The Fugitive - Chapter 172

After that night, Nyx was left wondering about the prince of the underworld. It had been a week, and she hadn’t seen him, which frustrated her even more; Gabriel had been on her mind since. She had never been so affected by someone before, and how his teasing words and actions made her blush and act irrationally. She didn’t want to admit that he left a lasting impression on her, but it was becoming impossible with how she kept seeing him every time she closed her eyes.

Surprisingly the goddess had plenty of pursuers before. However, Nyx knew they weren’t looking past her looks or title; most were afraid of her and the power she held. So those that sought courtship with her were always swiftly turned down. She was never interested in them.

Yet, it seemed Gabriel was different. That was until she felt like he’d played her; after whispering such words in her ear, she was embarrassed by her reaction and how she was left reeling. Since then, Nyx had only run into Hades and Cassius on some heart-stopping moments. With Cassius being his twin brother, it took her only a few seconds to realise he was not Gabriel. The pair were exactly mirror images of each other, the only difference was the length in their hair by a few inches, but from her brief encounters with both of them, Nyx knew they were different in personalities. Somehow, Nyx knew they were different because of the strange feeling she got when meeting Gabriel.

Sighing loudly, Nyx shook her thoughts of the annoying god. She was not the type to sigh and mope around over a man, and that wasn’t going to start now. Even if, for the first time, she was.. interested in, no she meant, fascinated by someone.

“Nyx, you seem distracted lately.”

Nyx tensed slightly at Erebus’ voice; he appeared out of the shadows again. She was on her usual nighttime walk, this time though she was far from the palace and in the mountains. She liked the mountains surrounding her; they grew so tall that they hid at least two of the moons from where she stood. So, Nyx was covered in shadows and darkness in most parts she walked. But she did not fear the shadows; they were a part of her. If she wanted to, she could turn night into day move the moons so they did not blind her, though she was sure Selene would not be happy with the extra work, among her other powers.

Nyx looked to the side as Erebus’ shadow form slowly transformed into his usual form. His hair pulled back, his horns on show and the markings across his body. Again, he wore only material around his waist, revealing his sculpted body. She looked ahead again as he fell into step with her; she was ambling by, lost in thought as her feet took her wherever.

The goddess presumed she might walk further than the mountains by the morning, but Acacius would most likely announce her disappearance.

It was normal for her to disappear for a few days without telling her servant; he usually came up with excuses to her father or others searching for her. But this was her fourth night away, and it annoyed her even more that she knew the reasoning behind her spiralling thoughts.

“Nyx?” Erebus prompted again.

“Do I?” Nyx finally replied quietly. Erebus had surprisingly stayed away; he usually found her at every chance he could, though he preferred to see her in the night. They were both extremely comfortable that way, not that she had anything against the daytime but the night and darkness were their forte. Literally.

“Must you ask?” Erebus chuckled. “But I do wonder what has kept you so lost in thought.”

“Hmm,” Nyx hummed back. She wasn’t going to tell him what was on her mind. Erebus was always sensitive when it came to men approaching her, and that was when she showed no interest in them. “Have I missed much?”

“You are asking me?” Erebus asked with a light chuckle to his voice. “I do not go to the deity meetings unless Khaos asks me specifically. They are a waste of my time; I have everything in order on my end.”

Nyx nodded, and her lips pulled up slightly at her friend’s comments. She was meant to go to the meetings, but her father stopped asking for her after she embarrassed the almighty Zeus. He deserved it, and it put him down a peg or two. Khaos was not embarrassed by her; actually, he was the one who burst into laughter, making the father-daughter duo look like maniacs. But Khaos said he was merciful to the other gods; they couldn’t deal with both Khaos and Nyx with their snide comments and lack of patience, which made the pair act out for entertainment.

Nyx felt a giant claw flick her forehead, and she frowned, looking up at Erebus’ tall stature. “What were you thinking so fondly about?” He asked, looking at her curiously.

“What made you believe I had anything fond to think about?” Nyx raised a brow at him and gripped her elbows behind her back as she looked back up at the peaks of the mountains. Maybe she should go to the top and look over the place she calls home. If she used her powers, it wouldn’t take her three to four days to walk through the mountains. But the goddess preferred to climb; it gave her time to enjoy the views and to think.

“You were smiling, and you rarely smile like that,” Erebus replied, unaware of how her thoughts were already running ahead of her about the mountain.

Nyx looked at her friend as Gabriel’s words came back to her. ‘Your smile lights up brighter than the moon. It is a shame others do not get to see it though I find myself lucky and greedy in wanting to be the only man to see your smile.’

“I smile all the time,” She replied nonchalantly, though her brows were drawing together in confusion. She wasn’t sure what Gabriel or Erebus was talking about. Though Gabriel’s words were so smooth and almost swoon-worthy. But she wasn’t the type to swoon. Ever.

“No, you don’t. You smirk, or smile mischievously, or maniacally sometimes. This one means you were thinking about something or someone fondly,” Erebus replied, making her wonder just how much he watches her. “But there is a rarer smile than this one.. I have only seen it once.” The god then muttered quietly, turning his head away, so she might not hear his words.

Nyx ignored the comment he muttered under his breath. “I could have been smiling fondly at something evil, and you’d never know,” Nyx’s lips curled up slightly, but when she looked at Erebus from the corner of her eyes, she saw him looking at her like he didn’t believe her. “I was thinking about mine and father’s antics at the deity meetings.”

Erebus chuckled. “Ah, yes. That is something to be fond of. Zeus and those other gods are too arrogant and boring. Having your father and Hades there does spice it up a little.”

“If you went, that would certainly spice it up a little,” Nyx replied with a smirk and wiggled her eyebrows in jest. But Erebus didn’t take the joke well and grabbed her face in his large hand that covered half her face. He turned her to look at him as he lowered his face to hers, his hand still in place. Nyx’s heart was already pounding aggressively in her chest; she felt the tiniest slither of fear go through her. Although typically, the goddess could get out of this hold even by transforming herself into mist or shadows.

But Erebus and Khaos were the only ones who could hold onto her form and stop her from escaping. “Do you think so?” Erebus smiled, and his beautiful eyes turned menacing. This was the god that most feared among a few others. But he could visit your dreams and turn them into nightmares; he was someone who could turn a person mad and fearful; he could do powerful and truly terrifying things. And at this moment, with the shadows growing behind him, making him appear taller than he was, the large bat-like wings that grew and draped behind his back reminded Nyx of that.

Although Nyx was pretty annoyed at how sensitive he was over a small joke. She put her small hand over his wrist, staring back at him. It wasn’t like she could talk, and now her airways were getting blocked. Erebus tilted his head to the side. “Do you think the other gods would find it comical that I go?” He asked in a chilling voice.

Nyx shook her head and tapped her hand on his wrist, but he looked lost in his maddening eyes that had gone pitch black. Not even those silver specks of stars in his eyes were gone, and the black markings on his face had grown out across his eyes like small veins wrinkling out across his beautiful skin. Erebus was not himself right now, or maybe he was more himself? She couldn’t tell, but she really needed to breathe. Instead, Nyx caressed his arms up to his shoulders, neck, and face, pleading with her eyes to return or get out of this state he was in. It still didn’t work, so she slapped him. That didn’t work and even made him growl and transport them to the rocky mountain, where he angrily pushed her into the wall.

With one last attempt before she knew she would go unconscious, Nyx moved her hands down to his chiselled chest, grimacing from the painful throb at the back of her head and shoulders. She caressed his chest down his abs and rested her thumbs on his ‘v’ muscle where his body shivered under her touch.

“Nyx?” Erebus blinked, returning the stars in his eyes and the veins around his eyes to dissipate along with his bat wings. Nyx’s eyes started to droop, and he instantly pulled his hand back, she held onto his hips for support, and her forehead fell into his chest. “Nyx?” His hands covered her shoulders as he peered down at her. “Here, watch this.”

Erebus created moved his hand, and before them appeared a purple shadow shaped like a stag that walked towards them. It was his signature move to make her feel better; sometimes, it was a rabbit, or he’d recreated mini-worlds or scenes in shadows like in the theatres, but Nyx was too tired to deal with the god of darkness. His mood swing had injured her to the point her head and back were bleeding. Once she had enough oxygen and energy back in her body, she looked back up at him and watched as his face dropped, knowing already what she was going to do.

“Nyx!”

Nyx dissolved into the shadows.