Regulus was the god of eclipses and the night, the younger brother of Apollo and the older brother of Artemis. He had always considered himself more similar to Artemis, as, like her, he wasn’t swayed by the trivialities of life, such as falling in love or having romantic relationships with others—unlike that arrogant Apollo. He focused solely on his duties: maintaining the balance between day and night and preventing yet another quarrel between his brother and sister.

However, Eros—that little archer of love utterly insufferable to him—seemed to think it was time to change this story. And what’s more, Eros had made him lose his mind over you; he had become lovesick for a mortal. Sure, it wasn’t unusual for gods to fall in love with mortals—there were hundreds of demigods to prove it—but it had certainly never happened to him before.

He had started watching you from afar, practically with heart-shaped eyes, almost as if he wanted to learn everything about the way you moved and decipher your body language. Only after that had he finally decided to talk to you. You were the daughter of an astronomer, so it was clear that you had recognized him at first glance, and he had to admit that your blush and embarrassment at standing before a deity had brought a little smile to his face.

Two months later, he was still coming to visit you. Often.

The stars shone like never before that night, and fireflies danced around the two of you as you sat on the shore of a beach near your house. "Are you cold?" he asked, his warm breath tickling your ear. He didn’t wait for a reply; he put an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to warm you with his body heat. He began tracing small, soothing movements on the skin of your shoulder while the minty scent of his dark curls intoxicated your senses. "Mm, better now?"