The Warrior God (The Ares Trials #1) - Eliza Raine Page 0,8
body. Hades says that Guardians have strong magic, I’m sure your friend is fine.”
I scowled at her, but said nothing, sipping at my drink instead. If her precious Hades had been kidnapped, I bet she wouldn’t be so damned calm. But she was being kind to me, and I had no way of achieving anything without the help of these people.
I had a lot of questions that needed answers, that was for sure, but the priority was saving Joshua. I was the only person who knew he was in trouble. Only after he was safe, would I be able to work out what all this meant for me.
Persephone left me with my topped-up glass of whatever-it-was, and I fell into one of the many chairs. A small flash of teal light shone from somewhere on the floor and I frowned.
“Hello, Enyo,” said a woman’s voice in my head, and I jumped in surprise so hard that liquid sloshed from my glass.
“Get the fuck out of my head!”
“Do not swear at me. I have watched you for longer than you can possibly imagine, and I know your bluff means nothing.” Zeeva jumped up onto the table in front of me and sat slowly. Gracefully. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Why have you never spoken to me before? And how are you talking in my head? And why are you even here?”
“I had no reason to speak to you before now. I am a creature of magic with the capacity for mental communication, it is common in Olympus. Why I’m here is not your business.”
“Not my business? Are you joking? Of course it’s my business!”
The cat let out a long mental sigh and flicked her tail. My head swam. Zeeva was definitely the part of this my brain was struggling the most with. I mean, she was hardly an affectionate house pet, but that had been part of why I liked her. She had as much of an attitude problem as I did. If I’d known she was a freaking... Wait, what was she?
“What kind of ‘creature of magic’ are you?” I asked her.
“I am a sphinx hybrid,” she answered, after a pause.
“Sphinx? Don’t they ask riddles?”
“Yes. If I were to ask you a riddle that you couldn’t answer, I would then have to kill you, so please don’t ask for one,” she said dryly. My mouth fell open.
“You could kill me?”
“Of course.”
“Why are you here? I don’t understand.” I scrubbed my hands across my face for what felt like the twentieth time.
“Drink more nectar. It will help you think more clearly,” she instructed. I looked down at my glass. I was drinking nectar?
“Please tell me why you are here. Or at least that you can help me save Joshua,” I asked, changing my tone to pleading as I picked up the glass. Aggression wasn’t going to work with her, clearly.
“I was assigned to watch you by Hera. She has a special interest in you. The power of war was split between you and Ares, as he said. Yours has been suppressed by such a long period in the mortal realm, but it will awaken the longer you are here. And Ares will be able to access it.”
“Two questions,” I said, holding up my hand to stop her. “One, how long have I been in the mortal realm? I’m twenty-nine and I don’t remember being a baby, so I’m guessing it was around then?”
Zeeva blinked at me. “What is question two?” she asked.
“How does this power-sharing thing work? If Ares is using my power, can I use it at the same time? Or is it like a take-it-in-turns scenario? Because Ares doesn’t strike me as the type of guy to share his toys.”
“I have no idea. I didn’t believe he would ever come for you, or that you would return to Olympus.”
“Right. Great.” That’s helpful. Not. “So... Question one? How long have I been away?”
“That is inconsequential.”
Anger spiked in my veins. “If you won’t answer my questions and you don’t know how any of this works, what exactly can you help me with?” I asked her sharply.
“I am not here to help you. I am here to report back to my Queen on your activities.”
“You’re a spy?”
A gleam of something dangerous flashed across her amber eyes. “Call me whatever you wish, Enyo, I will be keeping my eye you until this is resolved.”
“My name’s Bella, not Enyo,” I snapped, swigging angrily at my nectar.