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"You can admit it. Shouldn't it comfort you to know that I heal quickly?" Bellona replied, leaning into him.
"It comforts me, but I still hate seeing you hurt. I'm never going to be able to get used to it, even if I can accept it." Rafael took a soft flannel and soaped it up. He gently ran it over her skin. It had lost its gray color but wasn't yet back to its usual shine. "Tell me what happened tonight to get you into such a state. Assure me it was worth it."
"It was worth it," Bellona replied before recounting her adventures while he had been blissfully asleep. Visiting Cino, Bellona getting kidnapped, then saving people from trafficking… He could barely believe it had all happened in one night.
"I'll admit it was worth it. I can't believe they are trafficking," Rafael said. He rested a hand over the soft new scar on her side. "I'm sorry you had to get so hurt for it."
"I got here and back to you. That's all that matters," Bellona said, turning her head to kiss his neck. "I will stop Rita. I have to now. If this was just about you, I could have gone easier on her, but I have a duty…" She made a frustrated sound.
"What is it? What duty?" Rafael pressed gently.
"Do you know the story of the rape of the Sabine women? The new settlers of Rome needed women to help populate it, so they kidnapped them from a tribe called the Sabines."
"I'm Roman, Bellona. Of course I know the story," he said, his fingers moving in gentle circles over her side and stomach, needing to reassure himself that she had healed.
"I was born, for lack of a better word, because they cried for help. For justice. I am a goddess of war, but there is another side of me. Set reminded me of it. I have always done what I could to look after the women and those who can't defend themselves in men's wars for glory and power. It's my…" she struggled to find the right word. "Duty? Destiny? Obligation? All of them, maybe. Rita is trading in the suffering of those who can't defend themselves. For that, I have to stop her. I have to try and find those she has traded and free them. It's not just about your bounty anymore."
Rafael wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I understand. You will be careful, won't you? You'll do everything you can to come back to me?"
Bellona turned so she could look at him with her depthless, ancient eyes. "I promise. I came back to you with half my side missing, didn't I?"
Rafael kissed her forehead. "Yes, you did. Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course you can. I might even answer it," she said, a glimmer of her usual self coming out.
"Why is your safe code my birthday?"
Bellona didn't look at him, and he thought she wouldn't answer him. Finally, she said, "It's a date I won't forget. It's not easy for someone like me to realize they are obsessed with a mortal they hardly know."
"You thought about me too?"
"All the time." Bellona's fingers linked with his. "I really did think I was doing the right thing by staying away. You were so young and had so much life ahead of you. I thought you would be married and surrounded by kids by now. I suppose I was scared to look you up too."
"Scared? Bellona, you are a goddess of war. You charge into fights and rescue people from bad guys. There's no way you are scared of me," Rafael argued.
"Scared for you, maybe. Have you not read any of the myths? Mortals who get involved with gods rarely have a good time. Being a part of our world will change you. It will endanger you." Bellona's grip on him tightened. "I was also scared if I saw you again, I wouldn't be able to let you go."
Rafael could barely breathe. "And now that you have, how are you feeling?"
"No different. If you wanted to leave, I'd find a way to deal with it. It wouldn't be pretty, but I would find a way."
Rafael turned her face towards him so he could look into her eyes. "I don't want you to let me go. I've never stopped thinking about you or wondering where you were and what happened to you. No one and nothing felt right. Once Rita is dealt with, I don't want you vanishing on me again."
"I won't," Bellona said and cupped his cheek with her wet hand. "I can't change what I am. Stitching me up and waiting for me to heal might be a common occurrence."
"I can handle it. Just come back to me once you're done saving people and killing bad guys," he replied.
Relief rushed over Bellona's face, and Rafael could do nothing but close the distance between them and kiss her.
21
The rattling call of the antique phone beside the bed jolted Bellona awake a few hours later. Rafael was sprawled out beside her, and she fumbled for the offending phone before it woke him up too.
"What?" she murmured into it.
"Buongiorno, Bellona. So nice of you to pick up at least one of your phones." The voice on the other end was a purr of sex, danger, and authority that had her sitting bolt upright in seconds.
"I broke my cell phone last night. What do you want, Romulus? I've only been asleep for four hours, so make it quick," Bellona replied. She thought Set was keeping him updated on the Rita situation because pissing off Rom was the last thing they needed.
