I watched the anger die away in his eyes.

Watched it simmer to a slow burn and morph into something... different.

As close to guilt as Eros would ever feel.

And it wasn't because he was just a narcissistic prick, but he was love. The embodiment of sexual desire. And sex was angry, it was passionate, it fluctuated on a wide spectrum that could switch at any instant.

So no, I didn't really blame him for losing his temper.

I blamed him for being a narcissistic prick all the time.

And I blamed him for hurting Kellen too.

But I'd been building him up for twenty years, I'd been testing the limits breaking rules. Kellen... he was a result of that. But it didn't mean I loved him any less. Kellen was my son and I loved him more than anything in the entire world.

Watching him get hurt. Watching him hurt himself. It was unbearable for me.

So if Eros lost his temper, I couldn't blame him. He was like a wild beast. Untrained. Telling him to stop was like telling a wolf to heel. It was like chaining a bear.

Love was wild. Sex was wild. And no man, try as they might, would ever tame it.

But I still loathed him for the things he'd done to me, and now, the things he'd done to Kellen.

So I sat on the floor, ignoring all the pain that screamed in my body and I held my son. For the first time in nearly twenty years I held him close to me. The way I should've done his entire life. But I was indebted to Eros and I couldn't disobey him like that.

We swore on the Styx centuries ago and he protected me from one evil, only for me to fall prey to him.

"Kellen is a demi-god?" Caerus breathed and tried to reach for him, but all he got was a blast of packed wind to the jaw.

"Don't touch him," I seethed as Kellen squeezed his small arms around me and sobbed.

"I didn't know," Eros breathed and leaned against the back of a chair like he would pass out at any moment.

"I know," I whispered and brushed Kellen's hair out of his face.

"He needs the antidote, it'll kick in at any moment," my master reminded me.

Aphrodisiac.

That's what he'd made Kellen drink, those drops of liquid lust might be subdued through the pain, but not for long.

"You can't touch him," I answered, I knew what Eros was asking. He didn't have the physical medicine, but he had the power to remove it from Kellen's system. Just a touch, but I loathed Eros more than I ever had at that moment.

Not when he made me service him every night.

Not when he made me flaunt myself at these parties.

Not when I pleasured anyone who asked Eros for a turn.

But he'd messed up when he dared to hurt Kellen.

"It's either that or someone fucks it out of him," Eros put bluntly and I could feel the symptoms slowly moving in. The flushed skin, high temperature.

"I'm not letting him go and I'm not letting you touch him," I answered in the same blunt tone as Kellen breathed heavily and scrunched his eyes closed.

"Then let me," Caerus whispered and took a slow step forward. My powers were severely lacking since I was chained to Eros. But Caerus was the only god in the room who I trusted to even get within an inch of my son.

"Fine," I muttered sourly and sat Kellen up slightly as he moaned in pain. I winced at the pitiful sound. This was all my fault. I never should've provoked Eros like that.

Caerus sank to his knees and clasped Kellen's clammy hand in his own. My son roused slightly at the presence of his own master.

"Hey Kell," he whispered in a soft voice, "do you remember when Floss fell in the mud?"

Kellen let out a quiet snort of laughter.

"Yeah, and do you remember dancing with me?" Caerus was working it out, but he was trying to distract Kellen too. I recalled that night, I remembered how happy Kellen was, how alive he felt when he danced on the grass.

I was there. For everything.

"Mmhm, and when you slapped me across the face for being a jackass," now I did not know about that.

"Yeah," Kellen whispered, it was working, Caerus was doing good.

His voice was quieter this time.

"And that night? So recently?" I sincerely had no clue what he was speaking of but Kellen apparently did.

"I remember vividly," he croaked and even smiled a little bit.

"Good, I'm almost done," Caerus hummed and turned Kellen's wrist over in his hand.

Eros lingered far enough away until giving up and pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

"I'll answer your questions later, Eros," I whispered as Kellen relaxed. He was exhausted.

"I think you forget how much of it is in your system, Caerus can't get rid of that," Eros reminded me, and I had been drinking. A lot. It would kick in any minute now, even if I could handle it better than Kellen.

"You can do whatever you want when that happens, but I'm not letting him go until then," I answered and clenched my jaw, "I haven't seen him in almost twenty years, you will not take this away from me."

"I won't try," he muttered and sat down on one of the armchairs. I watched silently as Caerus pulled off Kellen's sandal to try and fix the crushed bones. My son sucked in a sharp breath as his master slid his fingers over the bruised toes.

Caerus couldn't fix it completely, he wasn't a healer, and he was weak from the past hundred years without sleep.

A cold sweat ran down my spine and I squeezed my eyes shut. It was finally kicking in. It would only be a matter if time before Eros noticed too.

"Who is my mother?" Kellen asked and looked me in the eye, I remembered her, they looked so alike. I regretted not knowing her better, it was one night, it was an accident. The only reason I even approached a woman was to spite Eros.

But Kellen was not an accident, I would never regret him.

"She is the one who raised you," I told him, once, I'd seen him once after he was born and I let him stay with his mother. Kellen couldn't come with me, I couldn't hide him from Eros. And when the war came to his town I tried to find him again, but I was too late. They were gone.

"And my sisters?" He asked, I didn't know he had sisters, but his mother had been married, so it was fitting.

"If they were from your mother then they are still your sisters," I nodded my head and he let out a sigh.

"I miss them," he mumbled and winced as Caerus began mending the bone. My body was burning up and I clenched my jaw tightly.

"I sent them to work at a country manor," Caerus cleared his throat and looked at Kellen.

"I thought-"

"I know what you thought, but two weeks ago I convinced Mavros that he needed a new dishwasher," he muttered and slid his palm over Kellen's ankle. I grimaced, the taste if Mavros still felt fresh in my mouth.

I thought Mavros and Caerus were on bad terms, since it was mostly Mavros' fault that his brother was cursed. But maybe it wasn't as bad as everyone was led to believe.

"Just one? But-"

"The smaller ones are allowed to stay there as well," he cut in smoothly and Kellen let out a quiet yelp of pain. But the swelling was down and the bruises looked better.

"Thank you," my son breathed and rested against me, I chewed on my bottom lip and felt the drugs flowing through my body.

"Zephyrus," Eros called from his placed on the armchair, he'd noticed.

"Fuck you," I spat as he rose and turned to me.

"I'd rather fuck you," he mused and gave me a wolfish grin, "Caerus."

Caerus shot me a glance before reaching out to Kellen. My son shied away and shook his head.

"Kellen, listen, you have to come here," his master called and spread his arms again.

"I don't want to," he pleaded and looked at me for support, I pursed my lips and shook my head, "please Caerus."

Caerus gave him a long look before taking Kellen from me. Kellen kicked his legs at Caerus, as I trembled with effort

"Caerus, I don't want to!" Kellen yelped as Eros dragged me up by my unharmed hand.

"Three doors down on the left," my master pointed down a hallway and Caerus carried Kellen away, kicking and screaming.

I bit down on my lip and began walking towards Eros' room. He pulled me back slowly to face him.

He didn't speak as he stared down at me and took my broken arm in his other hand. I cringed as the bones began to set themselves under his fingers.

"Master Eros," I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut.

"I think I'd like you to have full use of your dainty little hands while I fuck you," he murmured and I let out a groan of pain and rested my head on his shoulder. I could feel the aphrodisiac heating my core. Gods, I hated these parties, he always took full advantage of how much it made me want him.

"Yes, Master Eros," I grit my teeth as his fingers slid up my elbow.

"Don't piss me off Zephyr, drop it," his voice was deathly calm.

"Eros," I mumbled and pressed my face into his chest, I was hot all over and I couldn't stand how he barely touched me. I choked back a gasp when he swept me up in his arms. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" He glowered as I squeezed my legs together and placed my palm over my eyes.

"Eros, please just take it away, I can't," I gasped and dug my fingers into his arm. His face remained stoic as he slid a callused hand up my thigh. Overwhelming arousal tingled up my legs and I released a shudder of breath.

"I'm still fucking you either way," he breathed and slid his fingers between my inner thighs. Heat exploded at my core and I let out a low moan.

"I don't like it, Eros," I begged as his thumb grazed far too close to my arousal.

"Don't worry, Zeph, I'll make you feel unbelievably good."