Page 47 of Song of Memories

Eurydice froze on the steps, her heart leaping up into her throat. Pan was outside and was going toe to toe with Hecate's wrath in order to see her. Eurydice was nearly lightheaded with the connotations of what that might mean. She brought her hand to her chest and forced herself to breathe, taking deep breaths until she had regained some of her composure. Not all of it, but enough to head outside and to stop feeling as though she was going to pass out.

Hecate's dogs picked their heads up in curiosity as Eurydice ran past them, only pausing when she poked her head out of the doorway. Pan was standing right outside of Hecate's courtyard, down on his knees. He looked as distressed as Eurydice had ever seen him, and it made her stomach drop. He was dressed as a man, but she could see his horns nestled atop his mess of curls. His hair was all tangled, and Eurydice wondered if he had been running his hands through it excessively. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his cheeks were wet. She heard his voice hitch as he pleaded with Hecate.

The goddess herself looked like immovable stone. She was standing tall, her back straight and shoulders squared. An opaque cloud of red magic swirled around her feet like an attack dog, waiting to jump out at a moment's notice. Hecate's auburn hair had been tied back in elaborate braids, and the snakes on her golden arm bands undulated back and forth. In short, she looked furious, and even Eurydice was suddenly worried about anything she may have ever done to piss off the goddess. She was a terrifying sight to behold.

"Stunning, isn't she?" A man's voice popped up from behind her, making Eurydice gasp sharply. She spun around and got her first look at the man who must have been Hecate's consort—Aeëtes, the immortal crown prince who had been the source of the myth of the golden fleece. He shared some characteristics with Pan, from curly hair to tanned skin, except he was smiling when he stared at Hecate, even in her furious and awe-inspiring state.

"Excuse me?" Eurydice whispered, unsure of what to do.

"Hecate won't let anything come in between her and a woman she's protecting." Aeëtes nodded towards the sight unfolding in the courtyard. "If you don't want Pan to be strung up by his horns and kicked off to the titans, I suggest you intervene." Aeëtes went back to staring at Hecate like a besotted teenager. Eurydice took his words to heart, suddenly springing into action. She ran out into the courtyard, her arms raised as she called out to Pan.

"Pan!" she shrieked. "Hecate, Hecate, it's fine. It's okay. I'll speak with him." Eurydice was surprisingly breathless; it wasn't the physical exhaustion but the emotional one that was finally catching up with her.

Pan's face transformed when he saw Eurydice, and his tears started falling fresh.

"Eurydice," he practically sobbed the word out, "I needed to see you. I wanted to tell you, I swear..." Pan didn't rise from his knees, simply angling himself towards Eurydice and clutching his hands together as if he was praying. Normally, Eurydice might have found the position pathetic, but there was something about the devotion on Pan's face that made her heart soften further.

"Eurydice, are you sure?" Hecate's voice gentled as she looked between the two of them.

"Yes." Eurydice didn't look at Hecate but kept her eyes on Pan, muttering the affirmation without any hesitation.

Hecate simply nodded, all her fury dissipating in a matter of seconds. Her red magic ebbed away, and the tone of her voice lightened; even some of the red glow to Hecate's eyes disappeared. She readjusted the shoulder of her tunic and gave a short nod to Pan.

"I'll leave you both alone then. Eurydice, feel free to use the house if you need to." Hecate turned around and beckoned for Aeëtes, who had been standing in the courtyard. He practically ran to her side, kissing her cheek and interlocking his fingers with hers. Hecate gave him a smile so gentle, Eurydice suddenly got the impression she was intruding.

"If you change your mind," Hecate looked at Eurydice, "just tell the house. It'll remove anyone unwanted from the premises." Eurydice could only nod, and Hecate and Aeëtes exited the courtyard, disappearing and leaving Pan and Eurydice with the house to themselves.

An agonizingly long minute passed; Eurydice and Pan weren't able to say anything. Pan finally pushed himself up to his feet, holding his hands out to Eurydice.

"I want to talk to you, only for a minute, if you'll let me. Please." His voice was pleading, and Eurydice couldn't help herself from tearing up. She wanted to be with him just as badly, but so much had happened—so much had been revealed to her. She didn't know what was possible for the two of them.

"Come inside," Eurydice said simply, turning around and leading the way inside of the house. It felt wrong, ushering into Hecate's home, but Hecate had given her the permission to do so.

A million questions raced through Eurydice's head, and she tried to push them all aside. Pan followed her without a word, without any signs of hesitation. Eurydice didn't know where to take Orpheus in Hecate's house, so she settled on bringing him upstairs to the guest room. She didn't anticipate what the sight would do to her when Pan stopped at the threshold. He seemed to sense it was her space, at least for the meantime, and he leaned against the doorjamb.

Eurydice's heart nearly seized at the sight of him. Even with everything that had happened to her in the past thirty-six hours, she couldn't forget the feeling of Pan between her thighs.

"Eurydice..." Pan started, but Eurydice interrupted him.

"I don't want to hear it. I can't. I can't right now, Pan. It's not that I don't want to. I just... There's been so many promises…" Eurydice trailed off.

The atmosphere between them shifted, the air growing thick and heavy simultaneously with heartbreak and arousal. Eurydice dragged her eyes down Pan's long frame, so broad he nearly blocked out the light from the hallway.

"If you don't want to talk," Pan murmured softly, "what do you want me to do?" His voice was perfectly neutral. Even at a moment like this, he was holding it together and appearing calm for her, even if there was nothing serene about the atmosphere around them.

Eurydice sat on the edge of the bed, her breath catching in her lungs. "I don't know." Her mouth dropped open, and she watched the moment Pan's eyes lit up with his arousal. He was holding onto the door with a near white-knuckle grip.

"You've had enough promises." Pan took one step inside the bedroom. Eurydice's breath hitched. "You've heard enough sweet words." One more step. Eurydice's pulse skyrocketed. "You have to tell me what you want, my wild thing.”

Pan dropped to his knees effortlessly, sinking down between Eurydice's legs. On his knees, he was still eye level with her and met her gaze with a matched intensity that lit her up from the inside out.

Eurydice leaned forward, careful to not let a single lock of hair or scrap of her garment touch Pan's skin as she whispered in his ear.

"Speak to me only the way you can." Eurydice was barely breathing. "Use the language of the trees, Pan, of the wild. Give me something that no one else can."

Pan exploded.

Before she could even blink, Pan's hands wrapped around Eurydice's waist as he tossed her onto the bed. He crawled up her body until he was suspended above her, pinning her underneath him. It reduced Eurydice's senses until all she could perceive was the heat rolling off Pan's body, the coarse feeling of his rough, hairy skin brushing up against hers. Eurydice's body reacted before her brain did, and she found herself throwing her arms around Pan's back and shifting her hips upward to feel more of him.

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