Page 60 of Arrogance
I did not even bother to hunt down Hippolytus for I knew he would be dead soon. If Poseidon had given a mortal any wish, it would be fulfilled. That was a guarantee. As for how Hippolytus would die, I had no care in the world, so long as he was now out of my hair.
I saw all I needed to see. Flying out of the tower, I took off away from the palace, migrating away from Athens. Beneath me, I could see a large monster undulating in the ocean, heading for the land. A pet of Poseidon’s, for sure. It didn’t take me long to realize that its target was Hippolytus.
Now, my mind could finally be put to ease. I let the gentle sea breeze grace my feathers as I flapped my wings, returning to Adonis. We could finally venture off to Afqa, for some much needed rest and relaxation.
Chapter 31
Apollo
The grief I held over my head for Hyacinth didn’t last very long. I was a god, after all, with an eternity ahead of me to live my life. It was a given that I would have many lovers and many relationships from here on out. Although Hyacinth was a fantastic lover and one I would never forget, I needed to move on from him.
It wasn’t long after Hyacinth’s death that another mortal struck my eye. Cyparissus was a young and gifted man. His skills with javelin throwing were unlike any other mortal’s that I had ever seen. It helped that he looked like a majestic god while throwing it.
For his stellar talents, I gifted him a stag companion. The man was gracious and offered to repay me in whatever way I desired, which is how he ended up nude in my bed next to me, with red handprints all across his bare ass.
“You are too good to me, Apollo,” Cyparissus intimately murmured, as his palms traced down my chest, tugging on my erection. I shut my eyes and whimpered with pleasure at the sudden warm touch. His strokes were soft, but then quickly escalated. “I will do anything to please you, God. You have me, all of me.”
His words were music to my ears. “Will you now? Tell me, what sort of things will you do to please me?”
Cyparissus held an impish grin on his face as I asked this. He was readily willing to let me know of all the plans he had in store for me. “For starters…” he said, and lowered himself onto the bed as he did so, his head in line with my cock. “I’m going to suck on you for as long as…”
But a loud disruption from across the room cut our sexual bliss short. My chamber doors busted open with a loud ricochet echo as they struck the wall. My sister Artemis barged in completely unannounced. Quickly, I pulled the blankets over Cyparissus’s head so that she could not see who I was making love to. But much to my surprise, Cyparissus went on to wrap his mouth around my aching cock and maniacally sucked on it.
My mind was all over the place. Part of me wanting to push him off me because Artemis was now in the same room. The other part loving his vivaciousness and bravery in choosing to do this right now of all times. My lustful urges were getting the better of me and so I allowed his mouth to service my cock, even with my sister coming over to me.
“You have some nerve coming in here without knocking. Inexcusable!” I scolded her. A thrust of my hips went upward, wanting the tip of my cock to press against the back of Cyparissus’s throat. Gods, he was so skilled at this.
Artemis had an irritated expression on her face. Clearly, she had no care in the world of what she just did by invading my privacy.
“I have no remorse for coming at an inconvenient moment for you. But time is of the essence. I wanted to get your approval before I make a rash move,” she led in with.
Now, this piqued my interest. It was unlike my sister to ever seek out my permission before deciding on something. So, this must have been fairly important and dire for her to make this request.
A jolt ran through me as she stated this. Cyparissus added his hand to stroking the base of my cock while he ferociously continued to harbor his mouth on my erection. I was attempting my best to maintain as much control as I could, without hurling into a wild orgasm in front of Artemis.
I gave a deep gulp before replying to her, sweat drenching my face. “And what is it you plan on doing?”
“I need to kill Adonis,” she answered.
“Adonis!?” Why would Artemis feel the need to murder him? I didn’t understand why, but the thought of her harming him sent a rage of emotions through my body. “No. I won’t allow that. You are not to touch him, and that is final.”
“I think you’ll have a different opinion once I tell you how involved he was with Hyacinth’s death,” she blurted out.
My eyes widened. Adonis had something to do with killing Hyacinth? But how? I don’t even recall Adonis being present at the discus throw games. “How so?”
“He seduced Zephyrus, brother. Zephyrus was already bitter about you stealing Hyacinth away from him. Adonis was privy to this information and used it to his advantage. He lied to the God of wind, claiming that you left him for Hyacinth. It was the scorn that Zephyrus needed to hear to be beyond resentful enough to change the direction of the wind and cause the discus to hit your lover. All of it was Adonis’s doing.”
I was shocked. Why did this happen? How could Adonis hold such a bitterness and harm me in this way? I did nothing wrong to him. I loved him for as long as I could have until we both were caught in a comprising situation and forced to be separated. There was nothing I could do about it. Adonis should know that. Yet he now wishes to hurt me to the core?
This was not the Adonis I knew. This was the doing of a jealous, vindictive person. One that deserved to suffer the greatest of consequences. Aphrodite must have a strong, and yet disastrous, influence over Adonis. Otherwise, he would have never gone to this length to use seduction as a weapon to convince someone to commit a heinous crime.
I just sat in my bed speechless, completely ignoring Cyparissus, who was still working me beneath the sheets.
My rendered silence led Artemis to continue with her persuasion. “Aphrodite and Adonis have gotten away with far too much in the past already. Now theybothhave stolen lovers from us. It’s only fair that they suffer the same fate. Allow me to kill Adonis, brother. He has committed an atrocity in which death is the only price to be paid. Let Aphrodite experience what it’s like to lose a lover at the hands of another god, just as we have.”
I placed my hands over my face. This entire situation was beyond stressful, but the facts could not be ignored. Adonis was no longer the man I loved. He was a completely changed person. And thus, I would need to move on, leaving the innocent, caring Adonis I once knew in the past. That Adonis would never come around again. And this Adonis that now lingered in the world, he needed to be stopped and punished, before he could ruin any more lives than he already has.
“Very well. You have my permission to kill him,” I uttered, finally relinquishing all emotions, ties, and love I held for Adonis.
