He took her back to the meadow where they'd met during the storm. Laying her gently in the grass, he knelt beside her and whispered a prayer to Athena and Aphrodite to guide her spirit.
He reached down and unclasped the golden collar around her throat. Closing his eyes, he prepared himself mentally to leave his physical body and follow her soul to the underworld. Slowly he opened the golden collar and pulled it from her neck.
Nothing happened.
He opened his eyes, confused. Her soul was still present. She was breathing lightly, and when his fingers found her neck, the pulse was strong.
What was going on here? He should have felt the soul leave her body. How was she still alive?
He stood shakily, rubbing one hand through his hair. Something had changed; this was completely beyond his experience. In the distance he could hear the Maenads baying, and panic clutched his heart. He had failed her; and now she was going to die at Dionysus' hands.
Aphrodite stood over a delicate table holding a large bowl of water. Next to it was a small glass lamp. Her priestess had removed the candle, creating a prison for Dionysus' repulsive pet spider. It had already built itself a little web inside. Now it sat watching her intently, almost as if it sensed the danger she posed.
She turned her attention back to the bowl, waving her hand over it. An image formed in the water. It was a ship, moving quickly through the water toward Naxos. She looked more closely, seeing the form of her Cretan lover.
He was looked happy, clearly thrilled to be captaining his own vessel. She smiled; it had been just one of the parting gifts she'd given him before sending him back to Earth. Now he was going to rescue Sabiniano and Kalliara from Dionysus. Even though thinking of the god was enough to turn her stomach, she couldn't help but feel satisfied.
This time he wasn't going to win.
What the hell was he going to do now?
Kalliara was most definitely alive, despite the fact that her collar was gone.
A part of his heart sang. He didn't want to lose her. Yet he knew her death at Dionysus' hands would be terrible. He could kill her another way. His hands were powerful and strong. With one quick twist, he could break her neck.
As soon as the thought entered his head he dismissed it. He couldn't kill her like that. There had to be some reason she hadn’t died when the collar was removed. If he could figure it out he might be able to figure out how to save her.
And if he couldn't figure it out, he would fight Dionysus to protect her. He would lose, of course. Their battle would unleash cataclysmic forces on the island. He spared a thought for the humans in the village and his people, the nymphs and satyrs. Could he really allow them to suffer in the resulting destruction? There was no easy answer…
Laying down beside Kalliara, he pulled her into his arms, savoring the warmth and beauty of her touch. She smelled so good. Clean and fresh. Beautiful…His lover, and he wasn't even able to protect her.
He had failed.
He closed his eyes, allowing his mind to wander…What would it have been like if they could have lived together? He would have lost her eventually. But they could have loved each other for a lifetime first. They could have had children together; long-lived half-humans blessed by the gods.
When she died of old age, he would have watched over those children, and all the generations to come. They would be loved, happy, successful. And when they died, they would join her in the underworld. He and Kalliara would always share that connection…
The night grew cooler, and the moon rose slowly over the island. He stretched out his senses, feeling for his father's presence.
Nothing.
The humans were in their homes. The nymphs and satyrs were quiet as well, despite the fact that they were in the midst of the festival. Normally the woods would be ringing with their laughter. They would be drinking, dancing, worshiping the god in a thousand small ways. Instead, they were cowering; afraid of him and what he would do next.
His entire world had turned upside down.
He opened his eyes and stared up at the stars. The sight startled him; they were so bright. The moon had set while he lay there, listening to the rhythms of the island. How much longer did he have? He had expected Dionysus at sunset. His father must be playing some new kind of twisted game with them, he thought.
The stars formed a river across the sky; how many of them were immortals like himself? He'd heard that when an immortal had so tired of life that they couldn't stand the world any longer, Zeus would occasionally set them up in the skies. He had always assumed he'd end up there, too.
Kalliara stirred next to him, mumbling in her sleep. He turned her in the crook of his arm, leaning over to kiss her. She sighed softly, then stilled.
He'd never dreamed she'd live to see the morning, and yet here she was. What would the new day hold for them?
Half an hour later she stirred again. This time her eyes opened.
"What happened?" she asked softly. "I remember falling asleep over dinner…and something else."
She seemed lost in thought for a moment, and then her face went blank.
She sat up abruptly. He sat up too.
"You bastard!"she growled, then punched him in the face. Hard.
"What was that for?"
"For drugging me," she said coldly. "And deciding to kill me without even talking to me first. Don't you think I deserved to have a say in this little drama? You've got a lot of nerve."
He burst out laughing, filled with such joy to hear her voice that his heart wanted to burst. What a gift it was to be with the one you love, even if she was angry!
"Didn't it occur to you that maybe I didn't want to die that way?" she asked tightly. "What right did you have to make a decision like that? I'm an adult.
I'm capable of determining my own fate. I thought we'd already covered this…"
"I was trying to save you pain," he said finally, rubbing his chin where she'd punched him.
"Sabiniano, look at me," she said quietly, her face serious. "And listen to what I have to say. Have you ever died? I didn't think so. I have. I know what I'm getting into. I should have been the one to make the decision. Did you even think, for one minute, that it might make far more sense to let Dionysus kill me? Being torn apart by Maenads is a horrible death, but it is relatively quick.
"Besides that," she added. "Once I'm gone, you'll be safe. A few minutes of pain for your safety is worth it to me. I love you, and I have the right to protect you."
"Then I have the right to protect you," he said. "And that's what I was trying to do."
She fell silent, thinking over what he said. A startled look came across her face, and she raised her hand to her neck.
"Where's the collar?" she asked. "You took it off, didn't you?"
He nodded.
"Then what happened?" she continued. "How is it that I'm still alive? Was Dionysus lying about the collar all along? Why would he do something like that?"
"No, he wasn't lying," Sabiniano said, sighing heavily. "You aren't the first mortal to be brought back from the dead like this. It's unusual, but it happens. And there's always a collar involved. I have no idea why you're still alive—or why Dionysus hasn't come for us, for that matter."
"It's almost morning," she said, looking to the eastern sky. He followed her gaze. The sun was still below the horizon, but a light glow touched the sky.
The clouds were slowly turning a light peach color and in the distance, birds were starting to sing. She was right. Another day was beginning.
"So what now?" she asked. "I didn't die. Dionysus didn't come. What do we do now, just go back to the temple and wait for him?"
"No," Sabiniano said suddenly. He gazed into her face intently, a smile stealing across his face. "No, we don't go back. I don't know why things have happened this way, but we've been given a little more time. Let's see what we can do with it."