Enjoy.

All heads turned to see the pair enter. Lucy stared at the floor, but otherwise did not seem cowed. Hermes wrapped his arm around her shoulders. When they got to the center of the room, he bent down, kissed her forehead, and pulled away to go to his throne. Her fingers didn't tremble, her peaceful expression didn't break; he didn't know what to make of this strangely serene Lucy. He sat, anxious and filled with dread.

Zeus, satisfied that everyone was present, cleared his throat. "Let us now begin. Lucy Harrison?"

Her gaze lifted to look him in the eyes. "Yes?"

He looked taken aback, just as much as Hermes was. "Do you understand why you are here?"

She nodded. "Yes. To choose immortality or not."

"Yes." His face clearly displayed his discontent, but Lucy did not seem outwardly affected. "Do you understand the consequences of choosing immortality, were you to do so?"

She looked briefly startled, and Hermes clenched his fists. He'd forgotten to tell her. How could he be so careless?

Zeus looked smug. "I take it your silence represents a 'no'?"

"No, I-I knew there were rules, but I don't know them specifically—"

Zeus sighed. "Now I am forced to spend extra time explaining them to you." He glanced at Hermes, who glared back.

"Zeus, the rules," Hera interrupted quietly.

"Oh, yes, the rules." He looked back at Lucy. "If you accept immortality, you will be under the responsibility of your protector; in this case, Hermes. You cannot change your appearance without his assistance. You cannot transport yourself without his assistance. You cannot fly. If you disobey any of our rules, both you and your protector will be punished. Do you understand this?"

"Yes."

"Do you accept that, should you choose immortality, your protector will forever and unchangeably be Hermes, god of thieves, cleverness, and messages?"

"Yes."

"Do you accept that, should you decline immortality, your soul will return to the Underworld and never return?"

Hermes gripped the arms of his throne, digging grooves into the metal. Hephaestus noticed and frowned.

Lucy's gaze remained unwaveringly on Zeus. "Yes."

"Do you have anything you would like to say before your final decision?"

Lucy nodded. "Thank you. All of you. I know some of you don't…approve of me or what I've done to your family, but thank you so much. This past year has been more than I could ever have imagined. I met amazing people, seen things that I never thought I would, done things I never believed I could." Her eyes, filling with tears, fixed on Hermes'. "I am not at all the same person I was in the park that day, and it's all thanks to you. These last few weeks have been…dramatic, to say the least—" her soft laugh here seemed out of place, "—but I can't bring myself to regret any of it. It was all so very worth it, to experience what I've experienced." Her voice broke, but she smiled. "I've been so lucky. Thank you."

Hermes frowned, his throat aching with the effort it took to keep from crying. It sounded like a goodbye speech. Too much. As much as he said he was fine with whatever her choice was, he really did not want this.

"Mm-hm." Zeus broke the silence with a disgruntled grumble. "So, Lucy Harrison, what do you choose?"

She looked down at her feet, and Hermes could see the tears drop. "I choose…" Her voice wavered and she suddenly looked up at Hermes. She looked frightened, desperate, and only Artemis' hand wrapping around his arm kept him from running to the girl.

"Wait," the goddess murmured.

"I…" Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. "I can't." She opened her eyes and looked at Zeus. "I choose immortality."

The mood in the room changed abruptly. Hermes fell back in his seat, his face tilted toward the ceiling, bliss filling his entire person. Artemis also looked relieved, Aphrodite looked about to swoon, and even Apollo gave a small smile. Some gods looked faintly displeased, but didn't say anything. Zeus sighed heavily, but gestured to Hermes. The messenger god stood and summoned a tray carrying a goblet and platter. He walked down from his throne, beaming at Lucy.

When he stood in front of her, he held out the tray. "To attain immortality," he started in a tone far too solemn to match his delighted expression, "you must ingest the food of the gods. This will give you immortality, and you will ascend to a rank only dreamed of by most mortals. First, you must eat the ambrosia, then you must drink the nectar, and you will become a goddess, beautiful and eternal. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she whispered, wiping away the tears, and reached out to take the ambrosia. It looked like nothing she'd ever seen before; it appeared to be a softly glowing golden biscuit, but when she picked it up, it was far too light. She put it on her tongue and it dissolved like cotton candy. A marvelously warm feeling flooded her body. Her limbs felt as airy as the ambrosia had been and she looked up at Hermes, her face filled with wonder. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing and offered the tray again. She took the goblet in her hands and lifted the liquid—silver like the Lethe had been, but glowing in a serene way the river had not—to her mouth. It added to the warmth coursing through her body, and she felt as if she would simply float off the ground. She somehow managed to set the empty goblet back on the tray and the entire thing disappeared. Hermes engulfed her in a hug, his lips moving against her ear.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Lucy."

"I couldn't do it," she said faintly. "I couldn't leave. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." He pulled away enough to kiss her, long and lingering and adding to the almost unbearable warmth filling her. "I love you." He looked into her eyes, watching her irises glow brightly as the nectar and ambrosia was absorbed into her body. He stroked her cheek and the light dimmed, hidden under the veil of the form she currently wore. He kissed her again. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Now that that's over, it's time to go back to cleaning up the aftermath of the war."

"Father," Aphrodite protested. "It's customary to celebrate the induction of a god."

Lucy looked between them worriedly. "I don't need a celebration, I'm fine—"

Hermes shushed her. "We're going to have a celebration."

"No, really, I don't need one."

Zeus narrowed his eyes at his son, then sighed angrily. "Fine." He glowered at Lucy. "Don't think that just because you're a goddess now that I'm going to completely change my attitude toward you."

Hermes snorted. "Because that's far too easy."

Lucy frowned. "I don't expect you to, sir. I'm sorry."

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Come on, Luce." He took her hand and led her in the direction the other gods had gone.

Once they had left the throne room, where Hera was now trying to reason with Zeus, Lucy's mood seemed to lighten slightly. "Where are we going?"

"Outside. We're going to celebrate."

She looked up at him, a crease between her eyebrows. "Not for me."

"Of course for you! It's not every day someone turns into a god, you know."

"But…"

"Oh, come on, Luce." He sighed. "It's not just for you, okay? It's…sort of a distraction for us. Lifts our spirits after…well, you know."

She apparently accepted this explanation, because the crease between her eyebrows lessened. "Well, in that case, I guess…" He stared at her pointedly. "It's okay," she admitted.

He grinned. "Great. Because our parties are awesome. After all, our party planner is the god of festivities."

She giggled. "You're giving me high expectations."

"Every one of them will be met," he promised.

"Okay…Whoa." They had emerged from the palace and were immediately assaulted by a mess of light and sound. As their eyes and ears adjusted to the cacophony, Lucy gaped in amazement. "I've never seen anything like this."

Hermes beamed. "You've never seen a god's party before."

"Apparently not." Her eyes were huge as she took in the revelries. More gods than she had known existed crowded the streets, dancing and drinking and generally having a good time. A rainbow of lanterns stained the partiers below with vivid colors. Trays hovered at the edges of the crowd, laden with delicious-looking food and drink. Hermes beckoned to one and it floated over, making Lucy jump. He laughed and grabbed two tall flutes of liquid.

"Here, try it."

She took it warily, sipping and nearly choking. She looked up at him. "What is this?"

He grinned. "Nectar mixed with wine. Better than just plain wine, huh?"

"I don't know, I didn't really drink it before." She took another sip. "But this is pretty good."

"Yep." He drank his own glass and watched with amused elation as she took small mouthfuls from hers, staring at the partiers in awe. Lucy was here and whole and alive and there was nothing in the world that could keep him from feeling completely ecstatic.

"Lucy?"

They turned and Lucy's expression broke into a grin. "Artemis!" She hugged the goddess.

"I haven't seen you this happy in a long time," Artemis remarked, pulling away. "Immortality suits you."

Lucy blushed. "It's hard to be anything but happy around something like this." She gestured at the festivities.

Artemis noticed the glass in Lucy's hand. "Or when you've had nectar." She glanced meaningfully at Hermes, who rolled his eyes.

"We're fine. Lucy, would you like to dance?"

"I'm not—I can't dance—"

"It doesn't matter." He led her through the crowd, looking back to make a face at Artemis, who crossed her arms and shook her head.

Lucy looked up at Hermes. "Why was Artemis angry?"

Hermes sighed. "She's not angry. She's worried that you're going to get drunk, but I'm going to make sure you don't."

"Drunk?" Lucy's brows creased, but Hermes bent down to kiss her forehead.

"You'll be okay, Luce, I promise. Come on." He pulled her close and started to sway back and forth. She twined her arms around his back and leaned against his chest.

"It's weird. I don't feel that different," she murmured.

He was silent for a moment. "I don't know how to help you with that," he confessed. "The transition. I've never experienced it."

"I know. I talked to Ariadne and she said she'd help."

He smiled, relieved. "Okay, good." He spun her around.

Lucy glanced up. "What did you think I would choose?"

He frowned and stared at the lights glittering over the partiers. "I…" He looked down at her. "You want the complete truth?" She nodded. "I…I was so scared that you would choose the Underworld. And I would have understood," he added quickly, "it's just that…I wanted you so badly up here. Alive."

She leaned against his chest again. "I thought I would too. I was going to. I almost did. But it got to when I had to choose and I just…couldn't." She shook her head and smiled at Hermes. "But it doesn't matter anymore."

He grinned. "Nope." He kissed her.

"Hey, lovebirds, watch the PDA!"

Lucy jerked away, cheeks burning. Hermes glared at the interrupter. "Apollo, go away."

The god grinned and threw his arm around Hermes' shoulder. "Where's your sense of revelry, brother? It's a party, come on!" He winked at Lucy, who stared at him in bewilderment. "How's the immortal life, Luce?"

She blinked. "Good." She looked at Hermes, who only narrowed his eyes at his brother. When Apollo grinned again, Hermes' eyes widened in understanding, and he laughed.

"How much nectar have you drank tonight, Apollo?"

The god shrugged. "Why bother keeping track?"

Lucy shrank away from the drunken god and Hermes shrugged out of Apollo's hold. "Go bother someone else, brother." Apollo saluted and disappeared into the crowd. Hermes looked down at Lucy. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I just…that's why Artemis was worried?"

"Close enough. But no one's going to bother you, Luce. You're safe."

She smiled at his earnestness. "I believe you."

He kissed her head. "Come on, I know some people who will be excellent company." They snaked through the crowd.

Lucy jumped when she felt someone's hand touch her arm. She turned around to see an unfamiliar goddess.

"Thank you," whispered the goddess, and melted into the partiers.

Lucy blinked and stumbled along after Hermes. But then, again, another hand touched her arm, another unfamiliar god whispered a thanks and disappeared before she had the chance to say anything. When this happened a third time, Lucy stopped in her tracks and Hermes doubled back to see what was wrong.

"Lucy?"

The girl frowned into the crowd. "People keep…people I don't know, they keep…thanking me, and I don't know why."

Hermes scanned the sea of gods. "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it was for ending the war."

Lucy scowled. "That wasn't me! I didn't do that! You're the one who finished it."

"But you're the reason I was around to end it," he pointed out.

"That doesn't matter."

"It does to me. It does to all of them." He nodded at the crowd. "Come on, Luce, let them have their party. It's not going to hurt you for them to believe that you helped win the war."

"It will when they realize I didn't," she grumbled.

He ignored the icy trickle of fear through his veins and forced his voice to remain casual. "Luce, over here." She turned to see where he was pointing and her stubborn expression dissolved into a smile.

"How are you feeling, Lucy?" Ariadne gestured the couple over to where she was standing next to Dionysus. The god grinned and tilted his head.

"Hi, Lucy."

"Hello." She smiled nervously at Dionysus and turned back to Ariadne, her smile growing. "I feel like me. That's good, right?"

Ariadne nodded. "I felt the same, so I assume it is." Her smile turned conspiring. "What did you think of the ambrosia and nectar?"

Lucy grinned. "Pretty good."

"Pretty good!" Ariadne laughed. "That's one way to say it." She reached out to touch Dionysus' arm. "Di, you distract Hermes while I steal his girl, okay?" Dionysus nodded and Ariadne steered Lucy away from the crowd. "So, what do you think?"

"About what?"

Ariadne gestured around them. "All of this." She gestured at Lucy. "You. What are you thinking?"

Lucy sighed. "It's…a lot to process. And at the same time, it's not." She frowned. "I don't feel any different. Hermes doesn't seem any different. I just…I'm not sure how to explain it, even to myself. I don't know what's changed, but something has."

Ariadne tilted her head. "I know. The thing is, you are different. You just don't realize it, not yet. You'll find yourself with more energy. You don't get tired as quickly, and it takes less time to recover. You don't need as much food or drink, nor do you need as much sleep. And, to me, the best part is…" She grinned. "Sometime, you should ask Hermes to show off his true form."

Lucy's eyes widened. "But I can't…"

"You can now."

Lucy glanced over her shoulder at Hermes, who was laughing with Dionysus. "Really?"

"Mm-hm. It's something, I'll tell you that. Especially when you're…well, you know." She grinned mischievously.

Lucy looked back at Ariadne nervously. "I don't…we haven't…"

Ariadne's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry, of course, but now that you're immortal…"

Lucy shook her head rapidly, her arms folding over her chest, suddenly uncomfortable in the light dress. "I don't—I can't—" She started to back away and stumbled. In an instant, Hermes and Dionysus were there. Hermes caught Lucy and pulled her up and Dionysus went to his bewildered wife.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

Lucy took a deep breath. "It's okay. It's fine." She said it to Hermes as much as Ariadne, the former frowning at the latter.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. It's fine, Hermes. We were just talking." She smiled shakily. "It's okay. I'm sorry," she said to Ariadne, who still looked confused and embarrassed.

The goddess nodded slowly. "Of course…"

Lucy looked down at her feet. "It's been wonderful to see you. This was an amazing party, but I'm…tired."

"We can go to my suite, if you want," Hermes offered distractedly, watching Dionysus carefully.

"Okay."

"See you later, Di."

The god nodded. "Later. It was nice to meet you, Lucy."

Lucy gave him a small smile. "You too. And thank you for the wonderful party. I'll see you soon, Ariadne?"

Ariadne smiled. "Of course. I hope you had a good night. Congratulations."

Lucy nodded and followed Hermes into the palace. Inside, it was cooler and quieter, flickering torches replacing the bright lanterns outside.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Lucy looked up at Hermes. "Yeah. I'm fine. I ought to get used to it anyway."

He frowned. "Get used to what?"

She sighed. "Nothing. Come on."

When they got to Hermes' suite, Lucy immediately went into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. Hermes followed slowly and stood in front of her. "Luce, you sure you're okay?"

She smiled up at him. "I'm fine, Hermes, really. Come on, I just turned immortal, take a break from the worrying for one day, okay?"

He grinned and pulled her up. "Well, miss goddess, what would you like to do now? Surely you aren't actually tired?"

She shrugged. "Tired of the crowds. I like it here better. It's quieter."

"Good to know. So what would you like to do?"

She looked up at him timidly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Ariadne said…she said that now that I'm immortal, I can…you can…"

"What?"

"You can show me your…" She frowned. "'True form.'" She looked up at Hermes. "Is that true?"

He nodded. "I can—"

"But then she…she made it sound like…" Lucy blushed. "I could only see it during…while we…had…"

Hermes blinked. "No, that's not true," he said quietly. "I can go into my natural form any time I want."

"Oh." Lucy looked relieved. "Then why did she…"

Hermes scratched the back of his neck. "Because…remember what I told you a while ago? How I can't…control myself sometimes because my emotions get out of control?" Lucy nodded. "Well, when we...do that with our soulmates, we get—I've heard—so…" He frowned. "So emotional that it's difficult hold back our natural forms. And—again, this is just what I've heard—it's supposed to make it better." He watched Lucy nervously. "I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want, Lucy. This doesn't change anything in that respect."

She nodded, shockingly calm. "I understand." She looked up at him. "Can you show me, though? Your natural form?"

"Now?"

"If you can."

"I can." He took a step back from her, dropping her hand. "You might want to sit on the bed." Lucy obeyed, lying on her stomach with her chin propped up on her fists. "Okay." Hermes closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Lucy watched in astonishment as his entire body started to glow slightly golden, the dim tinge turning brighter and more gold until he was made purely of golden light. He lit every corner of the room, everything turning a dazzling shade of gold. Lucy's jaw dropped. "So," Hermes slowly pivoted, "what do you think?"

"You're…" Lucy blinked. "You're amazing."

Hermes shrugged, his glow dimming until he was his recognizable self. "As much as I'd like to let that go straight to my ego, it's really not anything special."

"I can see why Ariadne thinks it's the best part about being immortal."

Hermes made a face, hopping onto the bed next to Lucy and making the mattress shake. "She's wrong."

She smiled, rolling onto her back. "Oh really? Then what's the best part about immortality?"

He grinned, touching the tip of her nose. "Finally having someone to share it with."

Lucy twined her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her face. "Hermes?"

"Mm-hm?"

She touched her lips to his for a moment. "I love you."

He looked into her eyes. "Lucy Harrison?"

She smiled. "Mm-hm?"

"I will love you forever." He leaned down to kiss her, and this time, at last, nothing and no one interrupted them.

On this day, exactly two years after I first published Mercurial, I publish the last chapter. I want to thank all of you so much for following the story, some of you from the very beginning, some of you only recently. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me (this is the first story I've ever completed) and Lucy and Hermes and everyone else. Thank you for staying with the story as my writing evolved. Thank you for your critiques and reviews. Thank you for reading.

Thank you.