On the island of Aeaea, time moved strangely. The waves whispered secrets and the wind carried the scent of thyme and salt. In a sun-dappled grove beside her cottage, Circe poured hot water over a clay cup of crushed herbs, her gold eyes flickering with quiet amusement.

“You’re thinking too loudly,” she said, placing the steaming cup in front of Tiresias.

The prophet, small and slightly hunched, sat cross-legged on a cushion, his staff laid neatly beside him. He frowned down at the tea, then up at Circe. “It’s Hermes.”

“It usually is,” she said, stirring her own cup. “You speak of little else these days.”

He sighed, long and weary. “He’s a god. He flits like wind, he speaks like lightning, and he cares—gods, Circe, he cares. I can’t tell if it’s real.”

“You, of all people,” she said with a raised brow, “can’t tell if someone’s being honest?”

“I see truths, not feelings,” Tiresias replied softly. “Not the shape of a heart when it’s afraid to ask for more.”

Circe leaned back, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear. “So what is it you fear? That he’ll leave? That he’ll stay?”

Tiresias didn’t answer at first. He took a sip of the tea—sharp, bitter, and grounding.

“I fear becoming something small to him,” he whispered. “Something he outgrows.”

Circe’s voice softened. “You’ve seen gods unravel entire empires and rebuild them in days. But this—this love—he chose it. Not out of boredom, or sport. He comes back to you, Tiresias. Every time.”

“I know,” Tiresias murmured. “That’s what frightens me most. That he means it.”

They sat in silence a while, the breeze rustling the leaves overhead. Circe took his hand across the table, warm and steady.

“The tea will tell you nothing,” she said. “But if you want my opinion—”

“I do,” he interrupted quickly.

“—then let yourself have him. And let him have you. There are worse fates than being loved by a god who listens.”

Tiresias gave a reluctant smile, the kind that crept in like dawn. “You make it sound simple.”

“It is. Complicated, and terrifying. But simple.”