Ares And Mia

Chapter 33

"Eat shit!" I shove my arms forward, the feeling of adrenaline moving through my chest and into my fingertips filling me with a strange sensation of exhilaration. Lightning streaked up and down my forearm, snaking past my fingertips and launching itself through the air as a flash of light. I squint my eyes from the intensity, retracting my arms to the front of my body. My hands barely make it to my ears before a deafening boom shakes the very ground beneath me.

"Holy... fuck." I let out a slow breath, my arms tingling. A slight soreness set in and I turn around with a grin. Apollo's jaw is open, Athena looks troubled, Artemis's eyes are boring holes into my head, and Ares smirks back at me.

I smiled anxiously, awaiting a proper reaction from the Gods. What were they thinking? Was j a threat?

We were currently somewhere dry, sandy, and very, very isolated. It was Ares who suggested that I show them what I could do and 'what I could do' being the semi-obliterated canyon wall that was currently crumbling as we stood.

"When?" Athena squeezed out. "How? Why? Are you even human?"

"You're still mortal, aren't you?" Artemis adds on and I nod.

"As far as I know, I'm still human." The three of them look at Ares. He crosses his arms, almost defensively.

"Well, she doesn't look immortal. How old are you, sweetheart?" I wring my fingers slightly, the muscles in my arms feeling tight. I think I might've overdone it a bit.

"Seventeen."

"She certainly looks seventeen, doesn't she?" Athena nods slowly, trying to connect the dots in her head. Apollo looks toward me, then at my wrist, then back at my eyes. He furrows his brow, almost as if he were asking me if I knew.

The bruise from Keith. Or was it even Keith at all? It looked like electricity spreading through my arm... I went to the Underworld the day before.

How... how didn't I think of that? Did I accidentally... Was I connecting to my dead self?

"Zeus wouldn't react well if he found out, Ares." Athena stated, almost as if she were warning him. Ares tips his head to the side, almost as if he were contemplating. "He's obsessed with his trademark lightning bolt and he doesn't like sharing—"

"Who said he was going to find out? He has nothing to do with this." The God of War's voice was cold, almost as if he were daring for anyone to challenge his words. They dropped like heavy weights, boulders and cinder blocks on wooden floors.

"How does this tie in with the prophecy?" Apollo questions. I swallow hard. There's a brief silence and Artemis rubs her forehead, glancing at me quickly.

"At least you seem to be enjoying yourself. You're just full of surprises, Mia." I smile at her and she looks me up and down. "You look happier." She steps closer to me and I can't help but feel like she's the big sister that I've never had. Artemis cups my cheeks, squeezing them slightly like I was a child. "You're such a strange little human." Goosebumps line my skin.

I still as she pulls away, turning around to speak to Apollo. Ares chimes in and I glance at them from behind Artemis. That felt...

That felt like she was talking to a pet.

Like she was congratulating me for bringing back a ball from a field, like I was a dog retrieving a stick. I fight back a scoff, blinking hard at the ground. And letting me stay at the villa?