Ares And Mia

Chapter 29

blood + gore warning, please dont read if you're easily triggered

"A-Ares! We have to go, Eros is in--" I look up and my eyes connect with his. My blood instantly chills. I pull away, swallowing hard. Why... This feels... Different. This feels... dangerous. Something about him felt strange... did he feel the change in the air?

Was it because I basically sentence Eros to death?

How long can he last against Poseidon? Even at full power?

"Finish your sentence, Mia, where do we have to go?" Ares furrows his brow, tilting his head at me. Ares, my savior, Ares, the God of War.

"W-We have to go to my brother's house, Poseidon showed up--" My voice is shaky and I couldn't help but feel... intimidated. The God in front of me seemed... different. He didn't seem like himself.

Was it just me?

I've never been afraid of him before, so why now? What's--

"Let's go then." Ares grabs my wrist and the fear inside of me triples, before I ripped my hand away from him. My breathing quickens and I stumble back, watching him with wide eyes. He stares at me with confusion, glancing down at his hand. "What's wrong, Mia? Did I hurt you?"

Ares...? I see him, but it's... Did something about him change?

"Mia? What's wrong?" He takes a step toward me and I shake my head slightly. No. No, no, no, no. Something's wrong.

Ares never grabs me first. Never, even since day one, he never does anything that I directly object. He lets me set the pace, he never reaches for me. He waits for me to put my hand in his, for me to get settled--

I gasp, dropping to my knees as a sword sliced through the last millimeter of my hair as it was still following my head. The weapon embedded itself into the marble wall next to me, cracked material bouncing off my shoulder as it fell. My heartbeat thundered in my head and I take off, my legs moving on their own.

That definitely wasn't Ares. Ares would never make a swing that sloppy, much less miss me. There was no way I would have dodged that before I met the Gods. I guess living life on my toes made me faster, quicker, and far more paranoid.

How did I not think of it? Illusions, Poseidon used illusions. Of course, he would've made someone look like Ares--even smell like him. That's the first rule in the book of illusions, how did I miss that?

I grit my teeth, turning to throw a glance over my shoulder. He was perfectly placed so that I would run into him. Why would he even be here? He would be in his office, on the opposite side of Olympus.

Trust your fucking gut, Mia.

- - -

Ares's POV

"Ares-Ares!" My office door is pushed open and I see Mia, with cuts and scrapes on her knees. What is she doing here? Something definitely is amiss. She's exhausted and there's no sign of Eros. I focus on the spot next to her and I appear next to her. She's panting hard, slight tears in her eyes. "Poseidon, he was there, Eros was there but he wasn't, and my brothers--"

"Breathe, breathe," I put my palm against her face, her skin smooth and slightly moist. Her pulse was racing, evident through my fingertips. Poseidon? That fucking bastard. She gulped down air, "What happened?"

"We went to my brother's house and there was a girl inside, she wasn't human, she had scales and f-fins--" A trick, we were played. I run my tongue over my teeth, turning toward the door. Eros couldn't even deal with a sea nymph...