Page 56 of Styx

that all of these were lessons.

Gifts took patience to learn,

to understand, and all these mistakes

were simply a way of knowing

how our newfound powers worked

and how they did not.

Danger Beyond

As much as I tried to ignore it

I could feel Styx’s unhappiness every day.

I knew that being with me was an escape

from her father’s palace.

Even as we practised these secret gifts,

it was hard to ignore what Oceanus’s palace meant.

Styx could not have a moment of peace

for it felt like her family was always watching her.

Once in a less reserved moment, Styx said,

‘The walls are prisons with eyes.’

I could not imagine how that felt.

And with Kronos’s decree hanging over them,

I knew that our days spent together

in practice meant more to Styx than learning.

This was the only place she could breathe free.

A Change In Hierarchy

It happened slowly.

As the River Gods grew in power

and the Oceanids diminished in theirs,

a secondary hierarchy

began to form

amongst the nymphs.

I noticed it when I visited Oceanus’s palace