揇on抰 scare me like that! You抮e going to give me a heart attack!?
揚romise??Marie asked, batting her eyes overdramatically.
I didn抰 know what it was between them that made them act like they were ready to square up at any moment, but it was always a little scary for me. I抎 seen firsthand what Marie could do when she fully embraced the power the Heart had given her, and I just hoped she never decided to turn that power on Alec.
揋uess what??Marie said. 揑抦 gonna redecorate the library and move all your haunted armor and Dorian Gray paintings into your office. Cool??
He settled back into his chair and tilted his head. 揥hy??
Marie sighed. 揃ecause I don抰 like being watched by trapped souls when I抦 reading, that抯 why.?
揧ou抮e impossible,?he said.
揑抎 be careful,?Circe said, her tone playful. 揗arie is pretty upset over your decorating choices, Alec.?
Alec rose from his chair like he was being lifted by an unseen hand, his eyes wide as he took in Circe, bit by bit.
揧ou抮e dead,?he said.
揂m I??Circe looked down at herself, then back to him. 揅ould抳e fooled me.?
Alec caught sight of me as I trailed in behind Circe.
揗iss Briseis,?he said, giving me a quick nod.
I smiled at him. 揌ow are you??
揑抦 well,?he said, still a little flustered. 揧ou??
I almost said 揻ine.?
揥e were hoping you could help us,?Circe said quickly, saving me from having to think of an answer that wasn抰 a whole-ass lie. 揑 know you抮e an expert on Greek mythology, Alec.?
A crooked grin spread across his face.
揧ikes,?said Marie.
He didn抰 even acknowledge her. 揌ow can I help? I have to say, that other document Briseis showed me has been on my mind. I would very much like to see it again. For research purposes.?
揑抦 sure we can arrange something,?Circe said. 揊or now, I抎 like to pick your brain about Aeaea.?
Alec抯 brow furrowed. He sat down, and I went to stand next to Marie, who gently squeezed my hand.
揥hat is it you want to know??he asked.
Circe leaned on his desk, peering down at his collection of papers. 揥hat抯 your opinion on its location??
Alec laughed. When no one else did, he stopped and readjusted his glasses. 揑抦 sorry. It抯 just that梬ell梚t抯 a myth. It抯 not a real place.?
揂fter everything you抳e seen in your life,?Marie said. 揧ou really gonna sit here and pretend like fantastical things can抰 be true? Sir. Stop it.?
揝top what??he asked.
Marie slipped her hand under the edge of his desk and lifted it slightly off the floor. 揑抣l throw you and this raggedy desk right out the window. You don抰 believe in impossible things? Really, Alec??
揝top!?he yelled as he scrambled to keep his computer monitors and books from tumbling to the floor.
Marie set the desk back down and glared at him.
揟here抯 a difference between what happened to you and pinpointing the location of a place that most people agree is just myth,?Alec said angrily.
揗ost people??I asked. 揟hat kind of makes it seem like there are at least a few people who think it抯 real.?
Circe bit back a smile.
揌omer was highly inconsistent when he spoke of Odysseus抯 adventures,?he said. 揝cholars have debated its existence, with most of them agreeing that while the island wasn抰 a real place, it was probably based on a location off the coast of western Italy. It doesn抰 make much sense other than to illustrate how historians often center themselves in their research.?He gestured to the map on the wall. 揘otice the proximity to Rome.?
揥hy can抰 they just tell the truth or say they don抰 know??Circe asked. Sarcasm dripping from every word.
揥here抯 the fun in that??Alec asked. 揂 bunch of mostly old white men admit that they don抰 know everything there is to know or that something they once believed is wrong??He raised his eyebrows. 揑抎 need to live a much longer life than the one I抳e been granted to see the day that happens.?He glanced at Marie.
揝o this is a dead end??I asked. 揟here抯 no way to know if it could be possible that Aeaea actually exists??
Alec took off his glasses and set them on his desk. 揥hat we have is the Odyssey. And if we pair that with things we now know about the places mentioned there, I would say that Odysseus, traveling home from Troy, would be much more likely to have encountered the island in a 憌ine-dark sea,?as Homer describes it, if he was sailing the Black Sea.?
Circe抯 gaze swept over the map mounted on the wall behind Alec抯 desk. 揟he Black Sea??
Alec nodded. 揕et抯 assume some of the details are true. If Odysseus was coming from Troy, making his way home to Ithaca, why would he be off the western coast of Italy??