Insightful take
You took the words right out of my mouth. I've read from other comments that Eclis does some... not so great things as the plot continues, but I can't get over how bad I feel for him. His country is destroyed, his people are scattered and suffering, he is sold into slavery, and the one person who treats him with any semblance of kindness wants to use him as a tool by specifically manipulating his emotions so he'll love her. None of the other capture targets are in such shitty situations and also I'm pretty sure he's the youngest of the group? Like, I get where Penelope is coming from and her fears for her own life, but, good lord, give the boy a break.
Tbh while I don't really like eclipse as a love interest, I feel bad for him. It honestly looks like he's stuck in kind of an abusive relationship. He was sold into slavery, and then Penelope come in and treats him with affection and purposefully tried to raise his affection towards her. Yes, I know she had her reason of not wanting to die, but still doesn't excuse the effect it had on Eclise. Then, as he's catching feelings, he begins to realize the huge gap in their status. And she needs him to survive, but doesn't notice how he can never contact her and has to wait an unknown amount of time for her to visit him. Yes, I know that Penelope has a lot going on in her life, but this probably was the turning point for him, and his affection turned into obsession.
Anyway, the point of this was not to blame Penelope, because her survival comes first, but to explain Eclise's feelings from my perspective a bit. Also, this isn't excusing any of Eclise's future action whatsoever.