Chapter 18
Shadow
As the sun softly began to caress each corner of Olympus, Shadow knew it was time to watch over his favorite subjects—Charisma Sinclair and the God of Love.
He was proud that she had finally listened to his simple orders.
He was satisfied they had spent two nights together as he had carefully instructed her.
Even though he was skeptical that she wouldn’t accomplish the task, she surpassed his expectations and once again demonstrated her capabilities to him.
Striding closer to the alley where the imposing God of Love’s house was located, Shadow observed the details surrounding it.
The curiosity grew stronger inside his void as he glided inside the house through the nearest wall.
His attention drifted from one corner to the other as he emerged on the stairs, aware of where he would find the god’s master bedroom.
Shadow would’ve loved to see the mortal’s reaction when she found out that the God of Love had solely one bed in the entire house. That was part of the story he didn’t bother to mention to her.
Once he got past the door of the bedroom, he caught a glimpse of the god.
The moment Eros got up from the bed, he furrowed his brows as he noticed that there was only him among the soft sheets.
His face softened when he closed his eyes, probably remembering the moment when he veyrithed his mortal to the trials.
His attire consisted solely of a pair of short pants which served to cover his posterior and his manhood with a significant part of his thighs left exposed, while his exquisitely sculpted chest and his muscular back were completely visible for all to see.
Shadow wandered closer to the window, where his scent could not be so easily perceived. Although, Eros raised his gaze up to the exact spot where he was lingering into, as if he knew that he was there.
“By what means did you achieve liberation?” Eros’s voice dropped, and his eyelids narrowed as he asked.
Already noticing my presence and talking to me? How remarkably attentive to your surroundings.
However, the moment he stood up from the bed and took a step toward the spot where Shadow was, a familiar voice echoed through the house. “I’m coooomminggg,” the goddess sing-songed, her footsteps creating a rhythm on the stairs. “You better not be between a pair of legs, you menace.”
A barely perceptible noise escaped Ero’s mouth as his teeth ground together and his jaw became rigid.
I am in your best friend’s debt for having stopped your boring questions.
It was the sound of Artemis’s approach that prompted him to pick up the linen shirt from the chair and put it on, breaking through the thoughts that came after him. As he stepped past the bed, the door of his room opened. Artemis walked in with a contagious smile resting on her face.
She halted, then burst out laughing as she assessed his appearance.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He briefly interrupted her, fastening a button on his shirt. “I would characterize it as great effort, given that I slept in what humans refer to as boxers.”
He sought to impress my dearest mortal with an article of human clothing. That was quite thoughtful of him.
She cocked a brow at him, letting her gaze fall on his legs and pressing her lips together as she fought the urge to laugh at him. Again. “Why would you be wearing those? Didn’t you say that less clothing improves sleep quality?”
“I have, and I appreciate the reminder,” he replied, offering her a smile that was neither sincere nor kind, but laced with an amused irony.
“In such circumstances, when sharing a bed with a mortal who is unwilling and uncomfortable with a naked god, it is crucial to prioritize their needs and enhance their comfort. I shall be honest with you—these are not that bad, most notably—”
“Hold on,” she chimed in, narrowing her eyes at him. “Are you telling me you’ve slept with a mortal? It’s impossible unless you’ve slept with one of the errors,” she added, cutting him off. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, she glided to him, eyes wide.
“That is correct,” he answered, a smirk forming on his face.
“Was it the girl with blue hair? I must admit, she doesn’t strike me as your type,” Artemis said as she noticed something changing in Eros’s expression. “It was Charisma, wasn’t it? I knew you had a thing for redheads.”
“That is indeed correct, it was her. However, refrain from entertaining sinful thoughts. This was not the case. Rather, it was yet another of Zeus’s games.
I am willing to cooperate for now while I gather additional information, although I am uncertain of the reason for his specific focus on this mortal,” he explained, threading his fingers through the golden strands of his hair.
“But following our overnight interaction, a specific instance prompted me to fall on my thoughts.”
Her eyes twinkled with a mix of delight and disbelief, a sincere smile tugging at the corner of her lips, even though she pressed them into a straight line just enough to keep her excitement in control. “Okay. What happened?”
Eros, with a slight lean, reached across his desk and retrieved the paper which had been persistently sitting there. Shadow became a little more curious, so he moved closer, and then he realized that it was a list of objects, or perhaps a series of settings.
“Upon awakening in the night, she was in a trance-like state, visibly confused and perspiring. I attempted to dissuade her, and she indicated that she had been envisioning this since her arrival. She mentioned she had not been a dreamer before coming here, and she began writing down all these things when she woke up,” he explained as he handed the paper to the goddess.
Charisma Sinclair had confided in the God of Love regarding the dreams—or nightmares—that kept her awake.
They might advance more quickly than I have foreseen.
Artemis’s expression turned stern as she examined the paper. Her lips briefly opened, and her eyes turned toward Eros, with a momentary sparkle in them.
Are you perhaps privy to any information concerning Charisma’s nightmares?
“Did she tell you more about this dream?” Her question came as she let her eyes fall back on Charisma’s words.
“She persisted in her description of a sunlit room that was surrounded by glass walls,” he said, his eyes narrowing with each word he spoke as he vividly remembered what the mortal had told him.
Remaining silent for a few more moments, Artemis eventually broke the silence as she spoke and placed the paper back on the desk. “You, more than anyone, should understand that humans experience vivid dreams in Elythra. It shouldn’t worry you.”
The God faintly nodded with a movement of his head, not rising his eyes to his best friend. He kept looking at the same spot as he continued to process the thoughts that were emerging from the depths of his mind.
“Why is it that you’re so concerned? It was just a dream.”
“On another note, what is the reason of your presence? You wouldn’t wake up so early if it was not something of great importance to discuss.”
She stood from the chair, a playful and challenging pout on her face as she looked up at him and then walked toward the clock hung on the wall. “Yes, that’s true, and I’ll tell you as soon as you admit that you finally found someone who made you want to open your heart again.”
Eros’s jaw ticked. “There is no such thing to admit. I made a vow.”
“Oh, hush.” She made a gesture with her hand and came to sit down next to him. Artemis’s palm rested on his knee. “You don’t have to punish yourself, Eros. You are allowed to love.”
“Cease this conversation and proceed with telling me about the reason for your visit. I am not interested in love. Please, do not insist on this matter.”
Artemis cleared her throat. “Athena has reached out to the Deathbounds, and she now has that cursed book in her possession,” she said, her face tightening and eyes narrowing with a sharp, assessing disapproval.
Fascinating.
Their plan has ultimately entered the implementation phase.
“Is she well?” he asked as he took out a pair of linen pants and slid them on.
As she inched to him, she sighed and pursed her lips in contemplation. “She mentioned that she was currently dealing with the worst migraines of her life after trying to decipher that book, even though she says she feels capable of dealing with them.”
With a small scoff, Eros began buttoning his shirt and then he proceeded to run his fingers through his hair, attempting to tame the unruly strands that were causing an itch on his forehead. “There is always a price to be paid for summoning such beings.”
Artemis nodded. “She said she doesn’t want my help and that she’ll keep us posted about her progress.”
That is so characteristic of Athena.
She had always had a strong preference for working on tasks independently, consistently avoiding assistance from others, yet Shadow had his doubts regarding the book she had to decipher on her own.
Given the difficulty of discovering the sole method to eliminate a god like Zeus, there was a small probability of her not successfully finding the solution for this. However, Shadow was beyond interested in watching all of them attempt to complete this plan.
“This endeavor will be accomplished, without a doubt,” he said, resting his hands on his hips.
What are the reasons of your certainty?
“We’ll make it happen,” Artemis bit her lip, her fingers curling on the dagger tucked inside the strap around her waist. “We can’t go on like this.
He’s destroying the peace we fought so hard to establish.
Everyone noticed the decline in his mental state.
” She took a deep breath, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“History will not repeat itself, Eros. It can’t, it will destroy us all. ”
Shadow did in fact take notice of Zeus’s behavior, and the strange undertakings that he was involved in as well.
The potential fallout was unfathomable should the two gods before him learn of Zeus’s secret intrigues, or, even more dire, if they uncovered evidence that one of their own had likely been in league with Zeus in secret.
My dear gods, you are traversing paths that are absolutely fascinating to witness. Yet, what consequence will emerge as all of these many paths will eventually come together and cross each other at a particular point?
It is indeed a wonderful phenomenon, and I will be there to see it all happen.