Page 106 of Styx

I turned to Pallas,

his expression betrayed

very little but his eyes

shared his concern.

‘Are You Sure, Styx?’

I asked, already in my panicking mind,

trying to think of how to help.

We could run away into the woods

and create our own home.

Stop, Goddess, an Oracle whispered to me.

Remember the prophecy.

To be divine was to heed the Fates.

to be powerless to stop them,

yet still to keep trying.

Styx clutched my hands tight.

‘Come with me?’ she asked.

‘Stay by my side?’

I pulled her into an embrace,

and for once, she did not resist.

‘I promise you, I will never leave you,’

I whispered to her fiercely.

‘I will be by your side forever.

And you will never have to do this alone.’

The Wedding Feast

What kind of feast honours a love that never was? Oceanus’s palace was bursting with dancing deities and divine laughter that filled his grand halls, even his great river sounded more like a babbling brook instead of its monstrous rumbling self. Styx’s sisters usually enjoyed a banquet, but that day they were eyeing her with an envy that made them look almost green in the firelight of the stars I had hung across the halls. There was a vibrance in the air that extended everywhere, except toward the two rose-and-violet-covered thrones at the front of the room where Pallas and Styx had taken their honoured seats. Styx looked lovely: I threaded her long green tresses with white flowers we grew ourselves. Her eyes were lined with dark kohl to make them shine bright. Her lips were painted rosy red and her emerald dress was made of the finest silk. Pallas’s crimson robes only highlighted his golden skin and sinews. They looked beautiful together. But neither of them was smiling. My heart clenched for them both. There had to be a way to bring them together. I knew Styx would grow to care for kind Pallas with a little help. Next to Pallas, Perses caught my eye. And as my pulse began to race, his handsome face creased to offer me a gentle smile.

A Plan

We met later that night

on the golden sands by the sea.

Perses showed me the dock

where Pallas had his forge.