She drew in a breath through her nose, the long line of her neck lengthening, her eyes never leaving his.
Then, hesitantly, for her words were not those acceptable from one such as she to one such as him, not ever, she spoke
“You should feel no guilt for this love you hold for her, this love that builds beyond imagining. It does not reflect on the love you had before.”
With respect to her actions that night, instead of remonstrating her for her insolence, he simply replied, “This is not your concern.”
She ignored him.
“Love like you build with Miss Madeleine is as she is. It is not of this world. Not of her world. It is beyond the worlds. It is beyond anything.”
He was feeling that, he didn’t need a ladies maid, no matter her intelligence or power, to tell him so.
Apollo looked beyond her to the door, starting to say, “We will not dis—”
“She is in grave danger.”
He looked back to her.
“This I know,” he growled.
“I do not know why these powers wish to extinguish this love beyond worlds. But this is their wish. I sense it. They wish to extinguish it but they will wrest something from it.” Her head cocked to the side. “There are others.” It was a question and a statement.
“Three others,” he confirmed.
“They are in grave danger as well,” she informed him of something he knew.
“Woman, this is not something we don’t know,” he shared.
She didn’t move.
He grew more impatient but still, to learn what she might know, he waited.
Finally, she said, “The one with white hair we met tonight and Miss Maddie I see often surrounded in green. This green does not cause me dread. It means them no harm, in fact, the opposite. There is also one who is surrounded by gold. She, too, does not trouble me. You say there’s another?”
He drew in breath and told her, “Cora, the Gracious. Princess of the Vale.”
She nodded. “I will tell you if I see her.”
Brilliant.
Now she needed to bloody move.
He didn’t order this. He waited again, his patience waning.
“It is their love,” she said softly, her eyes going unfocused.
“Pardon?” he asked.
She lifted a finger. Closing her eyes, she rubbed it between.
Finally, she dropped her hand and looked to him.
“The men of these women, they are hard to love,” she declared and Apollo clenched his teeth. “All for different reasons. All, if they had not found these women, would have lived lonely, untouched by that emotion, the companionship they enjoy, the contentment their lover brings them.”
“I was touched by it,” he reminded her, his voice cold.
“You were, and yet it was lost. Worse for you, as you know how that feels.”