The Warrior God (The Ares Trials #1) - Eliza Raine Page 0,40
I told you, the longer you are in Olympus, the more of your power will be accessible to you. I am guessing being in this violent place may speed things up.” I could hear the distaste in her voice, and wondered briefly what Hera’s realm was like compared to this one. But I dismissed the question in favor of more useful ones.
“If I get more power will I still be human?”
“Right now you would be termed a weak demigod. Mostly human, with some divine power. The stronger you get, the higher class demigod you will become. I do not know if it is possible for you to lose enough of your humanity to become a full goddess.”
“But if I started out as the Goddess of War, with the same power as one of the twelve Olympians, how the hell did I become human?”
Zeeva didn’t answer me for a long time, silently stalking through the busy streets. “The story of your origin is not mine to tell. And I could not tell it fully, even if I wanted to.”
“The story of my origin?” I repeated, glaring down at her. “You make me sound like a fucking super-hero.” Despite being accused of being a vigilante once already that day, I couldn’t see myself wearing a cape and fighting crime.
Perhaps super-villain would be more fun.
“You are no hero, Bella. But you could be something. Something more than you could ever have been in the mortal world.”
“I know,” I said quietly. And I did know. I knew it to my core. I was meant to be here. I belonged in a world where even the good guys were dicks.
When I finally reached the place I was staying I was still buzzing with energy. A woman with tree-bark skin was standing in a grand hall hung with luxurious burgundy and gold fabrics and an enormous staircase stretching up the center of it. The woman smiled when I told her who I was, and gave me a small orb that shone ruby red. I followed her up the impressive staircase and was sure that we must be at the top by the time she stopped and pointed to a door. A small round hole in the center of it glowed red, and I looked at the orb in my hand, then at the tree-woman. She nodded at me, leaf green hair falling over her shoulders. Hesitantly, I pushed the orb into the hole and there was a little click, and the stone door swung open. The red orb popped suddenly back into my hand.
“Huh,” I said. “Thanks. Do you know which room my friend is in?”
She nodded mutely at the door next to mine, then turned and made her way back down the stairs.
I knew Ares wouldn’t want to see me. But I had questions for him, both about my power, and about whatever it was we would be doing the next day. So instead of entering my room, I strode to his door, and knocked loudly.
“No!” came the immediate shout.
“I need to talk to you,” I said through the door. There was silence, followed by a thud, and then the door opened abruptly.
“The terms will be set out by Pain tomorrow. There is nothing I can tell you now.”
“Erm, I was kidding when I said about you sleeping in the helmet,” I frowned, staring up at his gleaming gold-covered head. I squashed an urge to reach up and flick the red plume.
“I just put it back on to talk to you,” he grunted defensively.
“Why? I spent all day with you without it.”
He glared at me through his eye slits, peering closely. “You have too much energy. Why?”
“How do you know how much energy I have?”
“You are swaying and bouncing and flushed.”
“Oh. I tried to save a kid from getting beaten up by a mob-boss and a really ugly thing with wings, and he stole my knife.”
“Who stole your knife?”
“The kid.”
He shrugged after a short pause. “You were careless to let it get stolen.”
“He stole it from where it was embedded in the mob-boss’ shoulder!” I protested. Ares let out a long sigh, then stepped to the side, holding the door open.
I gave him an over-the-top grin and stepped into his room. It was one hell of a room. I’d never been to Morocco, but I’d drooled over plenty of five star hotels on the internet, and this was exactly what I had seen pictured. Soft, dim light came from painted glass set in the stone