The wallscreen casts a pool of flickering, jewel-toned light over our naked bodies. The old earth film makes for a pleasant backdrop of color and sound, but neither of us is paying much attention. I lay sprawled on my stomach across the luxurious synthe-fur blanket we've tossed across the floor. Aidoneus is stretched out beside me, stroking my hair.

"You're sure they'll come off on their own?" I ask after a minute, turning my cheek to rest on my arm as I look into his icy eyes.

"Mhm. You just need to relax. That's how it is with the other Variant types who can grow things on their bodies, unless they're making a conscious effort to maintain it."

His fingers travel through my hair to trace slow patterns across the skin of my neck, upper shoulders and arms.

"Just give it time."

I close my eyes, focusing on my breath and the gentle, fluid movements of his hands. Eventually, clouds of lavender begin to drift from the vines like fragrant snow. Then the roots loosen where they tap into my flesh, which heals rapidly when they fall away.

Each time a branch comes loose, something scuttles from the shadows to snatch it up. I piece together what it looks like over time—some sort of ancient, eight-limbed fossil of a crustacean, articulated with additions of silver joints and fixtures.

"Why don't you use servitors?" I wonder aloud.

Aidon's eyebrow shoots up, but his tone is evasive. "I have a Guardian."

"Other than that."

"Later," he says with an enigmatic smile. "We're supposed to be relaxing now, remember?" His fingers travel down my back, to the last few stalks sprouting from my skin.

Grumbling a bit under my breath, I close my right eye-keeping the other open for just a moment longer to glare up at him. But my lips betray me, quirking upward.

If he thinks I'll forget to ask again, he's mistaken.

By the end of the movie, my tangled botanical wings have been reduced to a dusting of tiny petals intermingled with my mane.

After a while I fall asleep, awakening only somewhat when Aidon lifts me off the ground and carries me back to bed. I smile to myself as he tucks me carefully under the covers before sliding in himself and cuddling up at my side. Within heartbeats, I'm fully unconscious once more.

When I wake, it's with the evanescent mist of beautiful dreams still lingering over my consciousness. His breath drifts across the nape of my neck, one hand curled around the point where my waist meets my hip, the other tangled in the mess of my hair.

"Kore?" He murmurs. "Did you sleep well?"

"You have no idea," I breath, stretching as I twist around to face him. "But as good as my dreams were, this is even better." I wrap my arm about his waist, reaching upward to explore the muscular planes of his back as I bury my face against his neck. Drink in his scent.

"I wish our honeymoon could be longer," I add after a moment. "Three days suddenly doesn't feel like enough."

"I agree," he says, twisting a lock of my hair between his fingers. "But weren't you the one insisting on the importance of attending university?"

"Doesn't mean I can't complain about it," I grump, words muffled as I nuzzle closer. "Can't you order them to start semester a few weeks later or something?"

He laughs. "That'd be a bit of a misuse of my power, don't you think?"

"Ugh," I groan, stretching my neck up to nibble at his ear. "Ethics."

"I have a certain fondness for them." He massages my scalp, and I feel his satisfaction and happiness in that moment like a pleasant static. It warms me from within.

A little later in the morning, I get to speak to my sister on-screen for the first time since my awakening as a Variant. Aidoneus leaves to attend to "important things," giving us the privacy to use the enormous screen in his—no, our—chambers.

Eurydice's eyes are shadowed by dark half-moons, and her freckles stand out starkly against the extreme, translucent pallor of her skin. But otherwise, she seems almost herself. At the sight of her, it's as though an invisible weight vanishes from my shoulders.

"Oh, Kore, I'm so, so sorry I couldn't call sooner. I've been so worried-"

"You've been worried? Eury, you're the one someone tried to assassinate!"

She waves that off. "But you're all alone over there, where it's so dark and cold and everyone's, well," she falters for a moment, gaze roving over her screen as she studies my face. "Everyone's so different from what you're used to."

"I'm fine, Eury. No, I'm...I'm wonderful. I love it here. I love him."

Her eyes go wide as the words spill out of me. My hands fly up to my lips. I hadn't meant to say that, hadn't even known. But it's true.

"Really? Oh thank Gaia, I was so worried. That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you," she gushes, teardrops glinting at the corners of her eyes. Taking a deep breath, her lips part to speak-but then she seems to rethink whatever it was she was about to say. She takes another breath and starts again. "I can't wait to see you. I miss you."

"I miss you too. So much."

"Promise next time you'll tell me all about your first week at University and whatever parts of your honeymoon won't gross me out?"

"Promise."

I have to let her go not long after. Moments later, there's a chirp at the door and Syntrofos enters with Pompom perched on his shoulder. After my morning serving of ichor, he helps me dress in soft rose-gold layers to join my husband for our proper breakfast.

I carry Pom close to my chest as Syn leads me up to a shielded rooftop launchpad, where I blink around, confused. The sleek black Corvus M6 perched a few paces away hums to life even as the door glides upward and Aidon steps out.

"You didn't think we were going to spend our entire honeymoon in our own house, did you?"

Offering a hand, he helps me up the short flight of stairs and into the darkly shimmering grays and dim lighting of the Corvus's interior. Syntrofos and my Guardian follow us in as he shows me to a pair of plush seats facing a table set directly below a long window. The stair withdraws, the doors slides shut. Aidoneus settles in beside me. Then we're off. The Corvus launches easily into the sky, and the city of Styx expands beneath us—a tapestry of glowing jewels against the dark. To the West of it stretches its namesake, the endless river. Beyond that, the violet edge of dusk. And to the other side lies the void of Midnight, the inner reaches of Hades. Broken only occasionally by the barest glimmer of lights in the distance.

As the Corvus twists in the air, setting its course, our window faces the latter view. We travel rapidly northward, following the luminous line of River Styx.

"Now, breakfast," declares Aidon, catching my eye away from the view and smiling. He gets up, disappearing behind a door at the back of the aircraft for a time before returning with a full platter.

"Oh, I could have—" Syn begins, but at a look from his king he goes quiet.

Aidon lays out the food and returns to his place by my side, throwing me a sideways glance as I pick up my utensils and dig in.

"Oh," I breathe appreciatively between bites. "That's delicious."

It's some sort of thin, lightly sweet pancake, wrapped about a treasure trove of cloud-like cream and caviar. Absolute bliss.

"You like it?"

Something about his tone gives him away. "Wait, did you actually make these?"

His cheeks darken in a cool flush. "They're based off an old earth recipe I've been wanting to try. It's not difficult. It's really the quality of the ingredients that matter."

I shake my head, laughing. "You're incredible."

Once I've devoured my portion, I move on to the stuffed figs and bits of honeycomb. Aidon's lip twitches upward as I lick honey off my fingers. I waggle my eyebrows at him.

"Holding something back from me already?" I tease. His face splits into a grin.

"Just looking forward to more time together," he says, eyes crinkling at the corners.

As he clears away the remains of the last course, I catch sight of what I think—what I hope—must be our destination.

The Corvus dips low on approach, slowing. As it veers towards its landing point, it tilts sideways until the sky vanishes entirely and we peer directly down into the vast glowing bowl of the caldera below.