"But he didn't do it to you, Julian," Psyche said, her tone pleading. "If you won't believe him, then believe me. No one ever intended that Penelope should die that way. Your mother still mourns their deaths."
Julian's glare hardened. "How can you even stand to speak of her? Aphrodite was so jealous of you that she tried first to marry you off to a hideous man, then kill you to keep you from marrying Cupid. For the Goddess of Love, she certainly has very little of it in her for anyone other than herself."
Psyche looked away.
"Don't you talk about her that way," Cupid snapped. "She's our mother and deserving of your respect."
The grim anger on Julian's face would have scared the devil himself and Cupid shrank before it. "Don't you ever defend her to me."
It was only then Cupid noticed Grace and Selena. He did a double-take as if they had just popped into the group. "Who are they?"
"Friends," Julian said to Grace's surprise.
Cupid's face turned harsh, cold. "You don't have any friends."
Julian said nothing in response, but the strained expression on his face touched Grace deeply.
Seemingly unaware of how biting his words had been, Cupid casually moved to stand beside Psyche. "You still haven't told me why it's so important that you get a hold of Priapus."
Julian's jaw ticked. "Because Priapus cursed me into an eternity of slavery, and I can't break out of it. I want him here long enough to start pulling off parts of him that don't grow back."
Cupid's face blanched. "Man, he had balls to do that. Mom would've killed him had she known."
"Do you honestly expect me to believe he did this without her knowledge? I'm not that stupid, Eros. That woman couldn't care less what happens to me."
Cupid shook his head. "Don't start on that. When I offered you her gifts, you told me to shove them straight up my back orifice. Remember?"
"I wonder why?" Julian asked sarcastically. "Zeus cast me out of Olympus just hours after my birth, and Aphrodite never bothered to argue. The only time any of you ever came near me was to heap some form of torture on my head."
Julian leveled a killing glare at Cupid. "There's only so many times you can kick a dog before it turns vicious."
"Okay, granted, some of us could have been a little nicer to you, but-"
"But nothing, Cupid. None of you ever gave a damn about me. Especially not her."
"That's not true. Mom never got over you turning your back on her. You were her favorite."
Julian scoffed. "Which is why I've been trapped in a book for the last two thousand years?"
Grace ached for him. How could Cupid just stand there, listening to this and not do everything within his power to save his brother from a fate worse than death?
No wonder Julian cursed them.
Suddenly, Julian grabbed the knife from Cupid's belt and slashed his own wrist.
Grace gasped in horror, but before she even finished making the noise, Julian's wound healed up without so much as a tiny bead of blood.
Cupid's eyes widened. "Holy shit," he breathed. "That's one of Hephaestus's daggers."
"I know." Julian handed the dagger back to Cupid. "Even you can be killed by one, but I can't. I have been completely damned by Priapus."
Grace saw the terror in Cupid's eyes as he realized the full depth of Julian's sentence. "I knew he hated you, but I never thought he'd stoop this low. Man, what was he thinking?"
"I don't care what he was thinking. I just want out."
Cupid nodded. For the first time, she saw sympathy and concern on Cupid's face. "All right, little brother. First things first. Hang tight and let me go find Mom and see what she has to say."
"If she loves me as much as you say, why not summon her here and let me speak directly with her?"
Cupid gave him a duh-stare. "Because the last time I mentioned your name, she cried for a century. You really hurt her feelings."
Though Julian's stance and face were rigid and cool, in her heart, Grace suspected Julian must have surely suffered just as much as his mother.
If not more.
"I'll consult with her and be with you shortly," Cupid said, draping an arm over Psyche. "Okay?"
Julian reached out and grabbed the necklace from Cupid's neck. He jerked it off with one hard tug.
"Hey!" Cupid shouted. "Careful with that."
Julian balled the chain up in his fist and left the small bow to dangle out of his hand. "This way, I know you'll come back."
Looking greatly peeved, Cupid rubbed his neck. "Just take care of it. That bow is dangerous in the wrong hands."
"Have no fear. I well remember the bite of it."
The two of them exchanged a look of wary understanding.