AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She did—the deification of the human soul. Ugh. I avoid her when I see her at gatherings. If I hadn’t been poisoned by one of my own arrows, I never would have fallen for her and suffered.”
“Crap. I’m sorry,” I say. “I guess you know what heartache feels like now.”
Eros grunts in what sounds like agreement.
“Enough of that.” I brush my hands clean of the story that rang too close to my own. “So what are your powers? Sounds like the love arrows schtick is real.”
Eros nods and clears his throat. “Well, as for my powers… since I was one of the primordial gods, I have some power over creation.”
“What?” I gasp. “I thought you were Aphrodite’s son.”
“She sort of claimed me when she helped me after I went off the deep end with Psyche, but no. I am one of the original four: Chaos, Gaia, or better known now as Mother Earth, and Tartarus, otherwise known as Death.”
“Tartarus? Isn’t that in the underworld where Hades rules?”
“You should probably avoid saying his name,” Eros growls.
“Which one?” I ask.
“Actually, don’t speak any of the death gods’ names,” he warns. “Since you had your near-death experience, they might get angry that a human escaped them. Don’t draw unneeded attention upon yourself.”
I grimace since I already have. “Noted.”
Eros’s voice evens out when he adds, “As for Tartarus, he goes by Thanatos as well. He is both the place and a god. Heimprisons all the wicked souls, the unredeemable. Hades rules thedeadin the underworld. Tartarus is death himself.”
“I didn’t think dea—” I stop. Should I not even use the words death god? “I mean,those kinds of godsweren’t all that bad in the stories, just that they are usually depicted as strict and they represent uncomfortable subject matter.”
“Yeah, well, that’s mostly true, but I almost lost you to death, so I’d rather not tempt the Fates anymore than I have.”
“Oh, my! Aretheyreal?” I ask, kind of bouncing with all this insider scoop.
“They are. They aren’t the easiest to hang out with. They are always weaving something up.”
“Whoa.” I sit back and let the reality of my life wash over me. “I can barely imagine what it must be like to be you.” I study his stunning profile that looks more like an exquisitely crafted sculpture rather than a breathing being. “I never knew you were aprimordialgod.”
“Yeah, most don’t.” He shrugs. “I was the god of love and friendship, and then humans reduced me to a weaponized baby in diapers.”
I burst out with laughter. I couldn’t help it. The image of him in diapers is freaking hilarious, or my brain is imploding and laughter is the only way to deal with all this.
Eros finally joins me in a good belly laugh.
After several minutes, we quiet down and enjoy a companionable silence.
“God of friendship, huh?” I ask, thinking about his tossed out comment.
“It makes sense when you realize I was the true essence of humanity in the beginning. Love, in all forms, includes friendship, love, desire, and cravings—not just for bodies, but for a desire for more within oneself, such as growing andimproving.” Eros grins at me. “And desire to create beauty, like you do.”
I get lost in Eros’s bright golden eyes for a second. He has hit some chord inside of me with his explanation of his godhood. Maybe I can trust him a little. “That’s beautiful. I guess I didn’t realize how much you offered humans. I thought what you represented was just a bunch of mindless lust with no meaning. An arrow that consumes one’s freewill with obsession, but not real love earned by actuallyknowingone another.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against primal lust.” Eros shrugs. “But I represented more in the beginning, then other gods came along and claimed the other noble aspects of my being for themselves.”
“Screw that!” I snap.
Eros jumps at my words and stares at me while somehow staying in his lane on the road. He’s a god, so I guess it makes sense that he can multitask.
“What do you mean byscrew that?” he asks.
“You need to reclaim some of the meaning behind your true nature.Love, genuine love. Not empty hookups.”
