Chapter 30

Eurydice leaned over Pan”s shoulder and grabbed an overflowing goblet from his hand. She ignored his squawks of protest as she sipped from it, gulping half of the cup”s contents in one sip.

”Hey!” Pan whined playfully, slipping his arm around Eurydice”s waist and making room for her on his lap. They were sitting at a long table set up in the middle of a field, every seat filled with a nymph, dryad, or acolyte of Dionysus and Pan. It was the full harvest moon and one of Eurydice”s favorite times of the year to celebrate. The field was full of fresh grain, and the squash blossoms scattered across the table smelled delightful. The light of the moon illuminated all their bright and shining faces, and a massive bonfire was stoked to great heights just beyond the end of the table.

”You don”t mind.” Eurydice smiled. She kissed him on the cheek and finished off the rest of the wine. ”Is there more of this?” Eurydice looked around absentmindedly for another fresh amphora on the table. The moment the words left her mouth, her cup refilled, and she squeaked in delight.

”Oh, I”ll never get tired of that.” Eurydice smiled, taking another sip. Some of the wine dripped down her chin, and Pan leaned forward, cheekily licking some of it off.

”Careful, my love.” Pan waggled his eyebrows suggestively. ”If you spill any more wine, I”ll have to clean it up.”

Eurydice raised an eyebrow in challenge and looked at him with a smirk on her face, purposefully making eye contact with him as she turned her glass upside down and poured it out in her lap. Pan yelped as it splashed on their legs, jumping up from the chair and managing to keep a hold of Eurydice in his lap.

“Oh, you cheeky thing.” Pan chuckled, setting Eurydice up on her feet. She started laughing, her head falling back as she tossed the cup on the table. Pan never looked as good as he did in those moments, all wild and free, lit by the fire and his cheeks ruddy with alcohol.

Eurydice had never known what it was like to live. The past few months had taught her more about being alive than anything else in either of her previous lives—both in the mortal world and the Underworld. Part of her was a little afraid that the magic would ebb once she and Pan fell into a rhythm together, but the opposite was true. Their friendship didn”t really ever end; it just continued to grow with the romantic affection between them. He consistently surprised her with all of the ways he paid attention to the little things she did and said.

There was a sudden burst of wind that sent some of the dishes flying off the table. Everyone jumped out of the way except for Pan and Eurydice, who recognized the golden magic.

”Hermes!” Eurydice smiled, grabbing a fresh cup and holding it up in salute. ”I was wondering when we”d see you again.”

Hermes materialized from a glittering golden cloud of magic, the wings on his helmet and sandals fluttering. He landed on the middle of the table, making an exaggerated bow and a wink in Eurydice”s direction.

”Hello, darling muse. How are you doing today?”

”I”m right here,” Pan deadpanned playfully. Hermes grinned and jumped off the table, pulling his son into a hug.

”I already knew you were doing wonderfully with this goddess at your side, so I didn”t need to ask.”

”Good save,” Pan chuckled. He returned the embrace and clapped his father heavily on the back in greeting. Hermes pulled away with a mischievous glint in his eye and conjured a pheasant leg from the table, digging into it with abandon.

”I will say, Olympus certainly does love their ambrosia, but no one caters a party like Dionysus.”

Eurydice shrugged. ”It”s to counteract all the alcohol.”

”As if you”d want to counteract it!” Hermes acted scandalized. ”I”m sure you both will be happy to know that you made a delicious stir in the Underworld. So much gossip! The scheming! The trickery of it all.” Hermes looked enamored. ”It”s been a delight to see it all unfold.”

Eurydice and Pan had willfully been living in their own little world since returning to the mortal realm. They cavorted with Pan”s creatures of the wild and acolytes of Dionysus, but as much as they could, they avoided the gossip and rumors surrounding Eurydice”s second—successful—departure from the Underworld. Eurydice”s ears burned for the first time since she left.

”Did... Are they saying horrid things about me?” Eurydice stepped a little closer to Pan and couldn”t help but feel some of her old tendencies come through. She hated disappointing people after all; it was one of the reasons she had even been involved with Orpheus as long as she had.

Hermes shook his head and started to laugh. ”Oh, by the gods, absolutely not. Everyone loves a decent drama. Pan, the infamous fertility god, being in love with one of his nymphs for years, unrequited? While the love of his life was one half of the ”Orpheus and Eurydice”? Plus, he,” Hermes pointed dramatically at Pan, ”is the one who actually succeeded where Orpheus failed, escorting you out of the Underworld!” Hermes let out a joyous scream and tossed his hands up. ”Gods, everyone was going on about that Oedipus guy for a while, but this is the thing that plays are made of.” Hermes threw back another goblet of wine, and Eurydice sighed in relief, laughing and turning to kiss Pan on the cheek.

”He certainly did succeed where Orpheus failed. He”s succeeded in a lot of areas where Orpheus failed.” Eurydice laid the innuendo on thick. Hermes made a dramatic retching sound and pretended to step away until Pan waved him back.

”But tell us because I”m dying to know above all else... What happened to Orpheus?” Pan looked calm, but Eurydice could see the gleam of vengeance in his eye. Pan was keen on making sure that Orpheus got what was coming to him in the end.

”Oh, that is a story.” Hermes plopped down on the table and started kicking his legs back and forth. ”For starters, he was pretty quickly run out of the social groups he cavorted in. His reputation no longer worked for them, you know? Then there was something about him trying to get too close to a maiden at a dinner party. Dionysus and Hecate got involved before sunrise. Hecate had him sent to Tartarus before Hades could even get out of bed.”

The blood drained from Eurydice”s face. She wasn”t bothered that Orpheus”s soul was banished to the pits of the Underworld; it was overdue, quite frankly, but she hated the idea that he almost hurt someone else before his misbehavior finally caught up to him. Pan was right there, stepping in between Hermes and Eurydice, so all she could see was his face.

”Do you want to go somewhere quieter?” Pan asked gently, rubbing his hand across her shoulder comfortably. Eurydice breathed easy as soon as Pan was around, his wild presence and quick to action mannerisms always made her feel safe. It might be too chaotic for other women, but Eurydice wasn”t even a woman, anyway; she was a nymph with all the chaos and wildness it entailed.

Eurydice looked around the party. There were already intoxicated guests happily lounging across the table; food was being shared, and the wine was pouring fresh with every jar and amphora. The fire was stoked even higher, and she caught the warm smell of frankincense as someone tossed incense into its flames. Eurydice much preferred the wild noises of a party under the stars than the haunting silence of an empty house with only Orpheus”s melodies cutting the gloom.

”No,” she smiled softly, ”I don”t think I do.” Someone in the distance picked up a flute and started playing; Hermes made an excited wiggle and disappeared off to follow the music.

”Do you want to dance?” Pan offered, eyeing the nymphs that had already started to swing around the bonfire.

Eurydice turned, and her heart lit up. Gone were the days where she was scolded for being too improper. She nodded and kissed Pan quickly before heading off towards the dancers.

”Are you coming?” she asked excitedly, bouncing her weight from foot to foot. Pan sat back down on his chair and angled it so he was staring at the fire.

”You go on.” He grinned. ”I want to take in the view for a while.”

Eurydice”s smile was dazzling as her chest expanded further; every day she learned that she had a new capacity for happiness, and Pan was determined to set the record every day. Eurydice ran towards the circle of nymphs and jumped in, spinning wildly around the flames without a care in the world. Petals sprang up in her footsteps, and roses wove their way through her hair.

Eurydice surrendered herself to the sensation of being free and alive and in love. Utterly, irrevocably in love—the greatest song she”d ever heard.

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