Chapter 5

NEPTUNE

After a few days at sea, it was strange to be on land, even if I'd always spent time going between the two of them. The bright lights of the hotel lit up the night, inviting us all to make our way inside The Phoke and join the party inside.

I headed into the hotel, appreciating the decor. It was tastefully done with nods to Ancient Greek architecture and to the sea. Not that I could say as much, I knew exactly how Greek gods responded to compliments from those of us in the Roman pantheon, and they didn't tend to be very receptive.

As if she could hear my thoughts, Psamathe tensed as she noticed my approach.

"Psamathe," I said, nodding briefly to the nereid.

"Neptune," she responded with a frosty note in her voice.

I didn't linger on the conversation, not wanting to prolong the awkwardness I knew would be there between us. I moved down the reception line, finding that my potential run-ins with the Greek gods were far from over.

Aphrodite gave me a wary but friendly smile. It had been thousands of years, but the enmity between our pantheons had never quite disappeared. I wasn't sure what it would take for that to happen, but it would be nothing short of a miracle if it did.

I stepped inside the room, instantly understanding at least some of Psamathe's attitude. A large banner announced that the event was sponsoring the seal sanctuary across the cove. She was wary of me because of what had happened on these islands under Roman rule and the near decimation of the monk seal population. I'd heard they were bouncing back now, but I could understand why she found that to be a hard thing to forgive. I wasn't convinced I'd be any different if I were in her position.

I headed to the bar while keeping an eye on the room, looking for one particular face amongst the crowd. Beyond knowing that she was the manager of one of the acts Jinx had hired to entertain us, I didn't know anything about the woman I'd first met while I'd been swimming. Not even her name. I supposed I could have asked Anansa, but the last thing I wanted was a love goddess meddling in my life because I asked a question.

The bartender appeared beside me and I ordered an ouzo lemonade from the signature cocktail list while I waited.

Much to my surprise, I saw the woman I was looking for heading towards me, wearing a stunning black dress that highlighted her in the perfect way.

She met my gaze, then looked down, not seeming so sure about it.

"Hello." I was pleased she seemed to be seeking me out. Maybe I wasn't the only one who kept replaying our meetings over and over in my head.

"I'm sorry, Your Eminence, I must apologise for my behaviour."

I blinked a few times. "Your Eminence?" I echoed.

"I must apologise for that too, I'm not sure how to properly address gods from the Roman pantheon." Her voice was much stiffer than it had been during our other interactions and it hurt more than I expected.

"Most people just use my name."

"Neptune," she whispered, looking up at me with what appeared to be a hint of fear in her eyes.

Which was when it dawned on me what was happening. "You had no idea," I said.

"I didn't. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be, I didn't introduce myself. Maybe we should start again?" I suggested.

She looked up, a frown marring her beautiful features. "Start again?"

I held out my hand. "I'm Neptune, pleased to meet you."

She eyed my hand warily as if worried that it was some kind of trick. Slowly, she reached out to take it, her hand soft and warm in mine.

"Bo," she said. "I mean, my name. I realised I hadn't told you either."

"Bo," I repeated. "It suits you."

"Thanks." She let go of my hand and went as if to push some hair behind her ear but thought better of it.

"Would you like a drink?"

"You want to have a drink with me?" Surprise came through her voice.

"Yes." I picked up the signature cocktail menu and held it out to her.

She looked over it. "I've never had any of these."

"You can try mine, if you want." I picked up my ouzo lemonade and grabbed a paper straw from the dispenser, holding both out to her.

"You want me to drink from a glass belonging to someone I've just met?" she asked.

"Right. Probably not smart." I put it back down, wondering where my sense had gone. "How do you feel about anise?"

"It's okay."

"All right, so not the ouzo lemonade. Cinnamon?" I checked.

"I like it."

"Then you should try the Greek mimosa." I gestured to the bartender and let her order her drink.

"What happens if I don't like it?" she asked, leaning against the bar.

"Then you can order something different."

"That seems rude when someone is buying it for me."

"Technically, Jinx is buying it for you," I pointed out. "The parties at this level of Jinx are all-inclusive."

"Right." She shuffled uncomfortably. "I am sorry about not recognising you."

I shrugged. "You said you grew up in China, why would you recognise me? Half of my statues look like Poseidon anyway."

"I'm sure that isn't true."

"Look it up." I nodded to her handbag.

She gave me a look that seemed to be incredulous. "I'm sure they look like you." She pulled out her phone and tapped it a few times. "Would you look to the left?"

I did as she asked and she held up her phone, frowning.

"Told you," I said.

"Maybe it's just this one." She turned her phone around so I could see.

I chuckled. I couldn't read the Chinese characters in the caption, but I recognised the statue. "That is Poseidon."

"Oh." She scrolled down a little further. "They all look the same to me. Which one is you?"

I took the question as an invitation to move closer, leaning over so I could see her screen. "This one is me," I said, pointing out one of the photos. "The statue is in Rome."

She made it bigger and compared it to me. "Okay, I concede, that doesn't look like you at all. Unless you can change your appearance."

"I can't," I assured her. "I've been stuck looking like this my entire life."

Much to my pleasure, she raked her gaze up and down me, taking me in. "I don't see anything to complain about."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

She cleared her throat and busied herself with the mimosa. The pink bubbles rose to the top of the glass, and I could smell it from here, almost making me wish I'd ordered one myself.

Bo took a sip, a delighted expression crossing her face. "That's good," she said. "I didn't actually catch what was in it."

"I'm not sure exactly how they're making it here, but it's normally tsipouro, cinnamon syrup, and a twist of lemon topped off with sparkling rosé."

"I'd order that again."

"If you don't like anise, I'd recommend checking that the tsipouro is unflavoured."

"How did you know this one was going to be?" she asked.

"Because I've been to enough events run by Aphrodite to know that she'd never put two anise flavoured cocktails on a limited menu, and this is an ouzo lemonade." I picked up my drink and saluted her with it.

"Aphrodite organised the party? As in the Greek goddess?"

I nodded towards where the golden-haired woman was chatting with some of the other guests. "That's her there, in the sea green dress."

Bo turned and looked where I was pointing. "She's beautiful."

"I suppose."

"You don't think so?" Bo looked back at me, her dark eyes shining in the lights coming from behind the bar.

"Don't tell her I said anything, but I think there are lots of beautiful women who can match her, including in this room." My gaze came to rest on her. She was stunning, her heart-shaped face framed perfectly by her hair, which was twisted into an elegant knot.

Bo cleared her throat. "Are you usually this charming?"

"Only with women who I catch watching me swim."

She snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. "Sorry."

"Why?"

She frowned. "It wasn't a very refined sound."

"It was honest though," I pointed out. "I liked it."

She seemed a bit flustered, and focused her attention on her drink.

I picked up my own and took a sip. "So, if you're on the cruise to manage your friend, I take it that means you're not looking for love?"

"No," she said. "I don't have time for a relationship. I travel the world managing Mimi, and it's all go, all the time. It doesn't leave much of a space for romance."

"That's a shame."

"Why?" She met my gaze and I could see a hint of challenge in her question.

"I can see why anyone would be lucky to date you."

"You barely know me," she pointed out.

"True. But I've met a lot of people, I'm a pretty good judge of character."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that before or after you cause a storm to make their boat go off course?"

"You're thinking of Poseidon," I corrected her. "A lot of our stories got conflated."

She leaned against the bar, a pensive expression on her face. "Does that bother you?"

"Not as much as it used to. The people who matter will judge me based on who I actually am, the people who think that they know me because of some stories that are actually about Poseidon, don't matter."

She nodded along with what I was saying. "You don't seem like an angry vengeful god."

"I'd like to think I'm not. Though if it helps put your mind at ease about not recognising me, I don't actually have the power to smite people."

"I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed," she responded.

"A little of both?" I grinned and took a sip of my lemonade.

"A little of both it is." She looked past me, a serious expression on her face as she spotted something in the distance. "Duty calls," she said.

I wanted to argue and convince her to stay, but knew that it wasn't my place to. "Hopefully I'll see you soon," I said instead.

"It's a small ship," she responded, the slight smile on her face suggesting she was enjoying throwing my own words back at me. "I'm sure it'll be soon enough." She finished her drink and set her empty glass down on the bar.

I watched her leave, even more enchanted than I had been before. I hated that she'd felt the need to apologise for not recognising me when it was fully my fault for not introducing myself, but it seemed as if we'd gotten past that quickly enough.

And now I couldn't help but look forward to our next encounter.