Chapter Twenty-one

Everything moves about in a haze. The Gods swarm Ares, yelling and cursing about the death of their metal-craft. I am jostled and Ares wraps an arm around me, shielding me with his body, like a knight protecting his princess with a shield. My ears ring and temples throb in time with my heartbeat. His arm is a reassuring weight on my body and everything moves slowly.

Soon all the Gods convene in a war room and I sit beside Ares whose eyes are still glowing a furious red. My blood is sludge in my veins and my head spins. Killing another God, especially over an affair is forbidden. We all know the Gods are vain and commit infidelity every other day with every other person. If murder happened everytime one was caught having an affair there would be none of us left.

My hands tremble with the relief of Hephaestus being out of my life and worry for what will become of Ares. Time moves slowly and I dig my thumb nail into my cuticles on my other hand.

Slowly the world comes into focus and the words filter through my ears.

"What the hell were you thinking, Ares?" Zeus rumbles, fists clenched on the table.

"What was I thinking?" He asks incredulously. "Look at her fucking face Zeus. The daughter of your fucking lover. You think I was going to sit there and let him beat her? Especially with her back turned? Hephaestus was a damn coward and you know it." Malice ripples from his body, his power shaking the earth.

Apollo kicks his feet up onto the table, leaning back in his chair. "You know the rules Ares. We don't kill over lovers quarrels. But Zeus come on, who wouldn't bag that?" He smirks, eyes sweeping me up and down.

Hermes snickers. "Let me sleep with the golden Aphrodite and I would endure any punishment."

My stomach roils with the comment of the younger Gods comments and Ares growls, flinging his power out towards them, knocking them both from their chairs.

"We can't tolerate this behavior, Ares," Athena chimes in. "We over look your indiscretions on Earth and the little things you do here, but this is unacceptable."

"Your temper is getting increasingly worse and some of the Gods and immortals feel unsafe with your unstable presence here," Hera adds.

Poseidon leans forward, resting his dark arms on the table. "This could have ended quite differently if you had just let him go, we could have worked something out."

"There's is nothing to work out. You would have forced her to endure a life here with him and banned me from every seeing her again." Ares voice is low and threatening.

Zeus bellows, pounding his fist on against the table. "Regardless of what you believe Ares, but what you have done was uncalled for and I am tired of your insolence. Know your damn place."

Ares raises an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair, red eyes sparking, a smirk tilting his lips. "I know my place, Zeus. You're lucky I don't fucking blast you and end your damn life." The threat hangs in the air and I move my hand to his arm, attempting to soothe the tempest raging inside him.

"You dare threaten my life?" Zeus stands abruptly, Hera reaching out and pulling him back down to his chair at the head of the table.

"Leave us and we shall deliberate what to do with the two of you," Hera says.

Wordlessly, I stand, guiding Ares outside the meeting room and close the door behind us. I lean against the wall and rub my face. Ares paces in front of me, sending my nerves skittering and jumping in anxiety. I move in front of him, smoothing his hands over his chest, his blazing red eyes sliding to mine. "Relax," I murmur.

He stops, chest heaving beneath my hands, pressing his lips against my forehead. "How do I relax when they are scolding me for something as ridiculous as defending you? They're hypocrites." His blood starts to boil and his eyes glow brighter.

Without a word, I press my lips against his, brushing my fingertips over his cheeks, kissing him again and again, suckling his lip gently as though it were a balm to my soul. "My favorite color is golden. The same flecks of gold in your eyes, the gold of the morning light that illuminates you in the morning. It's a color that transforms you into something wholly new and no less handsome."

His hands come around my waist and he holds me against him, resting his forehead against mine. "Keep talking." His raging eyes close slowly and he holds onto me.

"I love hearing you sing. I think it's partially what made me fall in love with you. It's unique and not what I would have expected. It showed a different side of you." I place gentle kisses over his face, his heart calming beneath my palms. "The first time we kissed it made me think about what you said on our trip out of town. You help me feel wild and free. You helped me realize who I am. Outside of being the goddess of love and desire, running passion. Before I was a shell of a person which got worse after everything that happened. I was playing a role, being the goddess everyone expected me to be, but you helped me."

I brush my lips over his ear, whispering until his body relaxes against me and he lets out a long breath. "I am sorry for scaring you," he whispers.

Shaking my head, I wrap my arms around his waist. "You never scared me."

Ares twines his fingers into my hair and cradles my head to his shoulder. "What are they going to do?" He asks, stroking a hand through my hair.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, we will face it together."

-~-

After an hour of deliberation, Artemis opens the door, not look at me as she takes her seat again. Hera stands, the perfect portrait of calm and collected, hands folded in front of her.

"While both of you are valued in you respective areas we all feel like this situation has shed new light onto both of you, an unflattering light." She pauses, looking around at the other Gods and Goddesses gathered at the table. "We have voted that you are both banned from Olympus and shall reside on Earth. We realize this may be risky as you do not age, so we also discussed the fact that you would have to move every so often as to not arise suspicion." Hera gestures towards the door, making it clear that this decision is not up for discussion.

Ares and I both leave the building where meetings are held and we turn to each other and, burst into laughter.