“There were a great many women there, all masked. How does he expect to find the one he is looking for?” I mutter to myself.
“I don’t know,” he answers. “However, I do know it cannot be my wife he searches for. We did not attend the ball, my lord, and she did not leave my side the entire night. And yet, he has not returned her to me.”
“Your wife is not the only one being held within Hades’ palace.”
“But why?”
“That, I am afraid, I do not know.”
A choked sob escapes the man at this, and I cannot escape the pain of his shattering heart as it breaks around me.
“My lord, my wife, she is with child. I fear she will lose it if she is not returned to me soon.”
I run a hand over my face, letting out a deep sigh at this. I cannot shake the icy dread that drips down my back at his words.
So, Hades is searching for a mysterious woman from the ball, which I am now certain must be the mortal. It was impossible not to taste the lust he felt for her hanging in the air between them last night.
I shake the memory from my mind even as it coats my tongue. I do not wish to imagine what he intends to do with her once he singles her out, if he has not done so already ...
However, knowing Hades, I would not be surprised if he intends to make a game out of wearing her down and, eventually, conquering her.
Especiallynow that I realize there are others held prisoner with her whom Hades must know are not the woman he seeks.
My stomach twists within me at the thought, and I am startled at the strangeness of the emotion that accompanies it. Disgust, rage, and worry all seem to mix together as I try not to imagine Hades with the girl.
Forcing this unusual feeling aside, I return my focus to the man.
“I will do everything in my power to get your wife and unborn child home safely to you,” I say. “You have my word.”
“Oh, thank you, Lord Eros. Thank you!”
Leaving the man standing in the hall, I continue on toward the gardens in the hopes of clearing my head as I try to come up with a plan.
Pushing my way through a heavy, flowering vine, I step into a quiet clearing centered around an intricate fountain. Settling onto the stone edge, I am unable to shake the weight that has settled over my shoulders.
Not even the gentle bubbling of the water or the soft floral scent tinting the air seem capable of bringing me any peace. My mind is a tangled mess as it replays the day’s events, not to mention what might be happening to the mortal at this very moment.
I am overcome with shame, humiliated that I was incapable of protecting her from Hades and his men. That she is now trapped within his palace walls with no one to defend her.
I have failed, and I have no idea how to go about saving her.
“Eros?”
Half distracted I turn toward the sound of my name. The soft allure of it is more than enough to suggest that whoever approaches means to seduce me.
Despite the all-too-tempting promise of distraction, I find myself furious at the thought.
No, there is no creature within all the realms that could give me the kind of pleasure I seek right now. Not while the only one I truly desire remains Hades’ captive.
“I have been looking for you,” she purrs. “Come, let us take your mind off your troubles.”
Just the mere thought of what she means by her words has my lip curling up in disgust.
How is it that they care about such things at a time like this? Even as I think this, I realize it was only days ago that I would have acted the same way.
“No,” I tell her, my voice coming out even icier than I had intended it to.
But she does not seem, or perhaps care, to catch on as she presses, “The whole palace is unsettled, my lord. If we cannot return you to a state of pleasure, no one will be able to find satisfaction within these walls. Please, let us show you all that we’ve learned while at your court. My sisters and I are quite experienced now.”
