Chapter 5: Satyr

I stepped into the room and sighed in relief when I saw that Lena was awake, and was speaking to the old woman. My run-in with the satyr must have made me doubt her intentions, which is why I'd immediately assumed the worst after seeing her standing over Lena in a dimly lit room.

"The satyr told me that this is his inn, not yours," I said.

The old woman's head moved in a nod before she turned to face me. "That's right. I never said I owned it. I simply help him run his business. He would be penniless if it wasn't for me. He doesn't particularly...enjoy interacting with others."

Lena sat up, her eyes wide. "A satyr? I've never seen one."

"You'll be seeing him around, child. He doesn't leave this place," the old woman said. "Now, have I answered all of your questions? I must go rest my old bones. I'll see you children in the morning." And with that, she left.

"When did you see the satyr?" Lena asked as I started changing into my clothes after I closed the door of our room.

Pulling a tunic over my head, I said, "He came in for a bath when I was about to leave. He didn't seem too pleased that he had guests in his inn."

She yawned. "What the old woman said must be true then. He must not enjoy interacting with others." Stretching her arms, she lied back down on her mattress. "I hope I get to see him in the morning," she said through another yawn, her eyes fluttering shut. "I've always wanted to see a satyr in real life."

As soon as my head hit the pillow, my eyes felt heavy and I was pulled straight to sleep.

~~~

I walked down the stairs with Lena behind me as we followed the sweet scent coming from the kitchen. The alluring smell pulled us in until we were standing in front of a large redwood table filled with every food from the market we'd passed through yesterday. Eros was the only one sitting at this table, his plate full.

The old woman walked in with a basket of freshly baked bread, its aroma wafting into my nose and awakening my appetite even further.

Eros reached out to grab a roll, but the old woman yanked the basket away and slapped his hand. "You've had enough. Leave some for the rest of them." Shaking her head disapprovingly, she put the bread down on the table, as far away from him as possible. Looking up at Lena and I, she smiled. "Sit, sit. Eat before the food gets cold."

We were more than happy to oblige. As Lena moved to sit beside Eros, the old woman pulled my hand to seat me there instead.

"Will you help me bring fruits to the table, child?" she asked her.

"Of course," Lena said, following the woman out of the dining room.

Eros watched as the old woman walked away, and as soon as she was out of sight, he spoke, "Could you pass me that bread basket, human?"

I sighed and gave him the basket, chuckling lightly when I saw his eyes light up as he took a bread roll.

I looked up at the doorway when I heard someone walk in.

The satyr stopped in his tracks when he saw that the table was occupied. Our eyes locked for a moment, and then he turned to leave.

"Not so fast, Bion." The old woman's stern voice made him freeze. "Come and join us for breakfast."

With a long sigh and a few curse words, he turned back around and took a seat at the table, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"It's the satyr!" Lena exclaimed when she walked in holding a plate of cut fruits. She placed it down and approached the goat-man. "Do these hurt?" She touched one of his horns.

Bion caught her wrist before she could do it again and gave her a glare, his eyes blazing with anger. "Don't you know that it's rude to touch a satyr's horns without permission?"

Lena grimaced in guilt. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

He released her wrist and cast his angry gaze on the fruits, before taking the entire plate and tipping it into his mouth. When he put the now empty plate down, Eros frowned. "Could have left some for the rest of us."

"This is my inn and my food. You're merely guests," Bion said. Then quietly, he mumbled, "Unwelcome guests." He finally looked up, locking his eyes with mine. "Which reminds me, how long are you planning on staying here?"

I frowned, not having a clear answer for him. We were in Gora for the Helm piece, and until we found it, we would stay in this kingdom. Lena and Eros seemed comfortable in this inn, and I've taken a liking to it as well. "When would you want us to leave?"

"As soon as possible," he grumbled.

"Don't listen to him," the old woman interrupted. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

Bion cursed underneath his breath. "Don't do this to me A--" He cursed again and stood up. "Fine. Stay here as long as you'd like. But stay out of my sight." Taking a bread roll from the basket, he walked out of the dining room.

"Grouchy little satyr," the old woman complained. "He wouldn't have to suffer like he is had he not decided to leave the mountains."

"The mountains?" Lena said.

The woman sat down and nodded. "His people live inside the mountains on the east side of Gora. He decided to leave them, his brothers, and the ways of the satyrs behind." She clicked her tongue. "But a satyr can't change his nature. He's fighting his own self."

"What are the ways of the satyr?" Lena asked curiously.

"They are lovers of wine, music, and women," Eros answered.

"And he's deprived himself of all of it for too long," the old woman sighed.

"That would explain his strained expression last night," Eros leaned in to whisper near my ear.

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't notice? When he gave you your undergarments while you stood in front of him in nothing but a towel?"

My cheeks flushed at the memory. "He couldn't get away fast enough."

He gave me a knowing smile. "Exactly."

~~~

"Where do we even find these things?" I said, staring down at the piece of paper the old woman had given Eros and I before sending us out to the market to buy things for the inn. "A five-leafed clover? Blue potatoes? Has she given us the wrong list perhaps?"

The market was as busy as it was yesterday, filled with people and produce. Squeaky wheels of carts and neighing of horses carrying them mixed in with the voices of the yelling merchants and their customers.

"Let's ask the merchants. They might know where to find them," Eros mused.

I nodded, blowing my hair out of my face. "We can ask that mer--" I pushed Eros into a small gap between two shops and squeezed myself in with him to hide.

The God raised a brow in confusion. "Is there a reason why we're --"

I slapped a hand over his mouth. "Shhh. A group of bandits is making their way through the market. I don't want them to spot us," I whispered.

His eyes shifted toward the direction of my gaze, to the group of men with black headbands with a red symbol embroidered on them, the same embroidery I'd seen on Rib and his bandits. Hector was right. There were a lot of them here.

Eros tried to say something, but his voice was muffled by my hand. When I didn't remove it as quickly as he wanted me to, he licked my palm.

As if burned, I pulled my hand back, my face contorting in disgust as I wiped the wetness away. "Don't ever do that again," I said.

"I won't if you don't try to suffocate me with your hand again," he complained, giving me a hard look.

I sighed, keeping my eyes on the bandits as they passed by.

"I don't understand why you're afraid of them. You can easily take them all down," Eros said. "I wouldn't want to fight them, but I know you can."

My gaze shifted to his. "I'm not afraid of them. I simply want to avoid as much unnecessary violence as possible. And I don't want the innocent people at the market getting scared or unintentionally injured as a result."

He stared down at me, his eyes softening. "I see. So we will simply avoid running into them."

I nodded, looking back at the spot where I'd last seen the bandits. They were gone.

Relieved, I took a step forward, but was suddenly yanked back by my waist into a hard chest. When I looked up questioningly at Eros, he motioned to our right with his eyes. Following his gaze, I saw that two bandits came out of a weaponry shop. If he hadn't pulled me back, they would have definitely seen me.

"Thank you," I whispered.

When there were no more bandits in sight, we came out of our hiding spot and tried to look for the items on the old woman's list, but had no luck finding it. Even the merchants we'd asked didn't know where we could buy them. After an hour of searching and avoiding bandits, Eros and I walked back to the inn.

"Did you bring my items?" the old woman asked as soon as we came back. I shook my head no and returned her list. "Oh, I gave you the wrong list!" She clicked her tongue. "How very scattered of me. You're free to go, children."

"Do you know if Lena is back?" I asked. She'd told me that she would explore the town while Eros and I were at the market.

"Oh, yes. She should be in the training room," she said. "It's the door across from my shop."

Sounds of clashing swords could be heard from behind the door of what I assumed was the training room of this inn. I hadn't even known that there was one here, but I was glad for it. I needed to train.

When I opened the door, Lena's back was turned to me, a sword in her hand as she brought it down on Bion. The satyr was quick to block her attack with his own sword. The sound of two metal blades clashing loudly rung through the air.

"Not bad, satyr," Lena panted, lowering her sword and wiping sweat off her forehead. Bion did the same. "I didn't think that challenging you for a fight would turn out this way. It was quite a good training."

Bion snorted. "Not bad? I'm the best fighter in my clan. But I must admit, you're quite good yourself." His eyes shifted to the door where Eros and I stood watching them in slight confusion. Didn't he say he wanted us out of sight this very morning? "I should leave now."

He put his sword away and walked out of the training room, hissing when his shoulder brushed past mine as he left.

"He's avoiding us," I said with a frown.

Eros raised his brow. "He's avoiding you."

"Are you two here to train?" Lena asked, putting her sword away in front of a wall of weapons. "I only discovered that there was a training room in this inn today. The old woman told me that Bion doesn't let anyone in here, but when I challenged his abilities, he pulled the door wide open."

"I was hoping I could do a round of sword fighting with you, if you're not tired out yet," I said, walking up to the wall of weapons and pulling out a sword she'd just put away.

She groaned, shaking her head. "I've exhausted myself completely. I'm going to wash up and rest now." She glanced at Eros. "You could train with him perhaps? You know how to wield a sword, don't you?" she asked him.

"I doubt it, Lena," I answered for him. "We're talking about someone who complained about getting bruises when I grabbed his wrist and getting suffocated when I put my hand over his mouth to shut him up."

Eros looked utterly amused, but didn't say anything to protest my words. I must have been right. He didn't know how to wield a sword.

Lena carefully examined his strong physique with a careful gaze. "He doesn't look like a weakling..." she mused with her eyebrows raised. Then she shrugged. "Even if he is unskilled, perhaps you could teach him? You know, teaching is also a good way to train and remember the fundamental techniques."

I pursed my lips in thought, then nodded. "You're right. Eros, grab a sword," I said.

"Great!" Lena clapped with a smile. "I'm off then. Don't injure him too much, Cassia." She waved as she walked out, closing the door behind her.

With a sword in hand, Eros stood before me. "What will you teach me first, little human?" He smiled.

"Try to block my attacks," I instructed before I lightly swung my sword at him. He stopped it with his own, his grip on the hilt surprisingly strong. I added a little more force into my next swing which he also managed to stop. I lowered my sword. "You know how to block."

He chuckled and spun his sword in one place with a trained hand. "Do you?"

Before I knew it, he slashed with the blade at me. The force of my blade meeting his sent a vibration up my arm, and I widened my eyes when he attacked me again.

I ducked when his sword came for my neck, then rolled away to spring up beside him and swing my weapon at his torso. We danced around each other, our swords colliding as we blocked each other's attacks.

"You can wield a sword," I said, raising my blade in front of my face to prevent him from cutting me. He could wield it exceptionally well.

"I never said I couldn't," he responded, his eyes shining with mischief.

As we kept fighting, we shifted closer to the wall of weapons. Then something unthinkable happened.

Eros managed to rob me of my sword and point it to my neck, adding his own with his other hand. Now two sharp edges of swords were pointed at me, and I felt the prickle of spears digging into my shoulder blades from the weapon wall behind me.

I'd just lost a fight.

Disbelief coloured my face as I stared into the God's honey eyes. "How?"

He lowered the swords and put them back in their places near the weapon wall. "My father is the God of War. It would be a shame if his son didn't possess his battle skills. I never particularly enjoyed using them, but this just now?" He eyes shifted to mine. "This was quite entertaining. Especially that look on your face."

"I've never lost a fight before," I explained myself, still in shock with his abilities. Perhaps there was much more to him than meets the eye.

"I can tell," he laughed. "But there's a first time for everything." He winked.

Frustrated and embarrassed, I crossed my arms and blew a piece of hair that got untied during our fight out of my face, avoiding his gaze. "I thought you were a weakling," I mumbled to myself.

"I think I smell a stew." Eros sniffed the air. "Lunch must be ready soon. I'll go and see what else the old human is cooking up."

He turned his back to me and started to walk away. Still unsettled with my defeat, I lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. My satisfaction only lasted a second before he pushed me off and pinned my body beneath his.

Eros had my wrists pinned above my head with one big hand, his other hand pushing down on my hip, while his thighs held my legs to the ground. I couldn't move at all.

"You never cease to amuse me, little human. Did you think you'd caught me off guard?" he said.

I growled in frustration. Why couldn't I take him down?

"Admit it, you can't defeat me," he whispered, his hot breath warming my skin.

I tried to wiggle out of his hold, but my attempts were fruitless. All I could do was stare up at him.

His honey eyes were framed by thick, dark eyelashes and his full lips were turned up in a teasing smile. Small beads of sweat dripped down the smooth skin of his face. I could only think of one word in that very moment.

Beautiful.

Eros lifted himself off of me and let go of my wrists, standing up to his full height and offering me a hand to help me up. I accepted it. "If you need someone to train with next time, I'd be glad to help," he said as he pulled me to stand.

"Oh I will be asking you," I grumbled. "I won't stop until I defeat you completely."

"So stubborn," he chastised. "But I admire your determination, as useless as it is."

I gritted my teeth. "Weren't you about to leave to check on the stew?"

Suddenly remembering the lunch, his eyes widened. "You're right. I better go before Bion decides to eat it all."

I shook my head as I watched him walk out the door. "I'm more worried about you eating it all," I said to the empty room before I followed him.

Eros was right. It was stew for lunch. A red bean stew that smelled absolutely divine. When I walked into the dining room, he was already seated at the table, Bion across from him as they stared unblinkingly at each other, hands around their spoons, waiting for the food.

Too preoccupied with their staring contest, Bion didn't notice when I sat beside him.

"That seat is for Lena, child. Sit beside Eros," the old woman told me when she walked in with a big pot of steaming stew.

Bion cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat when he finally noticed my presence and teared his eyes away from Eros's to glance at me. He looked away when I met his gaze and tried to give him a friendly smile.

I sighed. Satyrs knew the wilderness better than any human and had an exceptionally good memory. I'd wanted to ask him about the mountains where he was from. If he'd heard of the Helm of Darkness. If he knew where it could be hidden. But he avoided me like the plague.

Lena walked in and sat down beside the satyr, pouring some of the stew into her bowl. "This tastes absolutely delicious."

"Does it?" Eros asked, then poured some into his own bowl. He glanced at the old woman, who was watching him with a small smile. "Red bean stew is one of my favourite stews," he said. "Come to think of it, everything we've eaten so far were my favourite foods."

The old woman's smile faltered and she cleared her throat. "What an interesting coincidence." She laughed nervously. "Eat up, children. There's more in the kitchen."

Eros tasted the stew and frowned, licking his lips. "This tastes familiar."

"Does it? It's just an old-fashioned stew, child. Nothing special about it. Would you like some bread with it?" the woman asked, standing up. "I'll go get you some."

"No... There's rosemary and red pepper in this," he said. "And the carrots are sliced in a peculiar way."

The old woman waved her hand dismissively, laughing nervously once again. "There's nothing peculiar about them."

Eros's eyes hardened and he dropped his spoon on the table with a loud clank. He glared at the old woman. "Why are you here, mother?"

"Oh, bloody hell," she cursed in a voice that no longer sounded like hers. "Leave it to you to identify me by the stew."

Lena and I dropped our spoons in shock as the old woman transformed into a beautiful Goddess right in front of our eyes.