He nodded.
"Have you ever met her?"
"Just the one time when she came to bargain with me for my soul. She met me in the nether region where a soul gets trapped after it leaves this world, but has yet to travel to the next."
"You haven't seen her since?"
He shook his head. "We're not allowed to have contact with the gods. They see us as an abomination."
"But what about Eros?"
He took a deep breath and felt a twinge of humor at the thought of the fun-loving, irreverent god of love. "He's a little different. For some reason, he likes hanging out with us."
Sunshine considered his words as they finished dinner. Poor Talon. He had been through so much pain. So much grief.
To some extent it bothered her that he was still confusing her with Nynia. They might share a soul, but ultimately, they were two entirely different people.
Not that it really mattered. So long as he was bound to Artemis and cursed by Camulus, he could never be free. He could never have a future.
While she'd talked to Psyche, the goddess had told her how to summon Artemis.
Sunshine really wanted to have a nice chitchat with that goddess and see if maybe Talon could earn his freedom again. If she accomplished that, then maybe they could do something to stop Camulus as well.
After they paid for dinner, they left the restaurant and headed for her father's club.
Sunshine didn't know why Talon wanted to take her home, but she snuck them in unnoticed so that they could have a little more time alone.
Talon led her to the dance floor.
Sunshine had never realized before just how hot a man could be when he danced. Personally, she'd always thought most men looked rather goofy.
But not Talon. He was the sexiest thing she'd ever seen in her life.
When the song ended, Talon urged her to introduce him to her father and brother. They were sitting nearby, going over paperwork and accounting stats for the club while Wayne helped them.
"Hi, Daddy, Storm, and Wayne."
They looked up and smiled until they saw Talon behind her.
"Sunshine, are you all right?" her father asked.
"I'm fine. I just wanted you to meet Talon. Talon, my father, Daniel Runningwolf."
Talon offered his hand, but her father declined.
"I'm a shaman and can't touch you."
Talon nodded at him with a look that said he understood. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking." Wayne excused himself.
After he left, her father's dark brown eyes glittered harshly as he swept his gaze to Sunshine. "Starla didn't tell me your boyfriend was soulless, kitten."
"She probably thought you'd flip out. Are you?"
"Yes."
Sunshine quickly sought to change the subject. "How's Mom, by the way?"
"She's fine. What about you?"
"I'm fine, Daddy. Don't worry."
"I'm your father, Sunshine. Worrying about you is my full-time occupation."
She smiled at him. "And you do it very well."
Still, he looked less than appeased.
Talon stepped forward. "Daniel, could I have a word with you?"
Sunshine frowned at the ominous note in Talon's voice. Her father's eyes narrowed even more before he nodded subtly. "Sunshine, stay with Storm."
She watched as the two of them drifted off and a wave of terror crashed over her. Something was definitely wrong.
Talon led her father to another corner of the bar. He glanced over to Sunshine and his heart wrenched.
"What is it you want with me?" Daniel asked.
"Look, I know you don't like me."
"Don't like you? You're a soulless killer. Granted, you do it protectively, but it doesn't change the basic fact that you are no longer human."
"I know that. It's why we're here. I'm going to release Sunshine into your protection tonight. There are some people who are out to harm her and I would really appreciate it if you watched out for her. I'll be staying nearby, out of sight, until after tomorrow night just in case the thing after her tries to take her again."
"From what my wife tells me, Sunshine won't let you leave her voluntarily."
"In another four minutes, she won't ever want to lay eyes on me again. I promise you."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
Talon cleared his throat as he glanced to the large Budweiser clock on the wall over the bar.
Their time was almost up.
Damn you, Fates.
"Nothing," he said quietly. "Just take my word for it, your daughter is yours."
Daniel nodded.
As Talon walked back to Sunshine, his entire being ached. He couldn't stand the thought of what Eros was about to do. It cut him on a level so deep it was unfathomable.
But it had to be done.
They couldn't be together. It was foolish to think otherwise.
He had to do this to save her life.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Eros appearing in god-form. Invisible to humans, the god of love was easily discernible to Talon's Dark-Hunter senses.
"You sure?" Eros's voice echoed in his head.
Talon leaned over, kissed Sunshine gently on the lips, and then nodded.
He held her face in his hands, and stared at her brown eyes, waiting for the moment when they would turn dark with hatred. Waiting for her to stiffen and curse him.
Eros raised his bow up and shot it straight into Sunshine.
Talon swallowed as painful expectation tore through him.
Goodbye, my love.
She grimaced at him. "Ow! Talon, did you hit me?"
He shook his head and waited for the hatred to come into her eyes.
It didn't.
Seconds ticked by slowly as her frown deepened.
"I don't feel right." She rubbed her heart where Eros had shot her.
Then, amazingly, she looked up and focused her gaze on Eros. "Cupid?"
Eros looked around nervously. "You can see me?"
"Well, yeah," she said.
Eros shifted and looked a bit green.
Talon frowned as a bad feeling went through him. "What happened, Eros? Why doesn't she hate me?"
Eros looked even more uncomfortable. "You two wouldn't happen to be soulmates, would you?"
"Yes," Sunshine answered. "Psyche said we were."
Eros gave a sheepish grin. "Oops. I think I need to have a talk with my wife. Damn, she should have told me."
"Oops?" Talon repeated. "Eros, oops better not be in your vocabulary."
Eros cleared his throat. "No one told me you two were soulmates. See, this"-he held up his bow-"only works on lust and infatuation. Soulmates are a whole 'nother ball game. That kind of love, I can't kill. Nothing can."