A Treacherous Curse

“Did you ever read mythology when you were a child?”

“Insatiably.”

“So did I. I was always affected by those couples who seemed destined for one another. Eurydice and Orpheus. Hero and Leander. Pyramus and Thisbe. I thought at some point in my life, I would have a great love like that, a woman fashioned by the gods just for me, as I had been made just for her, that we would find each other. I always believed she was waiting for me. But I did not wait for her. I married a base metal when the gods had promised me gold.”

Stoker was waiting for me when I emerged from the house, his expression thoughtful. “I ought not to have left you. It was rude.”