Chapter XXXVI
Roman
I sat in the control room, sifting through the latest rounds of dates, and watched in horror as that jackhole Jonas butchered my song.
I still couldn’t believe he’d asked me for one. Said it was my duty—as a Cupid—to help him win Demi.
Smug bastard. The way he’d asked, all self-satisfied, it was almost like he knew how deeply I’d come to feel for her.
My god side had protested. Loudly. But it couldn’t deny the request. We were bound to answer the call of love. And I wanted Demi to hear the words I dared not speak.
Just . . . not like this.
Had I known Jonas couldn’t carry a tune to save his life, I would’ve declined. At least I’d given him one of the lesser ballads.
But watching Demi’s face—her tears, her silence—was worse than the screeching. Jealousy burned through me like wildfire.
Wasn’t it just a few days ago that she’d said she was falling for me? Wasn’t it my lips she’d tried to kiss?
And now she was crying over Jonas’s sad excuse for a serenade.
Logically, I knew this was good. That it was the right thing. Demi needed to complete the quest. But I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that Eros had lied to me. That the void inside me wouldn’t be filled by helping her—because helping her meant losing her.
I couldn’t take another second of watching Jonas fawn over her like some lovesick bard. I ripped off my headphones and stormed out of the control room.
Lars, my assistant, was already in the hallway.
“I was just coming to get you,” he said. “A new batch of . . . you know . . . has arrived.”
It sounded illicit. It wasn’t.
Just men. Which somehow sounded worse.
But I was turning over every stone to find Demi’s soulmate.
Some of my siblings were helping—discreetly bringing in demigods who thought they were interviewing for an executive producer role.
Getting them onto the property without anyone noticing was a logistical nightmare. And I hated wiping their memories afterward. It was probably against our laws, but I was more of the mindset to ask for forgiveness rather than permission at this point.
Thankfully, my half-sister Adriana had terrifyingly effective powers. No one knew who her mother was—except our father, and he wasn’t talking.
Still, she was helping me make sure none of these men remembered a thing. Because I had to protect the show. And I had to protect Demi.
At all costs.
“You know what to do.”
Lars nodded. It was his job to make sure I didn’t end up on camera. With his gift for manipulating electricity, he’d been causing just enough “technical difficulties” to keep me invisible. The crew had been scratching their heads over the glitches all week.
I crossed the lobby and spotted Miles and Jazzy near the check-in counter—standing a little too close for coworkers. Jazzy was pawing at him, all smiles and fluttery lashes.
The crew had been buzzing about them for days, but clearly, subtlety wasn’t part of their budding romance.
I gave them a nod.
“Stepping out for some fresh air.”
They barely looked up.
Jazzy waved, all breezy and unbothered. “Have fun.”
I rolled my eyes. Not that I wasn’t happy for them. I was. I considered them both friends. But Demi’s rule book probably had a point about workplace romance. It was awkward as hell for everyone around them.
Lars texted as soon as the coast was clear. I headed straight for the forest.
Demi’s unsuspecting candidates were probably wondering what in the Titans they were doing out here—if this was supposed to be a job interview, it was a strange one.
Not that it mattered. They’d forget soon enough. Unless one of them was the lucky man meant for her.
A quarter mile in, beneath the dense canopy, I found four men standing awkwardly among the trees. Adriana and my brother Cai flanked them, both shaking their heads at me. They were willing to help, but they thought I was insane.
They might be right. I’d never felt so out of control in my life. A war raged inside me—me versus my god side. The ache for Demi was constant, gnawing. I’d lost count of how many times I’d nearly gone to her. But I didn’t want to be that man. Selfish. Unbridled.
“Hello, thank you for coming,” I said, as if this were just another round of interviews.
Each handshake triggered the Cupid inside me, scanning for the thread that might lead to Demi’s heart.
And with every touch, I found myself praying he was the one—and praying he wasn’t. All of me recoiled at the thought of them touching her.
By the time I reached the last man, I already knew. I sighed, loud and tired.
“Sorry to have wasted your time.”
The men glanced around, confused—like they’d just been tricked. That’s when Adriana stepped in. With a flick of her hand and a whisper, their eyes glazed over. Seconds later, they were smiling like they’d just nailed their interviews.
“Thank you,” I said to Adriana and Cai. “Any leads on who Demi might’ve fallen in love with?”
I was still chasing that mystery.
She’d clearly made contact with him—and she was upset it wasn’t working out.
Or was she?
The way she’d acted on her date with Jonas had thrown me off completely.
Adriana flipped her golden hair, strands shimmering like they’d been spun from sunlight. For all I knew, they had been.
“Nothing on my end.”
“I’m still looking, brother,” Cai said, patting my arm.
He was older than me by centuries but looked just as young—maybe younger, thanks to his eternally smooth face.
Both he and Adriana were purebred gods. Not a drop of mortal blood among them.
“I really appreciate all your help.”
A look passed between my siblings.
“What?” I asked.
Adriana smirked. “We just fear you’ve gone mad, little brother.”
I dragged a hand through my hair. “You might not be wrong.”
“Why all the trouble for this woman?” Cai asked.
I almost said, “Because I promised her and her father.” But that wasn’t it. Not really. Flashes of Demi filled my mind.
The first time I saw her on TV when I was a teenager.
Our runs where we’d shared our secrets with each other.
Her voice reading to my daughter.
Her laughter while baking cookies.
The way every cast member leaned toward her, drawn in by her warmth.
The way she offered consolation, encouragement, healing—because she knew exactly what their hearts longed for.
Someone as rare, as beautiful inside and out, as she was deserved her heart back. Deserved true love.
“She’s special” was all I could manage.
“You love her,” Adriana said as a statement, not a question.
I shook my head too quickly, too hard. I couldn’t be in love with her. Yes, I cared for her. Desired her. But . . .
“That would be foolish.”
Adriana took my hand before I could stop her. Her power slid into me like a blade, reading my heart.
“Then you are a fool, brother. A fool who doesn’t even know his own heart. Stop fighting it—or it will drive you mad.”
I ripped my hand away, breathing unsteadily, shaken by her revelation.
“I can’t love her. She’s meant for another. Her true love.”
Adriana’s golden eyes softened, pitying me. “Brother, your love is true. I can feel it.”
“If only that were enough,” I whispered, the words tasting like ash. I forced myself to straighten, to sound composed. “Thank you both again for all your help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I strode off but not before I could hear Cai say, “I don’t think we will be able to help him find who he is looking for.”
His words stung like a harsh truth, but for her I would leave no stone unturned.