4. Two

Chapter four

Two

I n the darkness beyond the glow of the candles, I can see what he is. Two heads mounted on a strong, tall set of shoulders, and a broad, shirtless chest. The body they share is wearing blue jeans and no shoes, and the body looks human. But they are not human. And they have Tom and Professor Ariti’s heads.

Tom’s Sean Connery eyes look concerned. “I think she’s going to pass out,” he says, and they walk towards me.

I step back. My emotions are a swirling mass of confusion. I need space and time to think and process my shock. Instead, my knees give way.

Their arms catch me before I hit the ground, one hand deftly lifting my champagne glass to safety. The ocean scent I remember from only hours before washes over me, and my hands clutch onto strong shoulders.

“This isn’t… what I thought you’d look like shirtless,” I say.

“Good to know you’ve been thinking about it,” Professor Ariti says.

“Perhaps we all need a drink,” Tom suggests, and they carry me to a reading chair by the champagne and sit me down.

I sit with my legs curled up underneath me while the zodiac god Gemini lights the candles on the tables around us. It helps me see the library more clearly - it’s cosier than the rest of the library, with more of the reading chairs like the one I’m in now.

I find libraries comforting. In here, I’m surrounded by books and knowledge. Professor Ariti knows that. I suppose that’s why he brought me here tonight.

I’m clutching a glass of champagne and I sip it slowly. My head is clearer now than it was at the frat party, and I’d like to keep it that way.

“I prefer to get to know our sacrifices,” the Professor says. “Because as you know, it is possible to develop a relationship that allows us to remain in corporeal form. I believe it’s hard to develop a relationship unless you have time to get to know one another. And we only get one chance at this, every two hundred years.”

I nod, not trusting myself to speak yet.

“I believe more in raw chemistry,” Tom says. “I’m more of an impulsive person.” He reaches for a glass of champagne and takes a swig.

It’s hard not to stare - they work in synchronicity, but I can tell when the hands switch control between them. Professor Ariti is more precise and cautious with his movements, Tom a bit more rough and less controlled.

I can’t help wonder what it will be like in bed with those hands - which one of them will be pleasuring me, and when they’ll swap control between them.

My face heats, and I sip my champagne to hide it as Professor Ariti continues. “It was hard to find a sacrifice that would represent both sides of us.”

“Chris prefers a good girl,” Tom says, with a wry twist to his lips. “As uptight as he is.”

“Chemistry is important to Tom. We had agreed you would only meet each other tonight, but I expected him to wait until after the party. But he’s ever the rebel, which is the way he likes his women.” The Professor smiles at me with a wry twist of his lips.

I frown. “I’m not a rebel. I… haven’t had much of a chance to be.”

“But wouldn’t you like to be?” Tom asks, and his eyes capture me as they did at the party, his lips curling up into a slow smile.

My breath catches, and Professor Ariti’s eyes bore into me. I blush and look away.

“We’re aware of your situation,” Tom says, drawing my gaze back to him. “That’s why it was important for both of us that you choose us. Now you know everything, we want you to still have completely free choice. The money that comes with the sacrifice will still be yours, even if you back out now.”

“We’re not interested in having you under duress,” Professor Ariti says softly, those lips of his turning down as his face draws into a worried frown.

I put my champagne glass down and look away from them, into one of the candles, and try to unpack what I’m feeling. Their offer is incredibly generous. I could walk away now and be free from the burden of expectation on me - could walk away from a lifetime defined as a sacrifice.

“What is going on in that head?” Professor Ariti murmurs, as the silence drags on. Those lips of his curl into a half smile. It’s what he used to say, when I would fall into contemplative silence. And sometimes, even though I couldn’t tell him everything, I would share how I felt. I shared more with Professor Ariti than anyone in my life, thanks to his gentle way of listening.

And so, I tell him now, letting the feelings bypass my brain and pour from my mouth.

“I was thinking that I don’t know who I am, or if I’m free. All my life I’ve been the dutiful daughter, and the sacrifice to the gods. It’s a burden, yes, but also my identity.”

“I don’t think of you that way,” the professor says.

“Oh?” I ask.

“No. I see a young woman full of frustrated rebellion, who moved away from her family to live an independent life at college. I see someone who will explore the world, now she has a chance. Who will flourish.”

“And I see a woman with a wildness inside her - a wildness I’d love to explore,” Tom adds.

I flush in the dim, flickering candlelight and glance at him - at them. Even in this form, I’m undeniably attracted to Tom. And it’s true that it’s the rebel in him I find so appealing.

“You could go to Europe, as you said you always wanted to, Sofie, to explore,” the Professor says. It reminds me how much he knows about me - those precious conversations during breaks, and before and after study sessions. The sneaking moments I caught sight of him, beyond his passion for mythology.

“Were you yourself, then? As the professor?” I can’t help but ask.

“I didn’t lie to you about who I am. My love of ancient mythology, the way I like my coffee… And my interest in you.” Those sexy lips curl into a slight smile.

“He just left out the god part,” Tom adds.

I huff a laugh. “And what happens to you? If you don’t get your sacrifice?”

“We return to where we came,” the professor says.

“Into the nothing,” Tom says. “We know we’re alive, and we get snippets of our memories, but we have only a vague idea of who we are, and we have no bodies. It’s only the sacrifice that tethers us to this world.”

My gaze passes again to Professor Ariti. I wanted my freedom - yes. But I wanted to explore that freedom with someone like him. If I choose not to go ahead with my sacrifice tonight, I’ll never see him again.

And that thought is unbearable.

Under lowered lashes, I take in the god before me. Their build is powerful, to carry the weight of two heads, and they make the library stacks look small.

While I’ve been considering, they’ve gone quiet, but I feel their gaze still, two sets of eyes steadily fixed on me, waiting with a quiet tension as I decide their fate.

When I look back up into their faces, I’m ready.

My heart is pounding, but I ignore it. I stand up and approach them. “I want my first kiss,” I say. Then I reach back and unzip my dress. I ignore the flash of self-consciousness that makes me flush, and let the dress drop to the floor. My bra quickly follows, leaving me only in my underwear.