The Dead Chronicles: Lovers, Liars, and Heroes

Chapter 20

Eros couldn't say whether he honestly heard any of Hades instructions at all. One moment, Psyche was dazzling him with the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen and the next she was fainting, falling to the ground with the scent of his mother's power clouding the air. All of her life starting to leak from her, like poor dye from cloth. He could almost sense the hunger of the Underworld sapping her strength from her, beckoning her towards death.

'Not now,' he begged silently. 'Please Zeus, not now.' Eros shot away with her before Thanatos could take her away. The darkness of the Underworld rapidly became grey and then white as he reached the bright sunlight of Zeus's realm. He rose onwards, over the hills and mountains, far beyond the sight of mortal eyes. The height of Mount Olympus towered above him, as he flew furiously with Psyche in his arms. 'Please, please, please...'

Eros was suddenly buffeted by the four winds, Zephyrus and his brothers, who saw that the God of Love went sailing skyward. Tears streamed out of his eyes at the force of it and he hugged Psyche close. The winds were aware of their power and made sure that he was not hurtled along without being able to keep Psyche firmly in his grip. He shot closer. Eros couldn't recall ever moving so fast in all of his days. The monuments and buildings of Mount Olympus started to reveal themselves, shining gold and marble white between the clouds. Sunlight sparkled off the fountains, radiated green from its pavilions.

Zeus's Throne Room was an enormous coliseum of towering pillars before them. Eros strained every muscle in his body to move faster. 'Please Zeus, this is all I ask of you. Please.' The doors burst open and Eros clipped a wing on one of them in his haste. He hardly felt it but it threw his balance off. Psyche tipped sideways and Eros slammed into a wall, shielding her from the blow. Hands grabbed his shoulders.

"We've got the apple," Hermes murmured in Eros's ears. "It's okay. Step back." Eros turned to behold Zeus, that famed eagle perched on one shoulder, with one of the golden apples of the Hesperides in his fist. Hercules had liberated the garden of three of these rare and wonderful fruits in his previous labor. The stupid King Eurystheus had appreciated their beauty when Hercules had presented them and made metal replicas of the apples to adorn his palace but had not known what to do with the actual artefacts. It had been the cunning Athena who had known of her father's intent and had stolen them back to Mount Olympus for Zeus's purposes. Now, there was no delay.

The fruit that could make Psyche an immortal was ready for her. Zeus broke open an apple and the scent of ambrosia washed away the last vestiges of Aphrodite's beauty box from her body. Psyche was absolutely still, a vision lying across Eros's arms. He held her gently as Zeus fed her pieces of the apple, one segment at a time. Eros waited, holding onto his breath. "I made it, didn't I?" he whispered, terrified, to Hermes over his shoulder.

"You did." It was Zeus himself that answered, Zeus who stepped back full of confidence as the otherworldly light of the immortals shone from within Psyche until colour returned to her features. Her eyes flickered and then finally opened. Eros, weak with relief, fell to his knees. 'Thank you. Thank you Zeus. I made it.' Eros's silent prayers of gratitude were heard by the King of Olympus as loudly as though he had shouted them but Zeus did not comment. Psyche stared around at them all – Zeus, Hermes and Eros – before pulling herself upright onto her elbows. Psyche leant back to touch her shoulder and Eros was suddenly frightened he'd hurt her in the frantic race to Olympus. "Are you alright?" His eyes could discern no injury. The apple had made her the best version of herself that she could be – an immortal. There shouldn't be any injuries from a fall.

Psyche blinked. "I... have wings?" Eros looked at her back and saw indeed that this was now true. Gossamer wings, rather like his own, now sprung from behind her shoulders. Eros ran his fingers down one of them and felt how thin and soft they were. Her hair was tangled over some of the upper feathers and he brushed it aside. They were wonderful, pristine and new.

"Are you alright, though?" Eros pressed, staring into her eyes. Psyche smiled.

"I feel... wonderful," she admitted, still shocked by the discovery of the wings that now fluttered at her will as though she'd had them forever. She raised her arms and encircled them, cupping his head. He held her close over his chest, lying sideways on the floor as though they were completely alone. His own wings, bright and magnificent, stood behind him and cooled in the light breeze of heavenly Olympus. "You're going to have to teach me how to fly," Psyche told him as they held each other.

"It would be my pleasure," Eros promised. He kissed her and Zeus summoned Hermes out of the room, so that the couple could be left in peace. As the doors swung shut behind them both, Psyche seemed to recall where they were.

"This is Olympus?" she whispered to Eros as he ran kisses down her jaw. Eros admired the wide-eyed astonishment of his lover as she looked around at the majesty that Zeus kept himself in. "Did we really go from the Underworld to Olympus?"

Eros smiled. "We really did. And you really went to the Underworld for me." He touched his lips to her forehead.

"I hope that means that you still wish to stay with me?" Psyche clutched his hand.

"Of course. If you'll have me." It was as binding as a wedding vow. In a small ceremony a few hours later, Eros and Psyche wed in the gardens of Mount Olympus. The Muses sang their wedding songs and Zeus himself declared them husband and wife. On the table of wedding gifts, a package arrived wrapped in a mysterious black cloth that seemed to absorb the light of day, secured with a silver pin in the shape of a pomegranate. When Psyche opened it days later, Eros beheld jewels and trinkets the likes of which he'd never seen before.

There was a note attached, written in a clear ornate hand. "Much happiness and blessings to you both. Do not forget that you are both welcome in our kingdom (although Hades would rather that you leave your arrows at the Gates, Eros). Please accept some small pieces enchanted by Hecate and chosen by myself from the Rich King's stronghold. Yours truly, Queen Persephone."