“Fruit, a mighty foe.” Ares balled his fists as Aphrodite dug into his right cheek. “How is such power trapped in such a tiny thing?”
Aphrodite stroked his cheek. “That wasn’t a real pineapple, my love. Not in the fruit sense, at least.”
“Yes, I know.” He winced as another metal fragment came free. “When we get done here, I will shatter the mortal’s body time and again. I will make him tell me all he knows about these pineapples and from whence they grow. And when I tire of hearing his cries, I’ll have him push a boulder for eternity. No, I’ll strap him to a wheel of fire. Or better yet, torture him with insatiable thirst and hunger.”
Aphrodite kissed his forehead and dabbed his wounds with a wet cloth. “All of those have been done before. Do try and be original.”
“Fine. I’ll do all three.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” she snapped. Her voice was as sharp as the shrapnel in his face. “We’re in enough trouble with you losing that duel. How could you do something so stupid?”
“Do not lecture me.” Ares pushed her hands away from his face and sat up. “And what nonsense is this ‘we’ you speak of?”
“We yearn for the same pleasure. Or have you forgotten?”
“The punishment of Alex?”
Aphrodite scowled, pushed Ares back down on the bed and began cleaning his wounds once more. “No, my dear.” Her voice dripped with impatience. “Alex is a play toy, nothing more. We both yearn for Athena’s humiliation and the restoration of my honor. Have you forgotten these things already?”
“Alex is more than a play thing,” Ares said. “Twice now he has cheated me out of my rightful victory. I may have to return his wife, but that doesn’t mean I can’t torment him until time’s end.”
Aphrodite, to his surprise, leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. “You needn’t return his bride. We’re far from beaten.”
Ares’ brow furrowed. As much as he tried to understand why she said what she did, he could not follow. “The contest was binding. I must.”
Aphrodite pulled the last fragment out of his face and placed it in a clay bowl with the others. “I think I have a way around that, love,” she said, running her fingers along the sides of his face. “That is, of course, if you are willing to do me a tiny favor.”
Ares rolled over, locked his eyes with hers and flashed a wry grin. “If I am blessed with your company tonight, I am yours to command.”
Aphrodite placed her fingers on his lips. “Quiet,” she said. “Work first and then play. You only have to return Alex’s bride if the contest stands. But, if someone were to have it annulled…”
Ares shook his head. “Father is the only one who can make that judgment, and he’s not likely to grant me such a kindness while Alex has so many other gods favor him.”
“Ye of little faith,” Aphrodite said. “Go to Father and tell him how Alex is both a liar and deceiver, and that the weapons you agreed to for the duel are not the weapons he brought to battle. Throw a tantrum if you must—you’re good at that—but don’t let up until Father agrees the contest was unfair. Mother caught him with a maiden again and she’s been relentless. I promise he’s in no mood to argue over a human.”
Ares raised a clenched fist in the air. “Then I can tear him limb from limb.”
“Yes, my love,” Aphrodite said as she stroked his hair. “But do not wipe him out. I only want you to send him running, licking painful wounds.”
“To what end?”
“To the end that Alex must leave his wife when he feels he will never beat you,” she instructed. “He must not fall while he fights for Euryale, lest he be an icon of tragic romance.”
“I care not for such silly things.”
“I do!” she snapped. “I swore by the River Styx his life and freedom would not be harmed while he was tested. Even if I hadn’t, Athena would gloat to the Fates and back if her one and only pet project ended in such fashion.”
“Fine, I shall do as you wish,” Ares said, capitulating to his lover’s desire. He did so, partly because he understood what she was driving at, but mostly because he wanted to spend the night with her and figured it was a good way to get in her dress.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Free from Zeus’s congratulations and Athena’s never-ending, post-battle conversation, Alex flew home as fast as his little winged sandals would carry him, his heart overjoyed and his mind hoping he’d beat the thunderstorm that was now brooding. He replayed the battle in his mind dozens of times and relished every second of it, from the way he had nimbly darted about the arena floor, to the expression on Ares’ face an instant before the grenade had exploded. Most of all, however, he relished the fact that this would mark the end of the two-day war and the return of his bride. All that he needed to do was get home, clean up, and make the place presentable before Euryale arrived.
When he got home, however, all was not as he expected. The cave was swept, the vegetation cut, and the oil lamps were lit. Near the fire pit was a small, oak table that had a trio of identical places set, each with a succulent lobster on a bed of pasta, surrounded by scallops, and paired with a glass of chardonnay.
“Hi, Alex,” Jessica said, stepping out of the shadows. A navy dress with a straight neckline and off-the-shoulder cap sleeves graced her body while a simple pearl necklace hung around her neck. “I’m glad you’re finally here.”
Hints of perfume floated through the air, one with vanilla notes that stirred long dormant memories of his first date with her. As he tried to think of something to say, he could only wonder if she was as love-struck by him as he was of her.
An arm, slender and graceful, slid across Alex’s back as Aphrodite came to his side. “Sit, Alex,” she whispered into his ear. “We have much to celebrate.”
* * *
Ares trotted through the courtyard and into the Great Hall of Olympus. Tapestries hung from towering walls, and the vaulted ceilings were high enough for a crop duster to work with ample room to spare. Five empty thrones lined either side, each shaped out of varying stones and precious metals, each adorned with emblems of the gods and goddesses they were meant for. At the far end, up a rise of seven colorful steps, were two more thrones, far larger and more imposing than the others.
On the left was the seat of Zeus, intricately carved from black marble, decorated with gold, ram’s fleece, and a ruby-eyed eagle perched above. To the right sat an ivory throne with a cow-skin cushion and a full moon hanging above. Only one was occupied, the left, and as Zeus there sat, he rested his forehead in his palm while Hera stood in front, apparently taking a momentary pause in her berating.
Ares paused halfway down the hall and waited to be acknowledged.
“This is a private matter,” Hera said, not once looking back. “Leave us.”
Zeus let out a groan. His fingers clenched one of the armrests and tiny sparks shot forth. “Listen to your mother, Ares,” he said with a weary voice. “Two of us need not suffer her rants.”
“You’ll suffer more than my rants if you don’t come clean about this harlot of yours,” the goddess hissed. “You’ve tested my patience enough.”
“Mother,” Ares dared to speak, his muscles taught and ready to dodge whatever curse she might throw at him. “I have something to say.”
Hera spun sharply on her heels. “If this is about your war or the silly games you are playing with Euryale’s husband, leave now while you still have a chance. That matter was settled today.”
“No, mother,” Ares said. “This does not concern Alex. It concerns you both.”
Zeus’s eyes lifted and his posture straightened. “Speak, my boy. Let us hear about matters of true consequence. I tire of hearsay and speculation.”
“Father is innocent of your charges, mother,” Ares said, bowing his head. “It was me. I took the girl.”
Hera’s eyes narrowed, and her gaze remained as spiteful as ever. “You dare suggest my trusted circl
e would lie to me about what they saw themselves?”
Ares shook his head and hoped her wrath would be contained long enough for the ploy to work. “No, mother,” he said. “What they saw was true, but it was not him. The girl would not have me, but found Father pleasing. So, I took his form and tricked her to be with me for the night and the nights after.”
“Neither of you are as clever as you would like to believe,” Hera said as she crossed her arms and slowly circled her warrior son. Her eyes remained fixed upon him, studying every facet of his expression and every move he made. “When did your father put you up to this?”
“May I be cursed to a thousand years of pacifism if Father knew any of what I’m telling you now. By the River Styx, Father did not put me up to this.”
Hera spent a few moments in quiet contemplation, and when such thoughts were finished, she turned and began to walk away. “I’ll leave your fate to your father then,” she said, never looking back. Three dozen footsteps later, she was gone.
Ares stood, patiently waiting for his father’s response, which to his surprise took some time in coming.
“I will not be coerced,” said Zeus. “Your actions here give you no power over me.”
Ares put up his hands defensively and raised ever so slightly on the balls of his feet. Dodging lightning wasn’t as easy as it looked. “I ask only a favor. A small one at that.”
Zeus eyed his son. “We should discuss this matter elsewhere, then.”
“For privacy?”
Zeus put a sole finger on his lips and began walking.
Ares grinned, knowing his task was complete, and followed him out the door.
* * *
“What are you doing here?” Alex said. His heart pounded in his chest, both eager and afraid. His mind, however, was having difficulty coming up with anything of meaning, as his memories felt washed away.
Jessica stood and hurried over before taking his hands in hers. “Long ago we had something,” she said. “And before I’m forced to leave you again forever, I need to tell you a few things.”
“I don’t know what to say,” said Alex.
“I don’t think she wants you to say anything, Alex,” Aphrodite said as she pressed a glass of wine in his hand. “All you need to do is listen.”
“I can do that,” he said. At this point, however, he was only half listening. His eyes were tracing the contours of Jessica’s sides, neck, and shoulders, and his heart loved every second of it. He’d always found her attractive, but never had he been so convinced that the artist who had sculpted her body was nothing short of divine.
“I’ve got a problem, Alex,” she said. Her eyes glanced at the ground before she took and deep breath and continued. “That problem is you.”
“What did I do?”
“Everything,” she answered, looking up to him with hints of pain. “You amaze me to no end. You’re talented, determined. Beat a god not once, but twice, and since my parents moved me away from you, I’ve always wondered—longed—for what could’ve been. These last few days only solidified things.”
“Those days feel like a lifetime ago and only yesterday at the same time.”
“Did you ever think about me?”
“Yes, but—” Alex felt his head spin. Everything about this conversation was everything he had wanted for so long, yet at the same time felt as if it were the worst path he could be treading down. The more he tried to figure out why, the more his head clouded. “This isn’t right…I don’t think.”
Aphrodite put a gentle hand on his forearm. A prickly sensation ran up through his shoulder at which point his chest warmed. “Don’t think, Alex. Feel. Feel and open your heart to her.”
“My world ended the day you left,” he confessed to Jessica. “I poured all that energy and grief into my piano for god knows how many hours and years—probably the only reason I’m as good as I am.”
Jessica pulled him close, put her arms around his neck, and whispered, “Then let’s stop dancing around these feelings that have lasted a lifetime. Aphrodite can make things right.”
“I’d like that,” he said before his brow furrowed. There was something—a splinter in his mind—that would not stop digging at his conscience. “But there’s something not right with this.”
Aphrodite rubbed his shoulders from behind and spoke softly in his ear. “I know thoughts of Euryale are still on your mind,” she said. “But even now, even with me bringing her up, she’s fading.”
“My wife…” he said, voice barely audible. He stiffened as he looked straight at Jessica. “I’d run off with you in an instant if I weren’t married.”
“Married, yes, but not to who you should be,” Jessica said. “Come on, Alex, be honest. If half of what I heard about the arrangement is true, you were coerced, even if you did like her.”
Alex shook his head, hating how true her words sounded in his ears. “I still agreed. A husband should not back out so quickly. But even if I did divorce her, her father would destroy us both.”
“He wants his daughter to be happy,” Aphrodite said, leaning in. “As do you. Do you think Athena forcing you together is what’s best for you both?”
“Yes.” Alex nodded, but knew his sincerity was in want.
“How can you say that when I’m the one who’s in front of you?” Jessica said. Her eyes teared, and her voice quivered. “I’m the one who’s known you since childhood, who stole your first kiss, your first heart, who’s risked life and limb to travel with you through the Underworld. What has she done?”
“Nothing,” Alex said. “Because she’s been locked away. But she’ll be back soon.”
Aphrodite guided Alex to the table and gently pressed him into one of the seats. “I don’t think you’ll want to be standing for this,” she said. “Euryale’s not coming back. Ares has pled to Zeus, saying you were deceitful in your victory, and Father agreed. Right now, it is as if the contest never was. Euryale is still his captive.”
“What? He can’t do that!” Alex tried to jump to his feet, but Aphrodite easily kept him down with her hands.
“He can, and he did,” the goddess said. When Alex tried to rise a second time, she dropped her face in front of his and spoke sternly. “Look at me, Alex. Is Euryale worth an eternity of war? Because that’s how long it will last if you continue down the path you are on. Ares will never stop coming for you. Ever.”
Alex sighed and slumped in the chair. That was one thing he felt would always be true. The God of War would always come for him, and he would always suffer by Ares hand, and so would Euryale. Then again, Alex didn’t see how being with Jessica would change that, which is what Aphrodite seemed to be insinuating. “If that’s true, that’s all the more reason I can’t be with you,” he said to Jessica. “You’re mortal. At least Euryale can’t be killed while I’m fighting with Ares.”
“No, Alex, me being mortal is why you should be with me,” she replied, kneeling next to him. “Who will understand you more, Alex, the monstrous daughter of a long-forgotten god, or a human, flesh and blood like you?”
Alex downed his wine before refilling his glass and repeating the process. He wanted to be deaf to her words, but his ears took all of them in. Though he couldn’t refute her point, his tongue found a way to argue. “Euryale is counting on me.”
“She is,” Aphrodite said. “Alex, listen to me. You won’t be letting her down. You’ll be saving her as you promised.”
“How?”
“Dedicate yourself, your love, to Jessica, as it was supposed to be from the start,” the goddess replied. “Do that, and I’ll intervene on your behalf and make sure Ares, Athena, and even Phorcys leave you alone.”
“And Euryale?” he found himself asking. “What of her?”
“I’ll mend the wounds to her heart that Athena is responsible for, and then I’ll make sure she’s with someone perfect for her. Happily ever after doesn’t have to be a bedtime story, Alex. I can make it
happen for everyone here.”
“You can?”
Again, Aphrodite placed a hand on his forearm. Again, tingles raced through his body and his chest warmed. “Look at Jessica and tell her how much you love her.”
Truth bubbled from Alex’s lips, uncontrolled and in the moment, unwanted. “I don’t even know what love means, anymore.”
Jessica pressed her lips into his, long and hard. “Then let’s figure out what that means, together.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Athena crested the rise to find Alex, Jessica, and Aphrodite seated around a near-finished meal, drinking wine and laughing. As she approached, Alex began singing André Rieu’s lyrics to Ode to Joy. With every note he hit, Athena winced. His German was terrible, and his pitch made her want to drive hydra fangs into her eardrums. When she came up behind him, she knocked him on the back of the head.
“Cease that awful singing at once,” she ordered.
Alex turned around, tipping to the side as he did. “Oh, Athena. It’s you. Figures you wouldn’t like a good rendition of a classic.”
“Beethoven would tear his skin apart if he heard the way you hacked that,” she replied while hoisting him up. “And that’s just your German. I shudder to think what he’d say about the actual quality of your voice.”
Alex, now upright, fumbled to keep his balance. “There, I’m up. Happy now?”
“Not particularly. You know how I feel about drunks.”
Before she could go on, Alex interrupted her with the most marvelous of ideas. “Hey Athena, you know what would be fun?”
“You sobering?”
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