kaleidoscope gold ● jason grace

beauty

It turned out, Percy should have been very afraid of the 'love guy'.

He, Nico, and Piper were deposited in a cave-like room, though it had a bit less light than the tunnel. The first thing Percy noticed, his arms pressed against both his friends, was that Nico was extremely cold, and shaky. You didn't have to know the guy to see that something was wrong.

Zephyros looked at him sympathetically. "I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"

"I don't serve anyone," Nico muttered. "Especially not Cupid."

Zephyros continued as if he hadn't heard. "I fell in love with a mortal named Hyacinthus. He was quite extraordinary. Does that shock you?" He turned to Percy and Piper. "That I fell in love with a dude?"

Piper snorted, "no."

Percy nodded his head. "So ... Cupid struck you with his arrow, and you fell in love."

Zephyros snorted. "You make it sound so simple. Alas, love is never simple. You see, the god Apollo also liked Hyacinthus. He claimed they were just friends. I don't know. But one day I came across them together, playing a game of quoits –"

"Quoits?"

"A game with those hoops," Nico explained, though his voice was brittle. "Like horseshoes."

"Sort of," Zephyros said. "At any rate, I was jealous. Instead of confronting them and finding out the truth, I shifted the wind and sent a heavy metal ring right at Hyacinthus's head and ... well." The wind god sighed. "As Hyacinthus died, Apollo turned him into a flower, the hyacinth. I'm sure Apollo would've taken horrible vengeance on me, but Cupid offered me his protection."

CUPID. The name echoed through the ruins again.

"That would be my cue." Zephyros stood. "Think long and hard about how you proceed, Nico, Piper. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your fear rule you ... well, your fate will be even sadder than mine."

Percy had no idea what he was talking about, but he didn't get the chance to ask. Zephyros disappeared in a flurry of wind, as something, a spirit maybe entered the cave. Percy couldn't see anything, but he could feel its presence like a chill down his spine.

The three of them stood back to back with their weapons drawn, though Percy suspected that it would be useless. Zephyros had clearly wanted something from Nico and Piper, some secret that couldn't be defeated by Riptide.

How nice. Cupid's voice swirled around them. Piper Mclean and Nico di Angelo in one cave. Almost like that adage...two birds with one stone.

Piper crinkled her eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" She demanded.

Love is such a powerful emotion. Now, the voice was coming from the other side. Percy spun around, nearly hitting Nico with his blade. Though, the guy looked so nervous that Percy wasn't sure he would've noticed. Ask your friend, Percy. I'm sure he could tell all about what it's supposed to feel like.

The voice laughed. Deep and rich. Without warning, something slammed into Percy, knocking him against the wall. Nico hurried over to help him up.

You see, the voice said. Love is never fair. It's cruel and unrelenting. Isn't that right, Nico?

Percy didn't see how Nico would be able to lecture Piper on well, emotions. Piper was the daughter of Aphrodite and yeah, there was a rumor that Nico had a crush on Annabeth, but as far as Percy knew, that had subsided. Right?"

Your two experiments down in Tartarus. Cupid taunted. But something was always missing. Ominous wind started picking up both dust and speed, toppling several columns that could crush them. What is that, Piper?