Page 76 of Curse the Flame

Aiden’s eyes flash white again. “The other Titans. He freed them.”

Alex nods. “Yeah, and they’ve joined Ares at Olympus. Him and the entire damn Spartan army. There’s no stopping him. He’s going to storm the mountain and try to rip Venus right from Hephaestus if that’s what it takes. His mortal soul⁠—”

“That fucker Troy,” sneers Daphne.

She explained this story to me. About a year back, the woman carrying the soul of Aphrodite arrived in the Other, destined to find her happy-ever-after with Hephaestus, the god of volcanoes and the forge. Only one problem: she was a battered wife running from a murderous husband who just so happened to have the soul of Ares inside of him.

It didn’t matter that the latest incarnation of the legend of Aphrodite and Ares and Hephaestus ended with the newly christened Venus choosing to stay with Hephaestus in one of the habitable caves on Olympus, the large range of mountains in the Other. Whether he was acting more as Ares or Troy, her former husband is refusing to let her be.

Like Daphne once warned me, he was raising an army to get his wife back. And now he has three titans on his side?

According to Alex, yes.

“That’s right, my dear Daphne. Kronos was a distraction so that Ares could get his army in formation. He’s determined⁠—”

“He’s fucking nuts,” interjects my cousin.

Alex nods his agreement. “Yup, and he’ll turn the entire Other to rubble himself to get to his Aphrodite, and now he has three titans to back him up.”

Aiden makes a noise in the back of his throat. “He’s destroying an entire world over a woman?”

Alex raises one eyebrow at Aiden. “Careful. That glass house you live in looks expensive. Don’t want to start throwing stones or anything, huh?”

My husband’s scowl would be enough to set a lesser man on fire.

Daphne steps between them before we can find out whether Alex qualifies.

“Look. The point is that Ares doesn’t care if the Other is destroyed so long as he gets Venus. Kronos promised him that when the old ways die, all of the bonds holding the gods to their roles will disappear with them.”

“But we’ll all be destroyed,” I point out.

“Yes,” Alex replies. “Eventually. The Other goes first. Then the mortal world. Then the Underworld.”

Ah, crap.

CHAPTER 21

THE BATTLE OF OLYMPUS

WILLOW

That’s all my husband needs to hear to take this more seriously than he was before. “Where’s Zeus?”

Daphne squeezes the dagger handle. “Not here. And there’s no time to find him. The only one strong enough to leave through a portal is Noelle”—the reborn Artemis—“and she’s already in position to fight Ares and his army.”

Alex’s jaw goes tight at the mention of Apollo’s twin—his twin, according to Daphne—getting ready to battle while he’s down here where he obviously can’t help her.

For a second, I don’t know why he is. And then⁠—

“We need you to fight with us,” Daphne says, turning to look at my husband.

“I ain’t one of the Twelve,” Aiden argues.

“No,” Alex agrees. “But you’re powerful enough to turn the tide of the fight. We already have plenty of the Twelve. Hef is ready to blow the top on Olympus. Noelle has her enchanted bow and her huntsman. Apollo’s gonna be there⁠—”

“Daphne, too,” my cousin says, and I suddenly understand why she has a dagger.

There’s no way in hell that Alex will let her fight. But I know her. She won’t be able to breathe unless she’s there to make sure her husband is okay, and I’m sure he’ll tuck her somewhere safe while he goes to use his archery skills alongside his immortal twin.