fingers, and an amphora appeared on the table in the middle of the trio. ”We”re not writing love letters.”

”Well,” Persephone”s smile widened. She picked up her cup and held it out towards Eurydice. ”Welcome to the time-honored tradition of getting drunk in Hecate”s kitchen when a man in the Underworld fucks up.”

Eurydice couldn”t help but start laughing, and she tapped her cup against Persephone”s.

It didn”t take long for the alcohol to keep flowing, and Eurydice was even more overjoyed when Persephone and Hecate didn”t mention Orpheus or Pan once. They talked about anything else, from the weather to the latest in Olympic gossip. They kept going until Eurydice realized with a start that it was nearly sundown and they”d been drinking and gossiping all day. It hardly mattered; Eurydice had nowhere else to be, and the levity made her heart feel lighter than it had in weeks.

The sunset didn”t stop them, and even Makaria joined them before the night was done. She also was careful not to mention Orpheus a single time, and she didn”t bring up the last visit she”d made to Eurydice in Orpheus”s garden. By the time it was nearing midnight, Eurydice was feeling as light as the clouds. It was partially because of the alcohol, but there was an even warmer feeling in her chest from being surrounded by strong women who didn”t need to have a conversion with Eurydice around her relationship with Orpheus.

”Let”s get you to bed, my child.” Hecate hiccuped, still managing to sound graceful, as she pried Eurydice off the floor where she”d been dozing, using one of the dogs as a pillow. Eurydice murmured something in agreement and allowed Hecate to escort her upstairs, where she toppled into one of Hecate”s guest rooms.

Eurydice was fast asleep before Hecate could even shut the door, blessedly free from the burden of wondering what mood Orpheus would be in when she awoke.