him, grabbing him in my arms and holding onto him tight. Shocked into silence as I held my sobbing nephew, unprepared for the rawness of his emotions to come pouring out of him in this manner.
I shook my head. “Who’s dying, Eros? Who are you talking ab—”
“Psyche. My… my wife.”
Eros (B.C. before the curse)
* * *
I watched the crowd, scanning the faces to make certain my step father Hephaestus would not suddenly appear at the gathering.
I was mother’s eyes and ears. I heard her familiar high pitched laughter, beautiful even while it made me cringe, though never outwardly. To any and all I was mother’s good little soldier. Doing anything and everything she bade me do. My mother was easily the most beautiful woman in all the cosmos, she was also the most spiteful and jealous. I’d seen enough of her dealings with those she felt betrayed her that I had no intention of becoming the next victim on her hit list.
I did not understand her aversion to my stepfather. He was a good man. Maybe not as attractive a man as she felt she deserved, but his heart was pure. I’d never told her so, but I thought she could have done much worse considering the fact that my grandmother’s hatred of her was legendary.
Hephaestus was a hard worker and always had time for me growing up. Even when I’d known anyone else would have kicked me out of their workstation for the constant interruptions, he’d always been patient with me. I’d liked him. I liked him still.
But it was no secret within the pantheon that I was actually the bastard son of Ares. Of whom she was currently draped across. They were reckless in their affair, allowing anyone to see them together. The only person my mother dared hide her proclivities from was grandmother. Hera would have punished her for stepping out on her youngest son in so obvious a manner. Not like my grandmother wasn’t a loose woman herself, rumor had it she and my uncle Poseidon had a thing happening too.
Of course, that was none of my business.
Love was a messy and complicated thing. And I should know, considering I’d caused over half of the topsy turvy matings on Olympus and Earth. All of which I’d done at my mother’s behest.
Mother didn’t out and out tell me that I was to not experience the joys of love. But she’d forbidden me as a young child from finding that love with a female. I could mate as many men as I cared to, for whatever reason that she did not mind. But I was not attracted to men. I could recognize their beauty, considering I was a god of love it only made sense that I would, but I did not arouse for them. No, it was the feminine sex that caught my eye.
And if I did not fear mother’s wrath, I may have tried to see what all the fuss was about, in secret of course. But there wasn’t an affair of the heart that mother didn’t know or see. I could never have gotten away with anything, and at my age now, I no longer cared. I’d been many centuries celibate and no longer cared to know the touch of anything.
“Well… from what I hear Aphrodite might not be the fairest in all the lands anymore.”
Hearing my mother’s name upon the tongue of the most renowned gossip in all of Olympus, I casually swiveled toward Dionysus and Persephone.
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and perpetually youthful, though she was far older than I was she’d yet to mature mentally. She had rich brown hair caught up in a loose flowing bun that was covered in literally hundreds of tiny purple flowers. And eyes the color of wheat in the sunlight. Skin that color of golden umber and a beautifully formed shape that she draped in loose flowing fabric.
I’d always thought her incredibly handsome, but too silly for me to ever respect.
“Yes, well, do not mention the poor child’s name too loudly, Sephone. For we all know what Dite did to that poor Helen girl.”
She snorted and then shrugged and in a terrible attempt at a stage whisper said, “Oh, should I not mention that her name is Psyche and she is one of the daughters of man? A princess no less. And that she has two other sisters, equally as beautiful?”
“Persephone,” Dionysus chided beneath his breath, shaking his head and making a cutting motion across