Chapter 10

“Where are we walking to?”

Demeus smiled at the sound of her voice. Some of her fierce spirits had returned since they started walking away from the ocean. He looked behind him and found her frowning at the horizon with impatience furrowing her brows.

“You’ll see,” he called back at her.

“I don’t want to see, Ramus, tell me where we are going or I swear by the gods I’ll turn around now and go back home.”

His lips twitched. Was it bad that he liked her better when she was angry she talkative?

Helena waited for a response and when none came doubled her steps and half-ran until she was walking side by side with him.

“Well? You’re not trying to abduct me are you?”

Demeus chuckled. Woe to the man who tried to abduct this woman, he would find himself either wanting to tie her mouth shut or kiss those lips. And he knew how much he wanted to do the latter which was why he tried avoiding her gaze.

“I have a horse,” he said in response to her question.” He didn’t have a horse but he would make sure one was waiting for them at the fishermen’s village.

“Oh you have a horse,” Helena scoffed. “Well, that makes me feel better. I wonder what a horse can’t do especially since you have no destination in mind. Why did I even decide to come with you? I should be heading back to my… father, he must be worried about me. And the sand! The sand is not as hot as it was earlier but my feet are burning and tired. Where is this horse of yours?!”

He ignored her and kept walking until they reached the village. It was empty as he knew it would, it wasn’t fishing season so there would be no one here. He looked back at her.

“Please stay here I’ll be back.” With that he walked round to the back of the last hut that formed the village and manifested a horse, it was a bit difficult to do since he was not in his complete god form. A huge black horse appeared before him, complete with a saddle and a bag filled with supplies for the journey ahead. The horse snorted and he rubbed its neck to soothe it before taking the reins and leading it back to the front of the village where Helena was waiting with her arms akimbo and a huge scowl on her face. She was muttering to herself.

“Why am I even here? Oh, Helena how could you be so stupid as to follow a man out here simply because of his looks…” her scowl eased a little. “And his body…no no no I shouldn’t think such things.” She growled in frustration as her scowl deepened again.

Demeus smiled to himself. So she thought he was good-looking? Was that the only reason she trusted him enough to follow him here or did she feel what he felt when he was around her? No, she was merely attracted to him because of his physique nothing more.

He cleared his throat to get her attention. She whipped her head around so fast that her hair flew behind her like a curtain, one he wanted very much to reach out and touch but he feared if he did so she would castrate him for it.

Helena was mortified that he was right there, a few feet away from her and she had been ranting about him. How much had he heard? Oh, why couldn’t she just learn to keep her mouth shut? What was it about this place that made her so talkative anyway? She narrowed her eyes at him hoping he had not heard her appreciate his good looks.

“Well?” She asked snidely, tilting her head toward the horse.

“Well, you want to see the city of Eyrotia, I’m taking you to see the city of Eyrotia.”

Her eyes widened dramatically and upon her face came a look of such happiness and joy that he found himself surprisingly pleased to have been the source of that joy. She was coming towards him quickly with her hands wide apart and before he knew what was happening she was hugging him so tight.

“Thank you thank you thank you,” she said over and over. Demeus was amazed at how easy it was for her to fit into his arms. He had just started putting his hands around her when she suddenly drew back and cleared her throat.

“We should get going before the sun goes down,” she said quickly as though trying to hide her embarrassment. There was a certain color in our cheeks that wasn’t there before and he found it hard to believe that Helena would be embarrassed or shy she just didn't seem like the type of woman to be embarrassed at expressing herself. She held her hand to him and he lifted her on top of the horse then lifted himself off the ground and sat behind her. He felt her muscles contract, the muscle of her back suddenly became stiff and her spine was ramrod straight. It was almost as though she suddenly became uncomfortable sitting in front of him. When he reached around her to pick the reins of the horse he was sure she flinched.

“What is Helena? Why you so uncomfortable sitting with me here is something the matter?” He asked kindly.

Helena tried to ignore the shivers that run down her spine. She shifted a bit away from the warmth of his body but it was almost impossible to escape it when they were sitting so close together on the horse. Demeus sighed lightly, he didn’t want to push it or scare her off so instead he pressed his heels to the side of the horse and led it to a slow run. The sooner they got to Eyrotia the better for both of their sanities.

After riding for what seemed like an eternity, or so it seemed to Helena, they finally got to the outskirts of Eyrotia. Helena’s mouth dropped at the magnificence of the kingdom she only knew about from words of mouth around Mount Kpamos. Even though she was just on the outskirts of the city she could feel the surge of powers of the gods all through the kingdom, she could feel the riches as though they were flowing through her blood like liquid. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply of the rich scent of the kingdom. The sun was out but it hid behind clouds so its glare wasn’t intense on her skin. Demeus watched in awe as Helena leaned back to breathe deeply of the Eyrotian air. How could something like stepping foot in a new kingdom bring such look of satisfaction to her face? There was a look of pleasure on her face so intense that it bespoke a sort of…freedom?

Freedom from what? What could the daughter of a rich merchant possibly want to be free from?

Before he could ask himself any further questions he realized Helena had turned to him with her bright blue eyes looking deeply into his soul.

“Take me to Eyrotia, Ramus.”