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