"We can hide our unnatural attributes with glamour in the daytime if we have the means to do it," he said quickly. "Those of us with straight horns, like me, were standing behind Dionysus when the curse made us satyrs and we stayed in Boeotia with him, so we're called Boeotians. Those who were behind Pan had curled horns and lived in Arcadia with him. Arcadians. So, naturally, we distinguished each other by that."
"Riiiiight." Seemed weird if they weren't all from those countries originally. "So now ya'll have, what, a turf war?"
He snorted. "Not…exactly. More like there's this one Boeotian named Theron who has become the worst possible version of a satyr. If he's here, then he's looking for Calix, to kill him probably. They have a history." Adonis frowned at his phone. She didn't hear any notifications, so either it was on silent or whoever he had texted hadn't replied. "Theron fell in love with a crazy murderess and Calix killed her. Last I heard, Dionysus had Calix locked up somewhere. I guess he escaped."
A bolt of recognition struck her as he repeated that name. "Wait a moment. Calix…I know that name. Why do I know that name?" She sat down on the couch Adonis had vacated. He stared at her now like she'd grown a second head. That wasn't the sort of name one forgot. It wasn't common.
It was Greek… Had Adonis said The Aegean Inn? Pieces of memory started to become clearer as though they'd been trapped in a haze somewhere in her mind.
"Oh shit!" Her eyes widened as she looked up again. "I met him. I—"
The way Adonis' eyes narrowed made her gulp. If he clenched that perfectly chiseled jaw any tighter, teeth would crack. "Did you now?"
Heat rose to her face. If this Calix and the man she met were the same…that meant… "I met him at a restaurant downtown. We had sex in the bathroom."
Adonis appeared rooted to the spot. Was he even breathing?
"I—didn't know he was a satyr. Does that mean…the curse?"
Adonis' face eased as horror overtook his features. He went completely pale. "Oh, fuck. He can't break the curse now. Not ever."
Sage stared at him. If there was any lingering doubt about the curse before, it was hard to be skeptical now. Nobody got that shaken up over something that didn't exist, for someone other than themselves, even if they were a good actor. "I didn't know," she repeated dumbly. She had liked Calix. He'd been handsome as sin, charming, and funny. And she had doomed him forever. "I…didn't know."
Adonis couldn't decide if he was jealous that Sage had been with Calix or horrified that someone would have to let the other satyr know what had happened. And it looked like that someone was him. Gods, the Arcadians already hated him. Hermes wouldn't answer the damn phone, and he'd know what to do. Even worse, Theron was probably in town too. Adonis had always despised him. The feeling was definitely mutual.
Who had he attacked downtown?
There were only two things left he could do: call his brother, who wouldn't answer and was an entire ocean and continent away in Greece, or he could suck up his pride and call Melancton. Hermes had given him the Boeotian's new number since moving into The Aegean Inn. Adonis had never mustered up the guts to actually call it and ask him or any of the other satyrs for help. A foolish thing to do, considering how precariously close he was to losing control.
"Fuck." He thumbed open the contacts on his phone. A quick glance at Sage, and his heart constricted. She looked near tears. How well had she known Calix to be that broken up about the situation? Did she desire him still, or was she merely kindhearted? She had wanted to help Adonis despite having just met him, even though nymphs had hidden away for centuries to deny satyrs the chance at being human again.
Can't dwell on it right now.
Adonis dialed the number, anxiety eating up his spine with each second and each ring. Finally, Melancton picked up. "Hello?"
"It's Adonis," he said, quickly following it up with, "Theron's in town."
"We are aware," he said, giving no hint of his feelings on the subject matter.
Silence stretched through the line. Adonis's nerves made his gut clench. "He and two other Boeotians were spotted fighting with another man. Is anyone missing?"
Skepticism rang in Melancton's next words. "Why do you wish to know?"
"Because I have a situation I need to inform Calix about, and I can't get ahold of Hermes." And damn it all, he wanted to be useful. He wanted out of this piece of shit house. He needed something to do so he didn't go crazy wanting to feel something physical for a woman he couldn't be intimate with.
Who'd already been with Calix.
Stop thinking about it!
"Calix has not returned since he escaped Theron before. Jacen, however, is missing. I am searching for him now."
He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. Honestly, he didn't think Melancton would divulge anything to him. That he did meant he must be testing his dependability. Maybe even wanted to count Adonis as an ally. "I want to help."
Silence on the other end. And then, "Pan will be here in the morning."
That wasn't news he wanted to hear, but it was something he could deal with later. "But he's not here today, and I am. I need some panpipes to disguise myself. If the cops are looking for someone with horns…"
Melancton exhaled heavily as though battling with a difficult decision. "We have extra panpipes. Go to The Aegean Inn and ring the bell exactly three times. I will inform the women of your arrival."
A wave of embarrassment washed over him. "I have one problem."
Hesitation met this statement. Melancton had never been much of a conversationalist.
"I have a nymph with me, Hermes isn't responding to me, and Pan's curse is activated. If
