SWNOVELS Ares: Chapter 17
“Harm,” Ares yelled, throwing me a twin xiphos.
I caught it with ease as the world blurred around me. Like paint in water, the sky swirled, followed by the ground until we stood in an open field. Stars scattered half the cloudless blue sky, with the full moon shining bright. The owl flapped its wings, flying from the tree, and in mid-air, transformed into a woman with deeply tanned skin.
A white hood hung over her face, shadowing her features. The hood came to a point like a beak toward the front; ornate golden patterns represented the owl’s large eyes and feathers. Armor plating covered her shoulders in golden glimmer, traveling down to a breastplate. The white cloth continued over her hips, forming a tunic with golden flaps. She threw her arm out to one side, producing a sword and swinging it once.
“Ares, my brother. It’s been too long.” Her voice was smooth, sultry, and breathy.
Glancing between the two gods, I tightened my grip on the sword.
Just what I needed. Another unwanted godly visit.
“Athena. What are you doing?” He asked through a snarl, shifting his feet across the dirt.
Her hooded head turned from him to me. My heart fell to my feet.
“There’s been much talk on Olympus of your newfound interest in this mortal.” She raised the sword above her head.
She splayed her hand, and a circular golden shield appeared on my arm. She charged at me, and I lifted the shield, resting the blade of my sword on top.
Out of the corner of my eye, Ares appeared at my side. Athena aimed her hand at him, and he slid across the dirt. He dug his heels in, creating a crater once he stopped.
“For once in your life, big brother, don’t interfere,” Athena yelled. “I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to fight—” She pointed the point of her blade at me. “—her.”
Her sword slashed in front of me, rattling against my shield. I spun around, swirling the sword with me. Our blades collided with such force, it sent sparks flying in every direction.
“Good,” Athena said, a flash of a thin-lipped smile peeking from the confines of her hood.
Was she trying to kill me or just toying with me?
Ares appeared behind her. She whirled around to block his blow, and the two of them engaged in a sword-clashing of divine proportions. I backed away, partially hiding behind my shield in case something exploded.
There was no telling what her appearance meant. Eris’s intent was clear—a conversation to make me question everything that had happened recently. Athena’s goal may have been similar. No more room for another war goddess, and they wanted to make damn sure of it.
Despite their different styles, they both fought with equal skill. Aggression fueled Ares’s moves with force and harsh lines. While Athena moved smoother, more lucid, like dancing a ballet routine with a sword.
They fought as if I were a specter—an on-looker. I could’ve tried to get away, but I didn’t want to leave.
“Why are you doing this?” Ares growled, producing another xiphos.
He did a barrel roll in the air toward her, bringing each sword down on hers in rapid succession. Athena threw her fists out to each side. A yellow pulse resonating from her chest flashed the surrounding area, making Ares backpedal. When it reached my shield, it almost knocked me on my ass.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t given it any thought, Ares.” She morphed behind him.
Ares gritted his teeth, turned on his heel, and swung both swords at her. The blades bounced against her crisscrossed gauntlets with an echoing crackle.
“Why don’t you just come out and say it, Athena,” Ares roared.
She flicked off her hood, revealing long dark brown hair flowing in waves down her back—a braid on one side with gold beads and ribbon intertwined. She appeared in front of me again, striking her sword against my shield. It sent a vibration down my arm and into my chest. I batted her arm away with the blunt edge of the shield before leaping into the air and striking downward with one knee bent. Her dark eyes brightened, watching me suspended in the air before blocking my blow.
“Are you familiar with your female ancestors, Harmony?” Her hands rested at her sides as she circled me.
I kept still but followed her with my eyes. “You’re the goddess of wisdom. You tell me.”
The wind rustled leaves around us, sending our hair in floating wisps.
She laughed. “Wit as well. It’s no wonder my brother, and you were made for each other.”
Ares walked up behind me with a growl vibrating in the back of his throat. His scowl distorted the skin between his eyes and forehead.
“Did you know your mortal is the descendant of Amazons, Ares?” Athena gave a wry grin, twirling her sword as she continued to circle us.
“What?” We asked at the same time.
Ares’s glare softened into confusion.
“Did you not question your visions? Why they felt so real?” Athena traced a line in the dirt.
“How did you—” I snapped my mouth shut, somehow forgetting who she was.
Athena slashed at my side, jolting me from my trance. I deflected her blade with the shield, putting extra fervor in my swing.
This game was getting old.
Ares prowled past me, slicing his blades in opposite directions at Athena’s head. She dropped to her knee and slid between Ares’s legs.
“What do you know, Athena?” Ares puffed his chest.
She spun to her feet with a flick of her dark hair. “All action. No talk. Such is the God of War. Does the name Otrera mean anything to you, brother?”
Ares blinked rapidly, his face neutralizing.
I tightened my grip on the sword. “Who’s Otrera?”
“An ancient Amazonian Queen, Harmony. Her second in command, the princess, had a passionate affair with a Spartan soldier, thus producing your bloodline. And if you didn’t know, my brother has always had such a weak spot for Amazons. He married Otrera. But alas, mortality can be so…final.” She shook her head.
Ares growled and splayed his hand. A blast of red lightning and smoke slammed into Athena’s abdomen, throwing her to the ground.
Athena chuckled as she hopped to her feet. “Inherited some of father’s power, have you? That’s new.”
“Have you come here just to remind me of my past, or did you have a point?” His powers bubbled in his palm, ready to lash out again.
“While Otrera was a renowned warrior, she wasn’t worthy of it, Ares. She is.” Athena pointed at me with the tip of her blade. “Did you not think he’d get word of this? Our father sent me to—test her.”
“Worthy?” The sword felt limp in my hand. “Worthy of what?”
Half of Ares’s upper lip lifted. “I would never ask her. And he has no business with any of this.”
“Oh, but he does. To be a war goddess, especially one tied to you, can’t be bestowed upon just anyone. She should at least have the choice. The Fates put you in each other’s paths because you were meant to be.” Athena made the sword in her hand disappear, followed by my shield.
“You all are expecting me to give up my life for one I never knew I was meant to live.” My voice cracked as I spoke.
Athena turned on her heel, canting her head from one side to the other.
“Those don’t sound like your words, Amazon.” She squinted, moving closer, scanning me. “Eris. She got to you before me, didn’t she?”
Ares’s face snapped to me, and I tried not to look at him.
No, I didn’t tell him. What good would it have done? It was something I needed to work out on my own.
“Why should that matter?” I lifted my chin.
“Oh, it matters a great deal. All Eris ever does is cause calamity and chaos. It’s her purpose.” Athena flicked something from her well-manicured fingernail. “Not to mention how petty she can be. Do you think she wants competition? Let alone another woman?”
A breath escaped my lungs. I’d let Eris get into my head. She spent five minutes with me and made me question every instinct, and I wanted to beat her senseless for it.
Ares wouldn’t look at me, his gaze focused on the glint of his sword.
“What a goddess you would make.” Athena curled a long finger under my chin, lifting it to meet her eyes.
My neck felt numb. “A goddess? But I—” I stumbled backward, and Ares’s arm launched out to catch me.
Goddess. Not just immortal, but a Greek goddess.
“No one’s saying anything, gatáki. Athena’s sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
“You know what I speak is true, Ares. And you say you sneer at cowards.”
My blood boiled, so it didn’t surprise me when Ares lurched forward with his blade drawn. He raised it, pulled the hilt back to his ear, and pointed the tip at Athena’s throat.
“It isn’t cowardice not wishing to burden her with even the thought of immortality, war goddess.” He snarled his last words, glaring at her.
“You’ve never been given enough credit, Ares.” She pressed the back of her hand to his blade, slowly pushing it away. “War. Chaos. It’s all needed to maintain balance. But even war itself. You, brother…” She placed a single finger on his chest. “Need balance.” She turned her chin at me. “Or…harmony.”
Ares’s eyes widened, and he dropped one of his swords. A sight to behold, the God of War letting a weapon fall from his grasp.
I was the cure for his fury.
“You two complement one another. Your passion pushes her to strive for more, and her humility levels you. Together you are the perfect representation for the zeal of battle without the distraction of the unquenchable fury.” She poked Ares in the chest with the same finger already there. “You most of all.”
“We’ve been at each other’s throats for eons, sister. Why help me now?” He batted her finger away.
“This isn’t only about you. Whether I like it or not, this responsibility falls on you. But it doesn’t have to be on your shoulders alone.” She pursed her lips, peering at me with sad eyes. “You’ve both had such burdens thrust upon you.” She looked back to Ares, resting a hand on his forearm. “Lift them for each other. Talk to her.”
Ares snarled and turned away, dragging a hand over his beard.
Athena slipped her hood back on. “Hear him out, Harmony. And listen with an open heart.” She swirled her hands, kicking up dirt and leaves. “She’s the best of both your worlds, brother. Another like her won’t come along for centuries. If ever.”
She thrust her arms skyward, morphing into the brown feathered owl.
We stood in downtown Denver without the ancient weapons previously laced in our grasps.
I didn’t know how to bring up the subject. Instead, I deflected. “Does it hurt when you port?”
We stood feet away from each other, the crisp mountain wind tossing our dark hair over our faces.
“No.” His jaw tightened.
“Does it exhaust you?”
“Not after my teenage years, no.”
Time to rip off the band-aid.
I stared at my boots. “Was all she said true?”
“We shouldn’t talk about this here.” He sniffed once, striding forward and wrapping his limbs around me.
I gripped his arm to keep him from porting. “But we are going to talk about it?”
“Yes,” he whispered in a gruff voice.
I glanced around at our public surroundings and tensed. “Shouldn’t we go somewhere more—”
Poof.
“—private.”
Whatever was going on had him so rattled he didn’t care who saw his godly abilities. This couldn’t be good.
Judging from the water surrounding us, the mountains, and ruins in the distance, I guessed we were in Greece again.
“Where are we, Ares?”
He took my hand and led me into town. “Sparta.”
The way the “r” rolled off his tongue made my chest tighten.
“Why here?”
“Most of what Athena said made sense. About your ancestry—the visions. The dreams. How do you feel here?”
I closed my eyes and let the smells and sounds work with my senses. Birds chirped, people murmured in a nearby crowd, and children laughed. There were scents of freshly baked bread, olives, cheese, and the salt of the sea hanging in the air. Swords clanked, rhythmic beats of sandaled feet marched against the dirt, and fists beat against the metal armor on their chests, saluting a commander.
My eyes flew open, seeing no sign of the latter noises. I bit the inside of my cheek as I ran my thumb over Ares’s knuckles.
“I feel…home. Even more than when we were in Athens.”
He nodded and led me over to a vendor’s stand. My eyes brightened as I watched him flick his hands about, ordering two cones of ice cream.
He remembered.
Pressing a hand to my lower back, he guided me over to a bench facing the water and far enough away from prying ears.
He handed me a cone, making my heart swell when I saw the tiny bits of cookie dough resting on top. “Are you buttering me up?”
“Creamy desserts seem to make you happy.” Ares rubbed the back of his neck before lowering to the bench. He didn’t lean back, staying rigid.
“So, about Otrera…” I kept my gaze on my knees.
Ares held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there, Harm.” He turned to face me, taking my hand in his. “Yes, I was married before you. To her. Only her. She was fierce, loyal, and a great leader to her people, but Harmony, she wasn’t you.” His eyes searched my face.
Jealousy. Possessiveness. New feelings for me that made my mind ache.
“And after she died…” His throat bobbed. “I never had the heart to put myself there again.”
All these years. All this time of being immortal and watching mortals die—consequences of falling in love with a human woman. I bit the inside of my mouth.
“It should’ve been you, gatáki.”
I met his gaze, stomach fluttering.
He squeezed my hand. “It was always meant to be you.”
I stared at him, taking several bites and licks of my ice cream before turning my gaze to the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea in the distance. “Is it possible?”
He paused mid-lick of his chocolate ice- cream, arching a brow.
“I’m going to guess it is. Otherwise, Athena and Eris wouldn’t have brought it up.” Ice cream melted down my hand as I looked at him. “I could become a goddess?”
“Yes.” He plucked the dripping liquid from my hand with a single finger. “But why didn’t you tell me Eris came to see you?” He slipped the finger in his mouth.
“What good would it have done? There was truth in what she said, though she spun it in the most venomous way.”
“Eris only cares about herself.”
“She made me think about whether or not I wanted to give up my mortal life.” My eyes dropped to his lips, briefly remembering the way they felt on my neck before lifting my gaze.
“And?”
“I realized aside from Chelsea, I haven’t had much of a mortal life. Sure, I became an MMA champion, but I have five more years tops before my body gives up on me.” I swirled my tongue around the sweet cream. “And then what?”
His right knee bounced once. “Does the idea of becoming a goddess frighten you?”
“How could it not? Having powers? Responsibilities over something controlling the universe?” I gleamed at the cerulean water, focusing on the ripples the wind caused. “Immortality.”
“Athena’s right.” He lapped his ice cream, leaning on his knees.
“About which part? She talked a lot.”
Ares chuckled deep and husky. “She does that. But I’m referring to her saying you’re worthy of it.”
“Oh, please. I’ve come from nothing and have done little to prove anything in my life, Ares.” I bit halfway into my ice cream, wincing from the brain freeze.
“You can become anything regardless of coming from nothing.” He turned to face me, slipping his free hand over my thigh. “Harmony, a true goddess of war, my version of war, has the strength to be a leader, trained to fight—to obliterate. But can choose not to.”
I peered at him, unblinking, licking my ice cream as I let his words sink in.
But Chelsea. What about Chelsea? Would I just up and leave her as a friend? A client?
“Discretion isn’t my forte, as you’ve witnessed.” A weakened smile played over his lips.
Silence fell over us. I spent my entire life never knowing where I fit in with the universe. I’d always felt estranged from everyone around me. And now it all came crashing over me in so few moments, sputtering from Greek gods’ lips. I wasn’t ready to admit out loud how much sense Athena made—not to mention Eris too. The opportunity to live forever after thinking I had a human expiration date.
I couldn’t tell if my tongue went numb from the ice cream or the daunting thoughts of living for eternity.
Ares popped the tip of his cone in his mouth with a light crunch. After licking the remnants from his thumb, he leaned back, stretching his arms over the length of the bench.
“My father created Athena.”
I straightened. “Created?”
“She wasn’t born. He created her.” He flicked his tongue against his teeth and shook his head. “There was a prophecy that a son would overthrow Zeus. Being that I was born with the power of war, I honestly think he feared me.”
“The King of the Gods fearful of his own son?”
“Crazier things have happened. But I believe that’s why he created a daughter, bestowed the same power on her. It made her far more likable. Never underestimate the power ‘Loyalty of the People’ holds.”
“And would you ever try to overthrow him?”
He turned his chin, gazing at me with softened eyes. “I haven’t nor will I ever have a desire to be King of the Gods.”
That wasn’t a no.
“Hades? Poseidon? No one else has bothered to try?”
“My uncles possess far greater power than me, but they have honor. If it weren’t for Zeus—” His eyebrow twitched. “They’d be dead.”
“What if I said I was considering this?” My throat tightened, and my eyes darted back and forth, searching his face for the expression I hoped to see.
“I’d say you were crazy, but it doesn’t surprise me.” He canted his head to one side. “You must have questions.”
“This fated bond. What would that mean if I became a goddess?”
He ran his hand over his beard, moving his gaze to the sky. “It means a division of power—a balance. Not to mention the connection we already feel. It’d be tenfold.”
My stomach twisted, and I clenched my knees together. “I’d be taking part of your power?”
He cupped my chin with his hand. “No, gatáki. I’d be giving it to you. With two people to balance the fury of war, it’d equalize.”
I dove into his eyes like they were melted chocolate. “I don’t know what to say or how to say it.”
“I can show you how it feels—to have this power.”
“How?”
He slid his hand to the back of my neck. “Normally, a simple touch would do, but—”
His lips slid over mine, coaxing them apart. As the kiss deepened, an overwhelming surge coursed through my body, settling in my chest. Hairs on my arms stood on end, and a passion punched at my ribcage, yearning to be set free.
I gasped and pulled away from the kiss, but Ares kept a hand on my neck, continuing the cosmic connection. Gasping, I gripped his forearm.
“This is so intense. How do you deal with it every day?”
“I’ve had eons to learn. It wouldn’t be like this for you. As I said, we’d be sharing it.”
Fighting past the impatience every cell in my body shivered with, I concentrated on the immense power. With a flick of my wrist, I could move mountains—shape seas. Carve my name in the clouds. My soul formed insurmountable holes through the years, but the power mended a few of them.
His hand slid away, and so did all the power. Dizziness swept over my brain, and I slapped a hand on my forehead.
Ares grabbed my shoulders. “Are you alright?”
“Can you take me back? I need time alone. I need to think. This is all too much.”
“Harmony, no one is asking you to do this.”
“I know. I know. And please do not say anything about my having a choice again, or I may burst.”
He clucked his tongue against his teeth. “I know by now when to back off.” With a frown, he slipped a hand over my shoulder and ported us back to my apartment.
“Thank you.” I shifted my gaze to the coffee stain on the carpet. “I really do need to be alone, Ares. The threat is gone, you heard Chelsea.”
His jaw tightened, and he beat his knuckles against his thigh. “I’ve got a goddess of chaos to deal with anyway.” Words wrapped in a bitter snarl. “See you soon.” He disappeared in a flash of light and smoke.
It wasn’t a matter of anyone asking me. It was the overwhelming sense that I might want this. This could be my missing link. Maybe I really was crazy.