The Question

Kassus barely felt the bruises anymore.

The ocean breeze was cool against his face as he sat under the crooked shade of a pomegranate tree, the first real moment of rest he had in days. His body was still battered from the hecatoncheire's ambush and the fight against Ares and the other demigods, but exhaustion was heavier than any kind of pain, even if he still felt his leg sore from the rough landing almost a week ago.

Aphrodite had been taking care of Kassus day and night; she nursed his wounds, made him medicine, and even if her powers allowed her to, she healed some of his injuries. But she was exhausted herself. She was seated next to him, under the same tree, silent. Sensing his need for peace and space, she had pressed a soft kiss on his forehead before slipping away towards the island's small temple to rest herself. Kassus gave her a weak smile and waited until Aphrodite was out of sight to lie down under the pomegranate tree, and closed his eyes.

In his dreams, the same nightmare, the scream and echoes of memories still rang high inside of him, still haunted him like a wolf constantly chasing a small deer. He felt haunted, chased, and the memories reflected it. Images and scenes of his past, of the things he craved and would had torn himself in two just to forget.

A sword too heavy for a child.

A decision that destroyed an already broken family.

A smile from a woman that held longing.

A goddess laughing mockingly.

Two graves with the same name on them, again.

Kassus hated to remember, but he hated even more that these memories always repeated in his dreams, over and over. Fortunately for him, he managed to wake up, a bit lightheaded due to how strong the sun was shining directly at him. He rubbed his head for a moment, and sighed, deep in thought.

For a while, there was only the whisper of wind.

Until footsteps filled the silence.

When Kassus looked up, he saw them. Circe, the witch of Aiaia, standing tall with her nymphs trailing behind her like a storm cloud, their hair glittered like river-water, their eyes sharp as broken glass. Circe's eyes narrowed, and a smirk of malice began to show in her lips when they found him.

"I owe Aphrodite a favor." she said coolly, voice cutting through the air like a blade. "But it does not extend to you, mortal."

Kassus gripped the earth beside him, steadying himself. He was too tired for another fight— but Circe's aura prickled his skin with danger, and every instinct screamed stay sharp. The sorceress strode closer, her nymphs fanning out behind her, forming a loose circle and devouring Kassus with their curious and amazed eyes.

"No men are welcome here, you know." Circe continued, voice low with disdain. "Tell me, who are you, that you dare tread my island without permission, to make my nymphs curious and hungry?"

Kassus pulled himself to his feet, swaying slightly. He did not reach for his sword, at least not yet. Not there.

"The name is Kassus." he said, his voice rough and steady. "I am a companion of Aphrodite... nothing more."

"Companions are depicted as pets, Kassus of Rhodes."

Kassus froze. He never told her where he was from, yet she still said it. Circe's smirk grew wider at Kassus' reaction, she knew the poor mortal was easy to read. She continued to speak, taking a step closer. The nymphs tittered softly behind her, like a breeze passing over dry leaves. Circe began to circle him slowly, her fingers trailing along the air, almost tasting his presence.

"You smell of iron and death." she murmured. "What are you, Kassus? A pet? A soldier? A fool in love?"

Her voice tightened.

"Or perhaps..." she leaned in, her golden eyes catching his. "The man who killed a god?"

The air seemed to harden between them. Kassus' jaw clenched because there it was— the truth that clung to him like blood to skin: the killer of Hephaestus, the slayer of one of Olympus' own. It did not matter that he had not sought it. It did not matter that it was survival. The divine saw only a murderer among them now.

"I am no threat to you, witch." Kassus replied, weakly, quietly. "Aphrodite and I landed here against our will."

She gave a short, bitter laugh.

"They all say that, you know." Circe said. "The sailors who crashed upon these shores, the warriors who bled on my sands... even the cunning Odysseus."

Kassus stiffened slightly. He had not said anything about Odysseus. He had not even thought about Odysseus aloud, yet his reaction was more than enough to make it evident that he recognized that name. Circe's gaze sharpened.

"Ah, so you are tied to him." She said, her voice too peaceful to not be dangerous.

The witch stepped closer, her magic winding tighter around the clearing, the trees seeming to lean in to listen.

"Tell me, mortal." Circe whispered, "How many years has it been since the day your kind defied my hospitality? How many years since Odysseus walked these shores and left betrayal in his wake?"

Kassus could feel her power gathering now. It was not an attack, but a suffocating pressure, a test. He met her gaze without flinching.

"He was my captain years ago." Kassus said. "Taught me survival. Nothing more."

Circe tilted her head slightly, studying him as if he were some strange artifact dredged from the sea. Something old, rusted, sharp at the edges. Something dangerous.

"You carry Odysseus in your blood, even if you don't realize it," she responded. "It's in the way you move. The way you speak. The way you lie, even when you think you're telling the truth."

Her voice was not cruel, but it was tired and heavy with the weight of old wounds that still festered beneath the skin. Kassus said nothing, but the wind shifted; the trees shuddered as if remembering. Circe's golden eyes seemed to look through him, to some other time entirely.

"He walked this island once, too. Promised peace. Promised love in exchange of getting back to his stupid Ithaca." A humorless smile touched her lips, there and gone. "Men like him and like you always leave something broken behind when they go."

The words lingered in the air like smoke, bitter and impossible to breathe. Without waiting for a response, Circe turned and disappeared into the grove, her nymphs following soundlessly. The earth felt colder after they left, and the silence that remained was not kind. It was judgmental, old as the gods themselves. Kassus stayed there a long time, alone with the guilt he had not realized he was carrying. Amidst his silence, Aphrodite eventually approached him, silent, offering him her hand to take and go inside the palace to get some rest together.

Even if he felt like guilt and pain was drowning him, she was there.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Helios rode alone across the high, bright paths of Olympus, his chariot tearing gold lines across the clouds. The laughter of the gods still rang bitter in his ears. Zeus, Ares, Hera, each with their sharp smiles and sharper words, whispering that Aphrodite would never truly love a sun-born Titan like him. That she had only ever clung to him out of fear, out of need. That mortals were more amusing toys to her than Titans were allies.The memorie of their mockery made him grip the reins so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He had believed —no, he had wanted to believe— he had been different. That what he and Aphrodite had shared, what he had risked for her and Kassus both, meant something. But as the horses carried him across the sky, his keen gaze fell down to the world below and he saw them. On the shore of a forgotten island, cradled by the wild sea and dense pomegranate groves, Kassus and Aphrodite were together.

Not in desperation.

Not in fear.

But in something far more dangerous.

They were laughing, tangled in the surf like careless, reckless children. Kassus lifted Aphrodite into his arms, and she tilted her head back and laughed— a sound so sweet and free it broke something inside Helios' chest. It was not fear that bound her to Kassus, it was not need.

It was love.

For a moment, Helios faltered. His horses stamped the clouds uneasily as he slackened the reins.

He felt like an idiot, a fool, just another forgotten name in Aphrodite's long, endless story of hearts left behind. And yet, even through the ache, he could not tear his eyes away from the sight of them. He was about to force the speed on his horses to be faster, he had seen enough. He moved a hand from the reins to the pulsing thunder-like scar in his chest, feeling how it was making him remember how idiotic he was for loving someone that did not love him back.

Then he heard a whisper on the wind. A thread of magic, familiar and urgent. Circe. Her voice was carried up to him, a prayer laced with frustration and need.

"Father, hear me. Take them away from here. I have honored my debts. I want them gone."

The words burned across the sky, crackling in his blood. Helios straightened, setting his jaw hard. No time for grief. No time for heartache. He yanked the reins, guiding the chariot in a sharp, blazing turn toward the island. The sun flared brighter for a heartbeat, then dropped lower towards land, answering his daughter's call.

Still, even as he descended, Helios did not look away from Kassus and Aphrodite, still playing on the beach. He would not. He wanted to remember this— wanted to burn it into himself, the way they laughed, the way they clung to each other, the way they belonged to each other so easily.

Helios had seen many things from his chariot in the sky.

But it was rare, so rare, to see true love in the world below, even if it was never meant for him.

Kassus and Aphrodite, in the meantime, continued to have fun on the beach. They were building a wall with sand and sea foam— flimsy, fleeting, yet for the moment, enough to keep the world away. Aphrodite collected shells and flowers to decorate it. She tilted her head at the sight of the wall, and dabbed her chin, deep in thought. This did not go unnoticed by Kassus, who raised an eyebrow.

"You do not like it." He said, reading her like an open book.

"It's not that, dear." she responded, before she fell to her knees and began to form a mountain with sand behind the walls. "But we can make it better. Perhaps a palace?"

Kassus' confussion slowly turned into joy as he began to help her build a small palace out of sand, he even used the Aegis blade to keep the walls firm and straight. To him, the sword only served as a simple knife nowadays, and he loved to find these moments, these situations, amusing. He continued to build the palace, until he heard something approaching— Footsteps and fire, at the same time.

Aphrodite noticed it too, and her eyes went from Kassus' hands to the island's jungle. Her eyes widened and she could not help but cover her mouth with both hands, in complete shock and relief, feeling like she let out a breath she did not know she was holding. Helios was approaching them, with the warmest of smiles. He was alive.

"Sun boy!"Aphrodite cried out after moments of realization, and ran right into Helios' arms, practically jumping and holding her friend like a lifeline.

Helios chuckled lightly, wrapping his arms back around her, making himself warmer just to please Aphrodite, as always. Even though this time, he was a bit more wary, less kind and more respectful. For the first time, he was the one that pulled away from the embrace.

"Hi." Helios whispered, cupping Aphrodite's face with both his hands.

"You're alive. Thank the Fates." She said, trying to hug him again. But Helios gently stopped her. "Helios?"

"We can't waste any more time." He said calmly, his voice barely a whisper at this point. He was too in love to be rude to her. "I'm here to take you somewhere the gods cannot find you."

"Where?"

Helios blinked twice, unsure as he shrugged.

"It has to be somewhere forgotten by the gods. I know the right god that will surely help us." Helios smiled, trying to offer reassurance. "Let's go. Both of you."

Kassus was right behind Aphrodite by the time Helios mentioned the couple. He nodded in gratefulness. To be fair, he was more than ready to leave Circe's paradise. But Helios' slight change in demeanor did not go unnoticed by Kassus.

Something was wrong.