Page 67 of Desired By Eros

“Not helpful,” Eros muttered before turning back to the mortal. “You said your little group knows what’s coming. Can they help us find the others?”

Bob hesitated. “Maybe some of them. But there are too many unknowns. Some probably don’t even know that they have geryon ancestors. When they get hit with all that power at once, they’re not going to take it well.”

Eros clenched his jaw. “Exactly why we need a plan before we open that pyxis. We have to warn them. We have to be ready.”

Hephaestus exhaled sharply. “We’ll need allies. People who can move fast, and cover ground. Gods, mortals—whoever we can trust.”

Bob fell silent, chewing his lip as he mulled over Eros’s words. Finally, he nodded.

“It’s been long enough that the family hasn’t had magic,” Eros continued. “But we need to do this the right way. You agree with that?”

Bob let out a slow breath. “Yes, of course.”

Eros studied him for a moment before speaking again. “Okay, so let’s plan everything out, gather people, and when the time is right, we release the magic and deal with the fallout in a coordinated way. No surprises, no unnecessary chaos.”

“Agreed,” Bob exhaled sharply but nodded. He reached for something inside his shirt—a rope necklace—and pulled it off. A small brown bottle dangled at the end. “When you’re ready, put this on her lips, and it will wake Psyche. She’ll be okay—it’ll be like she just went to sleep.”

“Okay,” Eros glanced toward the bed where Psyche lay, peaceful but unmoving. Turning back to Bob he said, “Talk to your group, let them know what’s happening. I’ll get a team together on my end, and we’ll start planning how to handle this.”

Bob stood, adjusting his jacket. “Alright. I’ll be in touch.” Without another word, he turned and left the cabin, the door creaking shut behind him.

Aphrodite walked up to Eros, her expression softer than usual. Eros stood, and she wrapped her arms around him.

“That was hard, but you did well,” she said, her voice gentle. She pulled back, cupping his cheek, her thumb brushing lightly against his skin. “You’re handling this better than I expected.”

Eros huffed a quiet laugh. “Thanks, I think.”

“What are you going to do about Psyche? Will you tell her about the pyxis and what happened with Bob?”

“I don’t think so. It feels like it would be too much for her. I don’t know. I guess it depends on what happens when she wakes up.”

Aphrodite nodded before letting go. Hephaestus stepped forward next, his usual gruff demeanor momentarily replaced with something close to pride. Without a word, he pulled Eros into a firm hug.

“We’ll be at the birthday, so we’ll talk there, I guess,” Aphrodite said.

“Right, the twins,” Eros murmured.

Hephaestus gave a short nod. “We’ll see you later.”

“Wait, could you take the pyxis and keep it safe in Olympus?”

“Good thinking,” said Hephaestus, picking it up.

Aphrodite gave him one more quick hug, and then they teleported away, leaving Eros standing in the quiet cabin, his thoughts swirling.

Everything was crashing down on him—too much had happened in just a few hours. But the biggest thing, the thing he couldn’t ignore, was that he had finally admitted it—he loved Psyche. Yet before all of this, they had fought. She had ended things.

He sat beside her, looking at her peaceful face as she slept. His chest tightened. He opened the top of the brown bottle, reached out to place the liquid inside on her lips, and gently shook her shoulder.

“Psyche,” he murmured.

Her eyelids fluttered, and she let out a small, dazed sound before whispering, “Eros?”

He smiled, relieved to hear her voice.

She blinked a few times and frowned. “Why are you waking me?”

“You slept in,” he said lightly, trying for something normal.

---