Chapter 85: Blast to the Past
Hermes sat Somner down on the couch, making sure he didn’t keel over again. Aphrodite lingered nearby with the Grrberus pups, still eyeing Apple like he was a bomb in human form.
Hermes sighed. "Okay... first things first. You need to know what just happened."
Somner tilted his head. "Wow... So I actually died and came back to life. That’s something to cross off my bucket list."
"That’s because I used Rewind while he..." Hermes pointed at Apple, "... used Sirentone on you. Brought you back."
Somner raised an eyebrow. "Sirentone? From him?"
Apple only gave a slow blink.
Hermes explained everything. How he and Apple got separated, what Apple has been doing to assimilate to human life, and then how he saw his memories.
Aphrodite leaned in. "Apple isn’t just anyone. He’s... Hermes’ other half. The beast half. The part that doesn’t care about morality or rules. They’re the same person... just split."
"Which is why he looks like me," Hermes said flatly. "Except for the eyes. I don’t know exactly why, and he wouldn’t tell me. But at least it helps you tell us apart."
Somner’s expression darkened a little. "So... you’re saying... there’s two of you now."
"Yes," Hermes said. "And—"
Somner’s serious expression suddenly melted into a grin. "That means there’s two Hermes I can sleep with now."
Hermes froze. "...What?"
"Think about it." Somner said, leaning back dramatically. "Twice the fun, twice the stamina—"
SMACK!
Hermes’ palm connected with the back of Somner’s head.
"OW! Master!" Somner rubbed the spot. "What was that for?!"
"For being an idiot at a time like this!" Hermes scowled. "We’re talking about your life, Somner, not your fantasies!"
Somner pouted. "Fine, fine. But you’re the one who brought up there being two of you."
"I didn’t bring it up so you could be a pervert about it."
"I wasn’t—"
"Yes, you were."
Aphrodite pretended to be interested in the wall during this conversation. The Grrberus pups were less subtle, all three heads muttering something about ’dual mating rituals’ under their breath in stereo.
Somner rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
But his grin lingered a little too long.
The mood shifted when he finally straightened, the humor draining from his face. "Hermes... I’m sorry. For hiding everything from you. For not saying anything."
Hermes softened. "You didn’t have to hide—"
"But I have to." Somner cut in. "I’m used to this. I’ve been carrying it for so long... I thought it was better if no one else had to."
"That’s a lie." Apple said sharply.
Somner’s eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
Apple stepped closer. "I drank your blood. Took enough to make a bond. I have every one of your memories now. And I feel what you feel."
His tone was cold, but his gaze wasn’t. "You don’t want to carry it. You’ve just convinced yourself you have to."
Somner’s jaw tightened. "You’re wrong."
"No." Apple said, voice like a knife’s edge. "You’re wrong. And now that bond is mine. Which means I’ll always know when you’re lying about it."
Hermes glanced between them, feeling the strange echo of what Apple described... a connection, raw and uninvited, like a wire running between his chest and Somner’s.
"He’s right. I can feel it too."
Somner looked away, clearly unsettled.
Hermes stood. "Which is exactly why we can’t just leave it. We’re going to Quasar tomorrow. We need to know if this plan will even work."
***
The next day, the four of them—Hermes, Apple, Somner, and Aphrodite—stepped out of the elevator onto the top floor of The Golden Apple.
The air was thick with a strange perfume that smelled like every flower in existence blooming at once. Dante Quasar’s office was a hallucination in physical form as always. Walls rippled with shifting colors, the floor pulsed like it had a heartbeat, and the furniture changed shape every few seconds as though mocking anyone who tried to sit down.
Dante himself was sprawled across a floating crescent-shaped lounge, a drink in hand that shimmered like liquid stardust.
"Well, well," he drawled, eyeing Hermes and Apple. "The Gemini of Chaos finally arrive—with guests. To what do I owe the honor?"
Hermes didn’t waste time. "We want to use your Multitudes to go into Somner’s past. Change... something. Something that keeps him from living through all this pain."
Apple’s tone was flatter, but the weight behind it was heavier. "And make sure he doesn’t end up like this again."
Dante swirled his drink, watching the colors twist inside the glass. "Changing the past always changes the present. You know this."
"We know," Hermes said firmly.
Somner leaned forward. "If I change something that erases me from the timeline, can you make it so I still exist?"
Dante’s lips curved into a grin. "I can. But you’d be a paradox. A man with no parents, no birthplace, no records. No identity. The only people who’d remember you would be the ones who went with you."
Somner hesitated. "Even the Cloud Nine Squad...?"
"They’d never have met you." Dante said smoothly.
Somner’s expression flickered, but he managed a shrug. "...I’d miss them. But Eris would be a better leader than me. Always was."
Hermes frowned. "You’re sure?"
Somner gave him a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Yeah. I’m sure."
Dante straightened, swirling his drink again. "Then all that’s left is deciding when. Before your sister died? Before you were born?"
Somner’s brow furrowed. "...I don’t know. Both sound tempting."
Dante’s grin sharpened. "Why stop there? Why not go all the way back... to the first Siren Knight. Somner the First. Wouldn’t you like to know why only the firstborn males in your family inherit Sirentone?"
Hermes’s eyes lit up instantly. "So we’d be traveling to the medieval period?"
Aphrodite shook his head. "No. If each generation fathered their heir in their twenties or thirties, that pushes the first Siren Knight all the way back to Classical Antiquity."
Hermes blinked. "...But knights are medieval."
"Exactly." Somner said. "My family’s always said the first Siren Knight was medieval too."
Dante leaned back, grinning wider. "Then maybe there’s a puzzle to solve. Perhaps the bloodline broke at some point. Perhaps the title was revived later. Or maybe..."
His voice dropped to a conspiratorial murmur. "...something else. I sure love mysteries."
Apple’s gaze was cold as he said, "Whatever it is... they need to pay for the millennia of heartbreak that they inflicted on their own bloodline."
Somner eyed him warily. "...Was that supposed to be supportive or threatening?"
"Yes," Apple replied without hesitation.
Hermes pinched the bridge of his nose. "...We’re going to need a plan."
"And I’m going to need more drinks," Dante said, already snapping his fingers for a refill. "This is going to be very entertaining."