Part 14

Lukas cradled her face and pulled her into a bruising kiss. The weight of his lips against her took Talia a second to process, and she gasped into it, hands lifting to grasp at the soft material of his chiton. Her heart skipped a beat, knees going weak. His hands kept her balanced, mouth hot and heavy against her.

It's cold by the shore, but the Prince was warm, one arm curling around her waist and the other cupping the back of her neck. His fingers curled into her hair and gently tilting Talia's head up coaxing a whimper from the end of her throat. Unable to stop the moon princess gripped helplessly at his shoulders, trying to hold on as her body went lax, a frisson of heat forming in her stomach and spreading across her body

She whimpered softly as he bit down on her bottom lip, their kiss growing deeper and more overwhelming. The daughter of Zeus was unbelievably aware of everything: the rush of her heart almost deafening in her mind, the heat emanating from Lukas body, the warmth of their lips sliding together wetly.

Seconds later, she took a step back with a sigh, swaying on her feet. Her eyes remained shut, tears pooling behind them. Lukas's hand slid to cradle the side of her face, and Talia leaned into it, eyes still closed, a weak smile tugging at her lips as warmth pooled in her heart.

"Darling, please look at me." Blearily, she managed to open her eyes, lifting her swimming head to peer up at him. A shudder racked through her body under his intense stare, muscles bunched, too much.

He was so breathtaking, so vulnerable, staring back at her with hopeful eyes. She wanted to come back to that face, wake up to it every day.

Lukas took her hand in his, not breaking their eye contact and pressed a kiss to the back of it, suddenly overwhelmed with the extent of emotion filling his insides. "I want to know if this is goodbye. Please tell me, Talia."

Those words ripped from his mouth, dripping with confusion and a dash of fear. Her heart thudded loudly against her chest, her stomach curling inside her.

"No" The moon princess lied, eyes wet and grin wide. "Of course not, Lukas. I'm sure we will be in each other's company soon."

***

Talia was born into a position of power. She's a princess, Zeus lovechild for a reason and Talias never known the type of hardship many other people have. It's something she's well aware of, particularly when they were sitting in the dining room where the cutlery on the table cost more than buildings in Mount Olympus—made from real silver and all.

Eating a meal was an ordeal when one’s a member of a highborn family. It's never just a meal - it's an entire affair, sitting at a table with other highborn people, making small talk and pretending as though they care about each other's lives.

Talia has never been more grateful for the ordeal; it is than she was at the moment. After walking away from Lukas, the moon princess was terrified of being alone in the room with her father. Even though she hated to admit it, she knew the news waiting for her. Something she wouldn't like at all. Athena, one of her sisters was sitting on her right, chatting to Zeus about her latest accomplishments. Always a boaster that one.

The God of Lightning was engaged in that, so Talia busied herself with her food, ignoring her father sitting across the table from her altogether.

It didn't go unnoticed. By anyone, really. They were all aware that she's summoned. What they don't know was from where. It will only be a matter of time before they figure she slept with Lukas and make fun of her. Ridicule her for going beneath their status.

She sat in her rightful place, opposite her father, ankles crossed underneath the table and trying not to twitch with impatience. Talia wanted this day to be over, wanted to be able to go back to the solace of her room and retire for the day, maybe drink some ale and have a book to snuggle with. Or think about the lost look on Lukas face. Either thing worked for her.

These kinds of banquets always lasted for a long time, and she was tired of them, tired of the sucking up and the fake niceties and rubbing elbows with people she couldn't stand.

Dinner wasn't over yet but she took the possible excuse, trying to slip silently through the muddled conversation. Talia wanted to make it to her room unseen, give her some plausible deniability for what time she left in case her father decided to interrogate her about it, which he would.

Before she could make it out of the dining hall, his voice made her freeze in the spot.

"Talia, we need to talk."

She turned around, hands folded together. "Father, I have a headache so if you may excuse me, I can return to my room. We can talk later”

Zeus stood up his seat. “Excuse me."

"Walk with me, child", He motioned her, trailing towards one of the most extended hallways.

The moon princess inhaled deeply, counting to ten slowly. She had to look up at the end of the ten seconds. "Fine"

Not like she had the luxury to avoid the talk anyway. For the first few seconds, she didn't pay much attention, tapping her fingers against her sides and thinking about all the things she could be doing instead of this, having alone time with Zeus. She sounded like a brat because her siblings would disagree with that. They yearned to spend some time with their father, waited for an opportunity to be recognised by him for their potential.

"I hope you only went there to end things."

His voice sounded hollow, rough among the never-ending maze of hallways.

"You don't have to worry about him, father."

"How can I not? You are my daughter, and I must worry about your choices. Why can't you understand I'm always thinking in favour of you?"

Talia winced, closing her eyes. "Please stop. I'll meet Ajaxson. Are you happy?"

Zeus regarded her with a mostly placid look. "Ecstatic. He will be here tomorrow. Be ready," He said dryly, already walking away.

She didn't glare at his back as he walked away, but only because her father would be able to feel it.

***

Everyone was assigned a duty just so that they could create an impression on this Greek God. As if people already didn't know what it's like to be in the Castle of Mount Olympus. Zeus ordered, so it had to be done. Sometimes Talia despised how much power he had over his people, forcing them to do whatever he wanted, almost like a puppet master.

For the first time in a long time, she had more than four nymphs helping her out. They had to put an extraordinary amount of effort into her appearance, make her stand out amongst others. Talia was forced into taking a long bath, and she was shaved of every strand of hair on her body except her hair, of course. She was also shown a few outfits that she didn't wear that often, mostly because they attract the type of attention the moon princess didn't want or need.

After much thinking, they finally landed on a conclusion regarding her outfit. She chose one of them now, a Tyrian purple peplos that was the epitome of the upper class. It's a silky fabric, one of the few pieces in the kingdom that had the colour of the most sought after trend. And the most expensive piece of clothing she owned, and Talia never had the opportunity to wear it.

The moon princess felt the weight of people's eyes on her when she does something, which only reminded Talia of everything that came with being the King's daughter. The good, the bad, everything in between.

The peplos was an inch or two shorter than the ones she usually wore, baring a soft expanse of her thighs she kept hidden. A bead of crystals adorned her waist, hugging her hourglass figure and showing those curves. It's by no means scandalous, not anywhere close, but it still took her a few minutes to gather the courage to step out of her room.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed at the door on the far end corner of the room. Her nerves were all over the place, breath quickening as she spotted a dashing young man in the middle of the room. He had his back turned to her, admiring the portraits on the wall.

Clutching at her chiton, she sucked a deep breath before walking. “Ajaxson?"

***