Zeus was back again, tormenting me for his own pleasure. My limbs were like cement, refusing to move and I couldn’t bear to open my eyes to look at a familiar face again in this environment.
As the hours—or days—passed, I began to doubt the protection the bond offered me. Strangely, I scarcely felt it anymore. Perhaps because I became too numb to feel anything.
“Leave . . . me . . . alone,” I muttered, wincing as my lip throbbed.
I just wanted to sleep through the pain. To forget it existed.
“It’s me, little dove, your mother.” The gentle murmur brushed against my ears, carrying the familiar warmth I had longed to hear. Something inside me loosened at the sound, the tightness in my chest easing as if the mere melody of her voice was soothing it away.
With effort, my eyelids obeyed my command, opening to her face. My mother’s long, red hair cascaded down her shoulders,cupping her sharp chin. When she lifted her hand and caressed my cheek with her fingers, a tear slid down my face.
“You’re not real,” I whispered.
But she called me little dove. Zeus couldn’t know that. I shook my head, dismissing the thought. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to find out.
“Let’s get you out of here.” My mother blinked, showing me her jade eyes as tears welled inside them. “I told you they were coming, little dove, and I prepared for this moment my entire life. Zeus will not have you.” Her lips pursed, a silent promise of the future.
“You’re not real,” I repeated, though my gaze wouldn’t leave her. She was so beautiful. Zeus, no doubt, believed this would hurt me, but seeing her—it was a welcome sight, the sun after a storm. After what he had done to me, this was a gift.
“I’m sorry,” I breathed between quiet sobs, remembering the shameful words I said when Eros and I bonded. “I’msosorry.” My head found her shoulder, and the moment her palm smoothed down my hair, I broke into a million pieces.
Memories of my time in Elythra flashed before my eyes. Arianna’s death. Nicolas’s pain. The wounds on Georgie’s body. Zeus killing them all.
I didn’t know how long I stood there, weeping in my mother’s arms, clawing at her dress with my fingers, but it wasn’t until bile rose in my throat that she stepped aside. Vomit erupted from my throat, despite my growling stomach, meeting the ground with forceful weight. By the time I was done, my chest was heaving, palms coming on the ground for support.
“I almost feel a sense of pity toward you,” Zeus mocked.
I looked at him over my shoulder, trying to wrap my head around the furrow of his brows.
He tilted his head, offering me a nod as the vomit pooled underneath me. “I shall return at a later time.”
Alone at last, my crying grew louder. I tugged at my hair, the roots stinging as they tore free. Now that I’d looked at her, felt her; the memory of her scent lingered, and I realized how far I was from seeing at her again.
IfI was ever going to see her again.
Chapter 31
Shadow
Forty-one hours had passed since anyone has seen her.
Forty-one hours had passed since the God and his mortal bonded were separated.
Forty-one hours during which Elythra’s state declined solely because the god who was responsible for maintaining the balance was gradually losing control of it.
Indeed, this looks like the day the world meets its demise.
When Shadow finally got close to the home of the God of Love, he paused momentarily before passing through the walls. He turned his gaze back and understood that were he a human, a sigh would have escaped from him at the sight of their world slowly fading away. The absence of any color was saddening, even for him. As the olive leaves faded to a dark green hue, shedding their vibrant color, a mysterious shroud of ominous shadows appeared to envelop the marble and all surrounding structures.
The sky didn’t delay in giving up its blue shade either. The clouds had vanished entirely, replaced by a darkness that unleashed a torrent of heavy raindrops upon the gods’ world. The lightning bolts sliced through them at an ever-increasingpace, as though their singular purpose was to obliterate anything and everything that stood before them.
The streets of Olympus were devoid of any oozing creatures, and furthermore, there were no gods present near the temple either. It appeared as though everything had been left abandoned.
I can only think that we are near the end.
Without another glance at their crumbling world, Shadow arrived at the library, certain he would find Eros there. He knew that whenever something caused him distress, he would retreat there. However, on this occasion, he did not see him looking upset. Instead, he was on the cusp of losing his mind entirely.
As his fingers gripped the edge of the desk, the muscles in his jaw began to twitch and tighten in a visible display of tension. There were no tears streaming down his cheeks, no sorrow deepening the soft creases of his face. An amalgamation of anger, pain, and a lust for vengeance swirled within his eyes, reflecting the disarray that filled him.
