It's because of Athena's rule, moraki mou.
Rules?
Rule. She has but one rule for those who wish to enter her sanctuary, and it is quite simple.
One must not be an ass lest they wish to forfeit their lives.
That's quite an ambiguous rule to say the least, but I guess it's also the quickest way for Athena to ensure temple goers toe the line. All things considered, I suppose Eros had the right idea by choosing Athena's temple for our first date...
Exactly, moraki mou.
Exactly?
You often tend to think very...loudly.
It's never occurred to me to think of thoughts in terms of volume, but now that my god has pointed this out, I can't help but wonder if someone like Professor Mayumi could ever be accused of the same thing.
Why are you comparing yourself to her?
Shit.
Since I'd rather die than let him know how insecure the other girl makes me feel, much less why, I quickly find myself changing the subject again, saying, Forget about that, kyrios. What I'm more interested to know is how well and often you are able to hear my thoughts.
You do not always think loudly, if that is what you are asking.
My gaze narrows at his direction. Can we put it to test?
What are you suggesting?
I slowly let a mischievous smile curve over my lips. Can you tell what I'm thinking right now?
Barely a second passes when I hear my god release a pained groan in my mind.
Athena does not like her temple being defiled in such a manner.
I let my bottom lip protrude. Is that a no then?
But she didn't say anything about her library.
Chapter Seven
Eros makes a couple of attempts to talk to me about Something Important following our library rendezvous, but coward that I am, I find myself keeping my mouth busy in all sorts of ways to prevent us from having a proper talk.
I pretend to be hungry even when I'm not, and I lie about wanting to join Athena's priestesses in chanting prayers of worship and devotion to the goddess. By the time we walk out of Athena's sanctuary, I've made myself full to the point of feeling sick, and I almost end up crying tears of relief when a timely text from Nia gives me the excuse I need to avoid talking about Something Important.
Even though my god remains invisible to my eyes, I can sense his gaze narrowing in my direction as I lie about my roommate wanting me to come back to the dorm for a girls-only sleepover. A part of me is terrified he'll call my bluff, but all he does in the end is to pull me close and whisper in my ear about how much he'll miss me.
The words make me feel guilty, but not guilty enough to make me change my mind about parting ways with my god for the night. I can feel him watching me as I run up the steps of Dark Rose House, but I tell myself I have nothing to worry about.
Something Important can wait.
But in the meantime...
"Hales?" Nia calls out as soon as I enter our suite. "Is that you?" My roommate pokes her head out of our shared walk-in closet. "Perfect timing!" Her lilac eyes are shining, but the light in her gaze isn't mischievous for once. "Come inside, quick."
I take my shoes off and carry it with me before following behind her. Even though I've already had weeks to adjust to my new lifestyle, the sheer size of our walk-in closet still blows my mind. The fact that we even have one is ridiculous, and come to think of it, that pretty much sums up my feelings about Rosethorne.
Everything here is lavishly pretty and over the top, and...sweet Greek heavens!
My shoes clatter to the floor as they slip out of my grasp, and Nia bursts into laughter when she sees me frozen by the doorway.
"I'm guessing you don't know we start with our regular uniforms tomorrow?"
"Regular uniforms?" I echo blankly. "What have I been wearing the past two weeks then? Irregular uniforms?"
Nia only gives me a smug look. "You'll just have to see for yourself, won't you?"
I bend down to pick up my shoes off the floor and shake my head in a silly attempt to get past my shock. When I straighten up, it's just in time to see Nia slide one of the wardrobe panels to the side—-
Holy Greek shit!
I'm gaping again, and Nia doubles over as my poor shoes fall back to the floor with a loud thud.
When I first came to Rosethorne, Nia's closets and mine looked like it was a filming location for The Princess and the Pauper. Every shelf and drawer belonging to Nia was occupied while mine looked more like an abandoned store display.
Now, however...
My side of our shoe cabinet is completely stuffed: I spy Oxfords, loafers, and monk shoes. Moccasins for ladies, sneakers galore, and are those more of my favorite Chelsea boots I'm seeing?