Page 113 of The Queen & the King

IFIDDLE WITH THE CUFFS OF MY SUIT,cursing when I can’t get them right. It slips again, and I am about to summon my shadows and let them do it for me when a slightly amused voice calls from the doorway.

“It almost looks like you’re nervous.”

I frown as I turn to catch sight of Eros. He is leaning against the doorframe, the arrow he is twirling through his fingers a golden blur.

My eyes narrow. “I don’t recall you having an invitation to the Underworld.”

Eros’s lips twitch into a knowing smile. “Love finds a way.”

I grind my teeth. Of course, Eros has a way to slip past any defenses. Anywhere there is love, there is Eros. He is such a fucking pain in my ass. I give up on the cuff for the moment and lower my hands, taking in the younger god. He is…dirty.I can’t remember ever seeing the God of Love looking anything other than immaculate. From his hair to his clothes, he is always pristine, but now, his eyes are a little tired, the sky-blue tinged with exhaustion, and what looks like dirt is smeared on his neck.

Eros straightens, catching the arrow and tucking it back into his quiver. His golden bow is still slung on his back. That is the other thing about the God of Love that perplexes me. He is always armed. He turns away from me, and there’s a tug in my chest. My eyes lock on the newest arrows in his quiver, midnight black ones with unique fletching. Something is calling to me. No, not to me, to my power.

My breath catches when I realize these are Void arrows.I reach out to take one from Eros’s quiver, but he spins on his heel, catching my hand before I can touch it. His eyes are cold. Instead of the warm blue of the sky, they’re the frigid cold of deep ice.

He stares at me, and the truth settles on my shoulders. Unease ripples through me, and I whisper, “You’re the emissary. The one that the Gods of Destiny spoke of.”

Eros’s eyes flash before the irreverent mask settles over his face again. “You must be more nervous than I thought if you’re inventing things like that.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “Why are you here, Eros?”

Eros smiles, but it’s forced. “To give my blessing, of course.”

I blink, then blink again. “I… Thank you,” I grit out, “for buying Persephone time. I am in your debt.”

“The God of the Dead in my debt. How fortuitous,” Eros hums, glancing around.

“Your mother gave her blessing,” I say, watching him carefully. “You didn’t have to come to give it yourself.”

“Didn’t I?”

A knock on the door draws my attention, and I look away for only a second. “One second!” I call out.

I turn back to face Eros, frowning when I see the God of Love has vanished, leaving a single white feather on the ground behind. I glare at the feather. Why did it feel like the conversation we just had was not the conversation wetrulyhad?It’s as if each word was laden with implication, a secret meaning I was unaware of, a code only Eros knew.

“Come in!” I shout to the door, unsurprised when the Titan of the Sun stands there. He is still glowing. He has been glowing since the end of the battle, and it gets brighter whenever Melinoë is within his reach. Sometimes, the glow of his skin becomes almost blinding.

Helios glides forward and fixes my cufflinks for me. “You’re not ready yet?”

“I was getting ready,” I growl.

Helios snickers. “You getting cold feet?”

I yank my cuffs away from him, summoning my shadows to fix the cufflinks. “Of course not. I was speaking with Eros.”

Helios looks around the empty room, raising a skeptical brow. “You were?”

Fuck. I sound insane.

“I’m surprised you came to check on me. I expected you to be holed up somewhere with my adopted daughter, doing… whatever it is you two do.”

Helios smiles slowly. “She wanted time to catch up with P, plus it gives me the opportunity to get you alone.”

I pick up my suit coat and pull it on. “I miss the days you were scared to be in the same room as me.”

Helios laughs and looks in the mirror, making sure his own suit is in line. “I’m going to marry her.”

My brain stops functioning for a moment. Hecannotbe talking about Melinoë. Melinoë and marriage? The only thing the Goddess of Nightmares is married to is carnage.

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