Epilogue #3
Erebos frowned, unsettled by his intention.
He’d come scouting for a potential playmate.
Someone to worship him, who he might lust after but he hadn’t anticipated how their emotion might make him feel.
Surprised at how her sadness had touched him, he found that he wanted to be close to her, to soothe away some of her tensions, and to offer her consolation.
He didn’t know why, having never met laid eyes on the woman before, but having responded to her call, he suddenly had no desire to leave her side.
He wanted to know more about her, to discover who she was and who she mourned for.
She’d mentioned ‘Stuart’, and whoever he’d been to her, she was clearly struggling with his loss.
Maybe, he supposed, that was inevitable.
Death, for mortals, was a predictable part of life, but he had seen its cold shadow cast for long enough to know it often hit humans hard.
While they comprehended its inevitability, a lot feared its frozen touch.
From what he witnessed from the raven beauty, it seemed more taxing for those who were left behind.
Musing on the riddle, his focus returned to her. Whatever the reason he felt so drawn to her, one thing was for certain, he wouldn’t leave until he knew she was less troubled. The last thing he wanted to see was her wistful face on the way to Hades’ territory the next time he took his place there.
Whoever she was, he wanted her alive.
“It’s okay, little raven.” His lips curled as the impromptu pet name.
Inspired by the shiny black color of her tresses, the description seemed to suit her.
Few else would have been able to see the glossy strands in the darkness, but Erebos’ eyes were well acclimatized to the hue and its silky quality awed him.
He longed to reach out and touch it, but for some reason, he held back, as though he feared getting even closer to her. “All is well, and all shall be well.”
He placed emphasis on the final few words, and she moaned softly at his prophecy, although surely, she hadn’t heard him. More likely, she was day dreaming, focusing on a vivid picture of happier times. He liked the sound that came from her lips, though, and he hoped to hear more like it.
“Sleep now.” He didn’t know why he commanded the feat, but much though he’d been attracted to her anguished pleas, he had little will to watch her suffer.
His little raven was overwrought, distraught and probably wrung out and he recognized that, unlike the gods, humans benefitted from such rest. “See what the light brings.”
He paused, disconcerted at how he’d referred to her—a mortal whose name he didn’t even yet know—who he’d called his.
But that couldn’t be right.
He’d come searching for something, but it was far too soon to reach conclusions about anyone belonging to him.
He needed to speak with her, although he still wasn’t sure how he could introduce himself to a creature as delicate as she was without inadvertently causing her some harm.
She looked to diminutive beneath him, as though one puff of wind could have pushed her from the bed.
Shaking his head, he considered withdrawing and leaving her to rest, yet still, he couldn’t convince himself to leave.
It was as if the human had a power all of her own, a hypnotic pull that had captivated him and was keeping him embedded to her presence.
Forcing himself to his feet, he landed by the side of her head, scanning her body for any sign of how she was achieving the goal.
She was attractive, and though he couldn’t see the body she was hiding beneath the covers, he was willing to wager he would find it enticing, but her temptation was something greater than her physical allure.
He had seen charming-looking humans before.
Even the dead still held appeal in those initial hours after life had slipped from their veins, but never had he wanted to get under their skin the way he did with the raven.
Gazing down at her glorious form, he couldn’t say what her special attraction was, he merely felt it there, stiffening in his core like a spring being wound tighter and tighter.
Something about her had called to him. That was why he’d come, and until he was satisfied that he understood the magnetism, he resolved to stay.
As though the human in the bed beside him recognized his decision, she let out a long breath and turned to snuggle in his direction.