When Antonia's lips met Eros', the world disappeared. All that anchored him to the here-and-now was the feel of Antonia's body pressed against his; the unskilled but fanatical way she claimed his mouth; the scent of peony that surrounded them. This was what he'd experienced with her from their very first kiss and through all the cycles, and even after two thousand years, it never ceased to perplex him.

Psyche was as mortal as they came, yet she possessed a power strong enough to bring a god to his knees. How was this possible? How had she always been able to affect him so?

Not that Eros minded. Of all the things to be his undoing, he'd never regret that it was one ordinary mortal that had changed the course of his life forever. Even if all he walked away with were these rare kisses, he'd treasure them as if he would spend immortality with her by his side.

After a moment, Antonia tried to pull away, but a savage growl rattled in Eros' throat and he shifted his position. Antonia had had to change her hold on him to be the dominant one in the exchange, which gave Eros the edge to break away from her.

Space didn't remain between them for long. Almost as quickly as he'd wrenched away from her, Eros gathered Antonia into his embrace, all the while still kissing her.

Antonia didn't fight him and didn't regain her previous position. Her arms looped around his neck and brought his mouth closer to hers. She nipped his bottom lip and pulled another growl from him.

With a mind of their own, Eros' hands roamed the soft curves he craved every night. His expert fingers brought little moans and pleased sighs from Antonia. She kept whimpering, "More! More!" against his mouth.

Eros was more than happy to deliver.

As much as he longed for the opposite, the pair remained clothed. A single thread of rationality remained in Eros, and it reminded him how terrible it would be if they unleashed their thirst. What they were doing would look damning, but Antonia's purity wouldn't be as debated as if she was found stark naked with Eros as bare cradling her close.

The temptation was hard to fight. The one thought keeping him in check was him knowing what torture awaited him if Antonia's father discovered their encounter. There were millions of embarrassing reasons to die, and this neared the top of the list. He could imagine the mockery he'd bare here on the Upperworld and in the Underworld.

When Antonia started clawing at Eros' clothing, he knew they'd gone too far. It hurt nearly as much as ripping out his heart would, but Eros stopped the kiss. He pulled away.

"No," Antonia hissed in a passion-laden voice that made Eros' insides quiver. She tried to reunite her mouth with his.

Eros unhooked Antonia's arms from his neck and held them at her sides; put much-needed distance between them. "Psyche, we're very close to getting in trouble."

The heady glaze to her gaze faded. "What did you call me?"

Panic took hold of Eros. No, no, he didn't invoke her first name, especially not after they'd had an intense moment that had stirred dozens of memories. He couldn't be so stupid.

The sharp interest that shadowed Antonia's face told Eros, yes, he could be that stupid. He could have kicked his own ass.

What had he been thinking, letting her kiss him? Why was he always a slave to his most basic emotions?

Now, he was closer than ever to ruining his master plan. Is that what he secretly desired? Was that why he'd been acting so irrational? Was he set on being the biggest threat to Psyche she'd ever encountered?

"What did you call me?" Antonia repeated.

"It was nothing."

"I'm not deaf, you know."

"It was... a previous girlfriend's name."

"Previous—No, that's not—Previous." Antonia shook Eros' hands off her arms and paced, muttering, "Previous".

Despair settled on Eros. She would figure it out, and there was nothing he could do to stop her. He couldn't think of the right thing to say to distract her. As much as he'd feared this possibility, he hadn't thought of a solution to it. His only course of action had been to avoid Antonia if she got too curious, but that wouldn't work now. If he ran, she'd chase him, and he had no place to hide where she wouldn't find him.

Could kissing her again distract her? She couldn't fight the intense passion churning inside her. But what if it made it easier for her to access the truth? Was it worth the risk?

Before Eros could decide his next action, Antonia paused and stared him in the face. "You said Psyche, and that... that was a name from a long time ago." She sounded less sure of her words as she continued to speak. "It was... my name."

She was saying this to him to gauge his reaction. This was his moment to turn this whole situation around. All he had to do was respond appropriately.

"But your name is Antonia," he said, and he sounded both amused and concerned. He hoped his face held the expression to compliment his words.

"Yes, now, but it wasn't always."

"How could you exist now and then? That's not possible."

"I'm sure that..."

Doubt had crept into Antonia's voice. She nibbled on her kiss-swollen bottom lip and no longer looked at Eros.

Yes, yes, he was so close! A little more and she might be so confused she remained complacent for the next three days. If he was lucky, she'd stop having her dreams, though he didn't place much stock in that.

"Antonia, I think you're... reacting badly to the amount of stress you've been under. It's best to drop this nonsensical—"

"Ares!"

Eros jerked as if someone had slapped him. "What?"

Inspiration made Antonia's eyes sparkle. "Ares," she repeated and nodded to herself. "That's the—" She paused. "God of War."

Eros forced a laugh. "Okay, so? Mortals have worshipped several dozens of gods throughout their history. What does one matter?"

Antonia cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"You said 'mortals'."

"Mortals. Humans. It all means the same thing."

Antonia's eyes narrowed. "Yes, but no person calls other people mortals. Well, at least no one does that isn't insane."

"I could be. You don't know me well enough to rule that out."

Antonia shrugged. "True, but that's irrelevant to the current discussion."

"You could be talking to a madman and that doesn't matter?"

"I'm not talking to a man."

Desperation made Eros grab Antonia's arms again. He shook her with more force than he'd intended but couldn't stop. She needed to realize the severity of this moment. She had to heed his next warning.

"Please stop! Ignore this for now. I'm begging you. Three more days and I'll reveal everything."

Anger painted Antonia's cheeks a fierce red. She slapped his hands away. "Why must I wait? What will happen in three days?"

"I can't tell you without the whole truth coming out."

"Why's it so bad if the truth comes out early?"

"Someone wants to hurt you. If you know the truth, she can do exactly that. She will, too. Trust me."

Contemplation took over Antonia. She didn't move or speak for a long minute.

"That's... what always happens, though," she muttered. "It's never different." Antonia eyed Eros. "You've made things different now. How?"

"T-That's what the three days are about."

"And I can't know that because the truth, which I've been told many times in the past, will come out, and if that does, I'll be hurt, which is worse than any of the previous times because you did... something."

"Yes."

Antonia frowned. "I will not sit by, in the dark, with this unknown threat hanging over my head."

"Even if it means that you stop suffering?"

"Who is—Your mother, isn't it?" Eros did nothing to confirm her question, but she barreled on as if he had. "Your mother could hurt me right now if she wanted."

Eros shook his head. "There are rules. Not as many for her as there should be, but she can't break them. She took an oath."

"When... When a goddess takes an oath..."

Eros groaned and closed his eyes. He almost drove his skull into the wall. Why was she being so stubborn? Was it that hard to trust him? She'd already accepted most of what her memories had been showing her over the past week. Some of them had to have revealed he had her best intentions at heart and that he wouldn't plead with her unless it was serious.

This was Hephaestus' fault. He'd trained her too well. She wasn't a soldier ready to follow orders. No, she was a damned general used to commanding massive armies with no restraint. Even for her own good, she wouldn't back down until she got what she'd set out to conquer.

"You're a god. Eros, that's your real name."

"... Yes."

"You're why I keep dying, and why I'm reborn. I've... I've been around for a long time."

Tears trickled down Eros' cheeks. "I'm so sorry. I should have never—When I realized—I'm sorry."

Gentle fingers wiped at Eros' damp cheeks. "Look at me," Antonia said.

Eros couldn't. He'd doomed her again. Why hadn't he left before they'd gotten to this point? If he had, she would have suspected what he was, but she wouldn't have settled on that answer. Not if he didn't confirm it like he'd been too weak not to do.

Her fingers took his chin and angled his head downward. The unsuspected movement forced his eyes to open.

Antonia's intense stare captivated him. "Did you know what would happen to me when you fell in love with me?"

"No. I wouldn't have pursued you. You're—I've put no one's happiness and welfare before my own before you."

"What have you done now to change my fate?"

No point in keeping the secret now. It wasn't as if he could make this situation worse by revealing it.

"I'm... I won't be a god anymore," Eros confessed.

"In three more days?"

"Yes, then I'll be..."

"Mortal. You've become mortal. For me."

"Nothing is too high of a price to pay if it means I can break the curse my mother put on you. At the least, you deserve the peace every other mortal's spirit gets when they die."

Silence.

"W-What now?" Antonia croaked after a minute.

"That's entirely up to you."

Antonia's breathing increased. She kept her hand on his face, but she looked over his shoulder. He couldn't tell what she was thinking from her expression. Not that it was void of feeling. No, she was flitting through too many emotions so fast Eros couldn't decipher any of them.

This was typical when the current version of Psyche discovered the truth. That she was still touching him gave him hope she'd spend the rest of her days with him, but he couldn't be so sure with this version.

Violence wasn't how Antonia responded to everything, but he wouldn't put it past her to clock him in the head. He wouldn't even stop her if she tried.

At least she wasn't screaming. If she did, though, that would be the end. In every cycle she'd responded that way, he could never convince her to let him love her. Each time, after racing away in defeat, he'd sought Aphrodite to let her know putting Psyche through the tests would be futile, and always his mother had backed off and let Psyche die in peace before her twenty-fourth birthday.

That was the best outcome he could hope for if this situation turned sour. He'd even lay it on thick so Aphrodite would have no reason to pursue Antonia once his mother discovered he'd given up his godhood.

The emotions settled, but Eros couldn't tell what she'd landed on. He wondered if she even knew. Maybe the mix was too confusing.

Antonia's hand tightened on Eros' face, but not uncomfortably. She brought him closer to her.

He let her direct him without restraint. Whatever she had in mind for him, he'd take the punishment.

When her lips hovered within reach of his, she breathed, "You stupid prick."

Before they could share another spirit-shaking kiss, Antonia disappeared.