Isn’t it regrettable that we were interrupted?
With the same swiftness as an impetuous lightning bolt about to split the sky, Artemis seized the stone from his grasp. Eros hurried to remove the arrow from his hand, and after withdrawing it, the new wound began to bleed.
“Do not force me to harm you. Hand over the stone,” he said sharply, his jaw tightening as he walked closer to her and extended his palm.
As if anticipating his attempt to retrieve it, she gripped the Oracle’s Stone tightly and snapped. “You can’t scare me away, Eros. I’m your best friend. I know this is not you,” she whispered. “The Eros I know would never use dark magic knowing the irreparable consequences.”
“I could not care less about the repercussions,” he snarled and sprung forward to grab the stone from her hand.
She outpaced him again, dodging his attempts, and darted behind him. With a swift movement, she turned on her feet to look at him. Shadow observed the subtle hitch in her breath as her eyes landed on Eros’s unmoving form.
The muscles of his back became rigid beneath his shirt, and they quivered with every breath that he took as he visibly tried to control himself.
With a voice that seemed to come from the depths of his being, he growled, “Leave,” the sound shaking the very foundations of the library.
“I will not leave you alone again, Eros.”
At that moment, Shadow experienced a sensation of closeness to the god that he had never encountered before. Ashe took a deep breath, Eros spun around, lifting his arms in a fluid motion. A shift occurred in his eyes, as an encompassing darkness replaced the emerald green hue.
The light.
Where . . .
Is . . .
The . . .
Light . . .
“LEAVE!”
The sound of Eros’s shout echoed once more. The windows burst open with a violent crack as the unforgiving wind roared in and shards of glass scattered on the wooden ground. Even the books on the shelves shook.
The blood vessels in Eros’s eyes had ruptured.
Should the light vanish . . .
Chapter 32
Eros
The darkness under his emerald eyes was pooling, deep and bruised, similar to the storm clouds looming over Elythra. He could not keep count of how many hours had passed since he had slept, but he could undoubtedly count the hours he had spent without his bonded.
He’d had no visitors for hours, not since he had ordered Artemis to leave his home after she had kept him from using the Oracle’s Stone. The rage he felt at that moment was still remembered by every cell in his body. He could feel it feeding the darkness that had begun growing again inside him.
Eros tilted his head, quickly trying to dismiss those thoughts.
Please talk to me. Tell me that you can hear me, Charisma,he thought, but he was only met by a wall of nothingness.
He knew he could not reach her through their bond, yet he still tried. Separated too soon, they never had the chance to forge the bond to the lengths that would allow them to communicate mind-to-mind. Yet he still hoped to hear her voice through the madness of his mind, but she was nowhere to be found. Even after she was taken away, the only thing that remained with him was the rhythm of her heart, and it was still beautifully synced with his own.
With his fingers gripping the edge of the marble balcony, he brought a hand to his chest, closing his eyes and feeling each heartbeat resonate against his palm. He focused his attention on it.
The loud sound of thunder came at the same time a sigh escaped his mouth. Slowly opening his eyes, he gazed toward the sky, and somewhere within him the fleeting thought of Zeus’s disappearance also came into his mind. As he remembered, his anger escalated to a dangerous level, fueled by the relentless thought that Zeus’s absence could mean another moment of suffering for his bonded. Without a doubt, Zeus was causing her agony. He could detect her heart rate fluctuating, occasionally speeding up as though she were terrified or experiencing an immense amount of pain.
We tried everything,the thought echoed within his head, overriding his other thoughts and effectively denying him any respite. Experiencing such a state of disorientation for the first time was a novel feeling for him, as he found himself completely overwhelmed.
Was there a possibility that we had overlooked something?
