#video #Forbidden Love with Ares (2026) ✅ FULL EP #hotmovie #drama #trending #tubizmedia #viral
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00:01I was born with a large chest. All the men in the forest covet my body. The fairies say, I
00:09am cursed, because my mother was a priestess of the Moon Temple, who died while giving birth to me, and
00:17until the end, she never revealed who my father was.
00:20The priestesses therefore see me as an ill omen, treat me as a slave, and have forbidden me from looking
00:28directly into the eyes of men.
00:30Fena, you think that body of yours is for seducing men? This is Artemis' sacred grove. Step out of line,
00:40and I'll feed you to the sea monster Scriper myself.
00:45I didn't know what stepping out of line meant. All I knew was the ache in my chest from the
00:51bindings they made me wear.
00:53In summer, the fabric rubbed my skin raw. In winter, the coat turned my fingers blue.
01:00But no matter how tight I wrapped, those two stubborn mouths pushed through, refusing to disappear.
01:06I cried into the spring more times than I could count, begging my mother to tell me why she gave
01:12me this body.
01:13The spring never answered. Only the wind rustling through the laurel leaves.
01:19Everything changed on spring evening.
01:24Everything changed on spring evening.
01:27Helios' chariot had just crossed the sky, painting the grog gold and rose.
01:33I was walking back from the stream, with a clay jug on my shoulder, water sloshing, when I heard sounds
01:40coming from the olive grove behind the temple.
01:42Muffled sounds.
01:44The kind you're not supposed to hear.
01:46I put down the jug and crept closer.
01:49Taya was on her knees.
01:51Her robe had slipped down to her waist, exposing the dry, wrinkled skin of her back.
01:56And standing in front of her was a man I'd never seen before.
02:00No, not a man.
02:02A god.
02:03He was shirtless, his body carved like a statue, every muscle holding enough force to level a city.
02:09Dark brown curls hung past his shoulders.
02:12His eyes were amber, burning like twin fires in the twilight.
02:16He had Taya by the chin, tilting her old face up to his.
02:20Tell me, who's the most beautiful niff in this grove?
02:28The moon goddess is handmaidens.
02:31No.
02:32He let her go, his gaze sweeping past her.
02:35Past the olive branches, past the floating dust moats, in the golden light, and landing straight on me.
02:43My blood turned cold.
02:45His eyes moved down my face, past my trembling lips, and stopped at my chest, pressed tight against the edge
02:53of the clay jug, rising and falling with every panicked breath.
02:57You.
02:59He walked toward me, and with every step, the leaves on the ground seemed to shrink back.
03:05What's your name?
03:08Vena.
03:10Vena.
03:10He wrote the name across his tongue, like he was tasting it.
03:14The corner of his mouth lifted.
03:16Are you afraid of me?
03:18I nodded, then shook my head.
03:22His scent was too much, iron and blood.
03:26The smell of a battlefield.
03:28It made my knees weak.
03:31I'm Eris, god of war.
03:35I knew who he was.
03:36Son of Zeus and Hera.
03:38Every nymph knew the stories.
03:41Once a god like him set his sights on you, there was no escape.
03:46My knees buckled.
03:48The clay jug sipped from my fingers.
03:51Iris reached out.
03:52His fingers hooked the strip of fabric binding my chest.
03:56Moving so slowly, I had all the time in the world to run.
03:59But I didn't.
04:01I couldn't.
04:03He pulled.
04:05The lean and tore like butterfly wings.
04:07My body, bound and concealed for 17 years, lay uncovered in the twilight.
04:14Exposed to his gaze.
04:16To the fading sunlight.
04:17And the evening breeze.
04:18I gasped.
04:21Tried to move back.
04:22But my feet wouldn't obey.
04:24His ember eyes filled with something I didn't understand.
04:27Something hungry and wild.
04:30Like a man who'd been walking through a desert for a thousand years.
04:33And finally found water.
04:35Taya, you were right.
04:38This body really is cursed.
04:42He paused.
04:44Bent his head.
04:45And brought his nose within the breath of my collarbone.
04:49Cursed by me.
04:50He inhaled.
04:52The warmth of his breath hit my skin.
04:55Setting off a ripple of goosebumps down my neck.
04:58My arms.
04:59My spine.
05:01You smell like...
05:03Spring.
05:05I shoved him.
05:06I don't know where the strength came from.
05:08But my palms hit his chest solid.
05:11I felt his heartbeat.
05:13Loud and fast.
05:14Just like a mortal man.
05:16I staggered back.
05:18Stumbling over shards of the broken jug.
05:21Blood welled from my foot.
05:22But I didn't feel it.
05:25Don't touch me!
05:27I screamed.
05:29Ares didn't follow.
05:30He stood there.
05:32Watching me flee.
05:33Watching my hair whip in the wind.
05:35Watching my bare shoulders disappear into the trees.
05:40Then he bent down and picked up the torn strip of linen.
05:43Still warm from my skin.
05:45He lifted it to his nose.
05:49Thinner.
05:50The sound followed me through the olive grove.
05:52Through the laurel trees.
05:54Through the dying light.
05:55It sank into my bones.
05:57That night.
05:58That night.
06:28The eyes of the eye.
06:35The eyes of the eye.
06:37The eyes of the eye.
06:55right through the tendon.
06:58She didn't finish.
06:59She didn't need to.
07:01A god who couldn't perform.
07:04Lucky you.
07:06Better a broken god than a beast.
07:12At least you won't have to bear children.
07:15She patted my cheek.
07:17Besides, they say men who can't do it in bed
07:20make up for it in other ways.
07:22I don't want to marry him.
07:23Don't want?
07:25Who do you think you are?
07:27A bastard with no father.
07:30Eris wants you.
07:32That's more than you deserve.
07:34If it weren't for that body of yours,
07:36that slut's body,
07:37a war god wouldn't even look at you.
07:39I cried again.
07:40That night, I dreamed.
07:42Eris' hands moved up my legs.
07:45And everywhere he touched,
07:47my skin caught fire.
07:50His lips pressed against my stomach.
07:53And I heard his voice.
07:55Low and shaking.
07:57Fena,
07:58you can't escape me.
08:01I woke, soaked in sweat.
08:04My hair was plastered to my face,
08:07my neck.
08:08The blanket had slid to the floor.
08:10Between my legs,
08:12a heat I'd never felt before,
08:14spreading through me like spring flats,
08:16breaking through ice.
08:18I bit my lap until I tasted blood.
08:21Shame shook me down to my bones.
08:24Outside,
08:25the moon hung cold in the sky.
08:27The next day,
08:28a messenger came to the grove.
08:30Not Aerith,
08:31that Athena.
08:32She wore golden armor,
08:33an owl's crest on her helmet.
08:36Her eyes were sharp and gray,
08:38the color of winter seas.
08:40Her presence alone made you want to bow.
08:44You're Athena?
08:46Yes.
08:48Ares sent me to get you.
08:49He's wounded,
08:50recovering on Olympias.
08:52He wants to marry you.
08:55I,
08:56I don't...
08:57Athena was quiet for a moment.
08:58In that silence,
08:59something flickered across her face.
09:01A crack in the divine perfection.
09:03Something almost soft.
09:05Do you know why Ares chose you?
09:09Because you're the only niff in this grove
09:12who wasn't afraid of him.
09:14You pushed him.
09:16No one has ever pushed the god of war.
09:19I stared at her.
09:20Well,
09:21you're also very beautiful.
09:23But that's not the point.
09:24She held out her hand.
09:26In her palm,
09:26lay a silver ring,
09:28plain and unandorned,
09:29glowing faintly in the morning light.
09:31Put this on.
09:32Hephaxes made it.
09:33It'll hide your form.
09:35Make you less noticeable.
09:37I slid the ring onto my finger.
09:38It tightened to fit.
09:40Cold spread up from my knuckles,
09:42washing over my whole body.
09:44When I looked down,
09:45my curve seemed softer,
09:46blurred at the edges,
09:47like looking through fauceted glass.
09:50Come on.
09:51Olympus is waiting.
09:52I followed her out of the grove.
09:56Serve him well, Athena.
09:58Don't forget,
09:59you're nothing but a bastard.
10:01No one's daughter.
10:03No one's anything.
10:04I didn't look back.
10:05The golden chariot
10:06tossed through the clouds,
10:08thought.
10:09Then Olympus rose up ahead of us,
10:11higher than any mountain in the world.
10:13White marble columns
10:15caught the sunlight
10:16and drew it back,
10:17dazzling.
10:18I never thought I'd see this place.
10:20A nobody named,
10:21a bastard girl.
10:23Eris's temple stood on the eastern slope,
10:25facing the sunrise.
10:26I'm not going in.
10:28Eris doesn't like me.
10:29If he gets angry, run.
10:31If you can't outrun him, shout.
10:33I nodded and walked toward the bronze doors.
10:37They were carved with battle scenes,
10:40chariots,
10:41spears,
10:42full-length soldiers.
10:43When I pushed,
10:44they swung open on their own.
10:47Inside,
10:48the air was dim and heavy,
10:50thick with the smell of medicine and blood.
10:53At the end of a long corridor,
10:54I found his room.
10:56Eris lay propped against the headboard.
10:58His white robe did nothing
10:59to hide the lines of muscle across his chest,
11:02but his face was too pale.
11:05You came.
11:06I stood in the doorway.
11:08Athena gave you that?
11:09She's kind.
11:11Annoying, but kind.
11:12I didn't answer.
11:14Come here.
11:15I still didn't move.
11:18I don't bite.
11:19Not right now, anyway.
11:21I walked to the edge of the bed.
11:22He tilted his head back.
11:24Watching me.
11:26His ember eyes held my reflection.
11:29Small.
11:30Scared.
11:31Wrapped.
11:31In thick wool.
11:33You're afraid of me.
11:35Yes.
11:36Why?
11:38Because of what they say.
11:39He was quiet for a moment.
11:41Then his hands shut out
11:42and closed around my wrist.
11:44His fingers were hot,
11:45like iron pulled from a forge.
11:47I flinched,
11:48but he didn't tighten his grip.
11:50He just held my hand,
11:51turning it over in his.
11:53Looking at the lines on my palm.
11:55Your hands are cold.
11:56Like mine.
11:57I didn't know how to answer.
11:59He let go,
12:00one finger at a time,
12:01like he didn't want to.
12:03You'll sleep there tonight.
12:04I can't do much anyway.
12:09I'll have clothes brought for you.
12:10You can take the west room tomorrow.
12:11More light.
12:13All right.
12:14A servant came to take me to the baths.
12:18When I looked back at the doorway,
12:21Ares had closed his eyes again.
12:23His face was blank,
12:25expressionless,
12:26like a statue that had been shattered
12:29and glued back together.
12:31That night,
12:32I lay on the couch,
12:33listening to his breathing,
12:34and couldn't sleep.
12:35Moonlight crept through the windows
12:37and sprayed across his face.
12:39Asleep,
12:40he didn't look like the god of war.
12:42He just looked like a wounded boy,
12:44no older than the men
12:46I'd glimpsed at the edges of the grove.
12:48I turned to face the wall,
12:49pressing my face into the pillow,
12:51then my head.
12:52A thought kept circling back.
12:54When he had held my wrist that first night,
12:56his thumb had traced the lines of my palm.
12:58Light,
12:59almost not there,
13:00but it had been there.
13:01I didn't know when I fell asleep.
13:03Half dreaming,
13:04something warm touched the back of my neck.
13:06I rolled over and opened my eyes into amber.
13:10Ares stood beside the couch.
13:12His hair fell forward,
13:14brushing my cheek.
13:15Moonlight painted his silhouette,
13:17the broad shoulders,
13:19the straight nose,
13:20the long line of his jaw.
13:21I tried to speak,
13:22but no sound came.
13:24He didn't say anything either.
13:25He just looked at me.
13:27His hand rose,
13:28hovering over my face,
13:29his fingers trembling.
13:30He didn't touch me.
13:31Sleep.
13:32I watched him go,
13:34my heart slamming against my ribs.
13:36That night,
13:36I dreamed I stood on a battlefield.
13:39That night,
13:40I dreamed I stood on a battlefield.
13:42The sky rad as blood,
13:43the ground cracking beneath my feet.
13:45Ares came riding out to the clouds
13:47in a golden chariot.
13:48He held out his hand.
13:49I didn't run.
13:50He pulled me up onto the chariot,
13:53wrapped his arms around me,
13:54pulled me back against his chest.
13:56His heartbeat was a drum against my spine.
13:59Do you know why I chose you?
14:03Because you pushed me away.
14:05Everyone wants something from me,
14:07power,
14:07protection,
14:08my name.
14:09Everyone wants to use me,
14:10but you,
14:12you were the one who didn't want me.
14:15So I want you.
14:17I woke gasping,
14:18drenched in sweat.
14:20Outside,
14:21the sun was up.
14:22Ares' bed was empty.
14:23The servant who bought my water
14:25told me the war god
14:26had already gone to the training grounds.
14:28Even wounded,
14:29he never missed a day.
14:30In the bronze mirror,
14:32I studied my reflection.
14:33The ring still worked,
14:34I thought,
14:35but the edges of my shape
14:36were starting to come through again.
14:38My breasts pushed against the wall.
14:40My waist curved in.
14:42I wrapped the bondings tighter.
14:43One turn,
14:44two,
14:45three,
14:45until I could barely breathe.
14:47Ares came back at midday.
14:49I was in the kitchen,
14:50standing over a bronze cauldron,
14:52stirring the herbal broth
14:54I'd learned to make
14:55from my mother's notes.
14:57What's that?
14:59Medicine.
15:00For your leg.
15:01He came up behind me,
15:02close enough that I could feel
15:04the heat coming off him.
15:05You know how to do this?
15:07I learned.
15:08My mother knew healing.
15:09He didn't ask anything else.
15:11He picked up the cup
15:12and drank.
15:15How is it?
15:17Terrible.
15:17I watched him drink,
15:19and for a moment,
15:20I thought maybe the god of war
15:22wasn't as frightening as they said.
15:23I was wrong about that.
15:25That evening,
15:26I was in my room,
15:27unpacking the clothes
15:28Athena had sent,
15:29when I heard footsteps
15:30in the hall,
15:31heavy and uneven,
15:32like an animal
15:33dragging a wounded leg.
15:35I opened the door.
15:36Ares was braced
15:37against the wall,
15:38his face slick with sweat,
15:39his right leg trembled.
15:41Blood was seeping
15:42through his bandages,
15:43running down his calf,
15:44pooling on the marble floor.
15:45What happened?
15:48Nothing.
15:49Old wound.
15:50Don't bother.
15:51You're bleeding!
15:54So?
15:55Rest!
15:55The healer said.
15:57Rest?
15:58I'm the god of war,
15:59not a cripple.
16:01He said cripple
16:02like it was a knife
16:03twisting in his gut.
16:04I didn't argue.
16:05I half carried him
16:06back to his room,
16:07his weight almost too much,
16:08and laid him on the bed.
16:09I found the healer's salve
16:10and unwrapped
16:11the blood-soaked bandages.
16:12The wound was worse
16:14than I'd imagined.
16:15A long,
16:16twisted scar
16:17ran down the inside
16:18of his thigh
16:19where the Trojan spear
16:20had gone through.
16:21My fingers brushed the scar.
16:23Arrows went rigid.
16:28Does it hurt?
16:29He didn't answer.
16:30He was staring at me,
16:32his amber eyes wild.
16:33Keep looking at me like that
16:34and I can't promise
16:35what I'll do.
16:37Thought my face went hot.
16:38My hands stopped moving.
16:40I'm just,
16:41I'm putting on the salve.
16:43I know.
16:44Just finish and get out.
16:46I worked fast.
16:47When I was done,
16:48I practically ran out
16:49of the room.
16:50Behind the closed door,
16:53I heard a dull thud,
16:55his fist hitting the wall.
16:57I leaned against the wood,
16:58heart pounding,
16:59and listened to him
17:00breathing on the other side.
17:02Days passed.
17:03I made the medicine
17:04every morning,
17:06changed his bandages
17:07twice a day,
17:08read him the dispatcher,
17:09from the war councils.
17:11Some days he was angry,
17:13some days he was silent.
17:15When he was angry,
17:17he threw things.
17:19Once he threw a cup,
17:20so hard,
17:21it shattered against the wall,
17:23and a shard cut my cheek.
17:25He saw the blood
17:26and went still,
17:27his whole body locking up.
17:30Then he closed his eyes
17:31and said,
17:31Leave.
17:33I left.
17:36When he was silent,
17:38he sat by the window for hours,
17:41watching the clouds.
17:42Sometimes he watched me.
17:44His gaze was heavy,
17:45but not threatening.
17:47It was like he was trying to memorize
17:49the shape of my face,
17:50the line of my brow,
17:51the curve of my mouth.
17:53Like he was afraid
17:54he'd wake up one morning
17:56and forget
17:56we never touched.
17:58No,
17:59he made sure not to touch.
18:01Sometimes,
18:02when I leaned down
18:03to hand him his cup,
18:05I could feel his eyes
18:07on my chest.
18:08My hands would shake,
18:10and a drop of the dark liquid
18:12would fall on his skin.
18:14He'd look at it
18:15for a long moment,
18:16then wipe it with his thumb
18:18and bring it to his lips.
18:21Sweet.
18:22He'd say.
18:24Sometimes,
18:25when I passed him
18:26in the hallway,
18:26his fingers would lift,
18:28just barely,
18:29like he was thinking
18:30about reaching for me.
18:31But he never did.
18:34One day,
18:35Hera came.
18:37The queen of the gods
18:39swept into the temple
18:40with her whole rat knew,
18:43wearing purple robes
18:44and a golden crown.
18:45Her presence
18:46looked like a weight
18:47in the air.
18:49I hear you married a nymph,
18:51she said,
18:51looking me up and down.
18:53This one?
18:55Ares grunted from his bed.
18:57Hera crossed to me,
18:58lifted my chin
18:59with her cold fingers,
19:01said in my face,
19:02Pretty enough.
19:03What the figure?
19:04Her gaze dropped to my chest
19:06and her mouth tightened.
19:08Who was your mother?
19:10The priestess of Artemis.
19:12Which priestess?
19:13And your father?
19:14Hera's smile was sharp.
19:16I shook my head.
19:17She turned back to Ares.
19:19A nobody nymph.
19:20A bastard.
19:21Not a fitting wife
19:22for a god of Olympias.
19:24Ares' voice went flat.
19:25I marry who I want.
19:27Ares' face darkened,
19:29but she didn't push.
19:30She swept out,
19:31pausing at the door
19:32to look back at me.
19:34You know why your mother's body
19:35was like yours?
19:36She said.
19:37Because she was a slut too.
19:40She used that body
19:41to seduce someone
19:42she shouldn't have.
19:42You're just what
19:43she left behind.
19:45She left.
19:46I stood in the empty hall,
19:48cold to the bone.
19:49Ares pushed himself up.
19:50Come here.
19:52Come here.
19:53I didn't move.
19:54His voice softened.
19:55Thena,
19:56come here.
19:58I walked to him.
19:59He took my hand,
20:00his thumb
20:01moving over my palm.
20:03Don't listen to her,
20:04he said.
20:05The way you're made,
20:06it's not your fault.
20:07My eyes burned.
20:09Annoyance edged his voice.
20:10Why are you crying?
20:11But he didn't let go
20:12of my hand.
20:12I said.
20:13I don't know.
20:16No one's ever,
20:17no one's ever
20:18told me that before.
20:20Ares was quiet
20:21for a long time.
20:22Then he pulled me
20:23against him.
20:24One arm went
20:25around my shoulders
20:26and the other hand
20:27patted my back,
20:29clumsy and awkward,
20:30like a man
20:31who'd never comforted
20:32anyone in
20:33three thousand years.
20:35I won't hurt you.
20:36He sat into my hair.
20:37I swear it.
20:38I bared my face
20:39in his shoulder.
20:40After that,
20:41things shifted.
20:43He stops avoiding me.
20:44I stop running from him.
20:46In the evenings,
20:47we sat on the temple steps
20:48together
20:49and watched the sunset.
20:50He sat on the left.
20:52I sat on the right,
20:53an arm's length
20:54between us.
20:55He told me
20:56about the battles
20:57he'd fought.
20:58I told him
20:58about the grove,
20:59about Teo's cruelty,
21:01about singing the hymns
21:02off-key
21:02and getting punished for it.
21:04He scowled
21:05like a child.
21:06Do you know
21:06why I hate Athena?
21:07Why?
21:08Because she's always right.
21:10Every time.
21:12Annoying.
21:12No matter what the subject,
21:14she always has to be right.
21:16He watched me.
21:17His eyes softened
21:18in the fading light.
21:19You have a beautiful laugh.
21:20I stopped laughing.
21:22He looked away,
21:23but not before
21:24I saw his ears go pink.
21:26That night,
21:27I dreamed of him again.
21:29His mouth on my neck.
21:30His hands on my skin.
21:33I woke up shaking,
21:34my thighs slick with heat
21:36and bit my lips so hard
21:37I tasted copper.
21:39I'll set my door.
21:41Footsteps.
21:42I looked up
21:43and saw the shadow
21:44of his back
21:45retreating down the hole.
21:46The next morning,
21:48when I went to the kitchen
21:49to make his medicine,
21:50I found flowers
21:51on the work table.
21:53White anemones,
21:54their petals wet with dew,
21:56tied together
21:57with a piece of rough twine.
21:59No note,
22:00but I recognized
22:00the red clay
22:01still clinging to the stems.
22:03It came from the stream
22:05behind the mountain.
22:06With his leg,
22:07it would have taken him
22:08an hour to walk there,
22:10an hour to pick the flowers,
22:12an hour to walk back.
22:14I put them in a clay pot
22:16on the windowsill.
22:17When I went back
22:19to stirring the cauldron,
22:20I couldn't stop smiling.
22:22Spring was just beginning,
22:24and something between us
22:25had changed.
22:26Something that started
22:28the day he first saw me
22:29in the olive grove.
22:30Something that started
22:31when he tore away
22:32the bindings on my chest.
22:34Something that started
22:36in the dark
22:36when he stood over me
22:38with his hand hovering
22:39by my face
22:40and didn't touch me.
22:41something that I finally
22:43understood
22:44had already changed
22:45everything.
22:47Aris's leg
22:48got better,
22:49but he still
22:50didn't touch me.
22:52I told myself,
22:53it didn't matter.
22:54I'd never wanted
22:56this marriage anyway.
22:57What did it matter
22:58if he can...
22:59That's what I told myself.
23:01Until the evening,
23:02by this stream,
23:03I was washing clothes,
23:05kneeling on a flat rock.
23:06I was bent forward,
23:07and the color of my dress
23:09had slipped open
23:10without me noticing.
23:11Senna.
23:12Aris's voice
23:13came from behind me,
23:15rough as stone
23:16scraping stone.
23:17I turned.
23:17He was standing
23:18under a plain tree
23:19at the water's edge.
23:20His amber eyes
23:21were fixed on my chest,
23:22where the wet wool
23:24clung to the shape
23:24of my breasts.
23:25I scrambled up.
23:26He walked toward me.
23:28Every step was heavy,
23:30deliberate.
23:30I stepped back,
23:31slipped on the
23:32moss-licked stone,
23:33and fell toward the water.
23:34His arms shot out
23:35and caught me.
23:36I slammed into his chest,
23:38my body flushed against his.
23:39We both went still.
23:41His heart was hammering.
23:42His breath came fast,
23:43his chest heaving.
23:45Aris.
23:46He didn't let go.
23:48His arms locked
23:49around my waist.
23:50Don't move.
23:51He buried his face
23:52in my neck,
23:54his nose pressing
23:54against my collarbone.
23:56He inhaled.
23:57The heat of his breath
23:58spread across my skin,
23:59and I shivered.
24:00Do you know
24:00how long I've wanted this?
24:02I couldn't think.
24:04Since the first time
24:06I saw you.
24:07Since you pushed me away.
24:09His fingers dug
24:10into my waist,
24:11almost too hard.
24:12Three thousand years.
24:13No one's ever dared
24:15to push me.
24:16You were the first.
24:17He pulled back,
24:18just enough
24:19to look at me.
24:21And this.
24:22His gaze fell
24:23to my chest again,
24:24that I tried
24:25to cover myself,
24:27that he caught my wrist
24:28and pressed it
24:29against the tree trunk
24:30behind me.
24:30Don't.
24:31Let me see.
24:32His fingers
24:33found the ties
24:34at my collar.
24:35They were shaking.
24:36Can I?
24:37I didn't answer,
24:39but I didn't push him
24:40away either.
24:41He pulled.
24:42The wet wool
24:42slipped off my shoulders.
24:44His breath stopped.
24:45His eyes went dark
24:46with fire.
24:47Thinner.
24:48His fingers traced
24:49the line of my collarbone
24:51moving down.
24:52Aries.
24:54He bent
24:54and pressed his lips
24:56to the curve
24:56where my neck
24:57met my shoulder.
24:58Light.
24:59Barely a kiss,
25:00but my whole body
25:01arched into it.
25:02He looked up at me.
25:04For once,
25:05there was nothing
25:05of the war god
25:06in his face.
25:07Just tenderness,
25:08raw and open.
25:09You're shaking.
25:12So are you.
25:14He smiled.
25:15I'd never seen him
25:16smile like that.
25:19I'm scared.
25:20You?
25:21That I'll hurt you.
25:23That you'll cry.
25:24That you'll push me
25:25away again.
25:26I laughed.
25:27He touched his forehead
25:28to mine.
25:29Can I kiss you?
25:31I asked it
25:32by pressing my mouth
25:32to his.
25:33For a second,
25:34he was frozen.
25:35Then,
25:35he came alive,
25:36pushing me back
25:37against the tree,
25:38kissing me like
25:38he'd been starving
25:39for it.
25:40His tongue
25:40swiped into my mouth,
25:42claiming everything.
25:43I clung to his hair,
25:44breathless.
25:45He lifted me,
25:46wrapping my legs
25:47around his waist,
25:48and I felt it.
25:49The part of him,
25:50the healers said
25:51would never work again.
25:52I went still.
25:54He went still.
25:55We broke apart,
25:56breathing hard,
25:57staring at each other.
26:00The healer said.
26:02His face
26:03cycled through
26:04confusion,
26:05disbelief,
26:06and then a fierce,
26:07almost boyish delight.
26:09I guess they were wrong.
26:11His hand slid down
26:12to my hip,
26:13pressing me closer.
26:15Eris!
26:17What?
26:18You don't want to?
26:19He laughed
26:20and lifted me higher,
26:21carrying me back
26:22toward the temple.
26:24Thought my spine
26:25hit the bronze doors
26:26with a boom
26:26that echoed
26:27across the valley.
26:29The door.
26:30Leave it.
26:31He pushed me
26:32against it
26:32and kissed me again,
26:34harder this time.
26:35His hand slid up
26:36my sides
26:36and found my chest
26:38through the thin,
26:38wet cloth
26:39and my thoughts scattered.
26:41I've wanted you
26:42since the moment
26:43I saw you.
26:44His thumb
26:45brushed across
26:45the peak of my breast
26:47and the sound
26:48escaped my throat
26:49that I'd never
26:50heard myself
26:50make before.
26:52More beautiful
26:53than I imagined.
26:57He carried me
26:58to his bed,
26:59laid me down,
27:00and stood over me
27:01in the moonlight.
27:03In Olympus,
27:04gods aren't
27:04supposed to love.
27:07Why?
27:09Because love
27:10is a weakness
27:11and the god
27:12of war
27:12can't be weak.
27:13He lowered his head
27:15and pressed a kiss
27:16to my chest.
27:18But you
27:21are the one weakness
27:23I don't want
27:23to give up.
27:24That night,
27:25every flower
27:26on Olympus
27:27bloomed out of season.
27:28Anemones,
27:29crocuses,
27:30hyacinths,
27:32laurel,
27:32doesn't hung thick
27:33in the air.
27:35His mouth
27:36moved down my body,
27:37his fingers
27:38laced with mine,
27:40sweat beaded
27:41on his forehead.
27:42Does it hurt?
27:44My nose.
27:45My nails
27:46bit into his back.
27:47He stopped,
27:48kissed the tears
27:50that had started
27:51at the corners
27:51of my eyes.
27:53We can stop.
27:55Don't.
27:56I pulled him back.
27:57Don't stop.
27:58He looked at me
27:59with something like
28:00reverence in his eyes.
28:02Alright.
28:03The moon slipped
28:04behind a cloud.
28:05That night,
28:06all of Olympus
28:07heard the war god roar.
28:09Not with battle rage,
28:11but something else.
28:12Something that sounded
28:13like a lion tamed,
28:15purring at his
28:16mate's ear.
28:17In the morning,
28:19Eris was already awake.
28:21He lay propped
28:22against the headboard,
28:23his fingers tangled
28:24in my hair.
28:26Morning.
28:27He said,
28:27smiling.
28:28Morning.
28:29I buried my face
28:30in the blanket.
28:31He pulled it back.
28:32What are you hiding for?
28:34You know why.
28:36He laughed
28:36and hauled me up
28:37against his chest.
28:39Watch the sun rise
28:40with me.
28:41Every day.
28:44Why?
28:45Because I want to see
28:46the beginning
28:47of every day with you.
28:48From now on,
28:51everyone.
28:52Outside,
28:53the first light
28:54broke over Olympus.
28:57Alright.
28:59Deal.
29:01I pressed my face
29:02to his chest,
29:03listening to his heart.
29:05Deal.
29:07Where it spread
29:07through Olympus,
29:09Eris wasn't broken.
29:10The healers
29:11were idiots,
29:12and the god of war
29:13was fiercer in bed
29:15than on the battlefield.
29:16I was limping
29:18out of the bedroom
29:19when I ran
29:20into Athena,
29:21leaning against
29:22a pillar in the hallway,
29:23looking amused.
29:26I see.
29:27Glancing at the marks
29:29on my neck.
29:30He's recovered.
29:33My face went hot.
29:35You knew.
29:36You knew he wasn't.
29:39You lied to me.
29:41Athena just smiled.
29:43You did it on purpose.
29:46I didn't lie.
29:48The healers said
29:49it was unlikely.
29:50I just didn't correct them.
29:52Why?
29:53Because I wanted
29:54to see him suffer.
29:57You should have seen
29:58his face when he heard
29:59he couldn't.
30:00Well,
30:02it was worth it.
30:05I stared at her.
30:06But if she hadn't lied,
30:08I never would have stayed.
30:10I would have run
30:11from Ares
30:12on our wedding night
30:13and never learned
30:14that beneath all the violence
30:15there was a man
30:16who'd been alone
30:17for 3,000 years.
30:19A man who stood
30:20outside my door
30:21at midnight
30:21with his hands
30:23shaking over my face,
30:24afraid to touch me.
30:26A man who walked
30:27an hour
30:28to pick flowers
30:29with his wounded leg
30:31and left them
30:32on my work table
30:33without a word.
30:36Athena came.
30:38Yes.
30:40What did she say?
30:43That she lied to you.
30:48She said you were fine
30:49all along.
30:52His ears went pink.
30:55Do you still want to leave?
30:57And for a moment,
30:58he looked almost afraid.
31:00I cupped his face
31:01in my hands,
31:02stood on my toes
31:03and kissed him.
31:04I'm not going anywhere.
31:06He pressed his forehead
31:07to mine.
31:08Then every spring,
31:10we watched the flowers
31:11bloom together.
31:12All right.
31:13Outside,
31:14the pomegranate flowers
31:15were opening,
31:17red as flame.
31:18The wind came up
31:20from the valley,
31:21hearing the smell
31:22of anemones
31:23and laurel,
31:24drifting through
31:25the columns
31:26and stirring out hair.
31:29Hera came
31:30one more time.
31:31She looked me over
31:33and said
31:34I was too much,
31:35too loud,
31:37too shapely,
31:38not fit to be
31:39the wife
31:40of an Olympian.
31:42Iris stepped
31:42in front of me.
31:44She's fit enough
31:44for me.
31:46Hera looked at him
31:47for a long time.
31:49You've changed.
31:51Yes.
31:52He glanced back
31:52at me
31:53and his eyes
31:54were soft.
31:55Because of her.
31:57After she left,
31:58I took his hand.
32:01Do you regret it?
32:02Marrying a nobody nymph?
32:04A bastard.
32:05He laughed
32:06and pulled me
32:07into his chest.
32:08You're the best
32:09decision I ever made.
32:10I pressed my face
32:12against his heart.
32:13It beat steady
32:14and strong
32:15like war drops,
32:16like spring thunder,
32:18like the tide
32:18coming in.
32:20And for the first time
32:21in my life
32:22I wasn't ashamed
32:23of my body anymore
32:25because this body,
32:26this cursed,
32:28impossible,
32:29too much body,
32:30it was the reason
32:32he saw me.
32:33Every spring,
32:34the flowers bloom.
32:36Every night,
32:37the moon rises
32:38over Olympus.
32:39And we will be here,
32:41together,
32:42to see it all.
32:43From now on,
32:45you're out.
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