Page 16 of Arrogance
“If I can no longer have you, Apollo, then I don’t want to go on living any longer. I’ve already come to terms with this and there is no use persuading me otherwise. I have lived a very long and meaningful life already. My tale of being the Rhodian dragon slayer will be passed down to future generations. It will be a story that will never go forgotten. Plus, I had the pleasure of experiencing love with a God. How many other mortals can make such a claim?”
I wrapped my arms around Phorbas, drawing him into me. “Very well. If that is your wish, then let it be the last one I grant you.”
I returned to this very same lake with Artemis just several nights later. The two of us stood facing Phorbas. “There is no going back,” my sister declared. “Is this truly what you want?”
He nodded.
“Very well. You will forever guide young warriors like you once were. You will serve as their beacon in the night among the other heroes of our time askatasterismoi,” Artemis stated, as she held out her palm towards him.
Phorbas became engulfed in a golden aura. His feet began to disappear with the light, followed by his legs as it traveled up his body. “Goodbye, my God. My love. I am forever in your debt for this life you have given me.” A tear slowly traced down his cheek as he made this final declaration to me.
Soon, his entire form had vanished into the air. Artemis pointed at the obsidian night sky, indicating where he was. I could make out Phorbas’s shape in the dark. His bright, incandescent form, illustrating him slaying a serpent. He would be a part of the world for eternity.
Artemis stepped behind me and patted me on the back. “He was truly a gifted mortal.”
“Yes. I will grow to miss him, but this has been a learning experience for me,” I revealed.
My sister raised her brow. “How so?” she inquired.
“It made me realize that I should never become emotionally attached to mortals. It will only bring me pain in the end. They will perish from this world, while I will remain in existence forever,” I explained.
“Does that mean you will never love another?” she asked with hope.
“Not necessarily. I will use humans to still fulfill my sexual urges and needs. But that is all I will use them for. Nothing more,” I smoothly admitted.
Artemis let out an annoyed grunt, likely disappointed with my rationale. She was the Goddess of chastity, after all. So, of course, a statement like this would offend her.
But I would remain true to my word. Mortals would be eternally grateful for the opportunity to have romantic fulfillments with a god even once in their lifetime. Therefore, I would allow the most handsome and beguiling of them to have this experience with me. It would be one human right after the other. I would move on from one to the next.
Some may view my actions as arrogant, but I view them as simplybeing a god.
Chapter 8
Aphrodite
It had been nearly twenty years since I last visited the Underworld, when I dropped the child off to Persephone. Had I originally planned on ever laying eyes on the little burden ever again? No. Absolutely not. I thought I had washed my hands clean of him and anything related to that pathetic Myrrha.
However, even death whispers. News of a beautiful young man that lived in the Underworld traveled far and wide. It was rumored that Persephone took on this man as a lover. Then, the gossip grew to have more specific details about how divine of a creature this mortal was, with his golden locks of hair, perfect curves, and silky, smooth skin that put Arachne’s tapestries to shame. His name was Adonis.
I could not pin down the emotions I was feeling when I first learned of this. Was it bitterness, rage, jealousy, regret? No. It was all of the above and even slight disbelief. How could I have let that gorgeous boy grow up in the arms of Persephone? She likely had him wrapped around her dainty little fingers like the deceptive, conniving bitch that she was.
Determination hit me like a hurricane. I resolved that Adonis belonged to me. He was mine, and mine alone. Persephone had no right to claim him. I had simply allowed her to raise him for me. Yes. That is precisely what I did. She had to have known that my intent would be to return for him once he became a man. How could she not? And if she thought otherwise, then she was a foolish imbecile.
But Persephone knew exactly what she was doing. I didn’t play her for a fool. That would only makemelook foolish, which I was absolutely not. The Queen of the Underworld wanted Adonis for herself, and I could not allow such an atrocity to happen.
I found myself being escorted into Hades’ dark and sinister palace. My lips retracted into a disgusted curl as I viewed the interior walls and decorations of their abode. It reeked of nothing but filth and poor taste. Black obsidian and onyx framed the walls, floors, and pillars of the palace. A cold place no one should be forced to have to live in against their own will. It only enhanced my reasoning for wanting to remove Adonis from this odious place, where no one of the purest beauty and divinity belonged.
As we moved down the corridors and towards the King and Queen’s throne room, the gargantuan doors opened and I progressed down the raven velvety rug only to see Persephone sitting on her throne.
At the instant sight of me, she rose to her feet. “Welcome, Aphrodite. It is a pleasure to see you again after all of these years.”
My gaze traveled around the room, expecting to see Adonis here, but then my senses came intact and got the better of me. Persephone wouldn’t put her prize on display for me to immediately charm and steal from her. No. She was more astute than that. The goddess was adept at this game. Too bad for her, I had more expertise.
“Yes. It’s been far too long, Persephone,” I greeted her with.
“I must say, I am quite surprised by your sudden request for an audience. Had you have given me more time, I would have had a feast prepared. Now, what could have been so important that you had to have been prompt to visit right away?” A coy smirk graced her lips as she asked this.
Persephone was putting on a grand performance in toying with me. She knew the exact reason of why I was here. But I was not to be trifled with. “I had no choice but to come here as quickly as possible. I was informed that a beautiful and enrapturing young mortal lived in the Underworld. Surely, if his appearance is as alluring as humans have described, then clearly this is not the place for him. He belongs in the world of the living.”
