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00:00I was born with a large chest.
00:02All the men in the forest covet my body.
00:06The fairies say I am cursed.
00:09Because my mother was a priestess of the Moon Temple,
00:12who died while giving birth to me.
00:15And until the end, she never revealed who my father was.
00:19The priestesses therefore see me as an ill omen,
00:23treat me as a slave,
00:24and have forbidden me from looking directly into the eyes of men.
00:28Thena, you think that body of yours is for seducing men?
00:33This is Artemis' sacred grove.
00:37Step out of line,
00:38and I'll feed you to the sea monster Scriper myself.
00:43I didn't know what stepping out of line meant.
00:46All I knew was the ache in my chest
00:48from the bindings they made me wear.
00:51In summer, the fabric rubbed my skin raw.
00:54In winter, the coat turned my fingers blue.
00:57But no matter how tight I wrapped,
01:00those two stubborn mouths pushed through,
01:02refusing to disappear.
01:04I cried into the spring more times than I could count,
01:08begging my mother to tell me why she gave me this body.
01:11The spring never answered.
01:14Only the wind rustling through the laurel leaves.
01:16Everything changed on the spring evening.
01:21Everything changed on the spring evening.
01:25Haleas' chariot had just crossed the sky,
01:28painting the growl gold and rose.
01:30I was walking back from the stream,
01:33with a clay jug on my shoulder,
01:35water sloshing,
01:36when I heard sounds coming from the olive grove behind the temple.
01:39Muffled sounds.
01:41The kind you're not supposed to hear.
01:43I put down the jug and crept closer.
01:46Taya was on her knees.
01:48Her robe had slipped down to her waist,
01:50exposing the dry, wrinkled skin of her back.
01:53And standing in front of her was a man I'd never seen before.
01:57No, not a man.
01:59A god.
02:00He was shirtless,
02:01his body carved like a statue,
02:03every muscle holding enough force to level a city.
02:06Dark brown curls hung past his shoulders.
02:08His eyes were amber,
02:10burning like twin fires in the twilight.
02:12He had Taya by the chin,
02:14tilting her old face up to his.
02:17Tell me,
02:19who's the most beautiful niff in this grove?
02:24The moon goddess's handmaidens.
02:27No.
02:28He let her go,
02:29his gaze sweeping past her,
02:31past the olive branches,
02:34past the floating dust moats,
02:35in the golden light,
02:37and landing straight on me.
02:39My blood turned cold.
02:42His eyes moved down my face,
02:44past my trembling lips,
02:45and stopped at my chest,
02:47pressed tight against the edge of the clay jug,
02:50rising and falling with every panicked breath.
02:54You.
02:55He walked toward me,
02:56and with every step,
02:58the leaves on the ground seemed to shrink back.
03:01What's your name?
03:04Werner.
03:06Werner.
03:07He wrote the name across his tongue like he was tasting it.
03:10The corner of his mouth lifted.
03:12Are you afraid of me?
03:14I nodded,
03:16then shook my head.
03:18His scent was too much.
03:20Iron and blood.
03:22The smell of a battlefield.
03:24It made my knees weak.
03:27I'm Eris.
03:29God of war.
03:30I knew who he was.
03:32Son of Zeus and Hera.
03:34Every nymph knew the stories.
03:37Once a god like him set his sights on you,
03:40there was no escape.
03:41My knees buckled.
03:43The clay jug sipped from my fingers.
03:46Iris reached out.
03:48His fingers hooked the strip of fabric binding my chest.
03:51Moving so slowly,
03:53I had all the time in the world to run.
03:55But I didn't.
03:56I couldn't.
03:59He pulled.
04:00The lean and tore like butterfly wings.
04:02My body,
04:04bound and concealed for seventeen years,
04:07lay uncovered in the twilight,
04:09exposed to his gaze,
04:11to the fading sunlight,
04:12and the evening breeze.
04:14I gasped,
04:15tried to move back,
04:17but my feet wouldn't obey.
04:19His ember eyes filled with something I didn't understand.
04:22Something hungry and wild.
04:25Like a man who'd been walking through a desert for a thousand years,
04:28and finally found water.
04:30Taya,
04:32you were right.
04:33This body really is cursed.
04:37He paused,
04:39bent his head,
04:40and brought his nose within the breath of my collarbone.
04:43Cursed by me.
04:45He inhaled.
04:47The warmth of his breath hit my skin,
04:50setting off a ripple of goosebumps down my neck,
04:53my arms,
04:54my spine.
04:56You smell like...
04:58spring.
04:59I shoved him.
05:01I don't know where the strength came from,
05:03but my palms hit his chest solid.
05:05I felt his heartbeat,
05:07loud and fast,
05:09just like a mortal man.
05:10I staggered back,
05:12stumbling over shards of the broken jug.
05:15Blood welled from my foot,
05:16but I didn't feel it.
05:19Don't touch me!
05:21I screamed.
05:23Airs didn't follow.
05:25He stood there,
05:26watching me flee,
05:27watching my hair whip in the wind,
05:30watching my bare shoulders disappear into the trees.
05:34Then he bent down and picked up the torn strip of linen,
05:37still warm from my skin.
05:39He lifted it to his nose.
05:43Thinner.
05:44The sound followed me through the olive grove,
05:46through the laurel trees,
05:48through the dying light.
05:49It sank into my bones.
05:51That night,
05:52every nymph in the grove heard me cry.
05:55I caught up in the darkest corner of the moon temple,
05:59moonlight falling cold through the high windows.
06:01I tried to wrap my chest again with the torn cloth,
06:05but my fingers shook too badly to tie the knots.
06:08Tears soaked my knees,
06:10my dress,
06:11the stone floor.
06:12Tears found me.
06:15The marks from Airs' fingers
06:17were still fresh on her cheek,
06:19purple and swollen.
06:21She looked down at me,
06:23with eyes that held nothing but disgust.
06:26You think you can run from this?
06:29When a god like Airs wants something,
06:32no one stops him.
06:35No one.
06:36I looked up through my tears.
06:37She bent down,
06:39close enough
06:40that her lips almost touched my ear.
06:43I heard Airs was badly wounded at Troy.
06:46A spear went through his thigh,
06:48right through the tendon.
06:50She didn't finish.
06:52She didn't need to.
06:54A god who couldn't perform.
06:57Lucky you.
06:59Better a broken god than a beast.
07:04At least you won't have to bear children.
07:08She patted my cheek.
07:10Besides,
07:11they say men who can't do it in bed
07:12make up for it in other ways.
07:15I don't want to marry her.
07:16Don't want?
07:17Who do you think you are?
07:19A bastard with no father.
07:23Airs wants you.
07:25That's more than you deserve.
07:26If it weren't for that body of yours,
07:28that slut's body,
07:29a war god wouldn't even look at you.
07:31I cried again.
07:33I cried again.
07:33That night,
07:33I dreamed.
07:35Airs' hands moved up my legs.
07:37And everywhere he touched,
07:39my skin caught fire.
07:42His lips pressed against my stomach.
07:45And I heard his voice,
07:47low and shaking.
07:49Senna,
07:50you can't escape me.
07:53I woke,
07:54soaked in sweat.
07:56My hair was plastered to my face,
07:59my neck.
08:00The blanket had slid to the floor.
08:02Between my legs,
08:03a heat I'd never felt before,
08:06spreading through me like spring flats,
08:08breaking through ice.
08:09I bit my lip
08:11until I tasted blood.
08:13Shame shook me down to my bones.
08:16Outside,
08:17the moon hung cold in the sky.
08:19The next day,
08:20a messenger came to the grove,
08:22not Aerith,
08:22that Athena.
08:23She wore golden armor,
08:25an owl's crest on her helmet.
08:27Her eyes were sharp and gray,
08:29the color of winter seas.
08:31Her presence alone
08:32made you want to bow.
08:35You're Athena?
08:38Yes.
08:39Ares sent me to get you.
08:40He's wounded,
08:42recovering on Olympias.
08:43He wants to marry you.
08:46I don't...
08:48Athena was quiet for a moment.
08:49In that silence,
08:50something flickered across her face.
08:52A crack in the divine perfection.
08:54Something almost soft.
08:56Do you know why Ares chose you?
09:00Because you're the only niff
09:02in this grove
09:03who wasn't afraid of him.
09:05You pushed him.
09:06No one has ever pushed
09:08the god of war.
09:09I stared at her.
09:11Well,
09:12you're also very beautiful.
09:13But that's not the point.
09:15She held out her hand.
09:16In her palm
09:17lay a silver ring,
09:18plain and unandorned,
09:20glowing faintly
09:21in the morning light.
09:22Put this on.
09:23Hephaxes made it.
09:24It'll hide your form.
09:25Make you less noticeable.
09:27I slid the ring
09:28onto my finger.
09:29It tightened to fit,
09:30cold spread up
09:31from my knuckles,
09:32washing over my whole body.
09:34When I looked down,
09:35my curve seemed softer,
09:37blurred at the edges,
09:38like looking through
09:39frosted glass.
09:40Come on.
09:41Olympus is waiting.
09:42I followed her
09:43out of the grove.
09:51I didn't look back.
09:55The golden chariot
09:57tools through the clouds,
09:58thought,
09:58then Olympus
09:59rose up ahead of us,
10:01higher than any mountain
10:02in the world.
10:03White marble columns
10:05caught the sunlight
10:06and threw it back,
10:07dazzling.
10:08I never thought
10:09I'd see this place.
10:10A nobody named
10:11a bastard girl.
10:12Aeris's temple
10:13stood on the eastern slope,
10:15facing the sunrise.
10:16I'm not going in.
10:18Aeris doesn't like me.
10:19If he gets angry,
10:20run.
10:21If you can't outrun him,
10:22shout.
10:23I nodded
10:24and walked toward
10:25the bronze doors.
10:27They were carved
10:28with battle scenes,
10:30chariots,
10:31spears,
10:32fallen soldiers.
10:33When I pushed,
10:34they swung open
10:34on their own.
10:37Inside,
10:38the air was dim
10:39and heavy,
10:40thick with the smell
10:41of medicine
10:41and blood.
10:42At the end
10:43of a long corridor,
10:44I found his room.
10:45Aeris lay propped
10:46against the headboard.
10:47His white robe
10:48did nothing to hide
10:49the lines of muscle
10:50across his chest,
10:51but his face
10:52was too pale.
10:54You came.
10:56I stood in the doorway.
10:57Athena gave you that?
10:59She's kind.
11:00Annoying,
11:01but kind.
11:02I didn't answer.
11:03Come here.
11:04I still didn't move.
11:07I don't bite.
11:08Not right now,
11:09anyway.
11:10I walked to the edge
11:11of the bed.
11:11He tilted his head back,
11:13watching me.
11:15His ember eyes
11:16held my reflection.
11:18Small,
11:19scared,
11:20wrapped
11:20in thick wool.
11:22You're afraid of me.
11:24Yes.
11:25Why?
11:27Because of what they say.
11:28He was quiet for a moment,
11:30then his hands shut out
11:31and closed around my wrist.
11:32His fingers were hot,
11:34like iron pulled from a forge.
11:35I flinched,
11:37but he didn't tighten his grip.
11:38He just held my hand,
11:40turning it over in his,
11:42looking at the lines
11:42on my palm.
11:43Your hands are cold,
11:45like mine.
11:46I didn't know how to answer.
11:48He let go,
11:49one finger at a time,
11:50like he didn't want to.
11:51You'll sleep there tonight.
11:52I can't do much anyway.
11:57I'll have clothes brought for you.
11:58You can take the west room tomorrow.
11:59More light.
12:01All right.
12:02A servant came
12:04to take me to the baths.
12:06When I looked back
12:07at the doorway,
12:09Ares had closed his eyes again.
12:11His face was blank,
12:14expressionless,
12:15like a statue
12:16that had been shattered
12:17and glued back together.
12:19That night,
12:20I lay on the couch,
12:21listening to his breathing
12:22and couldn't sleep.
12:23Moonlight crept through the windows
12:25and sprayed across his face.
12:27Asleep,
12:28he didn't look like
12:29the god of war.
12:30He just looked like
12:31a wounded boy,
12:32no older than the men
12:34I'd glimpsed
12:34at the edges of the grove.
12:36I turned to face the wall,
12:37pressing my face
12:38into the pillow
12:39than my head.
12:40A thought kept circling back.
12:41When he had held my wrist
12:43that first night,
12:44his thumb had traced
12:45the lines of my palm.
12:46Light,
12:46almost not there,
12:47but it had been there.
12:48I didn't know
12:49when I fell asleep.
12:50Half dreaming,
12:51something warm
12:52touched the back of my neck.
12:54I rolled over
12:55and opened my eyes
12:56into amber.
12:58Ares stood beside the couch.
13:00His hair fell forward,
13:02brushing my cheek.
13:03Moonlight painted his silhouette,
13:05the broad shoulders,
13:06the straight nose,
13:07the long line of his jaw.
13:09I tried to speak,
13:10but no sound came.
13:11He didn't say anything either.
13:13He just looked at me.
13:14His hand rose,
13:15hovering over my face,
13:16his fingers trembling.
13:17He didn't touch me.
13:19Sleep.
13:19I watched him go,
13:21my heart slamming
13:22against my ribs.
13:23That night,
13:24I dreamed I stood
13:25on a battlefield.
13:26That night,
13:27I dreamed I stood
13:28on a battlefield.
13:29The sky rad as blood,
13:30the ground cracking
13:31beneath my feet.
13:32Ares came riding out
13:33to the clouds
13:34in a golden chariot.
13:35He held out his hand.
13:36I didn't run.
13:37He pulled me up
13:38onto the chariot,
13:39wrapped his arms
13:40around me,
13:41pulled me back
13:42against his chest.
13:43His heartbeat
13:44was a drum
13:45against my spine.
13:46Do you know why
13:47I chose you?
13:49Because you pushed me away.
13:52Everyone wants something
13:53from me,
13:54power,
13:54protection,
13:55my name.
13:56Everyone wants to use me,
13:57but you,
13:59you were the one
14:00who didn't want me.
14:02So I want you.
14:03I woke gasping,
14:05drenched in sweat.
14:06Outside,
14:07the sun was up.
14:08Ares' bed was empty.
14:10The servant who bought
14:11my water told me
14:12the war guard
14:12had already gone
14:13to the training grounds.
14:15Even wounded,
14:15he never missed a day.
14:17In the bronze mirror,
14:18I studied my reflection.
14:19The ring still worked,
14:21I thought,
14:21but the edges of my shape
14:23were starting
14:23to come through again.
14:24My breasts
14:25pushed against the wall,
14:26my waist curved in.
14:28I wrapped the bondings tighter,
14:30one turn,
14:30two,
14:31three,
14:32until I could barely breathe.
14:33Ares came back
14:34at midday.
14:35I was in the kitchen,
14:37standing over
14:37a bronze cauldron,
14:38stirring the herbal broth
14:40I'd learned to make
14:41from my mother's notes.
14:43What's that?
14:45Medicine.
14:46For your leg.
14:47He came up behind me,
14:49close enough
14:49that I could feel
14:50the heat coming off him.
14:51You know how to do this?
14:53I learned.
14:54My mother knew healing.
14:55He didn't ask anything else.
14:57He picked up the cup
14:58and drank.
15:01How is it?
15:02Terrible.
15:03I watched him drink,
15:04and for a moment,
15:05I thought maybe
15:06the god of war
15:07wasn't as frightening
15:08as they said.
15:09I was wrong about that.
15:11That evening,
15:12I was in my room
15:13unpacking the clothes
15:14Athena had sent
15:15when I heard footsteps
15:16in the hall,
15:17heavy and uneven,
15:18like an animal
15:19dragging a wounded leg.
15:20I opened the door.
15:21Ares was braced
15:22against the wall,
15:23his face slick
15:24with sweat.
15:25His right leg trembled.
15:26Blood was seeping
15:27through his bandages,
15:28running down his calf,
15:29pooling on the marble floor.
15:31What happened?
15:33Nothing.
15:34Old wound.
15:35Don't bother.
15:36You're bleeding!
15:39So?
15:40Rest,
15:41the healer said.
15:42Rest?
15:43I'm the god of war,
15:45not a cripple.
15:46He's a cripple
15:47like it was a knife
15:48twisting in his gut.
15:49I didn't argue.
15:50I half carried him
15:51back to his room,
15:52his weight almost too much,
15:53and laid him on the bed.
15:54I found the healer's salve
15:56and unwrapped
15:56the blood-soaked bandages.
15:58The wound
15:58was worse
15:59than I'd imagined.
16:00A long,
16:01twisted scar
16:02ran down the inside
16:03of his thigh,
16:04where the Trojan spear
16:05had gone through.
16:06My fingers brushed
16:07the scar.
16:08Arrows went rigid.
16:13Does it hurt?
16:14He didn't answer.
16:15He was staring at me,
16:16his amber eyes wild.
16:18Keep looking at me like that
16:19and I can't promise
16:20what I'll do.
16:21Thought my face went hot.
16:23My hands stopped moving.
16:25I'm just,
16:25I'm putting on the salve.
16:27I know.
16:29Just finish and get out.
16:30I worked fast.
16:32When I was done,
16:33I practically ran out
16:34of the room.
16:35Behind the closed door,
16:38I heard a dull thud,
16:39his fist hitting the wall.
16:41I leaned against the wood,
16:43heart pounding,
16:44and listened to him
16:44breathing on the other side.
16:46Days passed.
16:47I made the medicine
16:49every morning,
16:50changed his bandages
16:51twice a day,
16:53read him the dispatches
16:54from the war councils.
16:56Some days he was angry,
16:58some days he was silent.
17:00When he was angry,
17:01he threw things.
17:03Once he threw a cup,
17:04so hard,
17:05it shattered against the wall
17:07and a shard cut my cheek.
17:09He saw the blood
17:10and went still,
17:12his whole body locking up.
17:14Then he closed his eyes
17:15and said,
17:16Leave.
17:17I left.
17:20When he was silent,
17:22he sat by the window
17:23for hours,
17:25watching the clouds.
17:26Sometimes he watched me.
17:28His gaze was heavy,
17:29but not threatening.
17:31It was like he was trying
17:32to memorize the shape
17:33of my face,
17:34the line of my brow,
17:35the curve of my mouth.
17:37Like he was afraid
17:38he'd wake up one morning
17:39and forget,
17:40we never touched.
17:42No,
17:43he made sure not to touch.
17:45Sometimes,
17:46when I leaned down
17:47to hand him his cup,
17:48I could feel
17:49his eyes on my chest.
17:52My hands would shake,
17:53and a drop of the dark liquid
17:55would fall on his skin.
17:57He'd look at it
17:58for a long moment,
18:00then wipe it with his thumb
18:02and bring it to his lips.
18:04Sweet.
18:05He'd say.
18:07Sometimes,
18:08when I passed him
18:09in the hallway,
18:10his fingers would lift,
18:11just barely,
18:12like he was thinking
18:13about reaching for me.
18:14But he never did.
18:17One day,
18:18Hera came.
18:20The queen of the gods
18:22swept into the temple
18:23with her whole rat knew,
18:26wearing purple robes
18:27and a golden crown,
18:28her presence
18:29like a weight in the air.
18:31I hear you married a nymph,
18:34she said,
18:34looking me up and down.
18:36This one?
18:37Aerys grunted from his bed.
18:40Hera crossed to me,
18:41lifted my chin
18:42with her cold fingers,
18:44steady my face.
18:45Pretty enough.
18:46But the figure.
18:47Her gaze dropped to my chest,
18:49and her mouth tightened.
18:51Who was your mother?
18:52A priestess of Artemis.
18:54Which priestess?
18:55Aristess,
18:56and your father?
18:57Hera's smile was sharp.
18:58I shook my head.
18:59She turned back to Ares.
19:01A nobody nymph.
19:02A bastard.
19:03Not a fitting wife
19:05for a god of Olympias.
19:06Aerys' voice went flat.
19:08I marry who I want.
19:09Hera's face darkened,
19:11but she didn't push.
19:12She swept out,
19:14pausing at the door
19:15to look back at me.
19:16You know why
19:17your mother's body
19:17was like yours?
19:19She said.
19:20Because she was a slut too.
19:22She used that body
19:23to seduce someone
19:24she shouldn't have.
19:25You're just what
19:25she left behind.
19:27She left.
19:28I stood in the empty hall,
19:30cold to the bone.
19:31Ares pushed himself up.
19:32Come here.
19:34Come here.
19:35I didn't move.
19:36His voice softened.
19:37Thena,
19:38come here.
19:40I walked to him.
19:41He took my hand,
19:42his thumb
19:43moving over my palm.
19:45Don't listen to her.
19:46He said.
19:47The way you're made,
19:48it's not your fault.
19:49My eyes burned.
19:50Annoyance edged his voice.
19:52Why are you crying?
19:53But he didn't let go
19:54of my hand.
19:54I said.
19:55I don't know.
19:58No one's ever,
19:59no one's ever
20:00told me that before.
20:02Iris was quiet
20:02for a long time.
20:04Then he pulled me
20:05against him.
20:06One arm went
20:06around my shoulders,
20:07and the other hand
20:09patted my back,
20:10clumsy and awkward,
20:11like a man
20:12who'd never comforted
20:13anyone in
20:14three thousand years.
20:16I won't hurt you.
20:17He sat into my hair.
20:18I swear it.
20:19I bared my face
20:20in his shoulder.
20:22After that,
20:22things shifted.
20:24He stopped avoiding me.
20:26I stopped running
20:26from him.
20:27In the evenings,
20:28we sat on the temple
20:29steps together
20:30and watched the sunset.
20:32He sat on the left.
20:33I sat on the right,
20:34an arm's length
20:35between us.
20:36He told me
20:37about the battles
20:38he'd fought.
20:39I told him
20:39about the grove,
20:40about Teo's cruelty,
20:42about singing the hymns
20:43off-key
20:43and getting punished
20:44for it.
20:45He scowled
20:46like a child.
20:47Do you know
20:47why I hate Athena?
20:48Why?
20:49Because she's always right.
20:51Every time.
20:53Annoying.
20:53No matter what the subject,
20:55she always has to be right.
20:56He watched me.
20:58His eyes softened
20:59in the fading light.
21:00You have a beautiful laugh.
21:01I stopped laughing.
21:03He looked away,
21:04but not before
21:05I saw his ears go pink.
21:07That night,
21:08I dreamed of him again.
21:09His mouth on my neck,
21:11his hands on my skin.
21:13I woke up shaking,
21:15my thighs slick with heat
21:16and bit my lips so hard,
21:18I tasted copper.
21:20I'll set my door.
21:21Footsteps.
21:22I looked up
21:23and saw the shadow
21:24of his back
21:25retreating down the hole.
21:27The next morning,
21:28when I went to the kitchen
21:29to make his medicine,
21:31I found flowers
21:32on the work table.
21:33White anemones,
21:35their petals wet with dew,
21:36tied together
21:37with a piece
21:38of rough twine.
21:39No note,
21:40but I recognized
21:41the red clay
21:41still clinging
21:42to the stems.
21:43It came from the stream
21:45behind the mountain.
21:46With his leg,
21:47it would have taken him
21:49an hour to walk there,
21:50an hour to pick the flowers,
21:52an hour to walk back.
21:54I put them in a clay pot
21:56on the windowsill.
21:57When I went back
21:59to stirring the cauldron,
22:00I couldn't stop smiling.
22:02Spring was just beginning,
22:04and something between us
22:05had changed.
22:06Something that started
22:07the day he first saw me
22:09in the olive grove.
22:10Something that started
22:11when he tore away
22:12the bindings on my chest.
22:14Something that started
22:15in the dark
22:16when he stood over me
22:17with his hand hovering
22:19by my face
22:20and didn't touch me.
22:21Something that
22:22I finally understood
22:23had already changed everything.
22:27Eris' leg got better,
22:29but he still didn't touch me.
22:31I told myself,
22:33it didn't matter.
22:34I've never wanted
22:35this marriage anyway.
22:36What did it matter
22:38if he can...
22:39That's what I told myself.
22:41Until the evening,
22:42by this stream,
22:43I was washing clothes,
22:44kneeling on a flat rock.
22:45I was bent forward,
22:46and the color of my dress
22:48had slipped open
22:49without me noticing.
22:50Senna.
22:52Eris' voice came from behind me,
22:54rough as stone scraping stone.
22:56I turned.
22:56He was standing under a plain tree
22:58at the water's edge.
22:59His amber eyes
23:00were fixed on my chest,
23:01where the wet wool
23:03clung to the shape
23:03of my breasts.
23:04I scrambled up.
23:05He walked toward me.
23:07Every step was heavy,
23:08deliberate.
23:09I stepped back,
23:10slipped on the moss-lick stone,
23:12and fell toward the water.
23:13His arms shot out
23:14and caught me.
23:15I slammed into his chest,
23:16my body flushed against his.
23:18We both went still.
23:19His heart was hammering.
23:21His breath came fast,
23:22his chest heaving.
23:24Eris.
23:25He didn't let go.
23:26His arms locked around my waist.
23:29Don't move.
23:30He buried his face
23:31in my neck,
23:32his nose pressing
23:33against my collarbone.
23:34He inhaled.
23:35The heat of his breath
23:36spread across my skin,
23:37and I shivered.
23:38Do you know how long
23:40I've wanted this?
23:41I couldn't think.
23:43Since the first time
23:44I saw you.
23:45Since you pushed me away.
23:47His fingers dug into my waist,
23:49almost too hard.
23:50Three thousand years.
23:52No one's ever dared
23:53to push me.
23:54You were the first.
23:55He pulled back,
23:57just enough
23:58to look at me.
23:59And this?
24:00His gaze fell to my chest again,
24:03that I tried to cover myself.
24:05Daddy caught my wrist
24:06and pressed it
24:07against the tree trunk
24:08behind me.
24:08Don't.
24:09Let me see.
24:11His fingers found the ties
24:12at my collar.
24:13They were shaking.
24:14Can I?
24:15I didn't answer,
24:17but I didn't push him away either.
24:19He pulled.
24:20The wet wool
24:20slipped off my shoulders.
24:22His breath stopped.
24:23His eyes went dark with fire.
24:25Thinner.
24:26His fingers traced the line
24:28of my collarbone,
24:29moving down.
24:30Aries.
24:31He bent
24:32and pressed his lips
24:33to the curve
24:34where my neck
24:35met my shoulder.
24:36Light,
24:37barely a kiss,
24:38but my whole body
24:39arched into it.
24:40He looked up at me.
24:41For once,
24:42there was nothing
24:43of the war god
24:44in his face.
24:45Just tenderness,
24:46raw and open.
24:47You're shaking.
24:50So are you.
24:51He smiled.
24:53I'd never seen him
24:54smile like that.
24:56I'm scared.
24:58You?
24:59That I'll hurt you.
25:00That you'll cry.
25:01That you'll push me away again.
25:03I laughed.
25:04He touched his forehead
25:05to mine.
25:07Can I kiss you?
25:08I asked it
25:09by pressing my mouth
25:10to his.
25:10For a second,
25:11he was frozen.
25:12Then,
25:13he came alive,
25:13pushing me back
25:14against the tree,
25:15casing me like
25:16he'd been starving for it.
25:17His tongue
25:18swiped into my mouth,
25:19claiming everything.
25:20I clung to his hair,
25:21breathless.
25:22He lifted me,
25:23wrapping my legs
25:24around his waist,
25:25and I felt it.
25:26The part of him,
25:27the healers said,
25:28would never work again.
25:30I went still.
25:31He went still.
25:32We broke apart,
25:33breathing hard,
25:34staring at each other.
25:37The healers said,
25:39his face
25:40cycled through
25:40confusion,
25:42disbelief,
25:43and in a fierce,
25:44almost boyish delight.
25:46I guess they were wrong.
25:48His hand slid down
25:49to my hip,
25:50pressing me closer.
25:52Eris!
25:53What?
25:54You don't want to?
25:56He laughed,
25:56and lifted me higher,
25:58carrying me back
25:59toward the temple.
26:00Thought my spine
26:01hit the bronze doors
26:02with a boom
26:03that echoed
26:04across the valley.
26:05The door.
26:06Leave it.
26:07He pushed me against it,
26:09and kissed me again,
26:10harder this time.
26:11His hands
26:12slid up my sides,
26:13and found my chest
26:14through the thin,
26:15wet cloth,
26:15and my thoughts scattered.
26:18I've wanted you
26:19since the moment
26:19I saw you.
26:21His thumb
26:21brushed across
26:22the peak of my breast,
26:23and the sound
26:24escaped my throat
26:25that I'd never
26:26heard myself make before.
26:28More beautiful
26:29than I imagined.
26:32Dead, dead.
26:33He carried me
26:34to his bed,
26:35laid me down,
26:36and stood over me
26:37in the moonlight.
26:39In Olympus,
26:40gods aren't supposed
26:41to love.
26:43Why?
26:45Because love
26:46is a weakness,
26:47and the god of war
26:48can't be weak.
26:49He lowered his head
26:50and pressed a kiss
26:52to my chest.
26:54But you,
26:57you're the one weakness
26:58I don't want to give up.
27:00That night,
27:01every flower on Olympus
27:02bloomed out of season.
27:04Anemones,
27:05praxis,
27:06hyacinths,
27:07laurel,
27:08doesn't hung thick
27:09in the air.
27:10His mouth
27:11moved down my body,
27:13his fingers
27:14laced with mine.
27:15Sweat beaded
27:16on his forehead.
27:17Does it hurt?
27:19A little.
27:20My nails
27:21bit into his back.
27:23He stopped,
27:24kissed the tears
27:25that had started
27:26at the corners
27:27of my eyes.
27:29We can stop.
27:31Don't.
27:31I pulled him back.
27:32Don't stop.
27:33He looked at me
27:34with something like
27:35reverence in his eyes.
27:37All right.
27:38The moon slipped
27:39behind a cloud.
27:40That night,
27:41all of Olympus
27:43heard the war god roar.
27:44Not with battle rage,
27:46but something else.
27:47Something that sounded
27:49like a lion tamed
27:50purring at his
27:51mate's ear.
27:52In the morning,
27:54Eris was already awake.
27:56He lay propped
27:57against the headboard,
27:58his fingers
27:59tangled in my hair.
28:01Morning.
28:01He said,
28:02smiling.
28:03Morning.
28:04I buried my face
28:05in the blanket.
28:06He pulled it back.
28:07What are you hiding for?
28:09You know why.
28:10He laughed and
28:11hauled me up
28:12against his chest.
28:13Watch the sun rise
28:15with me.
28:16Every day.
28:19Why?
28:20Because I want to see
28:21the beginning of every day
28:22with you.
28:23From now on,
28:25everyone.
28:27Outside,
28:28the first light
28:29broke over Olympus.
28:32All right.
28:33Deal.
28:35I pressed my face
28:36to his chest,
28:37listening to his heart.
28:40Deal.
28:41Where it spread
28:41through Olympus,
28:43Eris wasn't broken.
28:44The healers
28:45were idiots,
28:46and the god of war
28:47was fiercer
28:48in bed
28:49than on the battlefield.
28:51I was limping
28:52out of the bedroom
28:53when I ran
28:54into Athena,
28:55leaning against
28:56the pillar
28:56in the hallway,
28:58looking amused.
29:00I see.
29:01Glancing at the marks
29:02on my neck.
29:04He's recovered.
29:07My face
29:08went hot.
29:09You knew.
29:10You knew
29:11he wasn't...
29:12You lied to me.
29:15Athena just smiled.
29:17You did it
29:18on purpose!
29:20I didn't lie.
29:22The healers
29:22said it was unlikely.
29:24I just didn't
29:24correct them.
29:25Why?
29:26Because
29:27I wanted to see
29:28him suffer.
29:31You should have
29:31seen his face
29:32when he heard
29:33he couldn't...
29:34Well...
29:36It was worth it.
29:38I stared at her.
29:40But if she hadn't
29:41lied,
29:41I never would have
29:42stayed.
29:43I would have
29:44run from Eris
29:45on our wedding night
29:46and never learned
29:47that beneath
29:48all the violence,
29:49there was a man
29:50who'd been alone
29:50for 3,000 years.
29:52A man who stood
29:53outside my door
29:54at midnight
29:55with his hands
29:56shaking over my face,
29:57afraid to touch me.
29:59A man who walked
30:01an hour
30:01to pick flowers
30:02with his wounded leg
30:04and left them
30:05on my work table
30:06without a word.
30:09Athena came?
30:11Yes.
30:13What did she say?
30:16That she lied to you.
30:21She said you were
30:22fine all along.
30:25His ears went pink.
30:28Do you still want
30:29to leave?
30:29And for a moment,
30:31he looked almost afraid.
30:32I cupped his face
30:34in my hands,
30:35stood on my toes
30:36and kissed him.
30:37I'm not going anywhere.
30:38He pressed his forehead
30:39to mine.
30:40Then every spring,
30:42we watched the flowers
30:43bloom together.
30:44All right.
30:46Outside,
30:47the pomegranate flowers
30:48were opening,
30:49red as flame.
30:51The wind came up
30:52from the valley,
30:54hearing the smell
30:54of anemones
30:55and laro,
30:56drifting through the columns
30:58and stirring out her.
31:01Hera came one more time.
31:03She looked me over
31:05and said I was too much,
31:07too loud,
31:09too shapely,
31:10not fit to be the wife
31:12of an Olympian.
31:14Iris stepped in front of me.
31:16She's fit enough for me.
31:18Hera looked at him
31:19for a long time.
31:21You've changed.
31:23Yes.
31:24He glanced back at me
31:25and his eyes were soft.
31:27Because of her.
31:29After she left,
31:30I took his hand.
31:32Do you regret it?
31:34Marrying a nobody nymph?
31:36A bastard.
31:37He laughed
31:38and pulled me
31:39into his chest.
31:40You're the best decision
31:41I ever made.
31:42I pressed my face
31:43against his heart.
31:45It beat steady
31:46and strong,
31:47like war drums,
31:48like spring thunder.
31:49Like the tide coming in.
31:51And for the first time
31:53in my life,
31:54I wasn't ashamed
31:55of my body anymore.
31:56Because this body,
31:58this cursed,
31:59impossible,
32:00too much body,
32:02it was the reason
32:03he saw me.
32:04Every spring,
32:05the flowers bloom.
32:07Every night,
32:08the moon rises
32:09over Olympus.
32:10And we will be here,
32:12together,
32:13to see it all.
32:15From now on,
32:17year after year.
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