Poseidon (Contemporary Mythos Book 5)

Meg and I drove home the following day, and she regaled me with her time spent at the Magic Kingdom. I didn’t tell her about Poseidon er—Simon showing up at the aquarium because it would’ve led to more lies about our conversation. A kept mistruth versus lying seemed a better alternative at this stage. When she dropped me off at my apartment, I walked up the stairs on autopilot, scarcely remembering how I’d reached my front door. Unlocking it, I shuffled my way inside in a daze, removing the mermaid mouse ears Meg had bought me, and resting it on the counter but missed. My bag ended up in a slump near my coffee table, missing that surface as well.

I was Michelle Pfeiffer after being brought back to life by a dozen cats in an alleyway, spiraling her way into becoming Catwoman. Only instead of cats—it was fish.

My gaze snapped to my tank, where all seven fish huddled together in a group at the frontmost glass. Squinting, I pressed a finger against the tank on the opposite side, making them all scurry to greet me.

“I’m so sorry I’ve kept you all in there.” I scratched the glass, simulating a petting gesture.

Unlike the jellyfish at the aquarium, my fish were content in the tank—happy even. Less room than an entire enclosure at an aquarium but somehow, their presence with me this whole time mattered the most. I glanced at the analog clock with a seashell border hanging in my kitchen. Thirty minutes until Poseidon would pick me up. Nodding to myself, I snapped to attention. Thirty minutes until my ex-husband showed up for us to start the first day of our reconciliation…or not. My palms clammed up, heart racing, beads of sweat rolling down my neck.

Sprinting to my bedroom, I whipped open the closet doors and stared at the array of clothing. As I shoved hanger after hanger aside, panic latched onto me like a snapping turtle. I was still Cordelia but didn’t feel like myself. A mind stuck between two worlds, many lives, and a being once reliant on magic now rendered almost powerless. Mortal.

Giving up on finding anything suitable for a former queen, I slammed the door shut and stormed into my living room, plopping onto my blue sofa. Dropping my face in my hands, I concentrated on slow, steady breathing, mentally announcing to the tears which threatened a visit, they weren’t welcome here.

My mind fizzled, and my knee pressed into the dirt, crouched behind a round wooden shield—scents of blood, sweat, and dirt floating around me. I shouted something in a language I couldn’t translate to the woman beside me, her hair pulled into knotted sections on the top of her head, middle, and at the nape of her neck. Black paint smeared over her eyes,

Knock. Knock. Knock.

With a strangled gasp, I sat up, cutting my eyes to the clock. Five minutes early. Punctual now? Poseidon was never punctual. Now of all times.

I headed for the front door with a grimace while rubbing my temples. The distance, in actuality, was several feet from my sofa, but the walls appeared to expand, creating a narrow path that seemed miles away. Peering through the peephole to ensure it was my fish god on the other side, I whisked open the door, hiding behind it, and peeking over the side at him.

A sparkly grin played over his lips. “Uh, hi. This a bad time?” He pressed a forearm above my head on the doorframe, waiting for an invitation.

Remaining silent, I shook my head.

He shifted his eyes left-to-right, still waiting and still grinning.

Oh, to Tartarus with it.

I pushed the door open, revealing the same v-neck t-shirt and jersey shorts I’d worn all day traveling. “I couldn’t figure out what to wear. The last I remember about the true me? Well, there’s nothing in my closet that even comes close.” It came out far more whiny than I’d have preferred.

The smile on his face had yet to fade. “May I come in, Amph?”

I stepped aside, holding my hand out and locking the door behind him.

“There’s a reason you’re not going to find togas or wispy see-through dresses.” He plucked the bit of hair below his bottom lip, roaming his eyes over my body before forcing them away.

Crossing my arms in a huff, I leaned against my kitchen counter. “I know I’m in the twenty-first century. I haven’t forgotten Cordelia. I’m just having a—I don’t know. An identity crisis?”

“You’ve changed, Starfish. Cordelia is more you than the oldest version of Amphitrite.” He folded his hands in front of him as if he wasn’t sure what to do with them.

“That name doesn’t even feel like me anymore.” I frowned, moving my gaze to my fish floating in the corner of the tank near me, flapping their tiny fins.

“What? Starfish?”

I cut my eyes to his. “No. That name makes me feel bubbly as it always has.”

“Well, maybe Amphitrite doesn’t suit you any longer.” He cocked his head to the side. From the way his right knee bounced on occasion, I could tell he was antsy. He more than likely wanted to take me in his arms and pick up where we left off—when we were happy together.

Maybe I left the name Amphitrite up in the stars.

“So, where are you taking me on this date? It’ll help me decide what random piece of clothing to grab from my exploding closet.”

With a swagger that’d been impossible to forget, he walked in front of me. Holding up his fingertips, they turned into water, and he bobbed his brow. “May I?”

Despite the ability to breathe underwater, staring up at him with his power surging in his palms, I forgot how to breathe land air and managed a nod.

With his hands on my shoulders, a dress materialized over my chest in splashes of water and sparkles. It traveled over my hips and didn’t stop until it reached my ankles, forming a flowy train. Poseidon released a raspy breath before taking a step away, urging me with a flick of his wrist to look at his handiwork.

I traced my fingers over the radiant white and silver sparkles adorning my body. A slit ran up my left leg, stopping just below my hip, and a drape of fabric hung over my chest. “This looks like—” I gasped. “Ariel’s sparkly dress from The Little Mermaid?”

Poseidon rubbed the back of his neck. “I figured you’d be a fan of that movie—especially in modern times.”

“You would be right.” I grinned at him before twirling several times, making the train swish around me and the light catch the sparkles in the dress, bringing them to life.

“By Olympus, you’re beautiful,” he murmured, gawking at me. “No longer a constellation, but the stars are forever with you.”

I gazed at him from across the room, picturing him with his golden crown, the matching trident with Atlantean symbols carved into its hilt, clutched in his grasp.

“You ready to talk?” He held out a hand.

It was a simple gesture, but in truth, his palm held the universe within it—a possibility to find the happily ever after I’ve always strived for but lost sight of so long ago. But it also held the potential for heartbreak.

Clutching one arm to my chest, I slid the other hand into his. “Are you porting us there? We’re not going to drive?”

“What would you prefer, Starfish?” His grip tightened on my hand as if now that he had me, he never planned to let go.

I stepped closer to him, a breath between us. Closing my eyes to let the scents of sea spray and sun spark dozens of memories—magical midnight swims, stolen kisses on Olympus, lights glinting from his majestic gold crown. “I want to feel the magic again.”

He slipped an arm around my lower back, pulling me flush against him. I fluttered my eyes open, gazing up at him.

His beard tickled the tip of my ear as he whispered, “Hold on.”

My dress’s train circled me as a surge of water erupted around us but didn’t make us wet. The water swirled in overlapping spirals, and in a shimmer of light, we appeared on a rooftop with a single table, two chairs positioned beside each other, and a dozen candles with flickering flames.

“Where are we?” My arms were still around his waist, and I left them there as I scoped the beautiful setting.

“A restaurant.” He hugged me and delicately rested his chin on my head. “I wanted it to be as normal as possible but still have the freedom to talk about everything, so I rented the entire building for the night.”

I peeled back, squinting at him with one eye. “Mighty romantic of you, but how are we getting food?”

His eyes turned to the stars. “That was the only part I hoped you’d be fine with not being normal?”

“Suits me fine. Both of us are lousy cooks.”

We laughed in unison, only letting the chuckles dissolve when our eyes met, and a flame flickered within them. I stood barefoot in my sparkly Ariel dress on a rooftop with the King of the Seas in my arms. He splayed his hand at our feet, making his shoes disappear, and skirted a sheet of lukewarm water across the concrete.

I smiled, letting my toes splash.

“Figured it’d make it feel more like home without flooding the building.” He grinned, gave a quick peck to the corner of my brow, and led us to the table.

Like two teenagers with first date jitters, we fumbled to our seats. I’d been halfway to sitting before realizing he pulled the chair out for me and had to readjust with a blushed smile. He waved his hand over the table, producing bountiful plates of leafy greens with colorful splashes of tomatoes, cucumbers, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables.

“I can see you were in the kitchen all day with a meal like this.” I winked at him, unfolding the white cloth napkin and placing it over my lap.

Poseidon brushed each of his shoulders. “A lot of blood and sweat went into this meal. I certainly hope you enjoy it.”

I paused the fork midway to my mouth, scrunching my nose at the mention of blood and sweat.

He chuckled, never taking his eyes off me as he took a bite. After listening to the melodic crunching with each rotation of his jaw, I followed suit. We had countless moments like this at the beginning of our marriage—so enamored with each other we couldn’t get enough. How had we let ourselves grow apart?

I wanted to ask something but feared killing the moment before we had a chance to develop one. Letting my gaze fall to my plate, scraping my fork across it, I derailed—for now.

“How did those pirates get on the cruise ship? I got Bloodhound Meg off the scent, but she was right to find it suspicious.”

Poseidon swiped his napkin over his mouth. “Skylla.”

“Skylla?” My fork clanked as I dropped it. “I thought most of the creatures were dead.”

“Atlantis has been off the charts for decades. With it lacking the security it once had, it brought unwanted attention. I wanted to keep busy, but I never thought it’d be playing gatekeeper to creatures of the deep and the modern world.” He smirked, bumping a tomato from one side of his plate to the other.

“I don’t understand what was in it for Skylla, though. Aiding a group of sea thugs to rob or ransom off passengers on a cruise ship?”

Or surely, she hadn’t been after me all this time? My dream of plummeting into the depths, tentacles wrapped around me—the sight of those same tentacles making the pirate boats move faster…

“You’ve got me there. If I had to guess, she probably made a deal. She’s always wanted control of the seas, but she forgets a tiny detail.” He leaned his chest on the table, sliding his hand across it to rest on top of mine. “She has to get through me.”

Memories of us battling under the seas, protecting them, protecting our family—a pain twisted in my chest, and I yanked my hand away, pressing my back to the chair.

“Amph?” He frowned. “What is it?”

“How are our—” The words stuck in my throat, clinging to it like saltwater taffy. “—children?”

I snapped my eyes to him, a trident twisting in my gut at the sight of his solemn face.

Poseidon blew out a breath before rolling a tomato between two fingers. “Triton is doing very well for himself. He’s captain of a fishing boat and loves it. I’m guessing he’ll stay there until him not aging becomes alarmingly obvious.”

Triton. My sweet boy. Now a grown man. A god in his own right.

“Fishing boat?”

Poseidon threw his hands up. “Not what you think. He goes after whalers, stops them using any means necessary that won’t get them flagged by the Coast Guard.”

“Why use a human boat? Couldn’t he use his powers?” I ran my finger over the hem of the slit in my dress.

Poseidon tapped the table with his forefinger. “He prefers working for it. Says it means more at the end of the day. Wonder where he got that from, hm?”

Tears threatened, but I forced them back.

We had another child—a daughter. Nerves coiled my lungs, squeezing the breath out of me. “And Rhode?” She was so small the last time I’d seen her, so young.

Poseidon licked his lips, casting his gaze away from me before sliding his chair closer.

“Oh my—” I clapped my hands over my mouth. “—she’s not…”

“No.” He peeled my fingers from my face, holding my hands in his large grasp. “No, she’s not. As I told you, anomalies have been occurring in Atlantis. She’d gone to try and fix it, despite me firmly telling her no, that it was too dangerous.”

“I wonder where she got that from,” I said weakly, a crackle in my voice.

Poseidon didn’t smile. He didn’t even look at me, his grip tightening around my hands. “Atlantis took her. She disappeared.”

“What?” I shouted, pushing out of my chair, toppling it over. “What do you mean she disappeared?”

Poseidon stood, dragging a hand over his beard. “Atlantis is the heart of altering dimensions. It has portals. One opened and…took her.”

Pacing the roof’s perimeter, I slapped a hand on my forehead. “And you haven’t tried to find her?”

“Of course, I have. I tore apart half the universe looking for her.” His voice dropped an octave, no doubt insulted by my accusation.

Panic. Pain. Fury. Anger at myself. It all engulfed my senses, tore at my insides.

“And you just gave up?” I stopped and glared at him from across the space. “You should’ve tried harder.”

He rolled his shoulders back, his nostrils flaring. “And you should’ve been there. It’s one of the reasons she went. To look for you.”

A tear rolled down my cheek, and I swiped it away.

“As if you were always there for them. Don’t you dare put this all on me.” My bottom lip trembled, and I turned my back on him.

“They were children when you disappeared, Amphitrite. I raised them.”

The stern expression on his face brought back memories of one of our past arguments. He’d been away for days performing his aquatic duties without so much as a word to me—to us. The loneliness I’d felt far too many times to count made my gut wrench.

“I knew this wasn’t going to work,” I whispered.

The heat radiated from his chest, pulsing against my back as he stood behind me. “What are you saying?”

“We’ve done too much. I’m not even sure it’s repairable. And for you, this all happened a lifetime ago, a lifetime to get past it—to accept it.” I turned to face him with a scowl. “For me? It was like it all happened days ago.”

The memories were all so fresh, rushing through my mind, making the present mix with the future. The last argument I remembered us having pinched my brain—both accusing the other of putting the job before family.

His jaw tightened, and he sneered at the ground.

“I know about Medusa.” Further torture inflicted by Zeus during my constellation prison. Glimpses of Earth and Olympus, to witness those I loved thinking I was gone.

His eyes snapped to mine, and he shook his head. “I thought you were dead. That was years after you disappeared. It was a fling, at most.”

“I know. I’m not mad because you slept with other women after I was gone. It’s what Athena did to her as a result.” The skin between my eyes wrinkled as I imagined what agony she must’ve gone through, realizing she couldn’t look at anyone without them turning to stone—not to mention the head of snakes for hair.

Poseidon pursed his lips. “I’m not proud of it.”

“Is she still alive?”

“Yes. Though, I haven’t seen her since. She’s become a recluse.”

I nodded, hugging myself. “You should rectify that.”

“Maybe I will,” he said softly, barely audible against the harsh winds that’d picked up.

“I need you to take me home, please.” A sea urchin poked at the backs of my eyelids, trying to force tears out.

“We can work through this, Amph. You just need to give us another shot.” He wrung his hands together, a deep furrow forming in his brow.

“I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes either. I need some time, Seid. I need to process this, to—”

Before I could finish my sentence, he wrapped his arms around me, and we appeared in my apartment.

“Thank you.” My throat betrayed me, making my words quiver.

He stepped back, running the back of his hand over his nose. “I’ll recruit a few more gods to help search for Rhode. I never stopped, Amph. You need to realize she can be in virtually any dimension or time period. It’s like looking for a black speck of sand in a dune of tan.”

“Thank you.” I turned my attention to the fish tank.

“Take all the time you need. I’ve been waiting this long. I can wait an eternity if it comes to it.”

By Olympus, how much my king had changed.

He stood in front of me, delicately placing a finger under my chin and turning my face to him. “Hey. Regardless if you come back to me or not, we will find Rhode.”

He made it so damn difficult to be mad at him. To not simply throw the neglect I’d felt in the middle of our marriage, the loneliness, straight out the window. But no—as sweet and attractive as he was, he’d have to own up to it. I needed to be in the right headspace for that conversation. Otherwise, he’d be talking to idle ears.

“Text me when you’re ready to talk.” He slowly backed away, fighting the disappointed look on his face with tightened lips.

And with a blazing white flash and sea spray, the King of the Seas disappeared into the night, leaving only the sparkling dress clinging to my body as a pale reminder he was ever here.