Ares pressed his fingers tighter against my back. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. If the beast broke into Selene’s rooms while she was there alone, I’d never forgive myself for not being there to protect her.”
What in Hades’s damn name is this?
Grinding my teeth, I looked up at him. “You’re very sweet. But need I remind you that I was the one who scared away the beast? I’m fairly certain he was going to gut you before I walked past Poseidon’s room and saw him backing you into a corner.”
“Oh, my love. You ferocious little thing. Did I tell you how impressed I was that you managed to find a dagger so quickly? Where was it, anyway?”
“It was under my fucking skirt.”
He looked genuinely surprised by my blunt admission of the truth. He’d expected me to flail for an explanation, come up with a fragile story that would fall apart if the seams were tugged too hard. But I’d made up my mind. I was done playing like I was a gentle little thing.
I took his hand and put it against my upper thigh, right where I’d reattached my weapon. He slid his hand around the width of my leg and gripped it, his fingers tantalizing close to my core. Heat tore through me.
“How very reckless of you,” he murmured, lowering his lips to my ear. “What would Zeus say if he found out the Titan is armed?”
“Who’s going to tell him?” I cocked my head as I turned toward our eager audience of two. “What do you think, Aphrodite?”
Aphrodite just laughed, her bobbed hair swishing around her chin. “I think whatever you’ve got under your skirt, Ares wants it.”
“She’s not wrong.” His breath was hot on my neck. And despite the heat, I shivered.
I didn’t understand what he was doing. Why hadn’t my fate pushed him away? Or at least made him more wary? If anything, he seemed even more intent on getting under my skin. Was this some kind of game to him?
As I tried to gather my thoughts—and my composure, admittedly—my eyes drifted across the room to Zeus. He stood in the far corner alone, watching us. There was something in his hooded expression that sent a shiver down my spine. With a sly smile, I lifted my chalice in his direction in a silent toast. He didn’t react. Instead, he continued to stand there, leaning against the wall, with folded arms and a dangerous glint in his eye.
And in that moment, a horrifying thought entered my mind.Someonehad informed on my mother to him. Whoever it was had told him that she still worshipped Gaia. What if this person knew about the lycanthropes? What if they knew they came from Troy?
What if he suspected I’d brought one here?
I was itching for a fight to end his brutal reign, but I had to be smart about it. And if he came after me before I managed to gain some allies, I’d lose.
A hand tightened on my hip, and Ares shifted into view in front of me. Without thinking, I palmed his chest, dropping back my head to meet the intensity of his gaze. Unspoken words passed between us. With my eyes, I tried to tell him that he didn’t have to keep pretending to want me. We’d done enough. Everyone had moved on. But then, almost imperceptibly, he shook his head.
Out of the corner of my eye, Dion and Aphrodite wandered off, clearly sensing we needed some privacy.
“Ares,” I said after a moment, my voice barely a whisper. “Did you not hear what I said earlier? There arethingsthat are going tohappen. We should stop doing this now.”
“Oh, I heard it.” His reached up and traced a line along my jaw. “Does it scare you?”
“A little. Doesn’t it scare you?”
“It scares me less than you might imagine. Because there’s something I need to tell you, too.”
I furrowed my brow. “All right. Go on, then.”
He shook his head. “Not here. I don’t know if you noticed, but Zeus is very grumpily watching your every move.”
“I wouldn’t call it grumpily as much as menacingly.” I darted a look past Ares, toward where I’d spotted Zeus earlier. He was still there, watching our entire exchange with enough intensity that he could have burned a hole through us if he had the power to do so.
“He thinks you brought the wolf onto the island,” he said.
“I figured as much.”
Ares opened his mouth to say something else, but shouts suddenly rang from the corridor. A savage howl swiftly followed. Frowning, I unwound myself from Ares’s embrace and moved toward the open doorway. Several armored guards rushed into the room.
The nearest removed his helmet and tucked it beneath his arm. He wore his brown hair in a twisted bun, and the shadow of facial hair dusted his strong jaw. His crimson eyes swept across the room before landing on Zeus.
“Archon, the beast is in the courtyard,” the guard reported.
