The Heart of Love

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Two Thousand Years Ago

Olympus, Greece

Eros

I knock over the amphora of Dion's wine, glaring at the line of them. My vision going in and out, drunkenly bellowing, "ANEMOI!"

The next life.

This life, the next life.

I toss back another amphora, banging my hands against the sides of my skull, trying to mute the words of the Moirai. The words were on a constant loop since I fled there...an hour ago? A few hours ago? Who can remember?

I know I landed back in my apartments and found a store of Dion's finest brew was waiting for me. My mother's perfume still lingered in the air. All the ways she shows she cares.

She's not maternal, my mother. But she does love me.

"ANEMOI!" I yell again. When they don't appear, "ZEPHYRUS! BOREAS! NOTUS! WHOEVER THE LAST IS!"

It takes a moment before they appear, another before they corporealize.

Zephyrus bows formally, though I caught his look of disdain at the mess around me. I bristle at that, even more so when his brothers follow suit.

"You summoned us, my lord?" Zephyrus drags out. My teeth grind, he's still upset I refused his request to return to Psyche earlier. He even begged. Well, the Zephyrus form of begging.

Basically, he said please.

I still said no.

If I couldn't see her. No one could.

I scoff drunkenly, "No need to be so formal! Have a drink, we are celebrating!"

Eurus winces, glancing around the room, his eyes trailing over the destruction. "Celebrating?"

I cheers another goblet of brew to them, lifting it to my lips, "My singlehood!"

Notus's form flickers between his wind form and back, "Singlehood?"

Boreas steps cautiously over a broken amphora, "My lord? Have you not...celebrated enough already?"

I throw back the brew, tossing the goblet to the side. It shatters somewhere in the room, adding to the others I've broken during the bender.

I don't really do things halfway.

"Oh is there some rule I'm unaware of? Something that states I can only mourn a broken heart for so many hours?"

Zephyrus frowns, "My lord, it's been two-"

"Eros!" My mother calls, "I brought you some more, fresh from Dion's stores."

I look at her as she glides into my apartments, my face softening with a smile, "Thank you, Miteras."

I reach for the amphora in her hands, she brushes a lock of my hair out of my face, "Dion said he would be coming by later." My mother's eyes glance over the wind, turning cold. "He says he had all the makings of an epic night for you all to enjoy."

The winds glance at each other, but wisely remain silent in my mother's presence. You never anger the laughing goddess. Never.

"Sit, Anemoi, have a drink with my son, I demand it." She purrs, but even I hear the edge in her voice.

A moment later, all four of the winds take a seat with me. I pour each of them a generous amount of the brew, making them cheers with me, then tossing it back.

Sometime between that drink and the next...very high number of drinks, my mother must have left. And I force the winds to commiserate with me until none of us can speak more than incomprehensible mush.

Even drunk, I still hear the words of the Moirai banging around my head. At least the mystery was enough to distract from the festering wound of my heart.

The next life.

How could a god have another life? We are immortal, undying. It would take...another god to kill one of us. Are the Moirai trying to warn me? Someone is going to try and kill me?

If we're together in the next life...does that mean we were destined to fail from the start?

In this life...in the next.

What does it all mean?