Eris (The Lost Goddesses #4)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

E nzo was more relaxed than he had been for the past three years. His hands rested lightly on the ships's wheel as they sailed with nothing but sun and sea around them.

Depending on the wind and waves, it would take them a few days at the most to make it to Crete. Occasionally, he would see shadows dancing about the sails and knew that Eris was doing something to speed them along. He had spotted Korfu early in the morning while she had gone back to sleep, and if they kept traveling at such a speed, it wouldn't be much longer until they neared Kefalonia. They were making excellent time. Too excellent. But he wasn't about to complain about divine help guiding them along.

The goddess herself had finally woken up and was back in her usual place on deck with a book and a drink.

Enzo's hands tightened on the wheel as he thought about how he woke up that morning at dawn with Eris's luscious mouth wrapped around his dick like she was determined to suck the life right from him. He thought about her the night before, naked and demanding as she rode him. Fucking glorious .

Enzo was a big guy and had always been aware of his size and strength. He had never really unleashed himself on a lover for fear of hurting them unintentionally. For the first time, he didn't have to worry about that. The goddess of chaos took everything he gave her and then gave back twice as much.

As if she realized she was being observed, Eris slid a kaftan over her bikini and went to join him at the wheel. Her wild black hair had been piled up in a clip, leaving her long neck bare.

"You have a thoughtful look on your face," she said, kissing his cheek before sitting in the chair beside him. "What's on your mind?"

"That I'm grateful we don't have to do every stop on Aeneas's journey. Otherwise, it would take us months to break your curse," Enzo replied. It wasn't a lie; he had been thinking about it amongst his lustful recollections about his goddess.

"The Fates weren't specific enough, but that's no surprise. They no doubt saw that the palladium would take over as a guide. Have you felt anything from it today?" Eris asked.

Enzo shook his head. "No, but the visions I had in Castro left an impression. I can't stop thinking about it. Something happened in Crete, and it involved Athena and a lot of pain. Do you know anything about it?"

Eris's dark brows drew together. "Thoth was going to check into it for me, but he said that Athena wasn't really Zeus's daughter. Like Aphrodite, she was a much older goddess who got assimilated into what became the Greek pantheon."

"So the story of her being born out of Zeus's head was a bunch of bullshit?" Enzo asked.

Eris smiled. "Most stories about the gods are a bunch of bullshit. According to Thoth, when the Mycenaeans conquered their way through the Aegean, they began to assimilate the gods of those lands. They would 'ceremoniously' marry Zeus, their thunder god, off to local goddesses. They would be downgraded to liaisons as time went on, but the ancient ones who refused to be married became other relations. Aphrodite became his aunt; Athena became his daughter, etc. Whatever happened between Athena and Zeus must have been more than a fling because she has always been very loyal to him, as if she owed him some incredible debt. The other gods thought that if anyone could kill Zeus, it would be Athena because she had always been the closest to him. He'd always trusted her more than anyone else."

Enzo rubbed at his eyes, the echoes of strong emotions from the palladium reverberating through him. "Whatever made her loyal to him, my guess is that it happened on Crete. When I have visions of it, it always comes with intense feelings of loss and despair. I can taste ash and blood in my mouth. Something really horrible must have happened to her there."

"I wish we knew where Poseidon was. He might have a better idea. Like Athena, he was closely connected to Crete and could have witnessed what really happened." Eris reached over and took his hand to squeeze it. "I'm sure we will figure it out when we get where the palladium is leading us. Try not to let it cause you too much distress. The Fates have sent the three of us on this journey to break more than just my own curse."

"You're right. I suppose I just don't want to fail at helping you. You deserve to be free, the both of you do," Enzo said, drawing his arm around her waist.

She froze for the briefest second before she snuggled into him. His touch-starved goddess wasn't used to affection, so he was taking it as slow as he could with her so he didn't scare her off. The intensity of his feelings for her should have scared him most of all. They didn't. Nothing felt so right to him as his arm around Eris.

"You smell good," she whispered, rubbing her nose against him.

Enzo kissed the top of her head. "You do too. What is the first thing you are going to do when your curse is broken?"

"I haven't dared to think that far ahead. Hope still feels dangerous at this point. What are you going to do?" she asked, her dark purple eyes searching his.

"I have no idea either. I like running the bar, don't get me wrong. I just don't know if it's going to suit me forever. For once, I don't mind not knowing what's going to happen next. As you said, it feels dangerous to plan out anything until after we are done with this quest." Enzo grinned at the horizon. "Maybe I'll end up reading fortunes and making love spells with Bianca. Or retreating to a cave with the palladium somewhere to be a mystic."

Eris laughed and kissed his neck. "I doubt that, but it would be amusing for me to watch. Maybe we both need just to wait and see what happens."

"At least if we are together, the company will be good," Enzo replied and kissed the top of her head. Something silver flickered in the corner of his eye and released her. "Hey, did you see that?"

"What?" Eris asked, looking about.

"Take the wheel for a second," Enzo said and went to investigate. "Maybe it was a dolphin or a whale. I haven't seen one in ages." He moved about to the front of the ship, leaning over to see if he could spot whatever it had been. There was another flash of silver and purple, but he couldn't make out the shape of what he was seeing. He leaned down further and jumped as a woman's face smiled up at him with fanged teeth.

"Eris! There's something—" he began when the creature leaped up out of the water. He reeled backward, but he wasn't quick enough. Wet claws gripped him, and great wings flapped.

"Enzo!" Eris screamed in panic.

He tried to fight the naked woman-like creature off, but the claws tightened their grip, and he was pulled up into the air with another high-pitched scream. Eris reached out for him, and he tried to grab her. His fingers brushed against hers, but then he was dragged up into the air by his feet, the ship dropping away beneath him.