“Relax, Ariana. I would never take advantage of a woman in distress.”
“What are we going to do, Dante? We could die.”
She was striving to be brave, and the quiver of fear in her voice tore at his heart. “I am not so easy to kill. And I won’t let you die, mia cara.” He knew some of her stiffness was due to the fact that she was hurting, but to her credit, she didn’t complain. He had no weapons, no food, no water. The only thing he could do was keep her warm and prevent her from going into shock.
He sought a diversion. For her and himself. “Tell me a story.”
She started. “What?”
“You have an affinity for stories, yes? I have never had time for such things. It will take our minds off our discomfort, pass the hours until morning.”
“Hmm…okay. I’ll tell you one of my favorites.” She inhaled. “Once upon a time, on a Greek island far, far away, a mortal princess named Psyche—which means soul—grew famous for her beauty. Have you heard this one?”
“No.”
“All right. Well, Psyche was kind and generous, and everyone adored her and claimed she was more exquisite than Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Even on her best day, Aphrodite was temperamental, and she grew enraged. She ordered her son Eros, the god of love, to shoot Psyche with a magical arrow and make her fall in love with a revolting monster. But Eros tumbled headlong in love with the princess and couldn’t force himself to carry out his duty.”
She finally relaxed in his embrace, and Dante smiled. “I am all ears.”
Ariana chuckled. “While it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature, it’s deadly to mess with Aphrodite. She cursed Psyche with a spell so no man would find her appealing. Psyche’s worried parents trekked to the Oracle at Delphi, who proclaimed that the princess was destined to belong to an entity who flew through the night like a huge winged serpent. A being so powerful that even Zeus, the king of the gods, could not withstand him.
“Psyche was smart enough to understand she’d annoyed the goddess and courageous enough to protect her family. She accepted the future the Fates had decreed. Her grieving family accompanied her to the top of the mountain where the beast would find her. Psyche couldn’t stop her tears as she hugged her parents and sisters goodbye.
“Alone, she braced herself to die, but instead, a gentle wind lifted her up and rocked her to sleep. She awoke inside a palace. A kind male voice proclaimed her mistress of the mansion. After she’d bathed, gowns and jewels appeared, along with a sumptuous banquet.”
“Va bene. I am beginning to see why you like this story.”
She returned his smile and his pulse skipped a beat. “That night, when darkness enveloped the castle, the man spoke again, and said he was her new husband. Psyche couldn’t picture the compelling voice belonging to a hideous beast. His words were loving and sweet, and he treated her tenderly.
“Unbeknownst to Psyche, Eros had secretly taken her for his bride. Because he feared Aphrodite’s wrath on his beloved, he couldn’t reveal his identity.
“Psyche grew to deeply love her undercover husband. He promised her everything she wanted, except seeing his face. He warned her if that happened, he would be forced to leave. She assured him his appearance didn’t matter, she loved his heart. She pleaded for him to come to her in the daylight, but he sadly refused. He said the day she saw his true form, their happiness would die.”
Dante shifted, and his abused muscles protested. Suddenly, he wasn’t liking this story so much. When Ariana hesitated, he rubbed her back. “Go on.”
“One night, Psyche reminisced about her family. Because Eros was a god, he knew a visit would rain down doom, but surrendered to the aching loneliness in his bride’s voice.
“When Psyche’s sisters arrived and saw the spoils, they jealously taunted her with the rumor that gullible Psyche was married to a dragon who planned to devour her. They urged her to peek at him while he slept. Psyche resisted, but finally curiosity prevailed, pushed by peer pressure. Was her husband her true love…or an evil monster? After he fell asleep beside her, Psyche lit a lamp. Instead of a deformed beast she saw the glorious beauty of the god of love…and realized he’d been protecting her from the mother-in-law from Hades.
“Overcome by shame, contrition seared her heart. In her shock, her hands trembled and she spilled hot oil onto her lover’s shoulder. Eros startled awake and realized what she had done. He cried out in sorrow, ‘Where there is no trust, there can be no love.’ He fled, and the palace crumbled into dust, leaving Psyche alone and miserable.”
Ariana’s voice softened, and she curled into him. “When Aphrodite learned her son had disobeyed her, she imprisoned him in a high tower. But Psyche refused to give up her one true love. Aphrodite wanted Psyche to suffer. She gave Psyche two impossible tasks with lethal consequences. Psyche was aided in the first by a colony of ants and in the second by the river naiads. What neither Psyche nor Aphrodite realized was that Eros was watching over Psyche from his prison and sending her help.
“When Psyche succeeded, Aphrodite decided to send her son’s bride to hell…literally. Aphrodite commanded her to go to the Queen of the Underworld and capture her beauty in a box. She was warned not to open it.
“A forlorn Psyche thought Eros had abandoned her, and resigned herself to the fact that no human could find their way back from the dark Underworld. But as she descended into Hades, a voice whispered the escape route in her ear. It was Eros, disguising his identity on the secret telepathic channel.”
Dante’s lips quirked as he enjoyed Ariana’s original narration, and he was relieved that she seemed warmer than before.
“Once Psyche returned to the sunlight, she vowed to resume her fight. But time in hell had made her a disheveled mess. If she wanted her man back, she had to look gorgeous. Psyche opened the box to borrow a smidgen of the Underworld Queen’s beauty. But the spells of gods are too powerful for mortals and knocked her out.
“Lucky for her, Eros escaped. He found his wife unconscious in the forest and woke her with a forgiving kiss. He went over Aphrodite’s head to the gods on Mount Olympus. The star-crossed lovers’ devotion touched them, and Zeus summoned Aphrodite and put his foot down. Eros had proved his love for Psyche, and Psyche had proved her dedication, patience and obedience.
“There was only one solution. Psyche was brought to Olympus and Zeus offered her the cup of immortality. She drank the ambrosial nectar and was transformed into the goddess of fidelity. Eros swept Psyche into his arms, and the lovers were united, heart and soul, for all eternity.”
Ariana finished her tale and went silent. After a few moments, her soft, warm cheek rested on Dante’s chest.
He listened as her breathing grew deep and even. The night closed around him, and the tenderness tugging at his heart turned to sharp claws of terror.
Like Eros, he’d been sent on a covert mission to bring down a woman…and found himself confronted by a dilemma he’d never expected. Assaulted by feelings he didn’t dare investigate.
During Ariana’s captivity, her lovely face had creased with concentration as she had listened to her iPod and scribbled in her notebook. She wasn’t merely writing stories. He’d tried to confiscate both items, but she’d thwarted him.
He frowned. Did she still have them, or had they been lost during the explosion? Ariana murmured and snuggled closer. The fact that she’d lowered her shields and fallen asleep in his lap did something strange to his insides.
Where there is no trust, there can be no love.
The cold, hard truth. His stomach knotted. Deception was his job. He lied and stole and strove to earn people’s trust…so he could betray them. He was damn good at it.
One way or another, he would obtain the information he needed. He glanced down at Ariana and his throat constricted.