Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
She had asked for space, and so space she must have, even if the god was now forced to watch another boy speak the very words he was forbidden to ask.
'Halyna? Are you alright?'
'Uh, yeah, sorry. Something must've gotten in my eye.'
''Does it hurt?'
''It's fine, don't worry—-'
'Are you sure?'
Halyna rolled her eyes as she told the boy to 'quit it', but this did not make the god's mood any less savage. Such a response might not be considered polite in other people's books, but for a girl like his Halyna, those eye rolls and snarky comebacks were her equivalent of a hug.
She liked the boy, obviously, and the knowledge fucked him up.
Are you no longer mine, my love?
The god wanted to believe that she still saw herself as his, but what if this was no longer the case?
Euterpe finally called for the attention of her students, and the god was able to breathe a bit more easily as the Muse sang out a lecture that had the spellbound mortals hanging on to her every word.
🎶The Roses of Heliogabalus was painted by Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1888. When asked about the inspiration behind his work, the Dutch artist told the story of a sadistic Roman emperor named Heliogabalus, and his fondness for orgies and cruel forms of pleasure.
🎶Night after night, the emperor would invite his noblemen to feasts of bacchanalian splendor, and on one such evening Heliogabalus asked his servants to turn the palace ceiling into a rose-colored sky. The servants thought long and hard, and in the end they decided to hang nets filled with petals that had been carefully plucked from thousands upon thousands of roses.
🎶It was a sight to behold, and the seductive scent of roses was so lavishly rich in the air that it had the emperor's guests wildly indulging their every fantasy. They ate and drank, they sang and danced, and later on, they played with the abundance of naked flesh that Heliogabalus had prepared for their pleasure.🎶
Euterpe gestured to the painting. 🎶What do you think happened here?🎶
A student eagerly raised her hand to answer the question. "The nets broke, and the guests enjoyed having petals rain down on them."
🎶You are partially correct. The nets did break, but I cannot say that 'enjoy' is the right term to use in this situation. You appear to envision this delicate shower of petals, and while I'm sure many of the guests expected something similar, reality is often more tragic.
🎶So vast was the amount of petals gathered by his servants, that when the nets could no longer bear the burden of its weight, countless petals flooded the sunken area of the palace in an instant, and the emperor's guests could only scream in vain as they suffocated to their death. And throughout all this, Heliogabalus merely watched and smiled from the safety of his throne—-🎶
"Did he plan this all along?" a student blurted out.
The Muse's lips curved in a smile that was terrible and lovely at the same time, and the sight had her students shifting uneasily in their feet. 🎶The answer to that, my dear, is part of your homework.🎶
A divine snap of fingers had the assignment sheets in the students' hands glowing and vibrating as if reminding its young owners of their presence.
🎶Guideline questions for your essay are listed in your assignment sheet. I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on what this painting - and the story behind it - reveals about art and humanity. Remember to take your time writing as points will be deducted for every ink smudge I find.🎶
The Muse dismissed her class with another wave of her hand, and Euterpe's students started talking all at once, Halyna and the boy included.
Unseen and unheard, the god listened and brooded, and he could not help but think that it would have been better if Halyna was doing all this to make him jealous. But since his invisible presence left her thoughts mostly unguarded, he knew for a fact that the idea hadn't even crossed her mind.
And that was much, much worse.
Halyna's friendship was rare and precious as diamonds, but if this boy could make his beloved roll her eyes and even smile so damn easily this early on, was it not then equally possible for the boy to steal her heart away from Eros?
Chapter Five
I still have one last class to attend after Aesthetica, but I don't think I can bear seeing my new Istoría professor just yet. Hearing Professor Lucious call the other woman by her first name had already bothered me as it was, but now that I also know for a fact that the professor is just Eros in a cos-fucking-playing mood?
Ha!
The memory has me torn between seething and wallowing in self-pity. I know in my mind that my god truly loves me, but my heart can't seem to get past his deception and betrayal. I know that all of this is the prophecy and Cenchreis' curse doing what they're supposed to do, but what if "Mayumi" is just like Isabella?