Eris (The Lost Goddesses #4)

Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

E ris was watching Enzo like a hawk and didn't believe him when he said he was fine. The palladium was messing with his sleep at night, and she didn't think it would get any better now that they had made it to Crete. They had gotten in late, so Enzo was still sleeping beside her. Eris didn't like the purple bruises under his eyes, and she blamed the palladium for it. She thought about going into Enzo's room and asking it to leave him alone or be tossed into the sea. Threatening it could make it lash out against Enzo, so she restrained herself. But only just .

Eris took out her phone and shot a message to Hermes. The palladium is sending dreams to Enzo now. It's communicating with him, and it's getting worse. I know you think I'm overreacting when it comes to his safety, but this is weird.

Eris didn't know if he would be awake yet, but Hermes always had his phone on him so he would get it eventually. She was stroking Enzo's curls when her phone lit up silently.

I always thought that Athena was a bit vacant in certain areas. I remember asking her once who her mother was, and she didn't know her name. Zeus had always spun shit about it being Metis, but Athena was never certain. The palladium was already established in Troy when Zeus brought her home to Mount Olympus, and none of us ever questioned it.

Eris bit down her frustration, her fingers flying over the screen. What if a part of her power or essence is trapped in it, and that's messing with Enzo? How can we make it stop without it hurting him even more?

The best thing you can do is follow where it leads you. Whatever it is, it has a purpose, and the Fates want it to be free. It won't let Enzo rest until it gets what it wants. See it through. The Fates will lift your curse and Cuddle Bear will be free of its influence.

Eris exhaled her frustration slowly through her nose. Hermes was right, but she still didn't have to like it. She just wanted to keep Enzo safe.

Eris put her phone down and cuddled further into him. She stared at the lines of his face and wondered how she could have fallen so deeply for a mortal. She might never have been in love before, but she was guessing that the too big feeling inside of her was it. She hadn't thought that this trip would be so dangerous to him. She didn't have a choice but to take him, though she didn't want him to get hurt because of her.

"You're glaring at me," Enzo grumbled, his eyes cracking open. "What's wrong?"

Eris brushed the curls back that had fallen across his face. "Nothing. I'm just thinking too loudly. How are you feeling?"

"Like we need to get started on the exploring. The palladium is quiet, but I don't think it will be patient for long," he said with a yawn.

"I'll make coffee, you shower and wake up," Eris replied and kissed his forehead.

Enzo made a sleepy sound before asking, "Can you see if we have any aspirin?"

"Sure thing," Eris said, doing her best to hide her concern from him. Coddling him wouldn't help either of them, and the quicker they gave the palladium what it wanted, the quicker that it would leave Enzo alone.

It was afternoon by the time they had rented a car and were driving through Heraklion. The palladium was out of its bag and strapped into the back seat like another passenger. Eris was behind the wheel because she didn't want Enzo to suddenly have a vision and drive them off the road. She would survive the crash, but she wasn't going to let him take any unnecessary risks.

"There's no historical site of Pergamea that has been found, so let's start with Knossos," Enzo suggested. She had made sure he had eaten and taken the aspirin she had found. He was sipping on another coffee and lounging back in the passenger seat. A small headache, he had said. Eris didn't believe him.

"It is an older site, and I hear they have re-opened it finally after the damage the triplets did to it," she replied with a grin.

"That was them ? I thought some crazy terrorists had taken it over," Enzo said in surprise.

"It was a bit of both." Eris ended up telling Enzo about Pithos taking Ariadne and Asterion to Knossos and how it had ended very badly for Pithos. Going against Hades and his court was the stupidest thing Pandora had ever done, and Eris had seen plenty of stupid things over the centuries.

"Hades made sure that it was fully restored and that it was opened to the public again. It's listed in a sacred sites trust that Medusa has set up for Greek and Minoan artifacts and archaeological ruins. They really wanted to make sure that nothing like it could fall into private hands again," Eris said, and they pulled up in the Knossos site parking lot.

Enzo shook his head in disbelief. "They covered it up well, but I suppose that's Medusa's doing as well."

"It pays to have a media queen when you're immortal, that's for sure."

They got out of the car, and Enzo opened the back door to get the palladium. His hands rested on it for a moment before his eyes glazed over. Eris hurried to his side, unsure whether to pull him out of whatever he was seeing.

"This is not the place. This was where they served and danced. Where they sang and sacrificed. Where grain and wine poured forth in my name, but this is not the place," Enzo said, his words soft and the tone of his voice more feminine.

Eris's blood ran cold, and the hair on her arms stood up. "We will find the place, but please don't hurt him. We will give you what you want," she begged.

Enzo blinked rapidly and shook and suddenly was himself again. "Shit, it happened again, didn't it?"

Eris pressed her forehead to his chest and tried to take some steadying breaths. "This isn't the right place. It doesn't want to be here. We have to keep searching."

Enzo hugged her, and they both stood locked together, trying to ground themselves. "It sounds strange, but I kept seeing a labyrinth."

"Not strange at all, considering where we are. We follow the palladium. She knows where she wants to go, and she's going to make sure that we get there," Eris said. Her fingers tightened on the back of his shirt. "Just promise to tell me if you start to get even more unwell?"

"I promise. She can't hurt me, baby, because if she does, I can't help her. She's just…upset," Enzo replied and gave her a soft kiss. "So let's give her what she wants."