Forbidden To Love (The Erosians) (28 page)

“What is it?” I move to get up but he quickly puts his hands to my shoulders, holding me back down.

“
We need to leave.” His voice is panicked.

“
What, why, what’s going on?”

He kisses me, almost pushing me to the ground with the force of It. It
’s a different kiss. It’s not as tender as all the rest. There’s something else to it. It scares me. Luca grabs my hand and pulls me up towards the door.

“
Luca, wait, please.” I pull my arm reluctantly from his grasp but I need to know what’s happening.

“
Acacia, please. I will do everything I can to protect you but if Hades finds out you can’t give him what you want, there’s only so much I can do.” He pulls me against his chest, showering the top of my head, neck and shoulders with kisses, but I don’t feel any of them. Something isn’t right.

He told me this less than ten minutes ago, but he didn
’t have this urgency.

“
I would die to protect you but it wouldn’t be enough. Come with me now and we’ll escape to the mortal world where we can be alone - please.” His voice is mesmerizingly soft but I'm not able to melt into it as I usually would. There’s something under it. I move myself away from him so I can question him properly. His touch is far too distracting for my mind to think clearly.

“
Why would you do this?”

“
Do what?”

I can hear the anger at my questioning edging through but he
’s trying to fight it back. “Why risk your life? You have everything here: power, respect, family. If we leave, you’ll be throwing away your entire world.” His face begins to soften at my words and he edges closer to me once more.

The familiar sparks of electricity ignite between us as he rests his forehead against mine.

“Before you, there was no life.” His breath gently caresses my cheeks. I close my eyes as I allow myself to breath in his heady scent which causes my heart to stammer. “I spent centuries blindly fumbling through my existence. I gave orders, I took orders, but I never lived. You brought me to life. You opened my eyes to a world of love when I was drowning in a world of hatred. I need you, Acacia.”

“
But why do we need to leave now?” The subconscious part of me isn’t done with the questions, even though the physically awake part of me is willing to succumb to his every desire as long as he keeps himself as close to me as he is now. His grip loosens and my body becomes rigid. He stares at me, shocked at my questioning, but I have to know the truth. My head becomes clearer as the distance grows between us and I know I need the answers. Josh and I were based on lies, and look how that turned out. I won’t make the same mistake twice.

“
Hades wanted you up for trial yesterday. I bought you some time but I can’t stall him much longer. It has to be now.”

I don
’t believe him. If that was the reason, he’d have suggested our escape when he first walked into the room. If Hades is wanting me on trial, though, I'm not about to hang around waiting for him to send for me. I allow Luca to take my hand and pull me through the door but then he stops and I almost crash into the back of him. He turns to face me, keeping his eyes stuck to the floor. I lean towards him, looking at the spot he’s fixated on. He snaps his head up and inhales sharply.

“
Promise me; promise me no matter what happens, we will always have tomorrow.” His eyes are burning and his usually cool demeanour is being melted away by something I can’t place.

“
Luca, I don’t understand.”

He shakes his head slightly.
“You don’t need to. Just promise me, Acacia, promise me there will be tomorrow.”

My name dances across his lips as they have done before but usually I watch them slip down his throat to be kept safe for him to speak my name once more. This time they have twirled and taken flight. My name has been sucked out of his body as if some other force knows he will never need to use it again.

I don’t understand how or why this is happening but I need to tell Luca yes. I do understand he needs to hear my acceptance that we will have tomorrow, whatever that may mean. I nod at him and his body relaxes momentarily, then he starts to pull me towards the stairwell, but before we reach it, something cold encircles my ankles and pulls me back to the room.

“
Luca,” I scream as I try to hold onto his arms while whatever is grabbing at me is trying to pull me through the floor.

Luca looks at the bottom of my skirt which is now disappearing into the ground.
“Grab my hand,” he urges and I reach for it. The second I grasp it, we are both pulled through the floor.

Ghost

~24~

Luca covers my mouth as we’re falling to stop me screaming, but he can’t stop me fearing. The wind whips at my hair as a sickness rises inside me. The rusty stench of blood surrounds us, seeping in through my skin until I can taste it at the back of my throat. I look over my shoulder and see the ground quickly approaching. Squeezing my eyes shut, I brace myself for the impact that is surely only seconds away.                                          I crush my body against Luca’s, wanting to memorize the feel of his body against mine in our final moments. His arms wrap further around my body, responding to my need by holding me tighter. The coolness of his skin finds its way through the lightness of my dress, and I feel numb to anything that could be about to hit me. The only feeling I have is what Luca stirs up inside of me. I am grateful for that pleasure now the end has come.                                                        We stop. No thud, no pain. I open my eyes and see Luca’s arm wrapped around my waist, holding me inches from the ground. He’s balanced on his toes whilst his body crouches protectively over me. His ferocious growl causes his body to vibrate softly as he looks fiercely across the room. I follow to where he’s looking and gawp when I see Allana, Hercules and next to them, Josh.                                                        Josh! How is he here, how is he alive? My body can’t decide how to react. My blood is turning to ice at the horror of what I’ve done with Luca while my pulse is racing with fear that I’m now going to be taken from him.                                          My body doesn’t know who it wants, and the sensible part of my head has kindly chosen this time to shut up, the one time I could have actually used some guidance.              “Luca?” Hades' voice comes from the right of us. His face looks bewildered at Luca guarding me. Luca jumps up, grabbing me by my shoulders rougher than before “She has a tendency to try and escape, Sire.”                                          “Ah.” Hades claps his hands together and gestures towards Allana, needing no more explanation from Luca. “As you can see we have some visitors”                                                        “I thought you were dead” I cry at Josh, not hearing Hades' words nor caring that he is the Lord of this world so I seriously shouldn’t interrupt him.                                                        Josh rushes over to me. I pull against Luca’s restraints to get closer to him.                                                                      “Stay back,” Luca snarls, holding me against him. Josh hesitates for a second as he takes in my guard. To look at them I don’t know who would win if it came to a battle. They’re both tall and strongly built, but where Luca shows his obvious strength, Josh masks his, so I'm sure Luca isn’t concerned with what little threat he poses. Luca threads his arm around the front of my stomach, holding me with my back to him, then he throws his other arm across my chest, pinning me, so my neck falls back onto his shoulder, leaving my veins, which are now pounding with adrenaline, fully exposed.                                                                                    “Take another step,” he challenges Josh as his breath strokes my throat. That’s all the invitation Josh needs, and he lunges towards us.                                                                      “Josh, stop!” I hear Allana beg as Hercules reluctantly leaves her side to take a hold on Josh before Luca happily spills my blood in front of the ones I love most. I look at Hades to the side of us. I expect to see him furious at the lack of respect being shown to him, but his expression is an odd mix of bewilderment and pleasure. It’s as if the scene before him is playing out better than even he could have wished for.              “Well, this is a surprise,” Hades mutters half to himself as he takes a step towards the two groups in front of him. “Of course Josh isn’t dead.                                                                      Why on earth would you think that?” Hades addresses me. Luca loosens his grip so I can stand up straight when I answer his master.                                                                      “I saw his … ” I turn to Josh, “ … I saw your car explode with you in it.” Josh opens his mouth to respond, but we are all silenced as Hades laughs to himself and begins to circle us as he lightly taps the ends of his fingers together.             
“Yes, a car explosion would appear quite deathly, wouldn’t it?” He stops and stares at Josh, I feel the dampness of fear clinging to my body as I panic about what he might do to him. I know how fast he can move across the ground, and I’ve seen what the people here can do with just a glare, but he just carries on speaking, “ … if he were a mere mortal.” I whip my attention from Josh to Hades. Josh isn’t mortal? Why didn’t he ever tell me? Hades has a twisted smile on his face as he rubs his hands together, smug with satisfaction at the secret he knows he’s just exposed.                                                        “Did you not know?” he gasps in mock astonishment as he leans toward me, faking remorse at having been the one who told me. “Young Josh here has Herculean blood in him.” His voice is nails on a chalk board to me, and I wish I could stop listening.                                                                                    “A simple car accident would be no problem for his type.” Hades' smile disappears as he looks mystified at Luca. I feel Luca’s grip tighten around me. Is he trying to hold onto me to protect me, or because he’s jealous of my still obvious love for Josh?                                                                                                  “I thought you would have used that information, Luca, in your torturing of our delectable prisoner.” He stares at Luca, a look of annoyance in his eyes, but his face is trying to keep up a calm demeanour.                                                                      “You tortured her?” Josh yells at Luca as he charges at him, but Hercules grabs him and holds him in place.                            “Not yet. Patience.” Hercules' low voice rings clear in my ears. They’re prepared to fight, they’re just waiting for the right moment. I can’t let it come to that. They don’t know the full size of the army down here. They’d be outnumbered in a big way.                                                                                                  “Wasn’t necessary, Sire. I had more than enough tricks to keep me occupied,” Luca answers, intensifying his hold once more. “I didn’t want to reveal any secrets you might have found useful in tempting Acacia into your deal.” His voice falters at the end, and I know he means Hades could have promised me Josh if I gave him Persephone. Luca wouldn’t like the idea of that. I’d feel sorry for him if I wasn’t so mad.                                                                                                  “More like you didn’t want anything getting in the way of me, and you,” I snarl at him low enough for only us to hear.                                                                                                                “You’d never understand,” he replies softly, his voice more melodic than I’ve ever heard it.                                          “You’re the one who doesn’t understand,” I tell him as I struggle against his grasp.                                                                      “I'm not saying I'm sorry,” is the only response he gives me.                                                                                    Hades turns back to Allana. No one but me seems shocked at the news that Josh is actually a God and a descendent of Hercules no less!                                                                      “Now, Allana,” Hades addresses her in a sweet tone which irritates me more than the patronizing one he’s just been using towards me, “as you can see, Acacia is unharmed as promised. Now what have you got that makes you so sure I’ll hand her over to you?”                         
                               There’s silence as everyone waits for what Allana has to offer. I look nervously between Hercules and Josh, waiting for one of them to step forward, but all eyes are focused on Allana.                                                                                                  “Me,” she finally says. Luca loosens his grip on me as I fight to look at her. She can’t take my place, they’ll torture her. “Allana, no,” I scream but Hercules is already at her side holding her face in his hands. I can see the burning in his eyes as he pleads with her not to do this. The moment between them is so private I wish I could look away.                                          “Don’t do this, Allana. We’ll get her out another way,” Hercules promises her, but she shakes her head at him as tears begin to cascade down her face. She reaches where his hands are placed gently upon her cheeks and rests her own on top. “You know we won’t be able to,” she whispers.              Hercules wipes her tears away. “Then don’t do this - for me. Not again, don’t leave me again.” His voice rises as her decision remains unchanged.                                                        “I never left you before. I was never yours to leave you, you know that.” Allana drops her arms to her sides as her words cut through him like a blade. My own heart breaks for Hercules as I watch his love for Allana pour from a wound she created so long ago that has now just ripped open. He must have been the God, the one she had the affair with, but she sacrificed her happiness to save his life. She wasn’t as selfish as I am. She didn’t risk him the way I risked Josh. This isn’t fair. I need to be the one that stays in the Underworld. I don’t deserve to return to the mortal world in Josh’s arms when I have done nothing to deserve his devotion. Allana deserves the happiness; she needs to leave with Hercules.              “Hold on a minute,” Hades interjects. “Are you not starting your pleading a little too early?” He clicks his fingers and a majestic throne appears beside him. It’s all black with panthers making up the arms which snarl at Josh, Hercules and Allana. Hades takes his place on the throne and looks menacingly at the three in front of him. A grey mist circles the bottom of the throne, and I can see the persecuted faces of the souls trapped in this world spinning in the fog. “What makes you so sure I want to trade?”                                                        “You won’t need to trade you, cruel bastard. I’ll just kill you now and take her from your pawn’s hands.” Hercules races to where Hades is sitting. Luca grunts a sort of laugh at Hercules threat.                                                                                                  “Ah-ah-ah, I have her fair and square, and killing me won’t release her, plus we’ve been down that road before, you never win,” Hades retorts.                                                        “There’s always a first time.” Hercules lunges again but Allana catches his arm.                                                        Allana places her hands calmly on Hercules and pulls his arms gently down, so his hands are by his sides. She moves away from Hercules and edges towards Hades. “You’ll take me because Acacia can’t help you with what you want,” she looks at me as everyone falls silent, “but I can.” I turn my head slightly to look at Luca. He’s staring at Hades and Allana.
His arms tighten around me but not in such a way as to look like he’s holding me against his will. His fingers open up and curl around my shoulder and hip. I don’t think anyone will have noticed, but I have. He’s holding me to keep me. He knows Allana’s about to take my place.                                                        “She’s lying,” Luca shouts over at them. Hades slowly looks up from Allana to him. “Excuse me?” he politely requests.                                                                                    “Allana can’t help you, neither of them can, only Eros can do it.” Allana throws him a look of contempt. It must be true, then. She must not be able to do it to Gods yet either.              “Is this true?” Hades questions Allana, an angrier edge coming through.                                                                      “No,” she answers confidently. “I share all the same powers as Eros, I promise.” She doesn’t take her eyes from me and Luca as she tells him this.                                          “Allana, no. I’ll stay. Honestly, you can’t do this.”              “Very well,” Hades throws his hands up to the sky, “you may take her.” He gestures towards me, “And you,” he stares into Allana’s eyes, “will be here forever.”                                          Luca is forced to release me, and I run to where Allana is standing. I fall into her as her arms wrap around me. We sink to the floor, both of us crying with no control.              “Please don’t do this. You don’t know what they’ll do to you here, please don’t!”
Allana takes hold of each of my hands. “You have everything you need with Josh, and he will protect you and love you like you love him. There’s no hope for me. I love a man who will never want me. I never had a chance. You do.” She pulls me into her embrace. “Go, please, and live the life I never could. Please, for both of us.” She releases me but holds my face in her hands.                                                                                                  “For me, Acacia. I can’t live up there anymore. Every time I look into Eros’ eyes and see the emotionless look he gives me, it makes me want to die. I’ll never be what he wants, and that kills me every day I have to live without him. The worst they can do to me here is kill me. I was never alive anyway, so what difference would it make?” I can hardly see for the tears blurring my vision. She signals for Josh. I feel his arms circle around me, pulling me away from Allana as Hercules rushes to stand where I was. “Just make sure she gets back safely.” Hercules slowly shakes his head. “Don’t do this,” he whispers.                                                                      Allana shakes her head back at him, and I hear her quietly whisper, “Don’t try to hang onto what could never be.              “Enough,” Hades shouts, his voice filling the room. I watch as he raises his hands towards Allana. A fog encircles her waist at Hades' command. He throws his hands towards Luca, and Allana is wrenched from my grip into the open arms of my Luca. “The trade has been made. You have ten seconds to leave this palace, or I will have Cerberus track you down and rip you all to shreds.”                                                                      Josh pulls me towards the door. I search for Luca frantically. He’s already gone, taking Allana with him.                            Hercules looks to the floor, trying to pull himself together, but he can’t hide the devastation in his eyes. He charges towards Josh and me. He kicks through the door behind us and runs through. Josh pulls me along as I still try to break free from his grasp to get to Allana. I can’t let her stay here, I can’t let them kill her. What if she was lying and she can’t make Gods fall in love? Hades will kill her, and she won’t resist. But what if she can? What if she makes Persephone love him, and there is a war? It would mean the end of all of us.                                                                                                  Once Josh gets me through the door, I see Hercules waiting on a giant white horse which shimmers in the peculiar light. It has wings made of pure white feathers. Each one looks the size of me. It distracts me momentarily from all pain and confusion as I absorb its majestic beauty.                            I no longer feel part of what’s happening as Hercules reaches out to take me from Josh and I'm passed between them like a doll. Josh hops on the horse behind me, and I rest against his chest. His warmth feels unfamiliar compared to Luca’s iciness, and it causes the part of my heart torn away from his to fire up and ache. Part of me wishes it would fire up and burn until it burns out, then I wouldn’t feel anything for Luca, and our betrayal wouldn’t hurt.                                          I ache with the guilt from what I have done. I bury my face in to Josh’s chest and his arms stroke down my hair, soothing me, attempting to provide me with a comfort I'm a long way from deserving.                                                        Hercules shouts orders at the horse, which is far too nondescript a word to do this astounding creature justice, and it gracefully lifts up into the air. I take one look at the palace which is no longer my prison, and no longer a place I wish to call home. I see the turret that hosted my affair and surprisingly spot Luca standing against the window.                            I force myself to look from him, and my eyes fall upon Persephone in a window further down. Her eyes have returned to stone, and she silently shakes her head. It must be true, then. Allana can do it, and Persephone knows her time is limited. I’ve failed her. She will be forced to love Hades and the war will soon begin.                                                        “We need to go back,” I beg them.                                          “We will,” Hercules states angrily, “and we’ll be taking Eros with us. He ends this or I’ll be the end of him, I don’t mind which.” Josh moves his hand to my face, brushing my hair from my cheek. “Are you ok?” he whispers. They are the same words spoken to me by Luca not more than twenty four hours ago and they drag up more emotion than I can cope with.                                                                         
                         I just stare at Josh, afraid to open my mouth for what might escape. His face appears more defined and stronger now, and his skin has the faint iridescent glow of Olympus. “You’re a God” I whisper back, acknowledging the only revelation I feel may be the easiest to cope with.                            “So are you,” he replies. I've never even registered that I’d have that explaining to do. I close my eyes. “I never meant to lie to you,” I begin, but he shushes me.                            “I know, you don’t need to explain. Once we’re home, we’ll talk. You need to rest so you can help us figure out how to get Allana back.” Josh holds me tightly against him as Hercules flies us effortlessly across the fields and over the punishment grounds. Yes, we will have a lot to talk about. I try to close my mind to all my feelings while I attempt to detect any animosity between Josh and Hercules. After all, if Josh is a descendant of Herculean blood, that means he is a relative of Hercules. If he is Zeus’ son, he would be Hercules' brother, but if he isn’t that means Hercules is his father.                                                                                                                I close my eyes, praying for sleep so I can wake up from this nightmare, but all I see is my betrayal of Luca, Persephone’s anger and Allana’s sacrifice. Each one flashes up in my mind like a still from a silent movie.                                          Then a final frame appears, but it’s empty. It’s for me to fill and I’ll only fill it by saving Allana.              With my eyes shut, my hearing is heightened. I can hear the screams of the Furies' victims along with cracks of their whips, I can hear the ping of the bows of the dead hunting in the fields, but worse than that, I can hear the lonely cries of Allana.                                          I don’t know, Allana if you can hear my thoughts from this distance, but we will be back for you. The minute I think that, I will it to be true, but my heart begins to throb and I know I’ll also be coming back for Luca.