Ares And Mia

Chapter 52

Emotions surge through me. Perhaps it was the way he was looking at me, all silver and brilliant, a smile curving on his face. I could care less about the blood and the dirt on our skin, on our clothes, under my fingernails--because he was here. My god holds me in his arms. I can feel his warmth, his aching, his adoration. It felt as real as we were, some sort of secondary sense that being immortal has brought me. It coils around me, welcoming me gently with sweet caresses and soft kisses to my skin.

His power greets me warmly.

A soft laugh bubbles from me, tears still drying on my face. "I love you, Mia." Ares whispers again, pressing his forehead to my own. A short giggle leaves me. Was it possible to get drunk on someone's voice? The way they breathe? My blood felt fizzy and carbonated, giddy beyond all means. His words feel so familiar, as if I've heard it a thousand times, but at the same time, so foreign. "Fuck, I love you so much." I felt like a volcano about to explode, eyes tearing up again. He finally said it.

Never in a thousand years did I imagine that he would be the one to say it first.

He brushes his finger against my cheek, before kissing me softly. "Ares--"

"My chest feels like it's fucking burning, Mia." He murmurs against my skin, drawing one of my hands up to hover over his heart. He burns for me. Hard muscle meets my palm, but I can feel it thumping. Rhythmically. Just like my own.

"Does it hurt?" I coo jokingly as I rub the spot. His lips quirk into a smirk, Ares definitely appreciating the awful attempt of a tease.

"It's tolerable."

- - -

"How far are you through the Time Pools?" I ask, following behind him as he makes his way through. He glances toward me, my hand on his sleeve stilling as he stops. Ares's eyes drop to the ground, before his fingers interlock with my own. We rested for... I don't even know how long. I explained to him everything, the things I saw. What I said. Chaos. Immortality, or whatever it truly meant.

And he listened. Perhaps not to what I was saying, but to my voice. He had tipped his head back against the tree, closed his eyes, and held me tighter. I swear he looked a little bit less heartbroken when I finally finished.

"This is my third time through my existence." I blink. Third? He smiles at me. His thumb rubs a circle against the back of my hand. He was blazing. Smothering. For how long? Living through his life... So many times. I don't want to think about what would've happened if I didn't make it. If the books weren't compatible. If the books took more than just my humanity. "But now you're here. I don't need memories when I have the real thing next to me." I clear my throat, a blush rising to my face.  

"O-Oh. Is there any way out?"

"We have to encounter the present. It's different every time. I don't..." His eyes are uncertain. I don't think I've seen him hesitate. He always seems so sure. So determined, so prepared. A small prickle of fear ingrains itself in my chest. "I don't know what we'll be faced with, sweetheart." Did the Time Pools brighten or is it just because he's here?

I squeeze his hand. "You've got me at your side, if that helps." The God of War chuckles, leading the way. "Where are we going?"

"To the river. We enter another dimension for the last phase of the Time Pools." I hum in acknowledgement and we pick through the underbrush. He holds back branches for me and guides me through an arch created by a uprooted tree. The river is lazy. I try not the stare at the sheen of unmoving water encompassing the actual river, swallowing as nausea rises inside of me. I don't understand how this world works.

I pick through the not-dead-not-alive fish, not a crow in sight. The glassy eyes of the fish observe me from below, gills straining against the unfamiliar atmosphere. I swallow. "The river requires a payment. In honesty." Ares turns to look at me, almost as if he were confirming something. "You must show something to the river. Something you never want to lose." He moves my hand toward the water, dipping our fingers into the strange, cold liquid. The water rushes quickly against my skin and I gasp, just as I plunge into another dimension.