The Warrior God (The Ares Trials #1) - Eliza Raine Page 0,23

and morphed before my eyes into something... insane. It had the body of a panther, dark and sleek and powerful looking, and the glowing red tail of a scorpion was raised high over its back. Before my brain even had time to process that curveball, the thing snarled and launched itself at us.

As fast as lightning, Ares was between me and the thing, swinging his massive arm out as he side-stepped and dropped to his knees. His forearm slammed into the creature as it charged past him to get to me, and I felt a wrenching in my gut. The creature flew through the air like a freaking Frisbee. I watched open-mouthed as it crashed down into a tent thirty feet away, and shouts went up from inside.

“What the-” started the cyclops woman, but Ares cut her off with a roar as he charged towards the campfire. All sensible thought about escaping or not causing a scene abandoned me, and with a battle cry to match his, I threw myself in after him.

9

Bella

I’d be lying if I said a part of me didn’t enjoy the red mist. The thing about being a five-foot-two blonde with a big mouth is that people constantly underestimate you. And there are few things as satisfying as seeing their faces when they realize their mistake.

I went for the closest target to me, the minotaur who had suggested I’d be his cook. I slid my flick-knife from my pocket as I charged, my narrowing focus taking in his broadening stance and his snarling snout as I approached. I registered his shoulder moving as he drew back his arm and I turned up my speed, strength flooding my legs as I powered toward him. I managed to get under his elbow before he even realized how close I was, whipping out my hand and slashing at his rib cage. He let out a snorting bellow as my knife made contact and I pivoted on the balls of my feet, jabbing the blade back into anything I could reach. I got him square in the small of his back, and I forced as much of my anger-fueled strength into the jab as I could. It was enough to topple him, a cry of pain escaping his snout. But my elation was short lived. A wrenching in my stomach cut through my concentration completely, and I whirled to see the God of War picking up the cyclops by the neck, practically glowing with power. My peripheral vision clouded on one side and it was enough of a warning for me to just avoid the punch thrown at me by the other minotaur.

“What the fuck did you do to him?” it said in a vaguely female voice. Prickles of guilt edged my anger, trying to derail my focus, but they couldn’t get through. The focus was too strong.

“The same as I’m about to do to you,” I hissed, drawing my knife back. But I didn’t get a chance to do another thing because the cyclops came hurtling through the air, then smashed into the minotaur, both of them yelling as they crumpled to the sand. Ares had thrown the creature clear across the campfire clearing, into my minotaur.

“If I were you, I would leave now, before Ares gives you both away,” said Zeeva’s calm voice in my head.

“No way! We’re just getting started,” I answered her, throwing a glare at Ares, then looking around for the other two human men. They were nowhere to be seen. But movement registered on my right, and I saw the panther with the scorpion tail stalking through the tents toward us. I heard Ares snarl, and felt another pull in my gut, and my focus slipped again with the alien feeling. “Stop doing that!” I shouted, turning to the god. His eyes were dancing with red, gleaming with power.

“I have missed this,” he breathed. Was he getting high off my war power?

“Well, you’re putting me off!”

“I do not need your help.”

A surge of anger bolstered me, an idea striking.

“Yes, you do. You’re weak without me.”

Exactly as I’d expected, I felt the tug in my tummy that accompanied Ares’ anger at my words, but this time I turned my focus inward, and I tugged back.

He let out a shocked breath, then I felt a burst of something shoot through my hands, into my flick-blade. The weapon seared hot under my fingers, and the sound of war drums banged loud in my ears. Everything slowed around