We settled into a comfortable silence, the kind that felt like a welcomed sensation rather than a strange absence of words. The room faded away, leaving behind only the subtle rhythm of our breaths and the steady beats of our hearts.
“Know that I am glad that it was you,” he said as my eyelids grew heavy, easing toward sleep. “If vows are destined to break, I’m glad mine broke for you.”
Chapter 25
Charisma
Even before I opened my eyes, the cold space beside me confirmed Eros’s absence. I sighed, placing a palm on my chest and rubbing the area to numb the tugging feeling inside it.
Last night was . . . full of surprises, no doubt. I crawled on Eros’s body like a monkey and, unsurprisingly, his arms were the safest place I could’ve wished to be.
Still, in a clearer state of mind, I would’ve never,neverspoken such words about my mother.
My heart hurt for an entirely different reason now. I shook my head, dismissing the unpleasant memory, and hauled myself out of the bed, limbs heavy.
It felt like I’d been hit by a truck. I couldn’t tell if the sensation was due to the lack of sleep or to the bonding, but it didn’t matter; knowing wouldn’t help the way I carried my body like a dead weight.
With a groan, I walked to the windows, dragging my feet behind me. The sun, as glorious as ever, caressed every inch of my skin, kissing the places where muscles were most tense, whispering over the areas that needed soothing. I took a deepbreath, lingering in its embrace for a few more moments until I had to prepare for what was about to come.
Taking Charon’s staff wasn’t what made the hairs on my neck stand up or what caused my throat to become drier than the desert—it was the aftermath that made me feel this way. Before Eros and I left to proceed with the bonding, we discussed our plan and reached the conclusion that the safest way to force Charon to show up was by calling his name. When the trial proved difficult to continue and when the right moment came, I was going to desperately pretend to require Charon’s presence. We hoped Zeus would be fooled.
The legend of Charon, the Ferryman of the Forgotten, was a tale some would tell their children to scare them into listening—when lost souls couldn’t find their way to the Underworld, they’d summon Charon to transport them across the Styx.Orto cast them into the depths of it if he deemed them unworthy.
The plan was to seize the staff the moment I was aboard his boat, and preferably before he decided I was undeserving. That part I could handle. The only problem was the words that were written in a small paragraph the gods had missed reading. When I first read it, my throat tightened and for moment, I considered abandoning the plot against Zeus. Certainly Eros would’ve forced me to if he knew what that page held.
Instead, I had turned the page and nodded at whatever Artemis said, remembering who I was fighting for. My mother. And so, any doubt I had vanished.
I turned, the warm rays dancing down my back. On my way to the door, I paused as a note on Eros’s desk caught my attention. A thread seemed to stretch taut from my chest, each tug echoing the distance between us. Stubborn bond.
With the thin paper between my fingers, I read his message.
In the silent and empty room, I let out a laugh. Someone had done his research on speaking like a human.
“You didnot.” 226688’s mouth hung agape as I strode out of Eros’s house, chewing on a pomegranate and licking the remaining syrup off my fingertips.
“Did what?”
“Bonded with him! Zeus will punish you for this,” he pressed, eyes wide. The fairy let out a breath. “Don’t get me wrong; Iknewyou’d fall for him, but this . . .” He paused to point toward my mark. “Exceeds any level of ignorance. I had low expectations for you since you keep breaking every rule, butwhat got into him? Eros knows bonds are prohibited before the Gods’ Gambit ends.”
“I was told to pretend to be in love with him the best that I could. How could I refuse when he suggested we’d bond without raising suspicions?” I asked, the lie slipping past my tongue with ease. “Can we go now?”
He flew closer to my face, narrowing his gaze. “How did you fool him into thinking you’re in love with him?”
I pursed my lips. “Why does it matter? I did what the Shadow told me.”
“Hmm,” he murmured. “Too well if you ask me.”
If eye rolls could emit a sound, I’d swear I could hear his, echoing as he threw us into the suffocating darkness. I plunged to the ground a second later, my eyes finding the rest of the contestants.
Georgie. Yvonne. Riley, Theo, Verena and . . . Draven. My throat tightened at Nicolas and Adam’s absence. There were only seven of us left and four more trials.
“Good luck,” the fairy whispered before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Draven shifted on his feet beside me, his jaw locked tight as his gaze fixed on a distant point. Along with the nasty cuts I knew I’d see and a missing finger, his arm was suspended around his neck in a sling.
Perhaps a broken hand would suffice for the time being.
My lips pursed. When I heard Eros release those words into the night, I was certain it would prove to be an empty, mere threat. Not even for a brief moment did I believe he’d go through with it. Perhaps I should’ve learned my lesson not to underestimate him again.
