Psyche grabbed the cue ball and lined it up. "Yes," she said as she took her shot, sending six of the balls into pockets. "I'm a goddess and Eros is a god."
"How did you know-"
"I'm a goddess. I can hear every thought in your head." She smiled at Sunshine while she chalked her tip.
"That's a really uncomfortable fact to know."
"Isn't it, though?" Psyche blew across the tip, set the chalk aside, then knocked three more balls into the pockets. "And because I know what you're thinking, the answer is yes."
"The answer to what?"
"Whether or not Talon loves you."
Sunshine grimaced as Psyche sank the rest of balls on the table. "I don't know. There are times when I get the feeling he can't tell me from Nynia. I think he loves her more than me."
Psyche racked the balls again. "No offense, but that's stupid. You and Talon are soulmates. He will always love you no matter who or what you are. You, my friend, could come back as a humpback whale and he would love you. He can't help it. The two of you are destined for each other."
"Yeah, but-"
"There are no buts, Sunshine." She moved to stand in front of her. "I am the goddess of souls and soulmates. Unlike the other Olympian gods, I know when I see two people who were created for each other. If both you and Talon died tonight and were later reborn at polar ends of the earth, sooner or later the two of you would reunite. That's the schtick with soulmates. Alone you can survive, hell, you can even be with other people, but neither of you will ever be complete without the other." She glanced upstairs where they had left the guys. "You two can fight this all you want. But all you're going to do is make yourselves miserable."
She patted Sunshine's shoulder. "I know you don't believe me. I know it'll take time before you accept it. And that being said, the problem with your relationship isn't whether or not he loves you. It's that he can't afford to even think that thought."
"Why?"
"Because the minute he does, Camulus will kill you. Talon knows that. He will not let himself love you for fear of your dying again."
Sunshine swallowed at her words. Everything kept coming back to that one irritable and irritating Celtic god. "Is there any way to get around Camulus?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe? That's the best you can do?"
"Hey, it's better than no."
True, but still she wanted more hope than that.
"And what about Artemis?" Sunshine asked. "Even if we get past Camulus, what about her?"
Psyche twisted her cue in her hands as she thought about that never-to-be-forgotten fact. "She's tricky. With her you have to negotiate very carefully."
"So it's possible I could talk to her?"
"It's possible."
Sunshine's mind whirled at the thought. Could there really be hope for them?
Talon led Eros into the storeroom and shut the door. Quinn Peltier had soundproofed the room a few decades back to ensure that the Peltiers and other select friends could have emergency privacy if they needed it.
Originally, the room had been planned as a holding place in the event one of them accidentally turned into a bear while the club was occupied, but over time it had come to serve as a convenient place for one of the brothers to take a willing woman should they have an itch that wouldn't wait.
But that was another story.
Talon switched on the dim overhead light and faced Eros. "I need a favor."
"Favor, hell. Didn't you know that I'm supposed to vaporize any Dark-Hunter who gets near me?"
Talon looked at him drolly. "I'll remember that the next time you want to borrow poker money from me without Psyche knowing."