“They were old enough then that they had started getting the attention of men,” Penn went on. “The three sisters had inherited many gifts from their mothers, including their beauty and talent for song and dance.”

“Thelxiepeia thought honest work would be the best way to get out of the life,” Thea said, joining the conversation in a much more reasonable tone. The anger had gone from her voice, and she was simply telling the same tale as Penn. “Peisinoe, on the other hand, thought marriage was the way to escape.”

“It was a different time then,” Penn explained. “Women didn’t have the choices and the rights they have now. Getting a man to take care of you was the only way out.”

“That was only part of it. Thelxiepeia was the oldest, most experienced. But Peisinoe was only fourteen. She was still a romantic and a dreamer. She believed if she fell in love, a prince would sweep her off her feet.”

“She was young and stupid,” Penn said, almost to herself, then she shook her head quickly. “The job Achelous found for his daughters was working as handmaidens for Persephone. A handmaiden is just a servant, helping to dress and clean up for a spoiled brat.”

“Oh, she was not a spoiled brat,” Thea chastised her.

“She was, too,” Penn insisted. “She was horrible, constantly entertaining suitors, and Achelous’s daughters should’ve had handmaidens of their own. It was an abomination, and Persephone never cared. She just ordered them around like she was married to Zeus.”

“Tell Gemma about Ligeia,” Lexi suggested, reminding Gemma of a small child who asked to be read the same story every night even though she knew all the words.

“Ligeia was working as a handmaiden for Persephone when Thelxiepeia, Aglaope, and Peisinoe started,” Penn said, and Lexi smiled at her. “Ligeia wasn’t their sister, but they loved her like she was. And Ligeia had the most beautiful singing voice. It truly was the loveliest sound anyone had ever heard.

“As a servant, Ligeia actually did very little work,” Penn said. “She spent most of her days singing for Persephone, but nobody minded because her singing was so enchanting. It made everything seem better.

“But it wasn’t all work,” Penn went on. “The four girls were only teenagers and needed to have fun. As often as they could, they would escape from their servitude and go out to the ocean to swim and sing.”

“It was Ligeia’s songs that commanded an audience,” Thea said. “She and Aglaope would sit perched in the trees on the shore, singing in perfect harmony, while Thelxiepeia and Peisinoe would swim.”

“But it wasn’t just swimming,” Penn clarified. “It was entrancing, underwater dancing. They put on a show just as much as Ligeia and Aglaope did.”

“They did, and travelers would come to see it,” Thea agreed. “They even attracted the attention of gods like Poseidon.”

“Poseidon was the god of the ocean,” Penn explained. “In her naïveté, Peisinoe thought she could entice him with her swimming, and he would fall in love with her and take her away.

“And maybe he did fall in love with her.” Penn brushed the sand away from her legs and stared into the fire. “Many men and a few gods have fallen for her over the years. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. It wasn’t enough.”

“Persephone was engaged to be wed,” Thea said, taking back the story. “She had much to do, but instead of helping her, all four of her handmaidens went out to the ocean to swim and sing. Poseidon had invited them out, and Peisinoe was certain that this would be the day he would ask her to marry him. If she could just impress him enough.”

“Unfortunately, that also happened to be the day when someone decided to abduct and rape Persephone,” Penn said. “The handmaidens were supposed to watch over her, but they weren’t even close enough to hear her screams.”

“Her mother, Demeter, was a goddess, and she was furious,” Thea said. “She told Achelous of his daughters’ failure to protect Persephone. But since Achelous was more powerful than Demeter, she had to ask for his permission before she could inflict a punishment on Thelxiepeia, Aglaope, and Peisinoe.”

“Peisinoe knew their father wouldn’t protect them, as he hadn’t cared about them their entire life, so she went to Poseidon, begging him to intervene,” Penn said. “She pleaded with him, offering him every part of herself unconditionally if he would only help her and her sisters.”

There was a long pause during which nobody said anything. Gemma had leaned forward, her arms resting on her knees as she hung on every word.

“But he didn’t,” Penn said, so quietly Gemma could barely hear her over the lapping of waves. “Nobody saved them. They only had each other to rely on, the way they always had, the way they always would.”

“Demeter cursed them to the life they had chosen instead of protecting her daughter,” Thea explained. “She made them immortal, so they would have to live with their folly every day without end. The things they loved would become the things they despised.”

“What things?” Gemma asked.

“They had been too busy flirting, swimming, and singing when Persephone was kidnapped,” Thea said. “So that’s what they were cursed to become.”

“She made them part bird, with a voice so hypnotic no man could deny it,” Penn said. “Men would be completely enraptured by it and have to follow it.