Chapter 1 #3
Eros flicked his fingers. The flames vanished instantly, snuffed out as though they had never existed.
“You could have hurt my mate,” he said, voice dangerously calm. “I should send you to the depths of the Underworld for that.”
The Drakkon cracked his knuckles, sparking embers between them. “Oh yeah? How about I burn you to a crisp again, Lord Eros?”
Eros clicked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk. You’re still mad about that?”
“What the hell is going on?” Perseus demanded.
Zara felt it before anyone spoke, the spike of emotion, sharp and overwhelming, pressing against her ribcage like it wanted out.
Her empathic senses surged to the surface with a force she couldn’t hold back.
The energy in the room was a churning storm: fury, confusion, fear, old grudges…
and something achingly hollow beneath it all.
It was too much. Too loud. Her control slipped.
“He is angry. Disappointed.”
The words tumbled out before she could stop them. Perseus shot her a warning look, lifting a hand as if to tell her to stand down, but Medusa gently pressed her palm to his arm, halting him.
“Melancholic,” Zara added, voice tight. “And…lonely.”
The Drakkon’s head snapped toward her, his massive shoulders drooping as though her words struck somewhere deep. “Stop.”
“I’m sorry.” Zara sucked in a shaky breath. “Sometimes…sometimes I can’t control it.”
Perseus dragged a hand down his face. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Psyche said suddenly, stepping forward. “You’re the one who burned Eros at Artemis and Cade’s gender reveal.”
The Drakkon’s jaw dropped open. “He told you about that?”
“Yes, of course he did,” she said with a small huff. “We don’t hide anything from each other. We’re fated mates, after all.”
“Mates?” That word seemed to detonate something in him. His fists curled, muscles bunching. “You have a mate? There is no justice in this world!” He threw a fist dramatically toward the ceiling.
“Wow, he’s kinda extra, isn’t he?” Medusa whispered to Perseus.
“Not surprised, when Eros is involved.” Perseus cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Mr. Drakkon—”
“It’s Hektor,” the massive dragon-being grumbled. “Just Hektor.”
Zara watched him, feeling the ache of heartbreak leaking through his aura. Hopeless romantic. And despite the destruction, the drama, the overwhelming feelings battering her shield…something about that tugged at her.
“Hektor,” Perseus said, slipping into full diplomat mode. “What is it that you want from Eros? What did he do, and how can he make it right?”
“He cannot undo what he has done,” Hektor wailed. “Because of him, I have lost the chance to have a mate.”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Eros cut in, folding his arms. “It was one woman.”
“One woman whom you shot with one of your cursed arrows so she would fall in love with someone else!” Hektor hissed, his scales rippling with heat. “Eleonora should have been mine.”
Perseus blinked. “Is this true?”
Eros sighed, his mouth flattening. “Unfortunately, yes. I did…some terrible things in the past, sometimes just for mere amusement because I was bored. Or maybe I was angry at my own circumstances.”
“We all have a past,” Psyche said gently. “What’s important is that we do better once we correct our course.”
“Quite right, darling.” Eros cleared his throat and faced the Drakkon. “Forgive me, Hektor. It was wrong of me to do that.”
“It was,” Hektor grumbled. “You cost me the love of my life. And now I am condemned to walk this world alone! Forever mourning what we could have been. I will never find another, and I am doomed to an eternity of solitude.”
Zara’s eyelid twitched. Wow. He really is a romantic drama hurricane in humanoid form.
Eros only sighed and shook his head. “Really? Let me tell you a little secret, Hektor. My arrows don’t work the way people think.”
Hektor stiffened. “They don’t?”
“No. They can redirect your affection to the first person you see…but only if your heart is truly free. If Eleonora had loved you, she wouldn’t have been turned by those arrows. The effect would only be temporary.”
“I…” Hektor’s face crumpled, his jaw slackening. “So, she never…”
“No,” Eros said softly. “She never loved you. And I’m sorry. I truly am. No one understands that pain more than I.”
Hektor swallowed hard, a wounded sound leaving him. “I always thought…”
Zara could still feel Hektor’s emotions rolling off him in waves: despair, longing, bitterness so old it tasted like ash. Underneath it all, though, was a softness she hadn’t expected. A hopeless romantic streak that wrapped itself around his grief like ivy. Oddly…it appealed to her.
“Forget about her, Hektor,” said Eros.
Zara watched with cautious fascination as Eros stepped closer, offering a surprisingly gentle pat to the Drakkon’s shoulder. He approached the Drakkon with the same casual confidence one might use for a mildly upset housecat, never mind that Hektor could melt steel with a sigh.
“I know it feels like you’re never going to get over her. But you know what helps?”
Hektor sniffed, massive chest shuddering. “What?”
“Having a purpose,” Eros said brightly. “Tell me, Hektor, what do you do back in the Drakkon citadel?”
“Well, uh…I’m an enforcer.”
“Do you like it?”
Hektor lifted a clawed hand and wobbled it. “It’s okay. Just boring sometimes.”
“Excellent!” Eros beamed. “Because our team is recruiting.”
Perseus made a faint choking sound. Medusa muttered something that sounded suspiciously like Absolutely not, while Psyche seemed to be suppressing a laugh.
But Zara? Her pulse kicked.
A Drakkon on their team? One who radiated sincerity and emotion like a lighthouse beacon? Who had enough raw power to tear down the building but also enough heart to mourn a lost crush?
Her instincts pinged with bright, eager excitement.
A Drakkon.
A potential teammate.
And maybe…someone who desperately needed a purpose, and a place.
Zara felt a smile tug at her lips before she could stop it.
“You are?” Hektor rumbled, glancing around like a startled dragon shoved into a boutique. “What is this place?”
“A very special place,” Eros replied, his grin both mischievous and angelic. Zara had seen that smile enough times to know it meant trouble, or recruitment. Possibly both. “If you come work for us, you’ll be able to travel, do good in the world. Find purpose. Women love that.”
Hektor blinked. “They do?”
“Of course,” Eros said breezily. “And if you put yourself out there, who knows, maybe you’ll meet the one.” He looped his arm through the Drakkon’s massive, scaled elbow as if it were nothing. “What do you say?”
“I guess…”
“Great!” And with that, Eros dragged an utterly bewildered Hektor toward what remained of the doorway. “I’ll tell you more about what we’re doing here.…”
Zara watched them disappear down the hall, Hektor ducking to avoid the smoking, broken frame.
Perseus let out a long breath. “Of course, Eros just recruited the guy who tried to kill him.”
Medusa shrugged. “Hey, a Drakkon would be a great addition to the team. Aside from breathing fire, they’re strong and intimidating.” She turned to Zara. “What do you think?”
“Wh-what?” Zara jerked, as if waking from a trance. She hadn’t realized she’d been staring after Hektor, or that her pulse had been doing something annoyingly floaty. “Um, yeah.”
Her cheeks warmed, and she stumbled over her words. “Sure…I should, uh, go and see if Hek—er, L-Lord Eros needs me.”
She didn’t wait for their responses.
Instead, she hurried out the door, hoping no one had noticed how flustered she suddenly was.