So fucking busy hating herself that by the time I've stabbed her just below the collarbone, it's too late—-
A beast with white-as-snow fur crashes down on the car's front hood.
Eros!
But before either the god or I can do anything else, Cen yanks the knife out of her body and mutters a curse just as she stabs herself in the heart.
The beast disappears from view, and the door on my side flies open as invisible arms pull me out of the car.
ARE YOU HURT?
I can't even speak. I can only shake my head, my mind still grappling with the amount of insanity and hatred festering inside of Cen.
I didn't mean to kill her...
My body starts to shake until I'm trembling violently despite the god's tight embrace.
But she killed herself.
She killed herself, and I heard her.
I heard what she said!
Halyna—-
The moment I start to cry, I feel as if I'll never be able to stop. So much death. So many fucking lives that didn't have to be lost, and it's all because of one girl who hated herself so much she couldn't bear seeing someone else's happiness.
And even with her last dying breath, Cen refused to stop hating, and the memory makes my knees crumple—-
I heard her, Eros! I heard her—-
Eros catches me in his arms, and I sag against his chest.
It's over now, moraki mou. She's dead—-
You're not listening to me!
I told you I heard her.
I heard her curse.
I feel the god stiffen, and this time I know I have his attention.
Tell me.
She gave up her life, so she could take my happiness away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Eros is not the bomb during emergencies. He berates me for letting myself get hurt, but then he pulls me in an invisible embrace so tight my ribs threaten to crack. When he whisks me back into his mist-hidden cabin, and he sees me turn a little green, he tells me I deserve it...but a second later, he's also pressing his hand against my stomach, and my nausea disappears like a forgotten bad dream.
The rest of the Erotes materialize into view just as Eros is threatening to have me expelled from Rosethorne if I display this kind of idiocy again, but then he sweeps me up in his unseen arms and the other gods start to smirk as they "hear" him growling in my mind about handcuffing me to him for eternity.
It's Eros like I've never experienced before, and I'm not sure whether I should feel cherished or concerned. He's normally cool as hell, but now he's turned into a god completely shorn of composure, and I'm wondering if perhaps he's momentarily lost his divine mind?
Stand still.
The god gently lowers me to my feet once we're inside his bedroom, which now feels a little crowded with his tall, dark and deadly brothers also taking up space.
I'm going to heal—-
I quickly jump back and clench my teeth as several parts of my body protest at the sudden movement. I don't want the god to know I'm hurt, but apparently—-
Stop hurting yourself, dammit!
He already knows, and since I still can't see him, all I can do is hurriedly cover my painfully broken nose before he can heal it with his touch. "It might compromise the investigation—-" I break off when I see Erma shake his head, but it's Himeros who takes over to explain.
"Rosethorne is under divine jurisdiction," he says gently. "There will be no investigation, but we will reveal what is necessary to reveal for justice to be delivered."
A part of me realizes I should have expected this, and while that part of me also knows it's better this way for everyone—-
I just feel overwhelmed all of a sudden, and I don't even realize I've started to sway on my feet until I'm suddenly back in the god's arms, and I sense the pain in his voice as his words unroll in my mind.
Let me heal you now, moraki mou.
Please.
My heart wrenches with sudden guilt. I've been so lost in my own thoughts that I failed to realize how I'm not the only one hurting from my injuries, and I've barely started to nod when I feel the god's feather-soft touch all over my body.
Mere seconds are all it takes, and I throw myself at him as soon as he's done. "Thank you," I whisper.
You're not out of the woods yet, little bird.
Both the grimness of his tone and his words come as a surprise to me, but before I can even ask, the god has already magicked me into his bed, and I find myself being tucked under the covers.
"Uh..."
Erma walks up to me and gives my hand several comforting pats. "Just let big brother work this out of his system. You're the first human he's spent a considerable length of time with," he explains, "and you've just given him his first big scare—-" Erma breaks off as invisible fingers snatch my hand out of his hold, and I see all three of Eros' brothers snickering when my hand is tucked under the covers...which are afterwards pulled all the way up to my neck.