Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara

Author:Luna McNamara
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

19

Psyche

When Cupid joined me in bed that night, I played the part of the delighted, loving wife. I gave an abbreviated version of Iphigenia’s visit, then rested my head on his shoulder and asked a nonsense question to set him at ease. “Do the cats have names?”

“Of course,” Cupid replied, laughing uncertainly. “But it would be impossible for you to pronounce them. Your mouth couldn’t make all the necessary sounds. Even I can only understand them when I’m in cat shape myself.”

“Well, I have some ideas,” I began, settling my head into the hollowing of his shoulder and skimming my fingertips over his chest. “The fat tabby with the gray eyes is Glaukos. I think that suits him, don’t you agree? The tortoiseshell female who eats everyone else’s food is Scylla. You know she’d devour a whole ship full of sailors if she had the chance . . .”

I continued in that vein for a while, light and playful, while Cupid’s hands stroked my hair. When at last his movements slowed and his breathing evened out to the steady rhythm that signaled sleep, I rose quietly and made my way through the darkened house.

The objects were in a row where I had left them in the alcove. My fingers danced over the concavity of a bowl filled with oil and pierced by the twist of a cloth fiber, then the hard edges of a flint and bronze. My hands were shaking so badly that it took several tries to make a spark. Once I did, the flare was quickly taken up by the wick in its bowl, and the light of the makeshift lamp nearly blinded me before my eyes had the chance to adjust. I took the little bowl in my hands, careful not to spill the burning oil. Shadows careened as I walked back to the bedroom, rendering the familiar halls alien. I had never seen the house by candlelight before.

My heart beat in my ears like a butterfly’s wings. This was a betrayal, and I knew it. It was the one thing Cupid had asked of me, the one thing I promised. I might be dooming myself by daring the curse, consigning myself to a fiery death, though I no longer really believed that story. I needed to know who my husband was, and that need drove out all else.

I opened the door.

I did not burst into flame when I saw my husband lying there, sprawled out on the bed. His hair was curled gold that shone in the lamplight, and one arm was thrown carelessly across the pillow in the languor of sleep. His bare chest rose and fell with the peaceful breath of dreamers. Cupid was no monster or barbarian. He was beautiful in a way unknown to mortals.

I leaned forward to get a closer look at him, unconscious of my movements. I jostled the bowl of burning oil, and some of it slopped over the side onto his chest.

With a cry of pain, Cupid opened his eyes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.