“I am nobody’s fucking pet,” I growled. The red mist slammed down, energy soaring through my veins, filling my muscles.
“You will start by swearing less,” he said.
“I will start by ripping your fucking head off, you overgrown jerk!”
I leaped at him before I could stop myself, and cried out as I hit an invisible wall, bouncing back and landing hard on my ass. Dusty sand flew up around me as I scrabbled to my feet. Never stay down longer than you need to. Ares folded his arms, self-satisfied.
But before I could try flinging myself at him again, I realized something. It wasn’t just my shoulder and hip that had physically felt that wall of power. Something in my gut had too.
With a roar, I launched myself at him again, but dropped low at the last minute, aiming to swipe out his legs. I hit the invisible barrier again, as I expected, but this time I was concentrating. There it was! A flare of something, like a sharp yank on a cord deep in my belly. Was that him accessing my power?
I yelped as I was suddenly lifted off my ass, my distraction by the alien feeling giving Ares the upper-hand. Literally. He had my shirt in his fist like he’d scruffed a dog, and was picking me up off the ground. I struggled and thrashed, half-expecting my shirt to tear, but he set me back down surprisingly gently. I turned to glare up at him, and he glared back. He was at least two feet taller than me.
“Stop wasting time,” he said.
“Stop being a prick,” I replied. Sparks flew in his dark eyes, and I was close enough to see that they looked like burning embers. They were... much more interesting to look at than they should be. I snapped my eyes away.
“Why are you making this so difficult?”
“Oh, I don’t know, probably because you introduced yourself with your intention to kill me? Or maybe because you don’t give a flying fuck about saving Joshua and are only doing this to save your own ass? Or perhaps it’s just because you’re a humorless oaf.”
“The fastest way to save your friend is to stop angering me,” he said, and there was a new, very real strain in his voice.
“Tell me how to use my power,” I said, finding his eyes again.
“No,” he answered flatly, and turned around, resuming his stride.
“Then I’ll keep being a pain in the ass,” I said, almost jogging to catch up with him.
“You will do that regardless,” he spat. I couldn’t really argue with that, so I reluctantly fell in beside him. The adrenaline from my brief and unsuccessful bout with him was still churning through me, firing me up, but the red mist had melted away. The fastest way to help Joshua was to keep moving, not uselessly attack Ares.
“At least tell me where we’re going,” I said.
“We are going to one of Aries’ busiest cities, to find out who knows anything of this accursed demon,” he sighed, after a long pause.
“Oh.” I said. That seemed like a good idea, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Why aren’t we flashing there?”
“Because the King of Erimos does not allow flashing into his city. Only out.”
I moved my curiosity about Erimos and its king to a new list called ‘things to ask about later’. “But if you’re the god of this realm, can’t you just break the rules?”
Ares took a long breath, then let it out slowly. I got the distinct impression he felt like he was talking to a child.
“Your power is a shadow of what mine was. It will strengthen the longer you are here, but right now, the most impressive thing that you can do is flash.” I opened my mouth indignantly to defend my newly discovered magic, but Ares continued before I could speak. “Many in the cities of my realm would choose to take advantage of me, should they discover my lack of strength. To topple the God of War would be a legendary feat. So we shall not be revealing my identity to anyone.”
A little ripple of excitement took me, and I really wasn’t sure why. “You’re going to move through your own realm in disguise?”
“I can see no other way.” He did not sound happy about it at all, but for some reason, I was thrilled with the idea. It was like being in a spy movie or something. Maybe it was my love of theater, and the opportunity I was about to be given to be a real actress that was so exciting. Or maybe I was just more messed up than I realized I was.
“Won’t they recognize you? You’re pretty, erm... distinctive.” I eyed his hulking frame as I asked the question. Ares said nothing, just stamped across the barren desert, his armor clinking. “Are you going to use magic to change what you look like?” I tried again.
“Your power is not strong enough for me to use it for a prolonged period like that. It would drain you and render you unconscious.” I didn’t like the lilt of happiness in his voice at the mention of me being unconscious.
“Then how are you going to disguise yourself? Surely everyone knows what you look like?”
Ares slowed to a stop, putting his huge fists on his hips.
“You have no idea how little I want to do this,” he said quietly. “With you of all people.”
“Do what?” A combination of apprehension and excitement skittered over my skin in the warm desert heat. What was he about to do?
“There are only three beings who have ever seen my face.” I barely heard the words from behind his helmet, he spoke so low.
“Why?”
“The helmet of war is part of me. You would not understand.” My mind jumped to my knife, and how wrong I felt when I didn’t have it, but I dismissed the thought, concentrating on Ares.
“So, you never take it off?”
“Not in front of people, no.”
“Are you really ugly?” I couldn’t help the question, and his head snapped to me, embers in his furious eyes again.
“You mock me?” I swore I could hear the actual ring of steel in his words, and there was a tiny tug in my tummy. I was making him mad enough to use my magic again.
“It’s just a helmet,” I shrugged.
“You are an ignorant, selfish, weak child,” he growled, the embers growing and coloring his eyes a dancing amber. I took a breath, the sight utterly mesmerizing. The longer I looked at the fire burning in his eyes, the more I was sure I could hear the ringing of swords and distant drums, the more the sensation of being flooded with adrenaline and the unbeatable feeling of victory tingled through me. He must have mistaken my awe for fear though, because his shoulders squared and he took a step back, giving a small, satisfied nod and breaking the spell.
Deciding that it was probably safer to let him think that I was scared of him than let him know he had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen, I kept my mouth shut, but residual tingling still pulsed across my skin. This was not what I needed. At all. But already I wanted to see the fire in his eyes again.
He just called you a weak child! Not cool! Get it together, Bella, I chided myself mentally.
“If I’m ignorant, then that’s your fault. You won’t tell me anything.” I folded my arms across my chest, the tingling finally ebbing away.
Ares shifted his weight from one foot to the other, armor jangling. “I will tell you what you need to know about Erimos on the way,” he offered eventually.
“I’m not interested in Erimos,” I said, although I totally was. “I want to know why you’re so attached to this helmet. Do you sleep with it?”