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Chapter 5
Ares
Even though the situation was dire, I couldn’t help but enjoy the glimpse into Elyse’s personal life while in her apartment. We all rushed here after Apollo let us know he’d taken her home.
The framed photos on the television stand drew my attention, especially the one with a young Elyse standing next to a woman with the same chestnut-colored hair. Had to be her mom, but I’d heard from the others her mother had passed away as well. And staring at the joy on her face in the photo reminded me of sorrow. Was that how she felt each time she looked at the image? Remembering happier days now lost forever?
I’d only truly loved once. Aphrodite had been my life, but after the fucked-up stunt her husband, Hephaestus, had pulled, humiliating us by catching us in a net on his bed, I’d refused to ever fall for another so deeply again. I should have rained down a war on Hephaestus, but shit, I’d been the god sleeping with his wife. Fuck, I’d loved her so much, and it took me centuries to get over her. Throwing myself into combat and wars gave me the distraction I’d needed to deal with the loss.
Yet since arriving in Chicago, I’d found myself drawn to Elyse, and those familiar feelings rose through me. She reminded me so much of myself. Full of anger, jumping into any situation rather than thinking it through, and just wanting to be accepted. It was so obvious she struggled to fit into the human world because she wasn’t a mortal.
While I might have desired a peek into who she really was, there were much bigger things at hand. I wasn’t going to be the dick who didn’t care about someone Elyse had lost.
She sat on the black couch with a cup of coffee Poseidon had made. She wasn’t exactly rocking back and forth, but she was paler than usual. Plus, I caught the slight tremble of her hands.
And understandably so. Her best friend had just been kidnapped by X.
This stunt was new for Thanatos—Death—X—whatever the fuck he was called. This guy seemed to pull a new trick out of his sleeve at every turn. First, it was killing humans without Hades’s obvious instruction. Then it was consuming the souls when they were supposed to be sent to the Underworld and now this—a hostage situation. What the fuck was his goal? Piss off as many gods as possible?
“If Catina’s still alive,” Elyse murmured, her voice soft and trembling, “maybe he took her to consume her somewhere else.”
She sounded defeated, as if her friend were already dead.
I shook my head. “It’s not his style. X has been killing in public for a while now. He would’ve killed her in front of you if he wanted to get to you. That’s the bastard thing to do. She’s still alive.”
“How can you be so sure? What if he changed his mind? What if…?” Elyse glanced at me, her eyes glistening, and my heart melted. She carried defiance in her voice, but her face was pleading. Her gaze begged me to be right.
“Elyse,” Poseidon said gently, “Ares is right. X has made a show of his murders all this time. He wouldn’t have taken someone to consume her in private. He has an agenda.”
She let out a little laugh, and it was a surprise, given the circumstances. “Death has an agenda. How ironic.” Hatred fueled her sarcasm.
Apollo sat next to Elyse on her couch and slid his arm around her back. His golden hair spilled over his shoulders, shining like a beacon. Hell, even indoors he was putting on an act of looking divine. Except I wanted to be the one next to her, holding her, making her feel safe. But we were all here for the same reason—to support and help Elyse.
When Apollo called to tell me what happened, I hadn’t hesitated. I’d rushed over for Elyse as much as the other guys. And we all had a right to do it. As far as I could tell, we each held a piece of her heart.
Usually, that would’ve pissed me off. But Elyse cared for each of us differently. And if I could have a love that was unique to me, then she could give Poseidon and Apollo what suited them, too.
Look at me go, such a team player.
Of course, Hades was MIA. No surprise—the guy was hardly available for a chat. He didn’t want to be a part of these things. Even though a while ago, the four of us had stood together to be there for Elyse, Hades was still a lone ranger.
I suspected it had something to do with Poseidon being here. The brothers never saw eye to eye. It made me glad I wasn’t in contact with my own parents. They didn’t exactly love me as much as they did my siblings, so it paid to be a rebel.
“I don’t get what he’s playing at,” Elyse said after sipping her coffee. “What could he possibly want with her?”
“I think he’s trying to call you out,” Poseidon said.
“But I’m willing to fight him any time,” Elyse argued. “What’s the point of taking Catina? I was there in the room with him.”
“Whatever it is, he’s not going to kill her or he’d have done so in front of you,” Apollo added, and I agreed with him.
Her brow furrowed. “What’s his motivation? What the hell does he want? Was it to taunt me?” Her voice trembled, and her lips pinched together.
I couldn’t sit back as she fell apart.
“We’ll find her,” I said. The other two gods looked at me with a warning, but I meant every word. We’d go out and look for her. There weren’t a lot of places X could possibly take her—he was uncomfortable in this world, and if he had an agenda, I had an idea where he might go with the human. But I didn’t share that little bit of extra information just yet.
“He’s right,” Poseidon confirmed. “We’ll find her.”
