Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
“No one likes him. He’s here for punishment because he impaled a donkey! Who does such a thing? That is true evil.”
“And you gave him the girl?”
“I’m actually quite tired of him. This is his, what, fifth round in purgatory? He’s never going to get out of my hair if I don’t push him along.”
Eros shakes his head, smiling. “You’re going to help him win his game because you’re tired of him? I will take that win as my own, my friend. I will fuck that little relationship up with a vengeance.”
I wave a hand in the air. “Have it. I’m out.”
“So you really don’t have any feelings for Madeline? She’s quite cute. And good, too. So sweet.”
My tea kettle begins to whistle, a perfect excuse to turn away so he can’t see my face.
Madeline. And those eggs.
I was dreaming of another life when we were together. One where I wasn’t responsible for millions of deaths and atrocities. One where I wasn’t locked in a prison of my own making. One where I got the happy ending instead of making them come true for others.
I turn the flame off, put some leaves into an infuser, and breathe in the scent of peppermint as I pour water over them, finally answering his question. “None. No feelings what. So. Ever.”
“Liar.”
I shrug. I am the god of happy endings.
This is my eternal punishment for the life I lived in my human form.
It could be worse. I could be the god of unhappy endings. That really would be terrible.
But the catch is—there is no happy ending for me. Or Eros, for that matter. He is the god of love, yet he will never love. Not truly.
This is how punishment works. You cannot have your heart’s desire.
I understand that he told Pell he had a change of heart because of how he hurt Pie. How he ruined her life. He didn’t want his door, he didn’t want those books—blah, blah, blah.
But that’s not why he refused. Eros and Pressia have been battling for centuries. She’s much, much smarter than him. And good, too. A true, pure soul. She is not a part of our punishment—she doesn’t even live in purgatory. She’s not in our game, either. She is the oracle of love.
She predicts the soulmates and it’s Eros’s job to fuck them up with those nasty arrows of his.
They are true enemies. Just like he and I.
He refused because he knows how it will end.
With heartbreak.
His heartbreak.
Pressia and I work together often, as our duties intersect in many ways as well. But we are not enemies. She often helps me achieve my goals because our goals are the same.
Eros wants her. Has always wanted her. From the moment they met, he has wanted her.
I don’t think he’s admitted that he loves her and she would never admit she had any feelings at all for him. But like it or not, they are bound to each other as opposites.
Just like he and I.
I turn to face him. “Well.” I take a sip of my tea, smack my lips with delight. “Who will you go after now, hmm? Who’s the next target?”
Eros directs his gaze over to my wall of doorknobs. Lets himself get caught up in their slightly pulsating glow. “You lead, I follow.”
“I’m taking a small vacation.”
“To do what?”
“Relax. Drink tea. Eat biscuits.” Forget Madeline, and Darrel, and the eggs, and the future I could’ve had if I were to ever manage to end this punishment, and get out of this place, and get my happy ending. But I don’t say that last part out loud.
Eros sighs. “Well, I’m out of here, I guess.”
“You’re going back to your new little town? Gonna fuck up humanity with the arrival of magic monsters?”
“Why not. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?” He shoots me another one of those seductive looks. “Why don’t you join me?”
I allow myself half a grin as I picture myself amongst those monsters in Savage Falls and a new life with the God of Love. One where I don’t fight my punishment, but embrace it instead. Write a new story. Write a new ending, as well. Give in to all those carnal urges and just… be evil forever.
But this is mostly just his magic affecting me, so I shake myself out of it. “Maybe one day.”
This widens his smile. “Well, that’s a new answer.” He tips an imaginary hat at me, then turns towards the stairwell that will take him up to the main part of my cathedral and calls out, “You know where to find me.”
EPILOGUE – PELL
I marry Pie Vita on the top of the hill and in the middle of a field of buttercups. We’ve been here almost nine months and there is no end to our love.
No one officiates the ceremony. No guests come to celebrate. Though, if we wanted these things, we could have them.