It was a nearly hurtful embrace, as they poured all their pain into the kiss. Nyx let out a small cry of surprise before she threw her arms around Erebus’s neck, running her tongue along his lips in silent invitation. He wasted no time opening himself up to her, both devolving to tongues and teeth, clashing and pushing against one another with their pain that masqueraded as hate.
Erebus’s hand moved up and tangled itself in her hair, gripping it tight and pulling until Nyx broke the embrace and stared up at him. They were both breathing heavily, staring at one another with a hundred things unsaid and a thousand miles between them. Neither one of them were able to reign in their power, and it continued to ebb around them, cocooning them in a torrent of shadows and a storm of shooting stars. Erebus looked down at Nyx’s expression, watching how starlight caught in her hair as his shadows weaved in and out of their legs.
“Do you think even death could keep me apart from you?” Erebus’s voice was low and barely intelligible over the din of the storm around them.
“When darkness dies, Erebus, where does it go?” Nyx’s eyes were full of tears as she stared at him.
In lieu of an answer, Erebus wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her to him once more. He kissed her again, losing himself in the embrace as if he could commune entirely with her through the undying need that he had for her. Nyx’s arms went from around Erebus’s neck to gripping his shoulders, feeling his body tense and flushed behind her fingertips, desperate for more. She squeezed him again, still furious but unable to contain her desire for him and deciding she didn’t want to.
Nyx pulled away from Erebus as if she had been burned, realization pooling in her gut like a stone. He had betrayed her, but she still wanted him. There would be time for her to hate herself for it later.
“Nýchta?” Erebus asked quietly, leaning down and brushing his forehead against hers. Nyx shook her head.
“Don’t… just… don’t.”
“Maybe we should…” Erebus stopped, his grip on her loosening but unable to let go of her entirely. His eyes were searching but Nyx was resolute.
“No.” Both of their powers were still unyielding, the storm around them increasing to a fever pitch as Nyx tugged Erebus down to the ground with her. She threw a leg over his waist and settled herself on top of him, grinding her hips down in one movement that made Erebus’s mind go blank. Anger bled between the two of them until it was indistinguishable; Nyx dragged her hands down his chest until she tugged the folds of his chiton off.
Erebus groaned, tossing his head back as sweaty curls stuck to his forehead. His hands crept up Nyx’s legs until he gripped her thighs, his hips moving on their own accord as he bucked up to meet her. Nyx leaned down and captured Erebus’s mouth in a kiss once more, Erebus letting out a low grunt as she bit his lower lip until it bled. Nyx licked it up before sucking his lip into her mouth, driving her hips against him as she went nearly mad feeling his hardness against her.
She let out a soft whine, one hand going to her own peplos until she bunched the fabric up around her waist. Erebus sat up so they were face to face, Nyx sitting up straighter as she slowly sat back down over Erebus, guiding him inside of her. Erebus’s teeth ground together as she went tortuously slow, her head falling back as she adjusted to him. They sat there for a single moment, both suspended somewhere in between an all-consuming need for one another and hatred; the latter of which was something neither of them had ever felt when looking at one another. It was the kind of hatred that could only come from heartbreak, the kind of anger that could only incubate alongside intimacy.
Something silent passed between them and the storm broke. Lightning flashed about them as shadows went spiraling, comets raining down between them as constellations came to life in the dark skies. It was like being caught alive in the middle of a cosmic upheaval. Erebus growled, wrapping his arm tighter around Nyx’s waist, and flipped them over. He braced his hands on either side of her head, and she let out a cry as he shifted inside her.
“Nýchta,” he growled, the nickname now sounding like a threat.
“Move, Erebus,” Nyx hissed back at him, her lip curling as she raked her hands down his back. He let out a low grunt and pulled out completely from Nyx, making her whine at the loss, until he pushed forward and buried himself inside of her. Her head fell back in a silent scream as Erebus laughed darkly, his own mirth getting choked off by a groan as Nyx clenched around him. Erebus picked up a grueling pace, pistoning his hips into her as she drove her body up to meet his thrusts. There was nothing considerate or tender between them, each pull and push accentuated by harsh grips and biting teeth.
Nyx tried to keep herself together as if she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but there was nothing she could hide from him. Erebus growled, dropping his hand between them and pressing up against her in slow circles until she came with a startled cry, black magic pouring out of her fingertips and hair. Erebus thrust himself between her thighs once more, shadows blanketing the darkness as he collapsed against her. He stayed there for only a moment, catching his breath until the atmosphere between them shifted and he rolled off her. Nyx winced at the loss of him but turned away from him, nonetheless.
The magic faded. The power receded. The storm calmed down around them. Erebus finally felt his heart rate drop, and he sat up, peering into the depths of Tartarus. All the starlight was gone…and so was Nyx.
Erebus was alone and naked on the cold ground, something having been severed inside of him.
Nyx had left, leaving a trail of fading stardust on the ground. Erebus stared after it until it faded completely, leaving something glinting in the blackness. He stood and took a few steps, adjusting his chiton as he went, before leaning down and picking the shining object up.
It was Nyx’s pin, the brooch that she wore on her shoulder. It was inscribed with the ancient names of both darkness and night, featuring a carved image of them working together.
A sick realization settled over him. Nyx had denied Erebus.
18
When Nyx slipped away from Erebus, she left Tartarus and didn’t look back. Her brooch had made a sickening thud on the ground and left a corresponding crack in her chest. She couldn’t do it. Even when they had pulled one another down to the ground and given in to their need for each other, the only thing that she could see in Erebus’s eyes anymore was betrayal. The crest had fallen off her shoulder, and her mind only wondered if Erebus were to wear it, would it match Zeus’s ring?
Her mind cried out that anything that had ever existed between them was dead, but it wasn’t that simple. What did death even mean to a couple like her and Erebus? The thing that always existed between them was their existence, the way they had pulled themselves from starlight to be with one another, birthed themselves into existence, designed to fit the other’s purposes. Nyx designed the lines of her body to give him harbor, and he had crafted his shadows to bow to her will. The pain inside of her chest threatened to break her into dust, and she toyed with the idea of retreating beneath Gaia or exploding herself into stars.
Nyx walked until she could go no further, finally letting herself slip free of her mortal body. She had held onto it for longer than she normally would, feeling like it was the only thing that could hold her together. The wind picked up, and she dissolved into the sky, becoming endless, moving across the horizon until she crossed out of Tartarus. The lights of Asphodel warmed over her skin, and Nyx sighed in relief. She would have felt her cheeks grow hot with shame as she realized that leaving the darkness behind had brought such relief.
She touched down once more, hidden amongst one of the many groves in the meadows, sliding down an oak tree like smoke and pooling at its roots. She wanted to feel small. She waited, anxiety pooling under her skin like ants and finding herself unable to focus on anything. Finally, she sprung up in her human form again, finding solace in the physical action of breathing. Nyx leaned back against the tree and sank back down, burrowing her fingers and toes into the dirt. Her countenance was only just coming back to her when she heard a twig snap in the distance behind her.
Nyx moved slowly, knowing that whatever was lurking in the forests of Asphodel couldn’t possibly harm her. She stood up and sent her power out in a wave through the topsoil, evaluating who it was. Her power ran up against someone, someone whose power sang like hers. She broke into a smile.Thanatos.
Nyx said nothing but pulled her power back, stepping out from behind the tree and waiting. A few moments later, a grinning Thanatos stepped into the small grove, a serene look on his face. If there was one thing that Nyx had always envied her twins, it was peace. Both Thanatos and Hypnos were slow to anger, always calm and always transcendent. It was hard to get worked up over anything when your job was either to sleep or to die.
Thanatos stood taller than his mother when he took mortal form, with hair that was even darker than his father’s. It was an inky-black color that almost looked blue in the light, if you could ever catch him there. His hair was cropped shorter than most of the gods’, sticking up from his head at odd angles. The only visible difference between Thanatos and Hypnos was that Hypnos’s hair was longer and always tied up with a piece of cord.
Thanatos didn’t wear a chiton in his mortal form, either, further distinguishing himself from the rest of his immortal brethren. He wore hoplite armor, missing a weapon and a shield because what would death need with a weapon? His presence stilled everything around him, no matter where he went. Thanatos was nothing if not fair, but he was merciless. Once a decision had been made and the Fates had called their shot, there was nothing a mortal or a god could do to avoid his touch. Nyx didn’t know if she had ever heard him raise his voice. He was gentle in his absoluteness but ruthless in his execution. He had his brother Hypnos’s touch with a lethal edge. Thanatos was the God of death.
