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I’d once declared that I would never bend, but I’d bend for those I cared about. I now cared about the demigods more than I’d like.
You need to feed soon, lamb, Héctor said.I won’t do it. I won’t allow him to lay a hand on you.
I can hold on a night or two until you come, I said.If he lays a hand on me, I’ll bite it off. And don’t underestimate me. I’m not some helpless lamb, tiny rosebud, or half-baked cookie. If you consider me your equal, treat me as one. It’s time we work together. This overprotective shit has to stop.
Axel held back a chuckle, his chest vibrating against my back. Even in a dire situation like this, he didn’t lose his sense of humor.
“You don’t want this division between us either, Ares,” Zak said as he cast a sound shield around us so the conversation could only be heard between the god and us. “Let’s all cool off and think this through. You don’t want all four of us and our armies to go against you. You might be able to kill us, but we’ll wound you as well. And our half of Earth will fall apart. You can’t fight Lucifer, his heir, and his archdemons alone. Demons will overflow Earth and infest every corner, and you’ll be driven away from this planet without us. And then how will the other gods look at you?”
“You’ll suffer great humiliation as the biggest failure, father,” Axel added. “You’ll be a laughing stock at Mount Olympus.”
Ares glared at his son, but he rubbed a thumb on his chin, pondering.
“I can’t just let you whisk the girl away,” Ares said. “I have to interrogate her in a secured place.”
“You aren’t going to interrogate her,” Héctor hissed.
“Calm down, Héctor,” Zak said. “Everyone will have to make a compromise. I trust that Ares is reasonable. He won’t hurt Marigold.”
“Why would I want to hurt her?” Ares said. “She can be valuable in this war. I have questions. I need answers. And she’ll provide them for me.”
“I have no answers to any of your questions,” I said. “I’ll hugely disappoint you.”
Ares smirked. “The last thing you can do is disappoint me, Marigold. I don’t blame my demigods for being drawn to you. Power attracts powers, and you have plenty.”
All the demigod tensed like an iron rod again.
“We’re bringing Marigold to my apartment,” Zak said. “You can come with us and ask her questions there.”
“Unacceptable,” Ares said. “The girl will come with me and stay at my palace so I can take the time to figure her out and get to the bottom of recent events. I promise I won’t hurt her.”
“Over my dead body will I let you take my mate,” Héctor said icily.
“That can be arranged,” Ares said.
“And we’ve just returned to square one,” Esme chimed in with a sigh. “In this war, we need each other. If we divide ourselves now, all of our progress against Lucifer will be nullified. I have a proposal. Why don’t we place Marigold in the warded White Room in the Academy so we can all ask her about what happened tonight?”
“No,” Ares and Héctor said at the same time.
Ares attacked without warning. An intense solar flare blasted from his chest, sending everyone flying away from him.
The shockwave of his energy beat into my bones.
I threw up my hands to fend it off, but it was too late. Besides, I was already spent.
I watched the demigods reach for me in fury and devastation as soon as they regained their footing.
“How dare you hurt my lamb? I’ll kill you,” Héctor roared, his face a cold mask of rage.
Ares hurled me up before my ass hit the ground, then I found myself ascending with him in a swirl of unbearable heat. As I looked down, frantically searching for my demigods, I caught a glimpse of the students who had been at Axel’s party streaming in our direction. Yelena and Nat were sprinting ahead of them, but a squad of Dominion soldiers stopped them from crossing the warning tape.
The grand party was over, ruined. It seemed that my friends couldn’t catch a lucky break either.
I vanished with the God of War before any of the demigods could snag me back.
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