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One of the Fates stares at Eros pointedly.
Eros rubs his neck, and I see his expression shift from failure to determination. He lunges forward and grabs Carl by the collar, turning him and gripping Carl’s face to make him look at me, and an arrow appears in his hand.
No… He’s going to force Carl to love me.
“I won’t let her suffer the likes of you!” Eros shouts at Hermes and the gods as his hand rises to plunge the point into Carl’s chest. Eros is committing the act he refused to do for a few millennia to protect me.
I don’t want him to be forced to love me. From our lack of connection to discovering his part in a plot to make me a puppet of his patron god, I don’t want him anyway. How could I? He isn’t the man I fell in love with. Even our friendship was built on pretense and lies by omission. He strung me along for five years for a myriad of reasons, none of them honorable.
Time slows down.
Eros’s arm is still coming down, but it barely moves. Looking over at the other gods and Carl, I see they are also frozen in a state of shock.
Am I experiencing another one of those slow-motion death moments like I did when I was falling off the cliff?
I must be in shock too.
I bring my hand up to cover my gasp, and then I gasp again.Ican move normally.
The Fates grin at me when I realize that I’m not slowed in time.
“What did you do?” I ask.
“We are allowing you to weave your own story for this moment in time,” they say, their voices ringing in my ears. I have to figure out what they mean. I’m sure time won’t stop for long.
They are allowing me to prevent Eros from using the arrow on Carl. Running forward, I use my enhanced strength to move Carl, shoving him out of the way of Eros’s attack.
I turn to remove the arrow from Eros’s grasp.
At that moment, the normal progression of time resumes.
As I look up at Eros’s distraught face, the sharp tip of the arrow sinks into my heart and disappears. I don’t expect the sensation of an explosion erupting within my chest. Fire, that seems to ignite all my cells at once, flashes through my body, and also what feels like my soul. Everything burns like I’m experiencing a nuclear reaction inside me.
Am I dying, or is this the effect of a magical arrow to the heart?
Eros’s eyes widen in surprise, then he blinks, his confusion clear on his gorgeous face as he tries to make sense of why I would be there instead of Carl.
“No!” he cries.
Staggering from the force of him plunging the shaft into my chest, I reach out for Eros to catch me. The pain subsides, but I’m weak and can’t stand on my own.
He holds me to his chest and laments, “I was trying to save you and give you your love.”
Why didn’t he see what I truly feel for him before now? Maybe he couldn’t believe that anyone would love himfor him—not because he’s a love god.
But I’m an idiot, because I didn’t recognize my love for Eros until now. Until it’s too late.
“But Carlisn’tthe love of my life.” I stroke his firm chest to soothe both of us. “Eros, it’s you.”
“Damn me.” Eros draws back far enough to look me in the eye. I’m sure he thinks whatever he sees in my eyes is the influence of his magic. “The arrow, it’s making you feel…”
“No.” I shake my head. “Carl didn’t want me, so he wasn’t the love of my life. I’m not in love with him—not anymore.” I suck in a breath, because I don’t know how this is going to go. Knowing my track record, I will fall flat on my face, but I confess anyway. “Eros, please know that I don’t expect you to reciprocate, but I’m in love with you.”
My insides squirm, but I had to say what I feel. I wasted years holding it back with Carl when I should have confronted my feelings and discovered how he felt too, yet I don’t expect Eros to feel the same. He has never loved someone, so why would he start now? No matter, I have to be honest about my feelings.
Eros stares into my eyes, not speaking or reacting to what I just dropped upon him. I see it clearly written on his face—he doesn’t believe it’s truly me who feels this.
I shiver with nerves, rejection, and sweat. Such a lovely combination. I’m so naïve. I hoped confessing my feelings was the way to save both of us.
