Page 28 of Touch of Death
“Show her to me,” Eros demands, stepping closer. “I must know who this creature is that has Death himself wrapped around her finger.”
“Do not force me to remind you of your place, Eros,” I growl, even as Persephone’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head at me. “Ido not have to bend to the will of lesser gods.”
Eros ignores me as he takes another step closer, his eyes never leaving mine. A self-satisfied smirk breaks across his face as he seems to enjoy taunting me.
“I think you have forgotten, Death,” he says, “this is currentlymydomain. Making me no lesser of a god than you, or has it really been that long since you were last here?”
“What are you talking about?”
Eros pauses, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“Persephone, did you not tell him?”
“Tell me what?” I ask, glancing between them.
“I must admit, I was surprised when you walked through my doors,” he says, my eyes narrowing on him. “Hades was none too pleased after your last visit to the city, and we have all paid dearly because of it.”
“What Hades does here is none of my concern.”
“Oh, but it is,” Eros scoffs, “because, you see, he made a deal with the Fates.” A sudden pit forms in my stomach at this, but I do not allow myself to react as I wait for him to continue. “A deal in which, within the walls of Aglaia,youare no longer the most powerful being … and withinthesewalls,Iam your god.”
Eros snaps his fingers, and two large beasts suddenly stalk forward to grab me before I have a chance to react. They drag me aside, leaving Hazel exposed to the God of Lust.
“Eros! What is the meaning of this?” I shout, struggling against the grip of the creatures holding me, but to seemingly no avail.
“Death,” Hazel cries out just as Eros closes the distance between them and reaches for her.
“No!” I roar, my heart stopping in my chest as his fingertips brush against her skin, and her body stills as she immediately turns to him.
Fear tears its way through me as I wait for any sign that his power has taken hold of her. That he has managed to steal her from me with a single touch.
But her expression remains unreadable, her body unmoving as Eros’ hands slowly trace the features of her face.
Jealousy twists at my gut as I watch, and then I see it.
However, instead of Hazel, it is Eros who changes.
His hands still cupped to her face; he blinks. In an instant, his demeanor changes as he glances over at me. I watch as he tries to mask it, but it is already too late.
He is taken with her.
Reflected back at me is an emotion I have come to know far too well, and there is nothing I can do to change it.
Eros is falling for her … if he has not already. With nothing more than a single touch, I know that he has become intimate with her soul and the depths of her being … and my heart shatters at the realization that I may no longer be the only one here who loves her.
And yet, I am the only one who cannot give her the affection she so greatly deserves.
The only one who cannot touch her.
13
Hazel
Up close, Eros is even more striking than I thought.
His face is all sharp angles, only softened by the slight upward turn of his lips; his eyes, framed in thick white lashes, soul-piercing in their paleness. Despite the near translucence of his skin, I can see a smattering of silver freckles across his cheeks and nose, matching the heavy rings adorning his fingers as he leans closer in.
His robes drape over his body, tied loosely at the waist as if they might slip from his shoulders at any moment. Somehow, they manage to reveal just enough of his form to leave you thirsting to see what lies beneath.
