Chapter Ten
Love

After that first exam, the rest of my exams went by with a breeze, although I still worried excessively over them.  I knew what a college final felt like now, and the only thing I really worried about was whether or not the other exams were going to follow the same pattern.  But this was typical of me – I’d freak out over the first time I did something, but once I experienced it, and had a general idea of what was supposed to happen, I relaxed a little, and was able to go through the experience much more calmly.  It was the main reason Papa didn’t worry so much when I was flipping out about something; he knew I could take after my mother at times, but that I would calm down in the long run.  Mom, on the other hand, thought I took after her more than I actually did, and just assumed I was going to worry myself sick over the matter.

But still, my classes were done and over with, and the only other thing I had to worry about was getting my final grades.  I didn’t really like how they didn’t tell you what you go on your final, so I couldn’t judge how well I did.  All I had was my final grade to go on, which would take several days to get since the professors needed to tally up our overall grades, and most of them had several classes to go through.  I was checking the website every few hours to see if anything came up, but it remained annoyingly blank.  Eros thought I was being silly – he had been around long enough to know what sort of grades I get, and he didn’t think all this stress of him entering my life was going to change that.  He had a bet with me that I was either going to get straight ‘A’s, or ‘A’s and ‘B’s, whereas I remained realistic, and claimed I was going to have at least one grade lower.

But everyone else seemed to think like Eros.  I guess I never really gave them a reason to think I’d get a ‘C’, but considering I was taking a math class that semester, I didn’t want them to get their hopes up.  It was the one class I allowed myself to get that grade in, because I’d rather be average in math than completely stupid in it.  A ‘C’ was better than a ‘D’, after all.  Mom had this weird idea that I was good at math, despite the fact that I generally did lousy in it, but then again, she thought I did well in everything I did.  I wasn’t that talented and smart.

Unfortunately, being done with classes meant I was at the mercy of the reality show more often than not.  Sure, I couldn’t be filmed unless it had something to do with the wedding, but Penny quickly figured out the loophole.  Whenever she wanted to torment me in front of the cameras, all she had to do was drag me into the room, and start discussing bridesmaid crap, and I couldn’t say a thing that would ruin the shot.  Sure, I’d react as I normally did, making sarcastic comments and attempting to give her a taste of her own medicine, but all that was happening was that the American public were now going to see how horribly the Karalis sisters actually got along.

I knew Penny was just trying to paint me in a bad light – she thought she was the end all to opinions, so she thought everyone thought like she did.  Even the ‘peasant’ middle class people who’d be watching the train wreck of her show, although I knew they’d be siding with me.  It was the only thing that made it bearable, although I still didn’t want my private life filmed.  It was my sanctuary, and I wanted it keep it that way.

But still, no matter what I said to Penny, she kept this amused little smile on her face, no longer pissed that I couldn’t be filmed.  Apparently the show wasn’t tanking as I thought, and I guess that day she was just drunk to get drunk.  She did that from time to time, whenever one of her friends questioned her relationship with Donald.  It would explain why she was getting so defensive about it.  It was one thing for her family to disapprove – all her life she was doing to opposite of what we thought was right – but it was completely different for one of her friends to question it.  They weren’t supposed to question her decisions!

I sort of liked the idea of the show going under, but then again, they were still in the filming and editing stage.  They hadn’t even picked out a premier date yet, although Penny was talking about possibly at the beginning of next year.  That wouldn’t give the producers much time to work with, of course, but damn it, she didn’t care.

I didn’t really like sitting around being caught up in the drama of the wedding.  I felt bad for Phoebe, who though Penny was doing this because she wanted to talk about her wedding.  But what I wanted to do was hide in my room, reading a good book while I had the chance, and being distracted by Eros.  Was that really too much to ask?  I had enough to worry about with exams finished and Aphrodite probably just waiting to drop something on me.  The fact that she didn’t throw something immediately at me after that last exam had both me and Eros a little worried, since that meant she was planning something big for me.  But I couldn’t exactly worry about that when I was surrounded by giggling and subservient socialites who didn’t really have a mind of their own.

I honestly felt my IQ start to drop when I was forced into the ‘wedding planning ‘sessions’, which started immediately after my first exam.  They had been waiting for me to come home, I could tell, since the restriction on them being in the house while I studied was lifted as soon as I left for my last exam.  That had been great, actually, almost a full week of them not being around bothering me.  But then they came back tenfold.

I could tell, even if the show ended up tanking, that they’d at least have the special on Phoebe’s wedding.  People loved celebrity weddings, and having an intimate look at the train wreck it created.  Luckily for all involved, Phoebe wasn’t really a bridezilla – she knew what she wanted, and she could be stubborn about some things, like her dress, but for the most part, she was more open to suggestions than I thought she was going to be.  And she surprised me further by keeping the bridesmaid dresses she had picked out while I was certain she was under the influence of Hedone.  Which sort of made me wonder if she was under her influence or if she really wanted me to look somewhat pretty, and not trashy, at her wedding.

“You know, Psyche,” Phoebe said to me on the second day after exams, when I was pretty much completely on pins and needles.  Any little thing would make me jump, but no one seemed to notice.  Mostly because I was surrounded by people who weren’t paying attention to me, and Mom and Papa were off hiding.  “We still need to schedule a fitting.  And now that you’re free…”

“I’m not sure how free I am,” I said slowly, now that the attention was focused on me.  “I mean, I might have plans with Maddie.”

Phoebe waved me off.  “Bring her along, then.  I don’t care.”

“Really?  I thought you didn’t like Maddie.”

“What gave you that impression?”

“Well, the way you and Penny are constantly ragging on me because she’s my only friend.  I’m such a loser for only hanging out with her.”

“You are a loser for hanging out with, like, only one person, and while I do think she’s, like, totally boring, I don’t not like her, Psy.  I even sent her an invitation to the wedding!”

“Ah, I thought that was because you were sending one to literally everyone you know.”

“And I know her through you.  I thought about not, because, like, she’s not my friend or family or anything, but then I was like…well, she’s like Psyche’s only friend, and Psyche is in the wedding and all, so why the hell not?  The more the merrier.”

“Nate put you up to it, didn’t he?” I asked dryly.

“Well, duh.  Maddie’s so boring.  But he pointed out that it wasn’t fair to you, and I figure what the hell?  At least then you wouldn’t look retarded standing around in a corner by yourself all night.  You’ll have someone to look like a loser with.”

“Oh, oh, or maybe she’ll meet some hot guy there, and end up dancing the entire night away!” one of her less malicious friends said excitedly.

“Bite your tongue,” Penny snapped at her.  I was surprised she hadn’t intervened since Phoebe wasn’t insulting me yet.  “Like we’d have any guy that lame at any sort of party we threw.  I mean, geeze, get a life.”

I really wanted to introduce Eros to them, because she would be the one biting her tongue then.  She might perceive him to be a loser because he liked me, but even she wouldn’t be able to get passed how hot he was.  And then it wouldn’t matter if he was a loser who happened to like her least social sister.  Because he was hot.

Pretty much the only thing preventing me from doing so, other than permission from Eros himself, was the thought of her flirting with him, and attempting to steal him away.  He was my man, and I wanted her nowhere near him.  Phoebe was okay, because hear heart belonged to Nate, and I was getting the idea that she was more okay with any guy having an interest in me than Penny was.  But still, if I introduced Eros to Phoebe, I’d have to introduce him to Penny, because Phoebe couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.

“Ah, no, I think that’d be adorable,” Phoebe sighed.  “Maybe it’d, like, improve her, you know?  She definitely needs to get out more, that’s for sure.”

“I could say the same for you,” I said.  “How much of this show’s actually filmed outside of this house?  It seems you guys have less of a social life than I do.  At least I actually get out.”

“That’s what we’re trying to discuss, Psy.  When’s a good time for us to go to a fitting?  We need to make sure everything looks good, because we, like, can’t have them fixing shit a week before the wedding.”

“Phebes, the wedding’s still a while away yet.  You have plenty of time.  I’m sure they haven’t had time to even adjust the dresses yet!”

“They have.  They’ve been calling to schedule something.  I expedited the process.”

I was impressed…that my sister knew the word ‘expedited’.  I wasn’t surprised that she’s drop a few extra thousand dollars of Papa’s money in order to get them done quickly.  She was acting like she was getting married next month.  Nate’s team was close to being in the playoffs, and it could be after the Super Bowl that he could do anything.  But whatever, this was my sister we were talking about.  I’m sure Penny talked her into doing it, just to mess with me and to waste Papa’s money.  And Phoebe just went with it because it was Penny.

“Okay, okay; we’ll go whenever the hell you want to,” I said, realizing she wasn’t to shut up about this.  She looked happy, and I was rather surprised that she didn’t drag me right then and there.  But apparently she needed to make an appointment or something, since she and her other bridesmaids started discussing days they could go.  And Penny watched me owlishly the entire time.

“Kill me now,” I said as I flopped into my bed once they allowed me to go free.  Eros wasn’t visible, mostly because anyone could look in my room, and he did have that interesting ability.  As soon as I hit the mattress, he was there, though.

“You know, seriously, if it wasn’t for your, you know, life, I really would have asked you to stay with my forever in my mansion.  That’s what I wanted to do, but clearly, you had other plans.  But that offer’s still up for grab.”

I groaned into m pillow.  “Don’t tempt me,” I said, although it was slightly muffled.  “I’m done with school for the semester.  Who needs college anyway when you’re living with a god?”

He was silent for a good long moment, and I think he thought I was being serious.  “Well, I suppose someone who wants to cover all her bases and have a college degree,” he sighed.  After all, college wasn’t something really necessary in antiquity, but has become something required in today’s world.  Even if I did prove my worth, and got married to Eros, and become a goddess, I didn’t my worth based on my immortality.  I wanted to do something unique with my life.

“Well, I suppose there’s always the cliff idea.  Worked well the first time, right?”

Eros chuckled.  “A little too well, if you ask me.  Psyche never actually brought it up, but I could tell she regretted doing it once her relatives started dying off.  But not really.  They don’t make them out as bad as your sisters in the myth, but believe me when I say that they made Psyche’s life just as miserable.  All because Psyche had a brain, and that was unusual for a princess.”

“And what’s up with that?  It seems like every girl who caught the eye of a god or a hero was a princess at some point.”

He shrugged sheepishly.  “Well, there were a lot of little kingdoms in ancient Greece, so it really did seem like every girl was a princess.  The heroes, yeah, there was a reason, mostly because they dealt a lot with kings.  But for us gods, it was just mostly chance.  It wouldn’t have mattered to me if Psyche were a princess or homeless, really.  Although I wouldn’t complain.  Aren’t you something of a princess yourself?”

“And you know I hate every part of it,” I seethed before letting out a sigh.  “At least my sisters I know how to deal with.  I’m not sure what to do with all this time your mother’s been giving us.  It means she has something awful planned, doesn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed, rubbing his hand against my back.  “And I’m truly sorry about that.  But you’re handling it well, I have to say.  No one suspects anything.”

I groaned again.  “I hate my life,” I muttered.

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

We spent the rest of the day as we had been doing – locked in my room with me reading and him watching me read while pretending to do the same.  There was something about books that calmed me down, I noticed.  I could just watch TV, but that allowed my mind to wander to dark places too much.  With books, my attention was focused on the written word, and I could quickly lose myself in the fantasy created.  I didn’t have to worry about Aphrodite when I was alone in my mind.

Although it seemed she was offended with that thought, since that’s exactly how she sought me out.

This time I could tell it was a dream rather than her transporting me somewhere.  Everything had an indistinct feeling to it, although I was completely conscious at the moment.  It was a strange feeling, actually, especially since I did wonder if she transported me to a misty dimension or something.

“No,” she said, her voice echoing slightly in my head and sounding annoyed.  “You haven’t gone anywhere.  You’re in a dream.”

“Oh.”

“You mortals have no sense of place, do you?  Clearly, we’re in your mind.”

“Clearly,” I said dryly.  At least that would explain why I wasn’t so tired this time.  “So you finally figured out my next trial, have you?”

“Don’t sound so cocky, girl,” she hissed at me.  “You’re lucky, Eros pleaded with me to let you off until you were finished with your…exams.  If it were up to me, that would have been the perfect time for me to test you.  But sadly, he brought up an excellent point, and I couldn’t argue with him.”

“I do have to thank you for that.  I had enough to worry about with those exams that it was nice not to add the extra worry of you popping in as well.”

She glared at me, as though me not worrying offended her.  I’m sure it did.  She ended up flipper her hair elegantly over her shoulder, trying to act as though she didn’t care.  “As a matter of fact, I have figured out the prefect test for an insolent girl like yourself.  I’m not sure if you’re aware or not, but your mother and father were not designed to be together.”

“Um, okay…”

“That…whore Helen was never good enough for our Nikodemus, and yet they still went against destiny.  They pretend to be happy, but only I know the truth about how they really feel.”

“I’m confused.  What do you want me to do, and what does it have to do with my parents?”

“I think it’s fairly obvious, girl.  Your task is to make your father fall in love with the woman he’s destined to be with.”

I stared blankly at her, wondering what the catch was going to be.  I mean, these were my parents we were talking about, so happily married that even after twenty-five years of marriage, they still look at each other like they were newly in love.  Aphrodite might be the goddess of love, but I don’t think she knew what she was talking about.  “So…you want me to break up my parents?”

She waved me off.  “Not necessarily, but if it comes to that, so be it.  I honestly don’t care how it’s done, but I don’t want to see Nikodemus with that…harlot any longer.  This is your task, girl.  If you fail me, then you’ll never see my son again.”

She was gone, just like that, and I found myself suddenly awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering what the hell just happened.  Did she really just tell me that my test was to make my father, who I loved and respected dearly, fall in love with another woman?  Oh, she was good.  She found the most impossible task for me to perform, but physically and mentally.  There was no way that Papa would love anyone else, and there was no one way I could make him fall for anyone else.  I loved Mom just as much, and I wouldn’t want to do that to her.

But if I didn’t, then Aphrodite would make it next to impossible to see Eros again.  Which did I want?  My parents to remain happy together, or for the ability to see Eros whenever I wanted without interference?  I knew what the answer should be – after all, I knew my parents my whole life, and just met Eros – but matters of the heart weren’t really something to trifle with.  I wasn’t a selfish person by nature, since I was more than willing to help others out if they asked, but this was a matter that I felt entirely too selfish about.

But, on the other hand, how could I do something like that?  It was so wrong.  Papa had plenty of opportunities to pick up a mistress, but he shuttered at the thought of touching another woman the same way he touched Mom.  If he chose not to love another woman, then how the hell was I going to make him?

And why the hell was I even wondering about it?  It was wrong, and to be honest, I didn’t really want any part in it.  It was just that…it was a trial, and my mind wondered how Aphrodite expected me to go about it.  She said she didn’t care how I did it, so long as I did, so I suppose I could trick her somehow into thinking Papa was in love with another woman.  That would be ideal – I’d just get to be with Eros, and Mom wouldn’t have her heart broken.  Maybe if I came clean with Papa about all this, he could play along for a bit to help me out.

But then again, did I really want Papa to think I was mental by believing all this ‘the gods are real’ crap?  I mean, sure, he’d be the parent most likely to believe me, but in this day and age, that was enough to get you institutionalized. 

I’m not sure how long I lay there staring at the ceiling, my mind a jumble about what I was supposed to do.  This certainly wasn’t in the myth, and it was in fact quite a doozie.  I wondered how she came up with an idea like that, unless she realized that it was the sort of task that I could fail miserably at.  She had to have known that I loved my parents, and based my own romantic ideals on their love.  Why would I want to break them up?  Oh, right, to be with a boy a liked.

I knew Penny and Phoebe wouldn’t hesitate to do something like that if they were in my position.  Oh, they have to get Papa to love someone else just to stay with ancient Greek hottie over there?  No problem!  When do I start?  It sickened me the most of thing of that.

The only thing that brought me back to reality was Eros actually stirred beside me.  I had forgotten he was there, peacefully and blissfully asleep.  He woke like a cat, stretching before settling back down and glancing at me.  “Good morning,” he said sleepily before he realized I wasn’t looking at him.  “What’s the matter?”

“I have another trial,” I told him.  “Your mother finally came to me last night.  In a dream.”

“Oh,” he said, still looking confused.  “I’m sorry.  What’s she having you do?”

I let out a slow sigh.  “It’s kind of crazy actually, but she’s actually having me make Papa fall in love with someone else.”

“Wow, that’s twisted,” he said, sounding impressed.  “I mean, I knew it was going to be something bad, of course, but nothing like that.  I wonder why gave her the idea.  Probably Hera.”

“I can’t do it,” I told him, glancing at him.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t.  Not to Papa.”

He raised an eyebrow at me.  “I think that’s the point, Psyche.  It’s not a test that she expects that you’d be able to do.  I mean, that was the point of all the trials she put the first Psyche through.  They were all impossible tasks, but Psyche had someone looking out for her.  She’s following the same vein.  It’d be impossible for you to even consider this, and she knows she won before she even uttered a word.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Mad?  No.  Disappointed?  A little.  But not in you,” he added hastily.  “Just disappointed that Mama did managed to find the one thing you wouldn’t be able to do.  We’ll figure something out.  Maybe she’ll consider it a draw since you managed to complete the first trial.”

“I highly doubt that.  I’m sure she’ll call herself a victor as soon as she wins one, even if I complete all the others.”  I let out another sigh.  “I suppose I could try just to prove her wrong.  There’s not harm in it, is there?  Trying?  People get divorced all the time, and most people are surprised that Papa doesn’t have someone on the side.”

“Why are you even rationalizing this?  It’s wrong, and I know you know it.  Seriously, you don’t have to go through with it for my sake.”

“It wouldn’t be for your sake,” I said, glancing back at the ceiling, hating myself a little.  “It’d be able me making a point.  Your mother might think she has me pegged, but I want to prove otherwise.  I don’t want her to think she can rule my life like that.  I make the decisions.”

“Well, if you really think you can do it…I’ll support you no matter what you decide.”

“Okay,” I sighed again, pushing myself out of bed to start the day.  Curiously, there seemed to be a sheet of paper sitting on the mirror of my vanity that obviously hadn’t been there before with a name written on it, the handwriting overly curly and elegant.

“I guess that’s the woman you’re supposed to make your father fall in love with,” Eros speculated.  “That’s Mama’s handwriting.”

I stared at the name, feeling a little sick to my stomach.  It was bad enough that I was even considering it, but this woman?  This was going to be terrible, and I hoped that I would be able to reverse it after this trial was finished, or else my life was going to be hell from this day one.

I felt a little like a shell of myself when I ventured down, although I was trying to act normal.  No one was buying it, though.  “What’s the matter, Psyche dear?” Mom asked me worriedly.

“Nothing,” I lied.  “Just didn’t get enough sleep.  I’ll be fine once I wake up.”

“You should have stayed in bed,” Mom said, shaking her head.  “You have no reason to be up.”

I probably could have told her I wouldn’t have been able to sleep even if I wanted to, but Papa chuckled.  “She’s a Karalis, Helen.  She wants to make the most of her day, even if that means getting up early.  But I wanted to tell you; I’m going into the office today.”

“You are?” she asked, her attention diverted.  I was a little interested as well, since he hadn’t been to the office since the reality show started filming, as a way to be around to protect Mom if the need arose.  I could tell Mom was thinking the same thing.  “Why?”

“Well, because I haven’t been in about a month, and I need to make an appearance every now and then, dear,” he laughed.  “But also because I have a meeting with Connie.”

“Connie?” she sneered.  “Connie Angelo?”

Connie Angelo was a business partner of Papa’s whom we all despised, but Mom most of all.  She was a power hungry executive who had her eye on Papa for as long as they were working together, and she didn’t seem to understand that Papa was happily married.  He never gave her any reason to believe otherwise, but Mom once had a pet theory that Connie was his mistress…until she realized that Papa hated her almost as much as we did, and only put up with her because of their business history together.

The problem right now was the fact that Connie Angelo was sort of the woman that Aphrodite apparently wanted me to hook Papa up with.  I hated the woman, how she came off as feminist and anti-feminist at the same time.  She was completely subservient, but at the same time, demanded equal treatment.  Remarkably, she was actually a worse kind of person than my sisters were.

I really hoped this could wear off.

But it was good to know that Papa and Connie were going to be occupying the same space that day, and I wondered if that was the reason why Aphrodite had waited until that night to say anything.  It was convenient, and she didn’t have to wait for days on end for me to figure out how to get them together.  Now I just needed to figure out a way to make Papa fall for her.

It was easy enough to follow Papa into work.  I knew where his office building was, naturally, having traveled there on several occasions for various reasons.  I just waited about half an hour after he left to sneak out – Penny and Phoebe weren’t there yet, remarkably – and Mom was fretting about that fact, so she didn’t even notice me leaving.  I half expected Eros to be waiting in the car, but I wasn’t that surprised to find him absent.  He’d help me, he said, but he also knew this was something I’d have to do for myself.

It took about forty-five minutes to travel to the office, which is one reason Papa didn’t like going in.  He hated the idea of a commute to and from work every day that took time from seeing his family.  The people who worked there all knew me, so all I had to do was act like I was supposed to be there, and they all waved and smiled when I placed a finger to my lips, meaning I wanted to surprise Papa.  Little did they know that I didn’t plan on Papa even knowing I was there.  I just hoped he was meeting Connie now so that I didn’t have to drag this out for too long.

Fortunately, he was in fact in the conference room with her when I snuck into the room adjacent to it.  The door was cracked open slightly, and it offered me a good view of the room.  And I’d be ready if any opportunity presented itself for me to make him fall for her without actually being seen my anyone.

How I was supposed to do that, I didn’t know.  I was just sort of running with the idea at the moment.  But the opportunity did present itself just as I noticed her hand land on his knee and start to creep up a little.  He stopped it, of course, but the fact that she could be that bold sickened me.  “You’re still sure you want to do this?” Eros muttered at me as he materialized beside me, causing me to jump a little.

I glanced at them.  “No,” I said, looking back at him.  He looked a little different, but that was mostly because he seemed to be wearing full archery equipment, almost like he was on the job or anything.  “But I guess I don’t really have a choice at this point.”

“I figured you might need some help.  I brought you this.”  He placed his bow and one of his golden arrows in my hand, along with his finger tab.  I realized that this really was the only way that I could make this happen.  I wondered if Aphrodite would be mad at me for using Eros’ arrows like this, but she did say she didn’t care how I did it, so long as I did.

I let out of breath before taking a step back.  I used to take archery as my physical fitness credit in high school, and while I wasn’t the best at it, I could at least hit the target close enough to the bullseye by the end of the four years.  I didn’t need to be exact here.  I placed the arrow against the bow, and pulled back, taking aim at my father.

I stayed there for several minutes, Eros watching me the entire time.  I don’t know what it was – I had a clear shot even while hidden behind a door – but I just…couldn’t.  I think I knew I couldn’t.  I just needed to prove to myself that I couldn’t.  Finally, I lowered the bow.  “I just can’t,” I muttered to him.  “These are my parents.  They’re happy together.  I don’t care if Aphrodite didn’t mean for them to get together, or if she hates my mother, she’s just going to have to live with it.  Papa belongs to Mom.  He doesn’t belong to Connie.”

Eros stared at me for a long moment as I sat shuttering at the thought, before shrugging.  “Well, okay, if you can’t, then I’ll still help you out.”

He took the bow and arrow from me in one quick movement, and managed to fire it before I had a chance to protest.  “Oh my God, I can’t believe you…did that just hit Connie?” I asked confused.

He laughed slightly.  “I may be the god of love, but clearly you’re too focused on only one of my myths.  My gold arrows make people fall in love with each other; my iron arrows make them despise the other person.  See?”

Connie was looking confused for a good long moment before she turned to Papa with almost a sour expression on her face.  She looked repulsed to be in his presence before she settled into a mask of indifference.

“You’re helping me by getting Connie not to love my father?” I asked, turning back to him.

He shrugged.  “I know enough about your family to know none of you like that woman, and the less she’s in your life, the better.  Psyche, I said that I’d support you no matter what you chose, and if you chose not to complete this test, then that’s your decision.  We’ll live with the consequences, but we’ll figure something out.”

I sighed again, although I was feeling a little better, since I didn’t feel like such a monster for trying to split Mom and Papa up.  “Thanks,” I said.  “And I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, staring to rub his hand against my cheek before giving me a freaked out look and suddenly disappearing.  I was a little confused as to why he’d do that before I realized that Aphrodite was in the room.

“So that’s your decision?  You’re not going to complete this test?”

I stood from where I was crouching, trying to give her a determined look.  “No.  This is wrong, and I’m sure you of all people know it.  I refuse to have any part in this, even if it means that I can’t be with Eros anymore.”

Her face twisted with rage, which I didn’t expect.  “You insolent little…you pass.”

“I pass?”

“You heard me; don’t make me repeat myself.  Making people fall in love is a power only the gods posses.  It’s not something a mere mortal should trifle with.  Not actually going through with it means that you completed the test.”

“Really?”

“Yes.  Don’t expect me to be so lenient for the next one, though,” she said with a sneer before she disappeared again.

I continued to sit there, crouched by the door, unable to believe my luck.  This was the one trial that she’d be able to get me on, and she chose the wrong side to have right.  But I wasn’t complaining.  I found myself grinning instead, happy that I didn’t have to ruin any lives and that I still managed to prove my worth to Aphrodite.

I didn’t know what was going to happen next, but I only prayed that she’s be kind and not involve my family anymore.  I didn’t like that feeling at all.

Chapter Nine

The Trials of Psyche Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven