Aftermath [malexmale]

Chapter Five

"Speak to me correctly, or I'll break your jaw again." She ordered.

It was odd. Even though Theo had kicked his own mother from the palace and had remained strong and powerful and obnoxious since that day, this was admittedly the first time I'd seen him so timid and nervous. But then, given his parentage, it was any wonder he wasn't hiding under his bed and crying.

"What are you doing here?" Theo repeated, this time through clenched teeth. Despite the fear that swirled in those red eyes, the hate was overpowering. A rancid stench that filled the air far stronger than Aria's for him. Aria didn't back down, her red eyes narrowed on him.

"I heard you've been causing quite a ruckus, boy. You've upset a close friend of mine. What did mommy tell you about behaving?" She demanded. Theo eyed her warily, inching along the wall as she stalked toward him. He was nervous still. He was probably praying that Sept would swoop in and save him at any moment, but Steele had anticipated such a thing and put in a call for a fake attack on the other side of the city.

Theo was on his own.

"You're not my mother," Theo blurted angrily, clenching his fists and making Aria's eyes flash angrily, "Get out! I told you to leave centuries ago, and I meant it!" Aria took quick strides over to him and Theo went to get away, but he smacked into the wall behind him and Aria had him by the jaw, sinking her fingernails into his skin.

"You can't tell me what to do you, you sniveling little shit. I spent hours in labor for you. You should be on the floor. Kissing my feet!" With that, she rammed her knee between Theo's legs and he yelped like a struck puppy, falling to the floor, doubled over in pain. I grimaced, cupping myself. Yeah, women really knew where to kick a man where it hurt most. Aria smirked down at Theo as he struggled to recover, to push himself up, but Aria shoved him back down on his knees, then lifted her foot and put it on his head, shoving him down all the way so his face hit the floor.

Theo panted hard, seething in both rage and pain as blood oozed past his teeth and nostrils. He moved to blast her away from him, but she caught his wrist and twisted it painfully, again resulting in another pained yelp. She kicked Theo back onto the floor as he grimaced in pain, draping an arm over his stomach and glaring up at her. Aria didn't back down for a second. She glared down her nose at him.

"I'm going to tell you what you're going to do," She began, making Theo curl his lip at her, "You're going to leave Steele alone. You're going to go to your room and sit there and be grateful that I didn't rip your head off as an infant. And if you don't wipe that look of contempt off your face, I'll do it for you." When Theo didn't listen, she backhanded him hard, then grabbed him by a handful of hair and tore him to his feet. Theo gasped as she swung him around so she could tilt his head up and she could glare down into his face.

"Don't make me repeat myself, you waste of space." She sneered. Theo winced. I waited for him to try and attack her again, but he didn't. It was like he was too afraid to. A sad day when a demigod bowed down to a she-devil bitch. But then, Aria was Theo's mother. No matter how awful and cruel she was, Theo had never ordered her killed or attacked or tortured or anything. Even though he said he didn't consider her as his mother, in the end, she was and he knew that and he hated it.

A fissure of power made me turn my head to see Sept appearing in the throne room. Sept was an ex-god from the Egyptian pantheon. With warm olive skin and black hair currently braided over his shoulder with dark eyes ringed heavily with kohl, black leather pants and a matching tank top, he could easily be a model. But his twisted, angry expression ruined it.

"What are you doing here?" Sept demanded of Aria, who blinked and looked up, but didn't loosen her grip on Theo's hair.

"Who the fuck are you? A servant?" She demanded. Sept's eyes flared hatefully. He obviously already knew who Aria was, and what she'd done.