from me.
The swirling light around us suddenly receded. A gust of icy wind slammed into me from every direction like a hurricane, cutting into my exposed face and skin like thousands of needles.
“What the—?” I shouted but stopped right away since the wind poured into my mouth with a punishing force.
“—fuck?” Ares finished the curse word for me and chuckled in delight. “Never pictured I’d get a foul-mouthed vixen. I like it! I hope you keep it up. Mortal women are weak, and the goddesses are all petty and stagnant, plagued by the boredom of their immortality.”
I stumbled ahead under the onslaught of the wind, my hand gripping Ares’s arm to anchor myself and prevent the wind from blowing me away.
“You’re also the clingy type. How delightful,” the god now mocked me.
As a daughter of a Titan, I should have the strength to withstand the cyclone.
I let go of Ares’s arm and planted my feet firmly on the ground. The air current whooshed by me, crashing into me, but it couldn’t sway me anymore.
“You have some strength in you, Marigold,” Ares said with approval. “Under my guidance, you just learned how to use your immortal strength.”
The fucker was a sheer narcissist and an ogre.
Though the whirlwind could no longer sweep me away, it didn’t mean the blitz didn’t hurt.
I wondered if it had already peeled off part of my skin. My face felt so raw, so I raised my arms in front of it to fend off the brutal onslaught.
I wheeled slowly to take in my surroundings. All I saw was endless ridges of mountains.
The God of War had teleported me to the peak of the highest mountain in unknown territory.
The violent wind didn’t affect him, his red-golden hair not even stirring.
The fucker had a shield around himself, and he didn’t even have the courtesy to have it cover me. But then, he’d promised to teach me a lesson in humility.
“What’s the meaning of all this?” I covered my mouth and shouted. “You brought me here to let me eat the wind?”
“Be patient, Marigold,” he said and waved a hand.
A small, white stone castle materialized in front of us, its glamour slipping off. Despite the howling wind, the castle stood unmoved.
Ares strode toward the entrance without sparing me a glance.
I immediately screamed inwardly, Teleport!
“I’ve put a binding spell on you,” Ares said, not looking back. “You won’t leave unless I release you. You can either make yourself comfortable, or you’re welcome to stay in the center of the storm.”
The fucker had chained me with unseen shackles. I glared at his backside, frustrated that I couldn’t even stab him in the back.
He stepped through the gates of the castle.
I called for my power again, but nothing came to me.
If I couldn’t get out of here right now, I should take advantage of my new situation.
Instead of standing in the center of the windstorm like a fool, I would explore Ares’s hidden castle and find out what he was up to, as I was sure he was up to no good.
I marched toward the castle, the wind following me, whipping my every inch until I stepped through the entrance.
Then the iron gate shut behind me, trapping me inside.
CHAPTER 4
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I stalked beside Ares. Without the wind shrieking in my ear, I now had the luxury of studying where the god had brought me as his captive.
The castle was no bigger than the old, abandoned library I’d used as a home in Crack. Strangely, this place was empty, yet well-maintained.
I squinted up at the upstairs windows, all dustless and shiny and without bars. This might be the best-looking prison on Earth. Then a thought clicked. It was a warded magical castle.
It’d take all I had to break out of here when my magic well was refilled; hell, I might not get out at all if I didn’t give Ares what he wanted.
I tried to repress the rising anxiety churning like acid in my stomach. It would do me no good, just cloud my thoughts, if I had a panic attack.
I couldn’t lose my shit now.
I couldn’t keep thinking and hoping that the demigods would find and rescue me. I had only my own ass to rely on while I was trapped here.
We’d treaded halfway through the courtyard before I realized I was still barefoot. I gave Ares’s boots a measured look. They would look like boats on my feet, but they were better than nothing.
“Ares,” I said, “may I borrow—”
He flicked his wrist, and