Page 53 of Arrogance
Chapter 26
Aphrodite
“And tell me, did Apollo cry while carrying Hyacinth out of the arena?” I asked Adonis while he recounted the entire experience he had at the discus throw competition. He left no detail out, even how he managed to seduce Zephyrus to convince him to change the course of the wind so that Apollo’s discus struck Hyacinth dead.
I laid in my bed, the silver satin sheets covered up to my bosom, propping myself up on my elbow, while Adonis had his body fully relaxed next to me. His hands stretched behind his head on the pillow as he gazed up at the ceiling. We had just finished a session of passionate love-making before he proceeded to fill me in on all that had transpired.
“I could not tell from where I was sitting,” Adonis informed me. “But I was able to see the distraught look on his face as he took the prince away.”
I was stunned. I never imagined Adonis was able to create this entire scheme all on his own without my assistance. It was beyond impressive. “So, you’re telling me you were able to convince Zephyrus of how hurt you were by Apollo’s actions, wanting him to feel sorry for you? Then, you lied and told him it was Hyacinth that pulled Apollo away from you, thereby plucking at Zephyrus’s already torn heart strings? And on top of all of this, you seduced him, knowing very well he had the capability of killing Hyacinth without you getting any blood on your hands?”
Adonis let out a devious chuckle. “Yes. That’s a fairly accurate summary of it all.”
“My gods, Adonis! Your deceptive skills know no bounds!” I laughed as I stated this. Needless to say, I was beyond proud of Adonis for being able to pull off such a feat. My influence over him was coming to fruition. I had guided him well. He was certainly a fearsome creature to behold. No one should ever be able to hurt him and get away with it. Luckily, Adonis was now more than capable of punishing those who wronged him, even if it was a god, evidently.
“I have learned from the best,” he replied, leaning down to plant a soft, soothing kiss on my lips.
“But there was one part of the story you did leave out that I am very curious about,” I told him.
“Oh?” Adonis had a confused look on his face. “What did I leave out?”
“Your feelings…” I simply stated, before elaborating on what I meant by that. “You never mentioned what it felt like to see Apollo for the very first time since you last saw him months ago. What was it like to watch him in the arms of another man? Surely youhadto have felt something?”
Adonis had a blank stare on his face. It took him a moment to process what I had asked. Or perhaps he was trying to process all the feelings he experienced when he did see Apollo and Hyacinth together. I knew Adonis had to have felt triggered by this. I’m sure he did have some sense of jealousy and rage when he spotted the two together. But I do not fault Adonis for this. For I too have experienced the vengefulness and wrath that jealousy brings with it. It’s not a very good feeling at all. I didn’t wish it on anyone else near and dear to me, especially Adonis. It was imperative that I talk him through these resentful inner thoughts he was likely having.
“Yes. I would be lying if I said that seeing Apollo with Hyacinth did not stir up contempt within me. I thought I was fully over all those lustful feelings I had for him, but they came at me in a fury when I watched them kiss each other. It felt as if he just completely discarded me and moved on with his life. Why was I the one that seemed to be aching more? I was irate to see that he was barely hurting at all. So, I needed to hurt him badly for all that he put me through. And what better way to make him suffer than to have lost his new lover?”
Adonis was still bruised over all that happened between him and Apollo. Hopefully this was the absolution he needed to fully erase all of the feelings he had for Apollo to be able to move on in his life with me by his side.
“I completely understand what you are going through, Adonis. I truly do. After all, I’ve experienced moments of jealousy and wishing pain onto others who have inflicted the same pain onto me,” I revealed to him. “Did I ever mention to you the story of my very first love?”
Adonis gave me a disheartened, yet sincere look. “No. You have not. But I am interested in hearing about it.”
“Very well. As you are aware, I was born in the sea before I became a goddess. I met a young man. He was the sole brother of the Nereids. He was the most handsome creature I had ever gazed upon in the sea while I lived there in my early life. His name was Nerites. The two of us were madly in love with each other. I wanted to be with him forever. However, I soon learned that my days in the sea were numbered. As a goddess in the making, I was expected to ascend to Mount Olympus. When the time eventually came for me to live with the Olympian gods, I had offered Nerites to join me. I even offered him a pair of the finest wings to entice him. I was surprised by his hesitancy at first, but then even more shocked when he refused my offer. He claimed he could not leave his family behind in the sea.”
I gave a deep sigh as I continued the next part of my story. “I became heartbroken over losing him, as I had to travel to Mount Olympus alone. But a month passed by and I went to revisit Nerites. I had expected to find him with his family, but what I instead found was him making love to Poseidon. The two had been having an ongoing affair for quite some time, even while I was with Nerites. Nerites had completely lied to me. The only reason he did not want to join me on Mount Olympus was because he had succumbed to Poseidon. I was fuming over his betrayal. He had made me a fool. And I could never allow Nerites to remain in the sea at peace, loving Poseidon forever after the agony he had inflicted upon me. So, I transformed him into a shellfish. No mortal or god could ever love him now. Justice had been served.”
There was a long pause after my tale, in which neither Adonis nor I spoke. It was Adonis who finally cleared the air and the tension in the room. “I’m sorry, Aphrodite. I had no idea of the betrayal you’ve endured, even before becoming a goddess.”
“Yes. Well, that’s all in the past now. But ever since that day, I’ve never trusted men. I loathe them and only use and seduce them to get whatever I want. Men are weak in that regard. Trained animals who are so predictable.”
Adonis was still after I made this reference. I hope he didn’t consider himself to be one of these men I despised.
I placed my hand over his round chest. “But you are not like the rest of them, Adonis. I have loved many men. None of them compare to the love we share. It is a love that I’ll only ever experience once in a lifetime.”
Adonis placed his hand over mine. “For my limited lifetime. Yes, I know I will never find another like you Aphrodite. But for you, as a goddess, you can truly say that you don’t believe another man will come along thousands of years from now and sweep you off your feet as I have?”
Without even giving it a second thought, I shook my head. “No. I highly doubt it.”
Act IV
Revenge
Chapter 27
Apollo
Hyacinth was gone and there was nothing I could do to make him return to me. All the cure spells and medicinal herbs I had concocted could not save him. He was one with the Underworld now. It would seem as though a horrific accident had taken place.
