Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

P enelope was in the kitchen with her hand in the cookie jar when Zo came in, flustered and red-faced, putting his head against the door for some inextricable reason.

"I swear I'll have room for dinner, but these are just so good," Penelope said quickly.

Instead of scolding her, Zo turned and gathered her up in a tight hug. He smelled of rosemary and coffee and a little like church incense.

"I'm so glad you're here." He leaned back and kissed both of her cheeks.

"Are you feeling okay?" Penelope asked and rubbed his back. "You seem distressed. What happened?"

Zo's mouth opened and closed a few times. He was literally speechless. That told her everything she needed to know. Only one person could do that to Zo.

"Has Constantine upset you? I thought you guys were going out to Christmas carols."

Alexis came into the kitchen behind them. "Constantine just kissed him under the mistletoe and outed himself finally," he said, a wry smile twisting up his lips. "Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out already, Zo. Do you even remember what the Roman Empire was like? There was barely a straight one amongst them."

Zo glared at him. "He's never said anything, and I have never presumed. Besides, he was only doing it because he knew it would get me worked up, and I would start writing again, which is what he actually wants. Stupid mistletoe. Can't you make the villa stop putting up unnecessary decorations?"

He began moving randomly, opening and closing cupboards as if looking for something before checking the fridge.

Penelope shot Alexis a worried look. As if reading her concern, Alexis gave her a short nod. Yes, he had already warned Constantine not to hurt their Zo. He might look big and strong, but he had the softest heart of all of them. He didn't need Constantine's flirting to upset him.

Penelope was never good at matters of the heart, so she went a different route. "Can I help you with anything? Everything smells so good, I can't wait to bury my face in all of it. It was only the thought of your cooking that convinced me to leave Greece at all."

Zo shook his head. "Phaidros is going to help me. You can go and have a shower and meet us in the atrium in thirty minutes."

Penelope wanted to point out that what she was wearing was fine, but then she saw the heated look that Alexis was giving her and decided against it. She definitely needed a shower if he was going to join her.

As if saying his name had summoned him, Phaidros came into the kitchen, his golden curls wild and shining.

"Zo! What's this I hear about Constantine sticking his tongue in your mouth. Was it consensual? Because if it wasn't?—"

Zo covered his red face with his hands. "Can you all just drop it? I just want us to have a nice dinner. Is that too much to ask?"

Penelope took Alexis's hand, and they went back out into the villa. "See? This is why I don't like Christmas. There's always someone upset and hiding in the kitchen." Usually, it was her.

"He's not upset, cara . He's just having to deal with all the hundreds of years he never dared to ask Con out. Convincing himself that he was straight was Zo's way to avoid it. This will be a good thing. Those two have danced around each other almost as much as Aelia and Phaidros but without all the toxic anger," Alexis replied, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, my love. They are big boys and will figure it out on their own, even if it takes another 1500 years."

Penelope could only hope he was right.

Penelope had only ever seen the atrium decorated as water gardens. Now, the area was decorated like a winter wonderland. It wasn't cold, and yet snow was falling in pretty drifts. Decorations made of ice hung from the trees, and the lounges and tables sat under a red and gold tent. Pretty black and copper braziers were positioned around the tent and were filled with burning wood that didn't smoke but emitted a soft heat. Everything smelled of cinnamon and spice.

"Did you help with the decorations?" she asked Alexis. She usually associated that kind of spice smell with his magic.

"I may have helped here and there. Mostly, it was Aelia. She's the one that insisted on decorating," he replied and kissed her cheek. "The surprise I put together with my magic is yet to come."

Penelope raised an eyebrow at him, but he only grinned. There was no way to get a surprise out of Alexis until he was ready to give it to you.

Aelia herself glided through the snowy gardens, dressed in a long red dress adorned with gold, her golden hair pinned up with red holly. She looked like some kind of Christmas faerie queen. Penelope could only smile because Aelia could wear a paper bag and still look like a queen. At moments like this, Penelope could see the Atlantean princess she had always been.

In contrast, Penelope was wearing a dark purple cashmere dress that had appeared mysteriously on her bed while she had been showering. She still wore her orichalcum bracelet with a trident and book design that had belonged to Nereus, her lapis lazuli ring from Alexis, and her Phaistos disc ring. She still looked at it and thought about all the unsolved mysteries of the world. Maybe she would have time to find the answers to a few.

"Where is my little bird? I thought he was right behind me," Aelia said, looking about.

"I am here, Aunty. I was waylaid in the kitchen," Elazar replied. He was carrying a steaming jug of spiced wine and a plate of thin ginger cookies. Penelope waited until he placed them on the table before gathering him in a hug.

"It is good to see you looking so well, Elazar," Penelope said, squeezing him harder. She had great affection for the older man and worried about his health like everyone else. It was ridiculous because he was in excellent shape for a man in his sixties, but his brush with Thevetat's priests was still too fresh in everyone's minds.

"I am better than well. I swear, between Abba and Uncle Constantine, I'm in better health now than I was in my forties," Elazar replied and accepted a kiss on the top of the head from Alexis. "I'm starting to think they are slipping Atlantean potions in my food."

"Seems like a lot of trouble when we can just do some magic on you while you're sleeping," Aelia commented and started pouring out the steaming wine.

Galenos and Lyca came in next and added their welcome homes to Penelope and Alexis. Lyca was still a little stiff when giving hugs, but that wasn't enough to stop.

"Marco sends his greetings. I tried to get him to come tonight, but his sisters have dragged him off to some family thing on the mainland," Lyca said and studied Penelope's face. "You still haven't found whatever is calling to you?"

"No, not yet. Why? Do you think you might know what it is?" Penelope asked.

Lyca shrugged. "It could be anything. The magicians and artificers made all kinds of crap. There were some objects Nereus had destroyed or locked up, but that was only what she could contain within the citadel. That doesn't mean people weren’t creating things in their own houses."

"I'm sure whatever it is, it won't be malicious," Galenos said, but he didn't sound sure. He added, "It will be better if you find it before anyone else does. The world is changing quickly again. Satellites and other new technology find more of what is buried daily. History will have to be rewritten, and all of the academic ideas held up as sacred idols by the white men who have tried to use the past as a vehicle of oppression will be pulled down."

"And not a moment too soon," Penelope said. She had suffered under the aforementioned white men during her academic career.

Alexis raised his cup. "I welcome it. Maybe they will get some of it right this time."

"This from the man who worked so hard to stop Atlantis from being found," Penelope couldn't resist mentioning.

" Amore mio , Atlantis is a very different matter from the most basic history," Alexis said, kissing her cheek.

"I see Alecto is starting his 'origins of man' debate, and I'm arriving just in time to save you all," Constantine announced. He was carrying heavy-looking platters of food and was followed closely by Phaidros and Zo.

As usual, Zo had cooked like he was feeding double the number of people, and Penelope knew she would be in a food coma by the end of the night.

Soon, everyone was relaxing around the table, drinking and eating, and catching up on news that they had missed out on during their time apart.

Slowly, the nervous lump of anxiety that had been in Penelope's stomach about 'doing Christmas' unraveled.

Of course, things would be different with the magicians. They always were. She and Alexis had gotten into a comfortable routine while they had been away, and she had forgotten just how dazzling they all were when they were together. How they talked and argued and reminisced about things that had happened a thousand years (or more) like it was yesterday because, to them, it was. They knew each other deeply, and it reflected the most when they started giving presents.

"I have been saving this to give to you one day. It was one of the ones that Antonio made out of gondola oars," Aelia said, presenting Phaidros with a red leather case. He opened it, and his eyes lit up. Inside was a beautiful violin. He ran his fingers along the wood. It had a unique pattern of the original wood in it.

"Antonio always did such lovely work," Phaidros said and plucked a string. "You tuned it already?"

Aelia's smiled at him. It was a soft, affectionate smile that Penelope had only seen her grace Phaidros with. "I thought you could play me something."

"Who was Antonio?" Penelope asked curiously.

"Oh, Antonio Stradivari was a luthier friend of Aelia's," Alexis said like it wasn't groundbreaking.

"You're talking about Stradivarius?" she squeaked.

Elazar, the only other half-normal one amongst them, reached across the table and patted her hand. "It's okay, Penelope. You know what they are like. Have another drink."

Penelope did because it was the only sensible course of action to take when she encountered items in the villa that should belong in a museum somewhere.

"The most perfect of gifts," Phaidros said and presented Aelia with a scroll tied in a red ribbon.

Aelia untied it and unraveled the pages of sheet music. She scanned it, reading the notes. Her cheeks flushed and eyes filled.

"Oh, Phaidros," she whispered.

"I've been writing versions of it for you since Atlantis when I first saw you at the temple of Poseidon," he admitted, uncharacteristically bashful.

"Play it!" Constantine called from the other end of the table.

"I agree, but I only ask you to delay it until I've shared my present," Alexis said over the shouts of agreement. "We will need some music afterward."

"Well, that's cryptic," Aelia said and sniffed. "But I agree. If Phaidros plays now, I will make a complete mess of my makeup."

Next, Galenos presented Lyca with a wooden crate. She grinned widely as she opened it with a crowbar and stared at the lumps of dirty rock in it.

"What are they?" Penelope asked with a frown, not understanding why Lyca looked so happy.

"Ores," Lyca replied and, in a rare act of public affection, kissed Galenos firmly on the mouth.

"You did say you wanted to start forging orichalcum again," he said.

Lyca's present to him made him kiss her right back. Penelope didn't need help understanding what his gift was. It was a box full of replacement remotes for all his vintage video game consoles.

Constantine and Zo exchanged hand-bound books and writing supplies.

"I hope this has dirty bits," Constantine said, thumbing the pages of his new book and grinning.

Zo's ears turned red. "You'll have to read it to find out."

"My dirty bits begin at page 103," Constantine replied, and Zo nudged him with his shoulder.

"Don't ruin the surprise."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Now, Elazar's present," Constantine declared and handed Elazar an envelope.

Penelope leaned in to see what was inside of it. Elazar pulled a card free with a list of on it.

"Coordinates. And where does this lead, uncle?" Elazar asked curiously.

"Egypt. I have it on good authority that documents were buried in pithoi there in the early second century. I thought we could do with a treasure hunt," Constantine replied, and Elazar's face lit up in excitement.

"What kind of documents?" he asked.

"You'll have to find them in order to find out," Constantine replied.

Zo twisted the napkin in his hands. "I don't know if Elazar going off to dig in the desert is a good idea..."

" Abba ," Elazar groaned. "I'm not dying, so stop acting like I am."

"I'm not. It's just… I'm your father, and I worry that the heat..." Zo stammered.

"Keep talking, and I'll kiss you again," Constantine said, and Zo's mouth promptly shut. "Exactly, now we are going to Egypt, and that's final. Keep complaining, and I won't invite you."

"Penelope's turn! Quickly, before the men keep arguing about dumb things," Lyca said.

Alexis placed a box down in front of Penelope. "We all helped make this for you, cara mia ."

Penelope took off the lid and pulled out the thick book. It was bound in indigo leather, and the golden title read: The Lost Tales of the Magicians.

"With everything that has happened this year, it got all of us thinking about Atlantis and the past. We thought we would write some of our stories for you," Alexis explained. "It's what I have spent most of my time collating while you have been in the sea."

Overwhelmed by the treasure, Penelope hugged it close to her chest. "Thank you all so much. I know it's not always easy to talk about the past. We have made something for you too, Alexis."

Penelope pulled out the wooden box and handed it to him. With a curious smile, Alexis opened it. The smile faltered.

"This... This is..." he said, eyes wide as he looked around the table. "You can't give me this. I'm not qualified."

"Alexis, you are Nereus's heir as head of the magicians and always have been, whether you wanted to recognize it or not," Phaidros said bluntly. "You are also the head of this family, and you deserve to wear the robe of your office."

Alexis took it out of the box and ran his fingers over the golden Living Langauge. "I never thought I would see one of these again."

"I found mention of it in the book and got it recreated for you," Penelope replied, resting a hand on his knee. "I think it's the only type of robe you don't own."

Alexis kissed her quickly before putting it on. "If that is how you all feel, none of you can complain about what happens next."

"Oh no. I know that look. What have you done now?" Aelia asked.

Alexis's grin was a wild thing, magic crackling about him. He clapped his hands. "Everyone up and follow me. We are taking Penelope for an adventure in history."