Ares (Contemporary Mythos Book 3)

“Oh, but she’s so pretty, though,” a woman’s voice said.

“We do what we’re told, Megaera,” another woman’s voice hissed.

A floating flame coiled around my chest, illuminating the vast cave. Three women stood in front of me—all with black hair, pale white faces, and black gowns covered in cobwebs.

With a guttural growl, I stepped forward. The flame held me captive, secluding me in its circle.

The woman on the right made a tsking sound. “Calm now, Harmony. We’ve only come to speak with you.”

“If you’re here to talk me out of becoming a war goddess, you can crawl back into whatever sewer you crawled out of.”

“Oo such fire,” the middle woman cooed.

“We’re here to do a job, Alecto,” Megaera hissed.

They floated forward, surrounding me and tracing their fingers through my hair, over my shoulders, and across my cheeks. I winced when their pointy black fingernails neared my eyes, finding I couldn’t lift my arms over the fiery circle.

“Who said anything about dissuading you? We simply have questions. Concerns.” The woman who remained unnamed cocked her head inhumanly to the side.

“Tisiphone speaks the truth. Who are we to deny you if you are up for the task?” Megaera trailed a slender finger through my hair.

I ground my teeth, turning my head away. “And why would I bother answering? This has nothing to do with you.”

“You are wrong.” Alecto dashed in front of me, clicking her nails together. “Your ascension could affect us all, just like any other new goddess.”

Megaera rested her chin on Alecto’s shoulder from behind her. “War happens to be a tad more—” She wound her hand in a circle. “—sensitive.”

“Besides, you have no choice but to answer us,” Tisiphone said through a bout of cackles.

“You are unable to move. Unable to fight us in your current state. Tell us, Harmony, how does it feel to be so—” Alecto brought our faces closer. “—powerless?” Her black as midnight eyes blinked, sending a membrane flashing over them like a damn lizard.

“And do not lie to us. We will know,” Megaera hissed, brushing my hair over my collarbone.

I glared at them and said nothing.

“Oh, I like her.” Tisiphone shrieked, clapping her hands together.

“Is that why you seek to be a goddess of war. For the power?” Alecto traced a fingernail down my chest.

A mental hook pulled at my brain, coaxing the answer out of me. I pinched my eyes shut. “…No.”

“Lie,” Megaera snapped.

The hook plunged deeper, causing a sting at the back of my skull. “Not entirely, no.”

Alecto cocked her head to and fro like a curious dog, bringing our faces so close our noses brushed.

Like snapping it with a pair of pliers, I pushed whatever hold they had on my mind away. “Explain this. I’m getting sick and tired of you gods interfering with my life.” I opened my eyes, seething at them.

All three women’s eyes went as large as bowling balls, shifting glances at each other.

Tisiphone leaned to Alecto and whispered, “How did she break your control?”

Alecto pushed her away with a snarl.

“This is between Ares and me, so butt the fuck out.” Not being able to move made my blood boil.

Megaera’s eyes narrowed, and she flicked me in the nose.

I lurched forward, making the magical binding holding me hiss in defiance.

“You’re in no position to make commands, dearie.” Alecto grabbed my shoulder. “Answer the question.”

The hook turned into a harpoon, plunging so far into my mind, I lost it. It pulled the answer from me, carrying it to my lips. “I’ve lived my life not knowing where I belonged. What road I should be taking. It’d give me purpose again.” The words rattled from my tongue without inflection or pause.

“A…calling…perhaps?” Tisiphone bit the air in front of me.

As I tried to fight the mental intrusion again, my jaw trembled. “Yes.”

“And what about him?” Megaera picked at her nails as she swiveled her hips back and forth with a grin.

Closing my eyes, I bit my lips shut, drawing blood.

“You know exactly who she speaks of,” Alecto whispered, scraping her nail over my cheek, making my eyes pop open.

The three of them moved in front of me, standing shoulder to shoulder. In a blink, they morphed from beautiful women with Morticia likenesses to hideous hags. Snakes slithered in droves where their hair used to be, some wrapping around their arms. Bat wings sprouted from their backs, and blood oozed down their cheeks from the cavities of their eyes. They took every step like a time glitch, limbs appearing higher or lower than where they placed them.

“Ares,” they all wailed in unison.

“Oh…my…god.” My gaze froze on their horrific existence, beads of sweat rolling down the back of my neck.

They zeroed in on me, the snakeheads of their hair hissing and snapping.

“That’s enough,” Ares’s voice boomed from behind me.

Despite my current situation, my groin and heart clenched simultaneously.

Megaera gasped, floating so quickly to him my hair flew up. “Took you long enough to find us.”

I couldn’t see him, and it infuriated me. Looking away from the disgusting duo in front of me, I concentrated on the rock formations hanging from the cave ceiling.

“It’s been so long, Air. Why haven’t you called on us?” Tisiphone whined.

Air?

My cheeks burned.

“Get Harmony out of there. Now,” Ares commanded.

Megaera appeared in front of me, several snakeheads brushing through my hair. “You are turning green with jealousy.” She grinned maniacally, wiggling her fingers with a girly shrill.

“Let. Her. Go.” His voice roared deep and throaty, causing tiny tremors in the surrounding rock walls.

“That’s not your place to say, war god. We’ve yet to complete our interrogation.” Alecto twisted her wrist in circles.

Ares moved past me, and my body relaxed at the sight of him.

“Did Hades send you?” The corded muscles of his forearms tensed.

Tisiphone grinned, biting on her fingernail as she shook her head. “No. The other one.”

“Zeus.” Ares brushed a hand over his beard. “Of course.”

“One final question,” Alecto taunted.

“This is done.” Ares charged forward.

Megaera threw her palms up, freezing Ares in place.

His left nostril bounced. “That was a mistake.”

“Promise you’ll punish me later for it?” Megaera flashed a sultry grin.

I thinned my lips, my fists shaking at my sides.

“One. Final. Question. Harmony Makos, what would you miss most of your past life?” Alecto claimed my attention by touching her finger to my forehead, clamping my mind with a vice.

I blinked, casting my gaze downward. “The bittersweetness of mortality.”

All three women canted their heads back and forth.

“Even with your warrior by your side?” Megaera asked, still holding a bewildered Ares in her magical grasp.

“Yes. He doesn’t know how it feels.” The words cracked as I said them, and I couldn’t look at his face.

The three women exchanged glances and gave a single nod.

Alecto released her hold on my brain, and my shoulders slumped. She whipped around, floating to Ares. “You should know the mortal’s made up her mind, God of War. But Zeus will be none too pleased if you bypass his approval.”

Veins bulged from Ares’s neck. “I don’t give a maláka about his approval. And you can tell him I said it. Now release us and leave.”

Tisiphone giggled as she waved at me. Once the flame around me disappeared, I charged for Alecto. The snakeheads in her hair reared, baring their fangs and hissing. I hissed back, and all three goddesses vanished in a plume of smoke and wicked laughter.

My limbs went numb at my sides. “What the shit was that all about, Ares?”

“The Furies. They were testing you at the behest of dear Dad. It makes him feel ‘involved,’ I’m sure.” He held his hands in front of him, kneading one of his palms. “Was it true?”

“True?” A small part of me hoped he wouldn’t ask.

“You don’t think I’d understand you missing your mortality?” He frowned, but the way his forehead creased bordered on a scowl.

“Mortality makes life precious. It makes you wake up determined to make the most of every day because you don’t know if it will be your last.”

“And you think I don’t make the most of my days in the universe because I’m immortal?” His throat bobbed.

“That’s not what I meant.”

He cupped my face with one hand. “There’s a reason mortals have described me as being the most human-like of all the gods.”

I slipped my hand over his.

“My actions—the choices I’ve made through the ages. I’ve lived as if Olympus itself could take away my immortality at any given moment. I wanted to know with the utmost certainty I’ve left a lasting impression on the world. That my time here meant something.”

His words struck a chord, like flicking on a light switch.

“There’s something I need to do,” I mumbled, fishing in my pocket for my phone.

“Harm?” He arched a brow.

I dialed Chelsea and bit my cuticles, waiting for her to answer. It rang and rang. One more ring, and it’d go to voicemail.

“You know, I shouldn’t have answered. Give you a taste of your own medicine,” Chelsea spat.

“I deserved that, but I have a favor to ask, and I’m pretty sure you’ll dig it.”

Silence.

“Fine. I’m listening,” she finally responded.

“Get me a match with Kelly Fitz. I’m taking it back.”

Kelly was so ready to “wipe the floor with me again” as she put it during weigh-ins, it only took Chelsea twenty-four hours to orchestrate the rematch. Sometime between our trip to Greece and the Furies pulling my thoughts from me, I’d decided the life of a goddess was an intended path. A war goddess alongside the God of War himself.

So why hadn’t I told Ares yet?

Let him squirm—just a little.

We’d done our walk-ins, and the crowd roared their applause. With my title at arm’s reach, I’d win it and move on to the next chapter in my life.

Slipping the mouth guard in, I beat my fists together in one corner of the ring.

“Amazon,” Ares beckoned.

I lowered my head, aligning my ear with his mouth.

“Win this thing, so we have a reason to celebrate, hm?” A wicked glint flashed in his eyes.

No words of wisdom. No warnings. My insides damn near strangled themselves.

Giving a curt nod, I turned my attention to my opponent. The horns blazed through my skull. Instead of an intrusion, they were a calling. Luring me home—showing me the way.

Kelly glared at me from across the ring. I couldn’t punch the smugness off her face fast enough. The ref’s hand dropped, and Kelly ran forward. My past self would’ve been surprised, maybe even thrown off guard with her advance. Not anymore. I leaned left, dodged right, ducked, and jumped back with every punch thrown.

Brow furrowing, she squinted at me as if I’d already become a goddess, and she could see the fiery vapors wafting around me.

No. This was for me. My last fight as a mortal to know I’d beaten her fair and square.

She jabbed with such wrath, the skin over her shoulders turned bright red. I blocked with my forearms, waiting for the sound of her labored breaths. She sashayed backward, hoping I wouldn’t follow, allowing her time to rest.

Not today.

I caught up with her and threw jabs I had no intention of connecting. She dodged them all and swatted at my fists.

“What the hell are you doing, Makos?” Annoyance oozed in her tone.

I rolled my shoulders. “Giving you a chance to win.”

Imagining the quadrident’s hilt pressed against my palm, I leaped, raising my fist above my head. In full Superman-punch form, my knuckles collided into the side of her head. Her body stiffened, and she fell to the ground in a slump on her side.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the sounds of cheering and yelling, focusing only on the air flowing through my nose and mouth. There was no way to know for sure if the feeling of victory would be the same as a goddess. I’d bottle it up and lock it away if I could. But for now, I’d paint every tingle cascading over my skin to memory.

The ref held my fist up, ambient noise rushing in, and he wrapped the belt around my waist.

“You’ve just won your title back, Harm. What will you do now?” The announcer held the mic out.

Purposely avoiding Chelsea’s gaze, I said, “Retire.”

The cheers transformed into scattered whispers and eventual silence.

“I have to say I’m shocked. Is there a particular reason?”

I locked eyes with Ares through the cage. “I’ve got other battles to fight.”

Shoving the belt into the announcer’s chest, I clambered out of the ring. As soon as my feet landed on the stairs, I pushed off, knowing he’d catch me. His arms wrapped around my hips, resting under my ass, and I planted a kiss on him. Hundreds of flashes from surrounding paparazzi leaked through my eyelids. I slid down his chest, gripping the lapels of his jacket.

He sucked on my lower lip as he peeled away. “Did that mean what I think it meant, gatáki?” His voice was throaty, deep, and breathy.

I quirked a brow.

“Harmony,” Chelsea yelled. “Locker room. Now.” She pointed and stormed off, her neck flushing.

I held five fingers up to Ares and patted him on the chest before following her.

As I neared the locker room door, I could hear her foot tapping against the floor.

“Hey,” I said.

She stopped pacing and stared at me. The redness had made it up to her cheeks.

“Hey? You drop a bomb like that, and all you can say is, ‘hey’?”

“Chels, it was a last-minute decision. And if I would’ve said anything to you, I may have talked myself out of it.”

She shook her head slack-jawed and put one hand on her hip. “Harm, why? For the love of God, why? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I meant what I said out there. I’ve got other things to do with my life. A purpose beyond being a gladiator.”

“What purpose?” She folded her arms.

I cracked my neck with a sigh. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Try,” she said, raising her voice.

Her irritation was understandable, but she seemed extra flustered. It was unlike her.

“Are you okay?”

Her eyes blinked rapidly, and she sniffled.

“Chelsea?” I stepped forward.

“Tim broke up with me.”

“What? I thought he was getting ready to propose?”

“That’s what I thought. It turns out he was seeing someone else on the side, Penelope Peters.”

Fury snaked over my heart. “I’ll kill him.”

Chelsea’s eyes snapped to meet mine. “You won’t do a damn thing, Harm. What’s done is done. I’d like to see it as dodging a bullet. A behemoth-sized one.”

“I’m sorry, Chels.”

She took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling as if it contained all the solutions. “You can imagine why hearing my number one client is retiring after discovering my boyfriend of three years has been cheating on me caused a bit of anger.”

I was an ass—a hairy, pimply, smelly ass.

Cinching my brow, I let my gaze fall to a crack in the floor, wishing it’d burst open and let me jump in.

“Are you going to explain this to me or not?” Chelsea tapped her heel.

I licked my bottom lip, still unable to meet her gaze. “I’ve spent my entire life feeling this void—anything I did. Anywhere I went. I felt incomplete. Like I was meant for something more.”

She shifted her eyes. “O-kaaay?”

“Mars has offered me an opportunity to fill the void. And not in a dirty way, so get your mind out of the gutter.” I half-smiled.

A grin slowly spread over her lips.

What a relief to see.

“And you can’t tell me what this opportunity is?”

I shook my head.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You don’t need my approval.” She gripped my forearm. “You seem happy. Genuinely happy. Whatever this opportunity is, Harm, I hope it finally gives you that sense of completion.”

Happy. She was right. The decision made me feel hopeful.

“I’m going to miss you like hell, though. And not just because you were my most well-earned client.” She smirked.

“Shut up, Chelsea. This isn’t goodbye.” I laughed and pulled her in for a hug.

“Wow. Hugging? He must have some super magical mojo,” she mumbled into my shoulder.

If she only knew…

She pushed me away. “You better get out of here. The press is probably swarming by now. Use the back door.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Not today, but there’s nothing you can do to ease the sting, Harm.” She squeezed my shoulder. “Now go.”

“I’ll call you in a few days, alright?” I neared the rear exit.

She shrugged. “A few days. A few years. Just don’t be a stranger.”

“You’ve been too good to me, Chels.”

“You deserved every ounce of it, Harm. Now go get your void filled.” She chuckled.

I bumped into the door. Ares leaned on the outside wall with his hands in his pockets.

“Something you want to tell me?” His eyes pierced me.

“Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?”

He pushed off the brick, slipping his hands from his pockets and towering over me. “I want to hear you say it.”

I sidled up to him, pressing my hips against his. “My answer is yes.”

His breath warmed my skin as he trailed his lip over my cheek. “Yes, to what?”

“To be a goddess.” I tilted my head back to look at him. “Your goddess.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth, I could feel his hardness pressing against my stomach.

He clenched my hip. “What made you decide?”

“Someone has to show you how to be a decent God of War. Might as well be me.” I played a devious grin across my lips.

A laugh vibrated from the pit of his stomach.

“There’s also something strangely enticing about being one half of a whole.” I combed a finger through his beard.

“Mm, it’s something I’ll have to get used to myself.” His lips brushed my brow. “Not that I mind. Not with you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “How does this work?”

“You’re ready?” His brow shot up. “Right now?”

“Unless we have to wait for a full moon or something?” I nibbled on his bottom lip. “I can be ravenous when I know what I want.”

“Mm. So I’ve observed.” His tongue dashed over my mouth.

“Are you going to make me wait?” It came out raspy.

He grinned against my cheek before leaning back. “Only the three brothers can do it. And I think I know which one you’d like.”

“Oh?”

He one-eyed squinted. “There’s only one catch.”

“Which is?”

After looking around for anyone passing, he crouched and pressed his palm against the ground. A darkened staircase appeared, leading down into the mysterious depths. A chill shivered my bones.

The Underworld.