The Warrior God (The Ares Trials #1) - Eliza Raine Page 0,7
more right than it should have. Perhaps the need to find Joshua wasn’t the only thing keeping a total meltdown at bay. I actually felt like I’d been waiting for someone to come and drop a shitstorm like this on my head all my life. Admittedly, ‘Bella, you’ve got magic war power’ was not the form I had expected the shitstorm to take, but it made sense right down to my core. The more I thought about me being from somewhere that wasn’t the shitty world I lived in, where I simply didn’t belong, the more something pleasant and right tingled through my body. It was the same part of me that fueled my anger and strength. The part of me I’d spent my life trying and failing to understand and control.
It was almost a relief.
Plus, it might explain why my parents abandoned me.
“Erm, thank you, and Hades, for not letting Ares kill me,” I said to Persephone.
“You’re welcome. Bella, you should talk to your cat. Hera wouldn’t have assigned someone to watch over you personally unless you were important.”
“Ares said I was the Goddess of War. Is that important?”
“I don’t know. There isn’t a Goddess of War,” she said slowly. “I can’t tell you anything about your past, but I can tell you a little about Olympus. All of the Olympian gods here rule their own realms. There were twelve, until Hades created a new one, and gave it to Oceanus, who is a Titan. That’s a big deal because the Olympians and the Titans fought a war a long time ago, and they still don’t really get on. Zeus hates Titans.”
“Didn’t Ares say I’m descended from a Titan?” I felt guilty for drinking and asking questions about myself whilst Joshua was out there somewhere, but I couldn’t see what else I could do. I may as well use the time to learn something useful.
“Yes. Many citizens of Olympus are. But it’s only recently that they began being accepted in society.”
“Great. I’m a freak here too,” I muttered, and drained the rest of my glass. Persephone laughed.
“You won’t be saying that when you see some of the creatures who live here. You’d have to be pretty special to stand out in Olympus. We’re currently in Hades’ realm, the Underworld, also known as Virgo. The realms are all star signs in the mortal world. Ares’ realm is, unsurprisingly, Aries.”
“Who owns Taurus?” I asked, before I could stop myself. That was my star sign.
“Dionysus, god of wine. And it’s an awesome place. Unlike Ares’ realm, which is home to the most violent tribes in Olympus. Everyone there is ruthless, well-trained and power hungry. It’s dangerous enough that it’s rarely visited by anyone.”
“Right,” I said, ripples of trepidation making their way through my body. Was it wrong that Aries sounded a little bit cool to me? “And that’s where I’m from?”
“I don’t know. Talk to Zeeva. She can probably help you more than I can. I’m only just learning a lot of this now. I’ve still not visited all of the other forbidden realms myself.”
“There are forbidden realms?”
“Yes. Aphrodite, Artemis, Hephaestus, and Hades all have an ‘invite-only’ policy on their worlds.”
“Have you been to Aries?” I asked.
“Yes. I’ve visited the Queen of the Amazons, in the south,” Persephone nodded.
“Queen of the Amazons?”
“Yes. The queen is Ares’ daughter.”
“Huh. He doesn’t look the dad type,” I said slowly.
“Parentage is a bit weird with gods. My mother is a god, but I’ve never met her. They kind of drop kids and bolt.”
“Doesn’t sound that weird,” I muttered, aware of my bitter tone. Persephone gave me an understanding smile.
“There’s no familial attachment here. Gods are immortal, and love and family are nothing like what we grew up with.”
“You and Hades seem pretty tight,” I said.
“We are bonded,” she beamed, and I squashed down another stab of jealousy. “Hera, goddess of marriage, linked us with magic. It is as unbreakable as immortality itself.”
“Sounds like a big commitment,” I said, and set my glass down on the long table. Persephone picked it up, and carried it back to the counter.
“The biggest,” she replied, as she filled it back up with amber liquid. “Speaking of Hera, I will leave you and Zeeva to talk until Hades returns.”
“But what about Joshua? The longer we don’t know where he is, the more chance there is that something awful will happen to him.”
“Bella, if whoever has taken him wanted to kill him, they would have done so when they killed his human