Chapter 35

35

SELENE

A res was staying in the east wing. Here, there were no cobwebs clinging to the corners, and faded sheets didn’t hide the furniture or the statues lining the polished stone walls. A long stretch of crimson carpet with gold accents softened our footsteps. In the distance, a chiming bell tolled the time. It was two hours until sundown.

Ares opened a door at the end of the corridor and motioned me inside. As soon as I stepped across the threshold, the scent of him enveloped me. It was a spicy, fiery fragrance threaded with blood and stone. Two torches came alive, illuminating a space much grander than mine. The immense room held several settees surrounding a circular stone table, a writing desk that was hidden beneath a mound of books, and potted plants that crowded every corner. The ceiling loomed high above, decorated in elaborate frescoes.

I moved further into the room to get a better look at the center table. There was something perched on top of it—a carved figurine shaped like two flaming torches. Ares’s second symbol.

“Do you take that thing with you everywhere you go?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered tensely.

Two archways sat on either wall, leading into what looked to be a bathing chamber and a bedroom. From here, I could see the three stone steps leading up to a large bed draped in black silk sheets. A chandelier hung above it, where flickering candles provided dim, atmospheric lighting.

Cheeks heating, I looked away from it. “How long do you think I need to stay here before I head back to my rooms?”

“Until sundown,” he answered, still standing near the door with his hands tucked into his torn trouser pockets.

I folded my arms. “You can’t possibly expect me to stay here. Your blood helped. But Ares, I am tired . I’m dirty. I want to have a bath and get some rest.”

“To get to the west wing, you have to go back past the megaron. They’ll see you and wonder what’s going on.” He shrugged. “Listen, we’ve gone too far with this to turn back now. You can use my bath.”

The idea of undressing and bathing in his rooms made my heart pound. Of course, it wasn’t as though he hadn’t seen me naked before. I sighed, rocking back on my heels.

“This has gotten a little out of control,” I said.

“You’re right. It has. And if you want to return to your rooms, of course you should. But I’m up for keeping this going just a little longer, to make sure they’re convinced. After tonight’s sacrifice, we can go back to avoiding each other.”

I shook my head, my lips cracking into a smile. “Don’t you mean that I can go back to avoiding you , and you can go back to stalking my every move?”

“All right, I deserved that. Now I’m going to get rid of this dirt.” He unbuttoned his shirt and vanished through the archway leading into the bathing chamber. “You coming?”

I hesitated. When he’d first offered the bath, I hadn’t envisioned sharing it with him. Still, I padded across the floor to peek inside. The chamber was even larger than this one, if that was even possible. Four large columns held up the towering ceiling, the bottom halves painted a rusty red. A large rectangular bath, large enough for at least a dozen people, sank into the floor between them, and the surface emitted steam into the air.

“How…” I began.

Ares tossed off his shirt and tossed a look over his shoulder. “There are four quarters in the palace that have these baths. Poseidon gets one, I get one, and Zeus gets one, which is even larger than this, if you’d believe it. And then Hera got one, too.”

I trailed after him, refusing to look at the way the dim lighting highlighted the dips and ridges of his prominent back muscles. When he reached the edge of the bath, he knelt beside it and ran the steaming water through his fingers.

“Circe’s magic,” he said by way of an explanation. “She imbued these baths with heat, and it lingers now, even though she’s gone.”

“Yes, and it’s a shame she was forced to leave Aiaia after all the work she put into the place.”

He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I had no part in that.”

“It doesn’t matter. She has a home in Troy now.” I moved to his side. The steam caressed my face, scented with something herbal and sweet.

Ares suddenly went to remove his trousers. Flushing, I averted my gaze and moved to the other side of the bath. With the distance and the steam, he might not be able to see much of me. Quickly, I pulled off my dirt-caked gown and eased into the warmth.

Instantly, every part of me relaxed, and the aches Ares’s blood hadn’t eased finally vanished. With a blissful sigh, I sank into the water until it reached my chin and leaned my head against the side of the bath, closing my eyes.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” Ares said. I could hear water sloshing from his direction, indicating he’d lowered himself into the bath as well.

“It is particularly incredible after the night we had,” I answered.

“Funny, it feels like we were gone much longer than that.”

It was only a single day and one night that we were gone, but Ares was right. Somehow, it felt like far longer. A week, perhaps. Maybe more. We’d crossed a lot of ground. Hell, we’d even left the island for a time. No wonder I was tired.

For a while, we sat there together, enjoying the bath and the silence. The heat cocooned me, and an odd sense of calm settled over me. A lot had gone wrong since I’d arrived on Aiaia, and the next few days could follow suit. But for now, I tried not to think about any of it.

“Thank you, Selene,” Ares said, his deep voice echoing through the cavernous chamber.

I peeled open my eyes. He’d remained on the far side of the bath. His arms were draped across the sides, fingers tracing circles in the steaming water. A single curl dropped into his eyes as he gave me a silent nod.

“For what?” I asked, my throat tight.

“What you did for Hestia. You didn’t have to. Not many would have, especially someone in your situation.”

“And what exactly is my situation, Ares?”

“You are an island surrounded by sharks,” he said.

“And you’re one of those sharks.” When he didn’t respond, I added, “I’m not the island. Islands don’t have teeth.”

His brow rose. “And are you going to bite me, darling? Because I wouldn’t mind.”

That boldness he sometimes conjured in me rose again. I pushed away from the side of the bath and swam toward him. When I was halfway across, I slowed. Steam billowed around my face.

“Perhaps you should come here and find out,” I said.

His eyes sparked with heat. Leaving behind the bath’s edge, he drifted closer. The distance separating us was no more than a few feet. Then it was only two. Then one. He was so close to me now that I could see every single speck of gold in his eyes, and if he dipped his view, he would see far more of me than that.

“Hello,” he murmured with a smile.

I swallowed. “Hello, Ares.”

He held out his hand. Rivulets of water ran down his skin. “Go on, then. Bite me. Taste my blood again.”

My heart thrummed. And before I could stop myself, I leaned in and sank my teeth into his wrist. Blood filled my mouth. I took a long, satisfying drink, relishing in the way it lit up every inch of me, heating me with delicious want . Trembling, I released him and pulled back. My breath was a storm of white between us.

“My turn,” he said, gently lifting my arm from the pool. He held my hand palm up and traced the lines that carved from my fingers to my wrist. Every single stroke lit up my core, building an ache between my thighs that nearly made me cry out.

I had no idea what I was doing. This was insanity. Being here like this, even in the bath, went against everything I knew and believed about myself. Touching him, desperately wanting him…it felt treasonous.

And yet I did not tell him to stop.

Instead, I angled my wrist his way so that he could see the pale blue veins pulsing beneath my skin.

He bared his canines, his breath hitching. A delicious sense of satisfaction stole through me. If I could make him be the one who felt reckless with desire, then I wouldn’t have to feel like I was doing something wrong. We were playing a game, that was all. And I would win it.

Tensed, Ares pressed his lips to my wrist. Droplets of water hit my skin, falling from his curly strands. His teeth nicked my arm, and a flash of pain followed. I breathed out slowly. I’d never actually had someone drink from me like this, other than when I’d found Hestia. As the princess, I’d been off-limits. And as the High Queen, no one dared.

And this certainly felt different from when I’d fed Hestia. That had been about survival. This was…

I didn’t know what it was.

Gently—more gently than I would have imagined possible—Ares sliced into my wrist. Pain raked through me, brutal and sharp. I cried out, arching my back. Instantly, Ares pulled back. My blood painted his lips.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked.

I steadied my breathing. “Yes, but it’s fine. Drink.”

His eyes searched mine. “Are you certain? Despite what you think, I don’t actually want to hurt you, Selene.”

“I said drink,” I whispered.

I pushed up onto my toes and lifted my arm to his lips. The water vanished from my shoulders, exposing the top curves of my breasts. A hungry look tore across his face. Mouth capturing my wrist, he dug his teeth into my skin again.

This time, I was more prepared. The sharp pain stole my breath, but it soon faded. And the look on his face, the naked hunger as his lips moved across my skin, captivated me. His tongue danced along my wrist, and I shuddered.

A groan emerged from his throat, and he clutched my arm tighter. Whatever heat I thought I’d felt before was nothing compared to now. An ache tightened between my thighs, and my ears roared.

There was nothing between us. Nothing but steam and water and empty air. All I had to do was reach out, and my fingers would brush his chest. Shuddering, I nearly did just that.

My mind screamed at me to stop. This was Ares. He’d rather see me dead than alive. But that wasn’t exactly true anymore, was it? We’d found some common ground out there in the woods. It wasn’t much, but was something .

And then Atropos’s gifted fate echoed in my head, reminding me of exactly why I shouldn’t be doing this.

Three times, he would attempt to kill me, and he’d only tried once so far. Surely it would not be long before he tried a second time. He’d fail again, but it didn’t matter. It was the fact he would try. It was difficult to look at him now and reconcile that.

It made me wonder exactly what was going through his head. He was good at pretending. That was the entire reason we were in his rooms in the first place. The desire I thought I saw in him—it was nothing but another lie.

And all I wanted was for it to be the truth.