The front door flew open. Dem startled at the sound of the wood and glass whooshing outward. He half expected a giant or something similar to come bursting through the door, but all he saw was a petite blonde.

“I need your help. You can’t say no, because there is no one else, not for weeks, so unless you want me to go blind and possibly crazy or even worse, end up lost in a vision or memory, then it’s you. You’re just going to have to pull your big boy pants up and deal with it.” Aster’s voice greeted him as she entered the house.

Dem paused, fork halfway to his mouth, scrambled eggs falling back to the plate.

Aster pushed forward, taking advantage of his shock. “I know what you said before. I know I make you uncomfortable, but I need your help. I asked literally everyone on this island, and no one else can help me, or is even available to ask. Please, Dem.”

It was the tremble in her voice at the end. The slight quiver that she was trying so desperately to hide from him that killed him. He looked her over. Her eyes were puffy, her hands had a white-knuckle grip on the box in her arms, and she was covered in twigs and leaves, making him wonder how long she had been roaming around outside, getting up the courage to come and demand this of him.

“Fine.” The word slipped from his lips like a lead balloon.

Aster’s relief was visible. Her spine, which had been stick straight, was now more relaxed as she blinked away what he was sure were tears. He didn’t acknowledge the fact that she had been so shaken when she came in. He knew better.

“Eggs?” he asked, gesturing to the pale-yellow clouds on his plate.

She shook her head. “Can we just go?” She set the box down on the kitchen counter, chewing on her bottom lip.

Something like that shouldn’t turn him on, but it was Aster. Everything about her was like catnip to him. He took a deep breath, awareness spreading through him as his own emotions came out to play.

This could go a few different ways. It could be awkward if the gods remembered what happened the last time he was there, or it could be completely fine if they had forgotten or no longer cared, or it could be something else completely. If he had a choice, he would still opt out of this mission, but it seemed the choice had already been made for him. Shoving a last bite of the eggs into his mouth, he emptied the rest into the trash and placed the dish in the sink. He took a swig of water from the glass that had been sitting on the counter, the condensation making the outside cool and wet to his touch.

By the gods, he didn’t want to go to Olympus. She needed him, though, so he’d step foot in the realm of the gods even though it was something he swore he’d never do again. He’d been terrified the first time, but his anger had burned so hot that he was able to ignore it. This time was even scarier, though, since he was taking Aster with him. He just couldn’t say no to her.

“Okay, let’s go. Just as a heads-up, last time I was there, I got kicked out. I’m not going to go into details, so don’t ask, but I’m not sure how they will react when we get there.”

He glanced down and could see the fire of curiosity burning inside her, but when she nodded at him, something inside him unfurled a little more, glad that she accepted this boundary even though she didn’t want to. He placed his hand on her shoulder and wrapped more than just the regular filaments of the mortal universe around him. This time, he wrapped the filaments that led to other realms.

Travel between realms wasn’t easy for anyone except a god. It wasn’t meant to be, but it frustrated the hell out of Dem. Each filament was a lead pipe that he had to bend to his will, until finally he had enough that obeyed his command and they landed on Mount Olympus.

His breath sucked in as he allowed them both to be fully present, letting go of the bindings that had brought them there. He’d forgotten how the air was scented. It was full of spices and nectar, but was fresh and cool at the same time. The weather, as usual, was perfect. Glancing down at Aster, he remembered how mind-bending this place could be on the first visit.

Her amber eyes were wide as she took in every little detail. Each waterfall, tree, sculpture, building, it was all being absorbed by her liquid gold orbs.

“They’re floating!” Her voice was an astounded whisper.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Not what you expected, is it?”

“I guess I had kind of thought it would be all pearly gates and statues of Zeus and shit, but this is so much more.”

“And not a pearly gate in sight.” He smiled and squeezed her hand. “There is only one entrance to Mount Olympus from the mortal realm unless you live here, so we’ve got a walk ahead of us.”

He led the way, his hand tightly clasped around her own. He wasn’t about to let some horny god snatch her up. When they reached the edge of the first island, she stopped, her hand slipping from his.

“How do we cross? I mean, Dem, the islands are floating in the air. I can see the rock underneath them, and the waterfalls, they just run off into nothingness. How does this even exist?”

Looking with fresh eyes at the realm that was Mount Olympus, it was easy to be in awe of the structures. The islands hung in the sky, some bigger than others, the primary island holding the meeting place of the gods, as well as Zeus’ own home.

The visible buildings were all different kinds of architecture. Some were built when the gods were worshiped, and some were built much later, or remodeled to be more fashionable. Every god, goddess, spirit, creature, and nymph had a home here, unless they were members of the Underworld, in which case their home was there.

The city was a sprawling thing. On first view, he hadn’t understood that, but as he’d begun to walk it on his last visit, he’d realized how vast it was. The bridges that existed between islands were unnerving, as there was nothing under them but clouds, but some of the islands weren’t connected at all, so one had to either have wings or be able to teleport to get there.

“It exists because it always has. The gods and magic live and thrive here. This is one of the sources of all magic. Not the only one, but probably a primary one. And we cross on bridges, like this one,” he said as they approached the first stony walkway. “Or I can fly us around.”

“Are the bridges safe?” Aster asked, hanging back.

“They should be.” Dem shrugged and stepped out onto the bridge, jumping up and down on it, to her dismay. “Come on, we need to get moving.”

She hesitantly put one foot in front of the other as they made their way across the first bridge. They progressed as quickly as they could to the center island, earning stares and whispers along the way. It didn’t help that he had obviously brought an outsider to the realm. The people, and creatures, who lived there tended to be kind of judgmental about such things.

“I feel like I’m wearing jeans at a black-tie party. Why is everyone staring at us?” she hissed over his shoulder.

“Because they know you’re from the mortal realm.”

“Oh.” She was quiet for a moment, before adding, “You could’ve warned me!”

“Sorry, I didn’t think it would be as busy as it is.”

“We’ve only seen a couple people!”

He shrugged. The last time he’d been there, he hadn’t seen a soul until he got to the main island. It was quite eerie to experience the majority of the city being empty, only to find everyone gathered in the exact place you were going for a completely different reason. Talk about crashing the party.

They got to the edge of the island they were currently crossing, only to find the bridge was out. It had apparently crumbled away in the middle.

“Ready to fly?” he asked, turning to her.