Emma shook her head. “I don’t want you,” she whispered. The lie burned her tongue and caused her stomach to twist into knots. It was a necessary lie, but that didn't make it any easier to say.
“But—” Ares started, but Emma interrupted.
“I don’t want you,” she said, again, with more conviction. She straightened her spine and held her head high. “I don’t love you. And as I said before, I want you to leave me alone.”
Athena cackled a hideous laugh and dropped the blade from Emma’s throat. Ares felt his heart rip in two right there in his chest. It became harder and harder to breathe, every breath feeling as though it was full of water. His palms began to sweat and knees grew weak and trembled slightly with the effort to support his massive body. His eyes burned with the need to release the emotion he was feeling. She didn't want him? He had thought she did, how could he have been so wrong? Had he spent so much time being selfish and petty and was so full of himself that he could have mistaken the signals she sent for real feelings?
As Emma moved away from Athena, who continued to laugh at her brother's expense, Ares felt his body go numb. She didn’t run, as he would have expected a regular human to do, but stood tall and trained her eyes on him. "Go," she said firmly. "Leave and never come back here."
Of all the emotions that Ares had experienced during his time on Earth, this was the worst. It was defeat, but it was also heartbreak. He had finally learned to feel something for someone other than himself. Love. He loved her. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her to make her happy. Even if it meant leaving her, he realized. If that was what his warrior wanted, that was what she would get.
Ares looked to Emma one last time, hoping he was wrong and that this was all some alternate universe and she still wanted him. Emma stood straight and proud, determination on her beautiful face. She meant business and he knew it. The fight left him, and Ares dropped his head. He palmed the pendant around his neck and lifted it over his head. He took the few steps to his warrior and easily slipped the necklace over her head, allowing the symbol of Olympus to settle just above her breasts.
"It will protect you, keep you safe," he told her sadly. Without saying another word, he turned his back on Emma and took his sister by the arm.
"Unhand me you brute!" Athena demanded, but Ares didn't flinch.
There was no way he was going to leave her behind to harm Emma ever again. When Athena slashed at his arm with her blade, he didn't even flinch. Not even as the burn escalated. Not when he could smell the coppery scent of his own blood. He didn't care if she cut it off. He stormed away, not knowing or caring how they were going to get back to the mountain in the sky, dragging Athena along with him.
***
Emma watched the man whom she now knew without a doubt to be the only one who ever really held her heart walk away. She kept her composure, her back ramrod straight, until they were out of sight. Only then did she allow herself to raise her hand to touch the pendant that hung around her neck. The necklace that he had given her. For protection, he had told her. Now, it was all she had left of him. With a heavy sigh, she turned to walk back to her tiny apartment. Her chest felt heavy, as if it had caved in on itself, making breathing difficult. It didn't matter. All the air in the world wouldn't have made her feel better as she trudged her way through the grass of Central Park to the street. It was going to be a long walk, a long night. Hell, it was going to be a long life that she had left in front of her. Emma knew somewhere deep down inside that not only did she send away the man she loved, but that he was her perfect match. A soul mate. And her life would never be the same again.
***
Ares finally knew what that damned curse meant. How many centuries had he spent so full of himself that he had been oblivious to the beauty around him? He knew what life he yearned for. He wanted a life with Emma. It didn’t matter if he was a god or a human. He didn’t care about anything but her. She was the key to his curse, the selfless soul that would save him, except he screwed it up somehow. The war within was his constant battle with himself. Emma made him forget about war and filled his head with love. Yes, somewhere along the way, he had fallen head-over-heels in love with her. He finally knew how it felt to love, and he had lost it.
He yanked Athena along with him, moving even faster. He wanted her as far away from Emma as possible. Even though he was condemned to a human life, a very lonely human life, he would be damned if Athena ever came near his warrior again.
Ares felt something in his chest that felt a little like electricity. Was he going to have a damned heart attack as well? That would just be the icing on a very shitty cake of a day. He tightened his grip on his sister's arm, willing the feeling to subside.
It did not.
It grew in intensity, spreading from his chest throughout his body until he could no longer walk.
"What is it now?" Athena demanded, trying to free herself from his grip.
Ares held tight, but found he could not answer her. Was this it? Was it the end? Was he dying? He hoped so. He didn't want to live a life that didn't include his Emma.
The electric current quickly became a fire burning within himself, spreading and consuming his entire being. At some point, Athena pulled free of his grasp, but she didn't run. She looked at him with disbelief as his body rose from the ground as if he were a puppet on string. He seemed to glow from the inside out, an aura of light surrounding his body.
"No," Athena breathed. "No!" She said again, louder. "You don't get to be free!" She threw herself at him, grabbing him around the waist and tried to pull him back to the earth, but all she got for her efforts was a sound shock that knocked her back on her ass.
Raw power filled his veins and Ares laughed. His curse was broken. It did not quell the ache in his chest or his love for Emma, but it did make him happy. As his feet touched the ground, he summoned his sword. Flames shot from his hand as the broadsword formed by the power of his will. His clothes were replaced with battle gear. He may not be able to be with Emma, but he could still protect her. He pointed the sword at his sister.
"You will come with me," he told her.
She tried to scoot away from him, but Ares had all his power back and was much too fast for her. He snatched her up and willed them both to the place she wanted to be. Where she needed to be if he were to protect Emma. The place he vowed he would never go again. He took her home to Mount Olympus.
Chapter Fifteen
As it turned out, being free of his curse was worse than the curse itself. Yes, he had all of his divine powers back and could kick ass anytime he pleased. To the envy of all the other gods, he could move freely between Earth and Olympus. He could do whatever he wanted. Start wars. Destroy and destruct. But no, what did he do? He followed Emma around like a sick puppy. Well, more like a stalker, because he stayed in the shadows and out of her sight, but still.
He loved her.
The emotion had stayed with him after the curse was broken. He had learned what the Creator had wanted him to learn. But at what cost? He was more miserable than ever. He knew she didn’t want him, but still he watched her from afar. Sometimes she would fidget with the pendant he gave her and sometimes she would look toward the heavens and smile. He wondered what she thought of during those times. Never once did he approach her, though. She deserved her own happiness.
***
“Hello, Emma,” a familiar voice said from nearby.
Emma raised her eyes from her book and squinted against the glare of the sun. She didn’t need to see to know who it was.
“Jeff,” she said calmly to her ex. The man who had left her when she was at her lowest. “What are you doing here?”
“I was out for a walk and I saw you sitting here,” he said, taking a seat next to her. “How are you?”
Emma shrugged. “I’m fine.”
Jeff reached over and took her hand. The contact was familiar and foreign at the same time. “I’ve missed you,” he told her. “Can we talk?”
He moved closer in hopes of hearing what they were saying. It was tricky to get close enough to eavesdrop without being seen. Finally, Ares found a tree to hide behind, lean up against, he meant, and listen.
“I don’t think there is anything to talk about,” Emma said. “You said it all when you left.”
“About that,” Jeff said, “I’m sorry. I was hurting and I didn’t handle it well. Can you ever forgive me?”
Emma studied the man she once thought she loved. Maybe she had, but not anymore. Things had changed. She had changed. “I forgive you, Jeff,” she told him. “But we really don’t have anything else to say to each other.” She closed her book and stood from the bench.
“Emma, wait,” he pleaded, but she kept going.
She could feel the familiar weight of Ares pendant around her neck and it comforted her. He said it would protect her. Protect her heart, protect her body, protect her mind. In the past few weeks it had done all of those things. She didn’t know if it held any real power, but she felt as though she had kept a piece of Ares with her after he was gone. She hoped that wherever he was, he was happy.
Ares watched as his warrior rebutted the man who talked to her. He had left her? What an idiot. Was this man so stupid that he didn’t know what he had? This guy was just a great big bag of limp dicks. Completely useless. The man started to follow Emma, but stopped. He hesitated for a moment, and then turned to walk the other direction.
“That’s right, keep moving Dickrash,” Ares grumbled at the unaware man’s back. The God of War was more than ready to show this waste of space who Emma really belonged to.
But she doesn’t want you, that irritating little voice in his head reminded him.
“Fuck off,” he grumbled at it.
“Now that’s no way to greet an old friend,” the Sea God’s voice rumbled from behind him.
“Not now, Poseidon,” Ares said, moving to follow Emma to her next destination.
“Now is the perfect time,” Poseidon continued. “This is pathetic.”
Ares spun on his heel. “Don’t you think I know that?” he nearly shouted at his one-time enemy. Now, the god was almost a friend. Almost.
“All I’m saying is, if you don’t like your situation, change it. You have never been helpless and you sure as hell aren’t now.” And then, the Sea God disappeared.
If you don’t like it, change it. How the fuck was he supposed to do that? Ares thought as he followed Emma to a small diner. She sat at a table near the window where he could see her perfectly.
Change it, Poseidon’s voice said again.
“Oh fuck me,” Ares growled. “Alright already.”
He forced his feet to move across the street to enter the diner. His heart hammered in his chest and his palms became sweaty. He was nervous. Scared, even.
“The warrior that is victorious is not one that is without fear,” he reminded himself out loud, “But one who fights despite the fear.”
He yanked the diner door open and forced himself inside. He saw her immediately. As if she could feel his presence, Emma looked up and recognition lit her eyes. Ares walked to her table, the distance seeming to become longer with each step he took.
Emma stood. “Ares,” she said. “You’re here. How did you … I mean, why … I mean….”
“Hello, Emma,” he rumbled.
She graced him with her lovely smile. “Hello,” she said.
Ares motioned for her to sit and, after she did, he took the seat opposite her.
“I have missed you,” he said.
“You’re here,” she repeated.
“Yes. I am here.”
“The curse?” she asked.
“Broken,” he answered.
“Your sister?”
“Mount Olympus with no way back.”
“Oh.” She sighed with a smile.
“Emma,” Ares said, reaching for her hand, but then changing his mind. “Could we talk?”
She smiled at him and reached across the table, taking his hand into her own. “I would like that very much,” she said.
The God of War felt his face split into a wide grin, the kind that he used to think made others look silly. The kind that looked like a fool in love. Ares knew it. For the first time that he could remember in his very long life, he felt peace. War and mayhem could wait until another day. Right now, he was one of those grinning idiots in love, and he couldn’t have been happier about it.
The End.
***Also By Danielle James***
The Forbidden Love Series
“When Love Bites, It’s Forever.”
Out of the Dark
Into the Light
Into the Fire
From the Ashes
Into Forever
Into the Divine
Forbidden Love Novels
Spider Web
Phoenix
Jaded
Dragon Fire
The Keepers of Hell Series
“They Will Burn You From the Inside Out and Leave You Desperate For More…”
Savior
Salvation
Redemption
Absolution
Reclamation
Justified.
To Avenge Everything She loved, Sarah had to become the monster…
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The War Within (Curse of the Gods Book 1) Page 8