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What’s up with these gods? They are just as screwy as the myths represent them to be.
I refuse to play into this…whateverthis meal is. “So what’s your plan for me? Eat my soul? Torture me for eternity?”
“Make you my companion,” he says offhandedly as he dishes various foods onto my plate.
“What?” I shake my head. “Why me?”
“You already know why. If you don’t understand, then I might want to rethink my choice in you, since you would have to be dense if you haven’t figured it out.” He eyes me as if he can read my intelligence by sight alone.
“My loyal, pure heart,” I scoff and roll my eyes. “I think you’re all going a bit overboard with that idea. I’m not allthatpure.”
“Because you no longer want the man you craved for years?” he asks.
I swallow hard. He nailed my issue in one succinct statement. I’m finally realizing that my love for Carl ispast tense.
We couldn’t even get it off the ground after all these years of knowing each other. Is it my fault? No, I remind myself that Carl has been lying to me about his entire life, even his feelings for me. He’s not the man I thought he was, and I doubt he understands who he is either.
Carl admitted he withheld his affection all these years under the vague and faulty guise of protecting me. But if he truly cared for me, why did he invite me to live with him if he was putting me in harm’s way with the gods?
Instead, he strung me along with just enough attention to keep me loyal and loving. If it weren’t for Eros pushing the issue, Carl might never have kissed me. However, I fear that kissing and sex don’t mean that much to him.
Also, I’m pretty certain now that Carl hasn’t ended things with Mercy.
“Maybe you desire someone else instead?” Thanatos asks.
“If you don’t think I’m loyal to Carl, then why would you want me?” I ask.
“Because I’m not accusing you of being disloyal toyourheart. You were trying to give it what it wanted all these years—Carl’s love.” Thanatos arches his eyebrow. “Besides, I don’t want Hermes to win.”
“What does this have to do with Hermes?” I glance down at the table. Even though I’m sure Thanatos put a wide selection of meats and vegetables on my plate, it’s now a massive pile of pomegranate seeds.
“What the hell?” I scoot back, my chair screeching against the stone floor.
“Hmm.” The death god frowns. “I suppose you need some time to think about your only choices.”
I jump up and put the chair between the god and me—not that he’s moving toward me. “What would those choices be?”
“Likely die a true death by Hermes’s unforgiving hands, or you can survive in death with me as my companion.” He twirls his finger, and I’m transported back to a room with no door. Once again, I’m alone.
I’m not a fan of Mr. Bossy Pants.
If Eros doesn’t show up soon, I’ll have to consider Hypnos’s offer, which is sounding better by the minute.
The entire cell is black—walls, floors, ceiling, furniture, and the sheets on the bed. After checking that there’s no door or window to escape through, I sit on the edge of the cot, hoping I don’t run out of air.
I think about what Thanatos said, but there aren’t two choices in just him and Hermes. Hypnos offered me a way out too. I also haven’t completely given up on Eros rescuing me from this place, although Eros admitted the underworld is quite a challenge for him to navigate. That probably means Eros might not get into Tartarus at all, even if he wanted to rescue me.
Now that Thanatos’s overwhelming presence is gone, I curse myself for not asking if he was the one blocking Eros in our home and from Carl’s building, and sending Eros to the underworld.
Would his answer make a difference?
Thanatos didn’t seem like a friendly sort—not that he’s mean per se, just completely blind to my point of view and lacking social graces, as if he hasn’t had company in a thousand years. He claims he wants me as a companion, but from what I can sense, he doesn’t think much of mortals. I don’t believe he wants me as a companion because of my pure heart or even my personality. Likely, he just wants to win against the other gods.
None of this adds up. There are over seven billion people they could mess with, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a loyal heart.
“Eros?” I call out. I need answers, and I’m hoping he can give them to me. Maybe now that I’m in imminent danger, he will show up and come clean about what’s going on.
He doesn’t show when I call, but I didn’t really expect him to. Who knows where he is? For all his caring ways, he could be off on a yacht with a harem of naked women right now, sipping a mai tai, without a second thought of me. The thought of this feels more devastating than Carl’s rejection.
