Unholy Hunger
Conversations led to things gods of war were not supposed to want with creatures made of blood and bone and brief, blazing mortality.
"The curse," she said. She had taken one step back — not running, just creating enough distance to think clearly. Smart. "You know about it."
"I am bound by it," he said. "As are you, now."
A beat. "What does that mean?"
"It means the gods who made me also made a law. Any divine being who loves a mortal burns from within — the divinity devours itself, slowly if you're lucky, quickly if you're not." He paused. "And any mortal who loves a god loses their soul to the void. Not at death. Gradually. As the feeling grows."