Chapter 3

Eurydice asked to go back home to tidy up before they went to greet Orpheus. She didn’t have much time. Makaria hadn’t been kidding when she said that Orpheus was on his way with Thanatos. Eurydice thought she was going to be sick and desperately needed a few moments to herself before facing her ex-husband. Was he her ex-husband? What was the policy if you died on your wedding day?

Telodice and Makaria promised to wait for Eurydice at the edge of the woods and give her all the time she needed to prepare herself.

Eurydice’s home was small, made of mud bricks and wood, perched in a small clearing. There were huge, open windows with sheer, billowing curtains that dominated most of the walls and very little furniture. If the weather was ever too harsh, Eurydice simply asked one of the weather nymphs to ease up. She couldn’t bear to be kept from the forests of the Underworld, even inside of her own home. Her favorite spot in the entire house was the small rooftop balcony, with hanging tapestries dyed the colors of bright summer berries, oversized cushions, and two small braziers constantly burning frankincense. She spent most of her nights sleeping up on the roof, refusing to be confined to any space.

Eurydice sat in the bedroom that she never used, with a small hand mirror propped up against the wall. It was one of her favorite pieces—one of her few material possessions at all—and was carved with images of nymphs running in the forest under a full moon. It had been a gift from Pan. The fact that it appeared in her Underworld dwelling was nothing less than a kind, welcoming gesture on Hades’s behalf.

Eurydice’s hand was wrapped tightly around the end of her hair, her fingers shaky and palms sweating as she braided it. A part of her knew that she remembered Orpheus and their short marriage, but she had virtually no recollection of any of their time together. She stared at her reflection, trying to remember the woman in the mirror.

It shouldn’t matter, should it? Makaria would warn me if Orpheus was dangerous. If I died on our wedding day, then surely, I should be excited to see him again? I must be. I am.

Eurydice took a long, slow, deep breath as she finished tying off her hair in a braid.

“I am excited to see Orpheus.”

The words sounded dull and unenthusiastic as she forced herself to say them out loud. She tried to summon up some excitement or the thrill of love within her chest. Eurydice closed her eyes and waited for the feeling.

Nothing came.

Eurydice had never been a woman who fell in love too easily. In fact, Orpheus was the first serious lover that she’d ever had—she remembered that much, at least. Her life in the mortal realm had been mainly focused on the survival of her favorite trees and flowers and pushing for the balance of nature to remain untouched. She was born from a small creek in Northern Greece, pulling herself out of the waters and into creation, with Pan’s blessing, when she saw someone polluting the waters with run-off from a forge.

Somewhere along the way, her connection to the land had been cut off. She wished she could remember why and how so she could avoid it again at all costs. Only since returning to the Underworld did she start to tend pieces of herself long forgotten, alongside the flowers and the saplings.

“I am excited to see Orpheus,” Eurydice repeated herself, but she still sounded hollow.

Well, I suppose there’s no apprenticeship for how to greet your long-lost husband. No time like the present.

Eurydice stood up and rolled her shoulders, stepping outside to join Telodice and Makaria. She could sense it in the air—the Underworld was nearly vibrating with anticipation. Eurydice fought back against another wave of nausea, feeling as though she was about to walk onstage in a play without having memorized her lines.

* * *

There was no pomp and circumstance when new souls arrived in the Underworld. There was no need. The souls of the recently departed arrived in a near constant parade to the banks of Styx, keeping Charon in perpetual motion.

When the word spread that Thanatos was returning with Orpheus, nearly all the residents of hell came to witness the reunion. Spirits, souls, and deities alike flocked to the banks to witness what would surely be the most talked-about arrival since Sisyphus.

Eurydice was trailing slightly behind Telodice and Makaria as they approached the banks of Styx, Eurydice keeping her head down. She was firmly focused on the small flowers that popped up wherever Telodice stepped and careful that she didn’t tread on them as she followed. Makaria and Telodice stopped suddenly, causing Eurydice to nearly crash into them.

Makaria was wearing a simple gray tunic, but everything about her was illuminated, like oil in bright light. Telodice had managed to change too, and she was now dressed in head-to-toe pink, with roses pinned throughout her hair. Eurydice didn’t think to change her outfit at all, and when she saw her friends, she’d paused and wondered why she suddenly felt ashamed. Unfamiliar emotions were the theme of the day for Eurydice, so she’d buried the notion and decided not to change her appearance after all.

Eurydice wore the same thing every day—a short, lilac tunic, that in the mortal world was more appropriate for young boys or girls. It was certainly not something for a grown woman to wear, or anyone with deity’s blood, but it made Eurydice feel carefree and comfortable. What was the point of being dead if she couldn’t wear whatever she wanted?

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Makaria’s gaze was firm as she raised an eyebrow at Eurydice. Eurydice glanced between Makaria and Telodice. Telodice looked as excited as a sapling on a spring day. She was practically vibrating with excitement. If Eurydice didn’t know any better, she would’ve assumed that Telodice belonged to Aphrodite.

In yet another unidentifiable feeling to settle in Eurydice’s chest, she was suddenly burdened with the responsibility of Telodice’s excitement.

‘A reunion for the ages’, Telodice had said earlier. Eurydice widened her smile, trying to pull in her errant thoughts. It must be. I’m only nervous. That’s it. I’m simply nervous.

“Yes, of course I want to do this.” Eurydice’s smile widened even further. Makaria said nothing in response while Telodice clapped her hands rapidly in excitement.

“Let’s go then,” Makaria nodded solemnly.

The banks of the river Styx were crowded like Eurydice had never seen before, and a strange wave of fear washed over her. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her hands into fists, wincing slightly as her nails dug into her palms.

Eurydice felt the weight of a thousand eyes on her shoulders as the crowd quickly recognized her. Everyone turned to stare at the legendary Eurydice, the muse of all muses, whose death had pushed Orpheus to the brink of insanity. The petals underneath Eurydice’s feet started to wilt as she stepped forward, keeping her eyes down as Makaria cut a path through the crowd. Eurydice straightened up and suddenly found herself wishing that she had worn something more appropriate, something grander or prettier like Telodice did.

Eurydice was no longer Eurydice. She was Orpheus’s Eurydice, and that palpable difference rocked her to her core.

Eurydice could hear the crowd’s murmured whispers begin to grow louder and louder as they got closer to the river, all of them turning to one another and whispering whatever popped into their mind about Eurydice.

Eurydice tried to block out all of their voices, but the noise grew until she couldn’t hear her own thoughts, replaced by the thoughts of a thousand others.

“She’s not as pretty as I thought she’d be.”

“Do you think she’s excited?”

“She doesn’t look excited.”

“If I was going to see my husband, after all he did for me…”

Makaria abruptly stopped and turned around, wrapping her arm around Eurydice’s waist and pulling her into her side.

“Walk closer to me,” she encouraged, tossing a sharp glare out over the crowd. They responded instantly to Makaria, and the observers closest to them immediately took a few steps back. Makaria was a death goddess, after all, and very few deities commanded as much respect. Especially in the Underworld.

After what seemed like another eternity, the masses parted, and Eurydice found herself standing on the banks of the river Styx.

A hush went over the entire crowd, who suddenly got so quiet that Eurydice could hear the gentle waters of Styx running in front of her. Eurydice was holding her breath, her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest.

A pulse of cold magic whipped through the air, and several of the observers fell to their knees. The sound of heavy, leathery wings cut through the air. Thanatos.

“He’s here.” Makaria whispered, her mouth turned up in a small smile. Eurydice watched as Makaria’s entire countenance brightened at the appearance of her lover, and another hot stab of shame pierced her gut as she realized she didn’t even come close to how Makaria was feeling.

I’m nervous. That’s normal.Eurydice forced herself to remember.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the sound of beating wings got louder, and a bright flash of light blinded everyone at the river. Eurydice squeaked and covered her eyes, turning away from the sudden brightness.

This is it.Her mind started to trip over itself. He’s here. When I open my eyes…

“Eurydice,” Makaria was whispering softly in her ear, “Orpheus is here.”

Eurydice found a sudden burst of courage and opened her eyes without thinking, ignoring the swathes of people all around them. She pushed out and ignored everything that reminded her that they were not alone, and her eyes settled on Orpheus.

He’s perfect.

It was Eurydice’s first thought, and everything else melted away. The man who stood before her on the opposite bank of the Styx was smiling at her with an expression that she had seen a thousand times before. A collection of memories came rushing to the surface, and each tender moment Eurydice had ever had with Orpheus played in her mind. A great sense of loss and love surged through her veins, the strength of it sending Eurydice to her knees.

The crowd cheered, obviously pleased at the sight of Eurydice overcome, because this was the reaction they had hoped for.

Eurydice couldn’t take her eyes off Orpheus. She could see his lips moving as his smile widened even further, mouthing her name over and over again. Eurydice couldn’t even find the strength to respond, her hands shaking at her sides as she tried to comprehend the barrage of sensations inside of her.

Orpheus looked the same as he did in her memories. His golden hair was curling at his temples, and his long tunic was richly embroidered. There was a lyre looped over his shoulder, his opposite hand extended out to Eurydice as if he could reach her over the Styx. She retraced his features with her eyes and viscerally remembered how they felt. Orpheus’s strong jaw and aquiline features were the things that sculptors themselves would envy.

Eurydice was so completely overwhelmed that she didn’t even realize she was crying, unable to move while her knees sunk into the sand of the riverbank.

A great, booming voice cut through the cheers and tears and rocked the foundations of the Underworld.

“That’s enough!” Hades himself emerged from the crowd. He had a white-knuckle grip on his bident and looked enraged.

“This is not Olympus, nor is the Underworld a colosseum,” Hades growled, the echo of his voice causing the ground to shake. “The arrival of a new soul in the Underworld, regardless of whatever mortal status they achieved, is not a spectator sport. Depart!” Hades slammed the end of his bident into the earth, and a small shockwave rippled through the crowd. Within seconds, they all turned and started running back to wherever they had come from. Eurydice was still blinking in a mild state of shock as the banks of the Styx cleared out in under a minute.

“My deepest apologies.” Hades’s voice was suddenly much closer to Eurydice. She tried to clear her vision and realized she was staring at the hem of a black tunic with one extended hand at her eye level.

“Oh, thank you,” she whispered, accepting Hades’s hand as he helped her to her feet. She could barely keep her focus on the god as her eyes kept crossing the river, staring at Orpheus as he eagerly awaited his turn across the water.

“It’s not my wish that you’d be the victim of such a spectacle today,” Hades continued. “I would have arranged for a more…subtle meeting had I got wind of Orpheus’s arrival in time.”

“No need for apologies, my lord.” Eurydice offered Hades a short bow. “You have always been kind to me and governed well during my time here.”

“I should hope that your opinion remains unchanged,” Hades replied before disappearing as quickly as he had come.

Eurydice looked back across the river and saw Thanatos greet Charon, who helped Orpheus step down into his boat. Thanatos laughed at something his brother said and then reappeared next to Makaria.

“You know where to find me if you need me,” Makaria said by way of goodbye. Thanatos smiled warmly at Eurydice and grabbed hold of his consort and Telodice, vanishing on the winds as they cleared out the valley for Eurydice’s reunion.

She could barely nod, her heart stuck in her throat, as she watched as Charon’s boat hit the halfway point. Orpheus was still smiling wildly at her, saying things that she couldn’t hear, beckoning for her with outstretched arms. He was stretched so far over the side that Eurydice worried he might fall.

Everything was happening to Eurydice in slow motion. Charon docked his boat, and Orpheus flew off it, running down the long pier towards Eurydice. The finer details of his features came into view, and Eurydice remembered how she’d traced each freckle on his cheeks in the summertime. The sweet warmth of a summer sun and memories of soft breezes and flowers flooded her memory. That was everything Orpheus was—he was springtime incarnated in a mortal man.

As Orpheus reached her, he stopped, his expression faltering when he realized that Eurydice had yet to move.

Eurydice was screaming inside of her head, telling her body to move, move, move. Go to him! Yet, something held her back.

Orpheus’s smile softened but did not disappear as he held out his hand towards her.

“Hello, Eurydice.”