Eris (The Lost Goddesses #4)

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

T he archaeological park was open with groups of excited tourists taking photos and guides talking ecstatically with their hands dancing. It was the kind of place Eris would avoid. Fragile monuments and lots of people were a recipe for disaster.

"You are looking a little nervous all of a sudden. Are you sensing something?" Enzo asked curiously.

Eris wanted to lie and say she did. She didn't ever admit to a weakness. She didn't want to lie to him, and as he had said, he had heard it multiple times in his previous career.

"I get anxious around people. I never mingled much before the curse, and afterward, it made it nearly impossible," she said, shielding the sun from her eyes and looking about at the ruins of Apollo's temple.

It had been so beautiful once. The smell of incense and sacrifices had hung like sacred smog in the air. Had he died too? Or wasted away at the lack of worship to him?

"That's totally understandable, Eris," Enzo said and, with a gentle touch of his hands, led her out of the main lines of people and to the stone walls that looked out over the sea. "Take a few breaths, and when you are steady, we can keep looking. The palladium isn't humming, and we aren't in a rush."

Enzo made it seem so easy, so natural to reassure her and make her comfortable. A hot, horrible feeling began to burn in her throat, and she swallowed it down.

"Thank you, Enzo. I don't want to be a bother. I don't want to be broken like this..." she said, her fists clenching at her sides. "I was once so powerful. Nothing could touch me. I hate being this way."

Enzo's hazel eyes fixed on hers. "Eris, it really isn't a bother. You have been hurt in ways I can't imagine and for such a long period of time, I have no concept of it. I can tell you that all trauma manifests in different ways. This isn't something about you that's broken. It's a coping mechanism. You didn't want your curse to hurt people, and that's why you kept yourself away from them. Not many people would be that considerate." He didn't try to hug or crowd her, just...gave her space. She didn't know what to say.

Enzo looked back out over the ocean. "It's a beautiful day. I'm with a lovely woman. What more could a man ask for? Seriously. Take as much time as you need. I'm just happy to be here."

"You really are a good person, you know that?" she replied.

Enzo's happiness dimmed, his eyes losing some shine. "Not as good as you would think. Please don't put me on that pedestal."

Eris knew when someone didn't want to talk about things, so she didn't press him. Something horrible had happened to him, and she wanted him to feel comfortable enough to talk to her.

Eris wasn't great with words, so she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You don't need to worry about that. We all have ghosts, Enzo."

They watched the water for a few minutes until the panicky sweat dried on Eris's skin, and she felt steady enough to keep on walking.

"I'm okay if you are," she said.

Enzo adjusted the palladium on his back. "Lead the way, bella . You were the one that saw this place in its prime."

Eris moved through the trees and along the stone paths. "It's hard to see places like this sometimes. The oracle here was quite famous, like at Delphi and Ephesus. I was never game enough to go and see her myself. There was no point because only the Fates could undo what was wrong with me."

Enzo jumped and reached behind him to put a hand on the bag. "It just vibrated! We must be getting close to whatever it wants."

"Aeneas went to see the oracle, so we should try her caves," Eris said, taking his hand and cutting through the lines of people. Enzo didn't try and remove his hand from hers, so she hung on. People were lining up to go inside the cool, dark entrances.

"I have an idea, but you need to stay here," Eris said, letting him go.

"Whatever you say," Enzo replied with a grin.

Eris moved through the people, ignoring the mutters that she was pushing in. She estimated that she got about ten meters from Enzo when her chaos radiated out of her in waves. Children started crying, adults began arguing, and the few site workers left their posts to try and calm people down. Eris made a hurry-up gesture at Enzo, and he cut through the screaming people to get to her.

"Holy shit, I've never seen anything like that," he said with a laugh. They slipped into the eerie stone corridor of the Antro della Sibilla.

Eris took a deep breath. "Back underground again. Let's try and see what the palladium wants and not linger too long."

"You don't like caves either?" Enzo asked.

"I don't like feeling boxed in, and I was always worried I would start an earthquake if I stayed underground too long."

"Then stay close, bella , and we won't have a problem," he replied with a wink.

Eris only shook her head at his flirting but didn't wander far. She wasn't going to tempt her curse to bring all the stones crashing down on them. "What else do you remember from your re-read last night?"

"Aeneas was told by the Sibyl how to get to the Underworld, and there were entrances that led from her caves to it," Enzo replied. "There were water ways that led to Hades."

"Ah, I forgot about the hot springs. We just need to follow our noses, and the sulfur will lead us to them," Eris replied.

The caves slowly became darker, and the few people who had made it inside before the sporadic riot were talking in whispers. It was the kind of place that radiated a presence, an eerie holiness that still remained no matter how long it had been since Apollo's priestesses had served in there.

"The palladium is buzzing like crazy," Enzo said, stopping in front of a roped-off area. "What do you think?"

"Let's follow it. If we come to any cave-ins, we will come back this way and try another," Eris replied. She unclipped the rope. "I'll go first in case there are hazards. I can't let my mortal get hurt, can I?" She stretched out her hand and summoned a ball of white flames to light up the darkness.

"That is the coolest thing I have ever seen," Enzo said, making Eris laugh.

"You haven't seen anything yet. You stick with me, and I'll show you wonders," she teased.

Enzo's body was a warm presence at her back. "I intend to."

The caves were kept in good condition, and Eris could see that humans had reinforced the roof in places. Aeneas's adventures and the ancient writings of the Sibyll herself had inspired humans for centuries. There was no doubt that those searching for evidence of the Trojan prince had scoured any caves they could find in the area.

They turned a corner, and the faint scent of rotting eggs filled Eris's nostrils.

"Yuck. We must be getting close," she said, and they followed the stench.

A few moments later, Enzo said, "I can hear water, and the palladium is humming like crazy again."

Another twenty meters further, and they ducked through an entrance cut into the stone. The cave opened up to a grotto of steam and stalagmites. Eris conjured more flames and sent them darting around the cavern so they could see what was around them.

"This is incredible," Enzo whispered, staring up at the glistening walls. He slid the bag off his shoulders and opened it.

"What are you doing?" Eris asked.

"I don't know. I just have a weird feeling," Enzo trailed off.

Eris placed a hand on his shoulder. "Follow the feeling, Enzo. I trust you."

Enzo nodded and pulled the palladium free of its bag. He didn't fall into a blank trance like he did last time, but all the hair on Eris's neck stood up on end as he began speaking in an ancient Mycenean dialect.

"Goddess of earth, I honor you. Goddess of oracles, I honor you. Goddess of wisdom, I honor you. Goddess of the darkened ways, I honor you. Goddess of transformation, I honor you," Enzo chanted as he gently placed the palladium into the steaming water. Power, ancient and angry, pulsed out of it, filling the grotto and making Eris's fangs and claws spring free.

A ripple on the other side of the cavern made her grab onto Enzo's shoulder.

"Get back from there," Eris hissed, scanning the water.

Enzo clutched the wet palladium to his chest, still looking dazed. "What... What is it?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. The palladium is pure power, and things will be attracted to it." Eris scanned the waters again.

Enzo peered into the depths beside them. "What kind?—"

Luminous clawed hands lunged out of the water to grab him. Eris screeched in fury and unleashed her rage.