Page 44 of Song of Memories

"He stays," Eurydice ordered. She crossed her arms in a defensive manner, hating that it most likely looked as though she was trying to hug herself to feel some modicum of comfort amongst the chaos she had been dropped into that morning. The past twenty-four hours were enough to send anyone into a downward spiral.

Fuck your best friend, drink a truth serum, discover your husband and best friend have been lying to you, ask for help from your friend’s dad, Eurydice's mind ran through everything that had happened in the past day, and it exhausted her.

"I know, Pan."

Eurydice was quiet as she said the words. She looked away, unable to make eye contact as she shuffled her feet. Not a single sound was made in the garden; only the wind moving through the dried grass made any semblance of noise. After a few moments, Eurydice picked her head up and looked at Pan. He wasn't saying anything, just staring, his mouth falling open.

"Say something!" Eurydice begged, tears welling up fresh in her eyes again. She couldn't handle the thought of losing Pan in any way, but she was furious. He had kept secrets from her too.

"You... You know…" Pan repeated, sounding like his mouth was full of wool and it was awkward to speak. "You know, and you left Orpheus."

"Of course I fucking left him!" Eurydice screamed. The last of her composure snapped, and she threw herself at Pan. He caught her before she hit the ground, and Eurydice responded by pounding on his chest. Tears were openly streaming down both of their faces now as Pan did nothing to stop Eurydice. He held her while she started to sob again, railing against his chest with tiny, balled up fists.

"You knew! You knew! You knew, and you didn't tell me, Pan! I thought we were friends."

"Gods below," Pan moaned, sounding as though his heart was equally breaking in half, "It was killing me. You have to know that, Eurydice. It was killing me inside. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't breathe knowing that you were with him, and you didn't know the truth..."

"You should've told me!" Eurydice shrieked, finally putting some weight on her legs and standing up. She pushed against Pan's chest again and nearly sent him sprawling backward. "I can't understand why you wouldn't tell me. Make me understand!"

"It was Hades!" Pan cried, holding out his arms towards her. "It's a law—no, it’s practically a covenant. We can't tell people the truth if they choose to drink from Lethe. You were in so much pain before..."

"Do you think I'm not in pain now?" Eurydice snapped back, and Pan shook his head.

"You were in pain, and you wanted to drink from the river. I tried to stop you, but it was your choice, and I wasn't going to take your choice away. But when Orpheus died, and he came back here, Hades made it very clear that there would be lives on the line if someone told you."

Eurydice started shaking. Her vision was going blurry, and she barely had the strength to stand anymore. Pan was her best friend. After last night, she realized that she also loved him more than anyone she'd ever known. Now, with the full extent of her memories back, she knew it was true.

"I've never loved Orpheus like I love you," Eurydice said the words out loud.

Pan sucked in a shuddering gasp, tears falling fresh down his face. He reached for Eurydice once more.

"Please, believe me. Everything I've done was to make sure you were happy, that you had choices. If Orpheus was going to make you happy, then I would've stepped aside..."

"It's too late," Eurydice started sobbing, sucking in air as if she couldn't get enough oxygen. Her heart was racing so quickly, she thought she might pass out. "I can't... I can't think right now. It's too much."

"We're done here." Hermes stepped in between Pan and Eurydice. He held his hand out to stop Pan from advancing any further.

"Father—"

"No." Hermes's voice was firm. He wrapped an arm around Eurydice. "I'm taking her out of here."

Eurydice hardly comprehended anything else; the last thing she remembered was floating away on a golden, glimmering cloud of power while Orpheus's dead garden got smaller and smaller beneath her.

The look on Pan's face as she floated away with Hermes was the most destroyed, despondent expression she'd ever seen on his face. Somehow, that hurt more than anything.

22

When Hermes finally landed, Eurydice blinked her eyes open as he gently set her on her feet. They were standing in the middle of a small courtyard, much quainter and more welcoming than the estate that Orpheus lived in. The small courtyard was surrounded on three sides by the house with a small altar in the middle of it. Eurydice watched as Hermes walked towards it, lighting a small stick of incense and placing it on the burning brazier. He held his finger to his lips as he stepped away from it and turned back towards Eurydice.

"You don't want Nyx to know that you're placing an offering at her altar?" Eurydice raised a brow, identifying the motifs in the mosaic at the base of the altar. Hermes shrugged his shoulders, beckoning Eurydice to walk towards the unassuming front door.

"It wouldn't be very good for my reputation, now, would it?" He gave her a cheeky wink, and Eurydice scoffed playfully.

"I don't think anyone knows what to do with your reputation," she admitted. Eurydice was relieved that Hermes wasn't treating her as though she was made of glass; his small attempts to lighten the mood pushed her impending total breakdown aside for a few short moments.

"Oh, my maiden of manslaughter? Are you in here?" Hermes suddenly called out loudly, ducking his head to not hit the low beam of the door frame. Eurydice blushed furiously, only now wondering where Hermes had brought her.

She followed him inside, where the front entrance opened into a small hallway that revealed a massive kitchen. There was a long counter, which held a mix of clay pottery and amphoras, all half-opened and spread out all over the surface. There were bundles of fresh herbs hanging from the open rafters. Eurydice brushed a sprig of lavender away from her face as she gracefully stepped around it. The opposite side of the kitchen had a roaring hearth, unlike any Eurydice had seen before.

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