The three of them were laughing so hard that they didn't hear the door open. A woman with red hair and a black dress that fell to her knees gawked at them as she realized she wasn't alone. Jacen straightened up. Did they forget to lock the front door? The inn wasn't open to guests yet, but that didn't stop stragglers from trying to get in and book a stay.
"Oh, Sage!" London exclaimed. "Did you dye your hair?"
The other girl smiled and touched the ends of her hair. "This is my natural color."
"I see." London replied, beaming. "You should keep it natural. It's so pretty!"
Ah, so this was the infamous Sage that Adonis had found. "Finally, we meet. I'm Jacen. Sorry I've been hidden away since you got here. Not a great first impression."
"Hi," she said timidly and looked at them all, clearly uncomfortable. Either something had happened, or she was nervous. Maybe about the ritual that night, and if so, it was understandable. Hell, even he was nervous. "Pan, quick question."
"Yeah?" Pan was instantly alert, one hand falling protectively over the syrinx in his lap. Jacen missed his panpipes already. The others hadn't gotten it back, and now Calix's was gone as well. Pan could make new ones, but they took a long time to feel natural. Afterall, they went through so much together, a satyr and his panpipes.
Jacen nearly smacked himself in the forehead. What was he going on about over here? If Pan successfully could recreate what he did to turn Syrinx into a nymph, he wouldn't need panpipes anymore. How weird would that be?
Sage brought his attention back to the present as she asked, "Can you ward a goddess out of buildings?"
Adonis chose that very moment to come upstairs, and everyone turned to look at him. He froze when he saw Sage. "What goddess?" He shook his head. "Aphrodite again. Are you okay?" He crossed the room quickly, and once he reached her, he ran his fingers through her hair."
"She un-dyed my hair thinking to shame me. Joke's on her since I don't dislike my hair color." She visibly swallowed, worry crossing her expression. "Do…you hate my hair?"
Adonis blinked as though in disbelief she'd ask such a thing. "Why could you even think that? Your hair doesn't define you, and even if it did, red suits you. I like it even more than the purple because it is your hair." He pulled her into a kiss and Jacen glanced away from the intimate moment. Adonis deserved a bit of happiness after all the drama. Hell, they all did. The only thing better would be to have Calix come home. Or give them a phone call.
Pan spared them a few moments before interrupting, "I can't keep Aphrodite from entering as long as she isn't attempting physical harm. I can, however, keep her from being able to flash herself or anyone else in or out of a location."
"What's the difference?" London asked.
Pan shrugged. "They can't enter by magical means. But could still walk in if they aren't meaning harm. There are other Olympians who can block them completely, but it's a specific skillset to them."
Sage pulled away from Adonis and took a deep breath. "Inside or outside?"
"Both."
She bit her lip and considered her options. "I'll text you when we get there and give you the address." She laughed. "Well, Adonis will because I don't have your number."
"Hand me your phone." Pan turned in the chair and made a gimme motion. Hesitantly, she handed it to him and waited as the god entered his information. "See you in a bit, I guess."
"One more thing," Sage added as she took her phone back. "When do I get to meet Dr. Silverton? My roommate and I watched that Jersey Devil documentary together."
Pan's eyes grew wide, and Jacen bit his lip to keep from laughing.
"You…uh…saw that, huh?"
"Yup." Sage nodded. "I can't wait to meet her. Big fan." She looped her arm through Adonis' and smiled widely. "Finally, I understand why you tried so hard to get in my good graces by taking me along and not making me return to the B&B to hide. She gave you absolute hell for flying off with her, didn't she?"
The god blanched. "You have no idea."
Sage looked up at Adonis. "See, I knew it. I'm gonna like her a lot."
When they were alone once more, Jacen settled back into the cushions next to London, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her. "They'll make a cute couple. I've never seen Adonis so…"
"Calm?" Pan supplied, worry evident in his expression. "Yeah. She's really good for him. I hope I haven't ruined his chance at happiness though. Hermes always said I made a mistake by not living in Olympus and fine-tuning my abilities. I might have legitimately fucked Adonis over."
"Hey," London said, sitting up a little straighter. "You were sticking up for Ariston and Lily. You did it by accident, but the punishment was not totally undeserved."
Jacen agreed. But still—tough break. Some men learned from the mistakes of their past, and then some became worse monsters than before. Adonis had matured more in the past few months than he had over their entire stint of immortality. If that wasn't enough to cut him some slack with this curse, he didn't know what would be.
"Now," Pan said with some finality. "Are we ready to try this?" He held the syrinx in his hands, raising it to his lips.
Now or never. Even one of the Fates believed in blind faith, and they wove the life threads for every being on the planet, knowing exactly when they would cut them short. London was all he ever wanted, and he was in this with her until the end. Whatever fate—or the Fates—allowed.
20
Sage had always believed in things coming full circle. Returning to the spot in the
