He grinned back, and a strange tightening in my chest followed. “Something like that.”
“What was that thing?”
The smile slipped. “The beast is named Scylla. She’s lived in those waters, protecting Thrinacia, for a very long time. Odysseus thinks she’s been there since before the birth of the Titans.”
“That would make her ancient.”
“Perhaps the oldest living creature in this world.”
“And she’s never attacked you until now?” I asked.
“Normally she shows herself only briefly, then sinks down into the deep again.”
I frowned, tugging my damp clothing tighter around me. We’d crested the hills now, and the chill was beginning to return. “Do you think it was me?”
He cast me a sideways glance. “The reason Scylla attacked? No. I think all the recent storms have agitated her to the surface.”
I came to a sudden stop on the path. Words collected on my tongue, ones I was desperate to spill. And so I let them out. “Why did you save me again, Ares?”
“You did me a favor with Hestia. I was merely repaying it.” He spoke with a purposeful lilt, as if he’d planned this response, knowing that I’d ask.
And the answer did nothing to satisfy me. We continued forward, but I stared at him for a long while, making it clear I would accept nothing but the full truth from him. Eventually, he shook his head.
“Why not just accept this from me, Selene?” he asked.
“Because there’s something you’re not telling me.”
He blew out a breath. “You made me agree that I’d accept you as a member of the Thirteen Crowns and—”
“No,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “You were saving me before I did that.”
“I can’t let any permanent harm come to you. All right?” He threw up his hands, clearly frustrated with me. “Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now?”
I fell silent, listening to the crunch of leaves underfoot. Trees soon surrounded us, signalling our progress across the island. Ares continued to stalk onward, his jaw clenched. It took me a moment to process what he’d told me. And even after I mulled it over, I couldn’t say it had answered my question.
“Explain what you meant by that,” I said, jogging to keep up with him.
“You’re picking at a thread you don’t want to unravel.”
“Is it an order Zeus gave you?” It didn’t make much sense, but it was the only explanation I could conjure with what limited information I had.
Ares laughed bitterly. “No, it most certainly is not. Now just drop it.”
Frustration burned through me. I grabbed his arm and jerked him to a stop. Looming over me, with his burning crimson eyes and his muscular form outlined by the pale light slashing through the trees, he looked positivity menacing.
My breath caught. I lifted my eyes higher. Gone was the dark. A new day had dawned.
A kaleidoscope of thoughts and emotions roiled through me all at once. We’d missed the sacrifice. I’d failed my people. And Ares no longer had the armor to protect his skin from the sun. It was lost to the sea now.
A torturous expression crossed his face as he observed the light in unison with me. He cast a desperate glance around, clearly searching for shelter. But there was nothing nearby, save for the trees. And despite the branches twisting overhead, they wouldn’t fully block out the sun.
“You go on ahead,” he said urgently. “I’ll find somewhere to wait out the daylight.”
“I can’t return to the palace without you. You’re Zeus’s friend, and he’ll listen to you, but not to me. He’ll sentence me to another trial for missing the sacrifice. And this time, I’m not sure Erebus would deem me innocent.”
“Zeus couldn’t hold another trial until evenfall. I’ll be back by then,” he argued. “But you need to go now. Maybe it’s not too late. You could explain I’m on my way and… I don’t know. I’m trying to see a way we can save this, Selene.”
It sounded impossible, but it wasn’t as if there were any other options.
