*Apollo's POV*
Athena and I arrive at Olympus just as the sun reached it's highest point, beaming down at us. The sanctuary was situated at the top of a mountain, with shining white marble and columns of statues and portraits. It was quite modern too, with planes of tasteful glass and accents of dark wood at the sides. It was large, a monument that was only accessible to gods and whomever they wish to bring along. I sigh, the feeling of dread filling me as I stepped up to the spotless marble steps.
The Goddess of Wisdom stops beside me, and both of us were alerted by a loud banging. Coming from a marble shrine located some ways off of the main building. We share a glance and we set off toward it, confused. What could be making that noise? The banging starts again, but more hastily.
"Hello? Is there someone in there?" Athena called. There was a very muffled--and I mean, I could barely hear it--shout in response and I moved forward, inspecting the shed. There was a small picture of Hera on it, shielded from the weather by a gleaming marble roof. A candle was set in front of it, flickering with flame. There were quite a lot of these scattered around Olympus's great size, and most of them only served one purpose: to look aesthetically pleasing. "Who are you?" Again, the muffled voice. I could barely understand what they said.
One thing was sure though, the person inside wanted out.
I run my hands down the sides, looking for an opening or a door. "You're going to have to pull the wall open, Apollo. These structures were made to just be here. No entrances to the inside were created." Once I reached the other side of the structure, I found small indents along the side, and I waved Athena over. She approached, her eyes zeroing in on it. "Huh. It seems like whoever put this person in there also has remarkable strength."
"Any idea who, dear goddess of brainpower?" I remarked, placing my fingers onto the indents, aligning it perfectly.
"Maybe one of them pissed off Hades or maybe Zeus is in one of his temper tantrums. Oh, I also heard that Posideon was in a terrible mood these past days." She tapped her chin, before shrugging at me. I nodded and pulled at the marble. It stayed put for a millisecond, until it slid open, the grass making it easier to move. It was still pretty heavy and I was pretty sure that no mortal could have moved it, but due to the gift of our powers, I was able to pry it open wide.
I peered inside with Athena. A cold draft of air breezed out as we took in the sight. In the total darkness, was a familiar man, tied down to a chair, with a gag in his mouth. His dark brown eyes gleamed and his nose flared with anger. His skin was a dark tone, exposed from his black tee. Athena gasped. "Hep!"
"Who did this to you?" I asked, starting forward. She rushed forward and began untying the ropes from Hepanthetus's body. I ungaged him, pulling the cloth from his jaw. He lets out an unearthly snarl as the ropes--enchanted ropes, normal ropes would've been ripped apart by him immediately--fell slack.
"That bastard Ares," Hep spat, and just as the words left his mouth, a sickening feeling of freefall overtook me. My vision faded black, and now, all I could see were two floating eyes. A chill runs down my spine. They were red. The color of flesh, the color of leaves in the fall, the color of a dying sun. My breath caught in my throat, and suddenly, the darkness and the eyes vanished. Just as abruptly as it came.
I straightened up and looked around, trying to pinpoint where the bearer of those eyes could be. "Athena?" A head poked into the shed and I recognized her as my twin. We didn't look alike, not at all, but we were still, undeniably, twins. Artemis had inky black hair and sharp purple eyes, with a lithe body, lean with muscle. Her eyes ran over us. From the chair, to the ropes, to the gag in my hands. "What are you three doing in here?"
"Where's Ares?" I ask, deflecting her question, dropping the rag onto the floor. Artemis quirks an eyebrow.
"I dunno, he said that he was going to blow off some ste-" Her eyes went wide when she did a double-take on Hep. "Wait! Why are you still here?! Where is the girl?!" He averts his brown eyes to the floor, clenching his fists at his side.
"Never mind that, Apollo just had a vision." Athena cuts in, and I run my tongue over my teeth.
"I saw Ares's eyes." Artemis furrows her brows at me. I pull Hep to his feet, and he voices a quick thanks.
"So?" Athena says, getting impatient.
"They were red." Ares was the only god among us that could change his physical appearance, except, it wasn't intentional. His silver eyes turned blood red whenever he was angry. That was just a perk of being the god of basically everything brutal, everything ruthless, done to the main idea of winning. And if he was angry, who knew what he would do? "Hep, do you know where he's going?"
Athena stiffened and cursed loudly. "Shit." Artemis narrowed her eyes.
"Ares said something about doing it himself. I was about to go and get her, but, oh fuck. He caught me off guard and dragged me here." My eyes widened. No. Was he implying that... "He's going to get Mia himself."
"That's not good." I murmur to myself, knowing that if he was mad and with Mia, he would be the #1 most dangerous and unpredictable thing right now.
"Aren't you supposed to be stronger than him?" Artemis challenged, crossing her arms at him. He glared back at her. Really?! This wasn't the time for bickering about who was more powerful or less!
"He just-He improved more than I thought he would!" Hep defensively snapped, crossing his arms. I pressed my lips together, shouldering my way out of the cramped shed. Shoot.
I pull out my phone from my back pocket and text Ares.
Me: I know that you went after the girl. What the hell were you thinking?
His icon popped up, three dots flickering as he typed.
Ares: You know damn well that old man was going to murder her.
I blinked at his words. Hep was only three years older than us. I click on his contact, and pressed 'facetime.'
"I'm facetiming Ares right now. How long were you tied up in there?" I turned over to look at Hep, who was being scolded by Artemis. Athena rolled her eyes, before checking her watch.
"About three hours."
"I swear to god, if she even has a scratch on her body, I'm going to kill Ares." I growl.
⚔
*Mia's POV*
I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. That's all that's running through my mind as the Lamborghini sped through the streets. I hold onto the side of the seat for my life, rocking back and forth as he barely spares stop signs a thought. Cars honked at him, and at this point, I'm just praying that all he does is run off the road and not crash into a street pole.
The Greek God had pulled me out of my apartment and tossed me into his car, saying that we were going to Olympics or something. I press my lips together, the tears already long gone. If it weren't for the picture that I saw, I wouldn't have believed that he was actually Ares. Or maybe he could've been a doppelganger.
I don't know where I'm going with these thoughts, but it was all I was able to think of to distract myself from my current situation.
If I tried to run from the car, would he be able to catch me? Can I scream for help? Do Greek Gods even apply to law systems?!
Goosebumps rose on my skin, and I looked up, my eyes suddenly connecting with his. I avert my eyes, swallowing. Biting my lip, I squirmed, trying to sink into the seat and disappear forever. My stomach did somersaults inside of me. Why was he staring at me?
Just as he opened his mouth to say something, his phone dinged. I watch him curiously. His hands slipped into his pocket, and for once, he actually slowed down for a red light. He smiles wickedly, then responds. I keep my eyes on the road, just praying for the green light to change. It doesn't.
Then, the facetime ringer sounds and Ares lets out a heavy sigh. "Fuck you, Apollo." He grumbles under his breath, accepting it. My heartbeat quickened. He was talking to Apollo? "I'm going to accept this, okay?" He turns toward me.
My voice catches in my throat. "U-Uh yeah." I blurt out, flushing immediately with embarrassment after. He lets out a low chuckle, before clicking the green icon.
"Where the fuck is she, Ares? I swear, if you did anything to her, I'll rip your guts-" Ares smirked as if Apollo's distress was amusing.
I notice the light turned green. "Well, hello to you too, Apollo." He snidely said. In a swift motion, the Greek God slipped the phone into my hands. What the heck?! I fumble, grabbing onto the phone as Ares suddenly drove forward. The green light really just had to come now? I could have dropped his phone, and who knows what he would've done to me then!
"Mia?" I hear someone's voice through the phone and look down at it, my eyes resting upon a gorgeous face. Apollo. He looked far more attractive than the day before, without a shaded pair of sunglasses sitting on his nose or a black coat hanging from his shoulders. "Oh god, I thought that he killed you or something, Jesus Christ-" I watch the way the sunlight caught at his cheekbones and his eyelashes, giving him an almost glowing look.
"Stop drooling over him, it's pissing me off." I flinch, blushing a rosy red. Ares's eyes were on the road, thank god for that, but I could feel the tension in the air. Apollo ran a hand through his hair, and I try not to stare. "Apollo, give us two minutes. Princess, end the call."
"Wai-" I press the red icon, cutting the God of Prophecy off. I frown. Apollo calls again. We fall silent as we listen to his ringtone. It stops. Then he calls again. We listen, the sound circulating around us. I'm slightly annoyed at this, as I watch his icon on the screen. It disappears again, going to voicemail, before he, of course, calls again. Ares didn't seem to want to pick up either, so I took the liberty of stabbing the reject button.
His eyes widened when the sound cuts short and he barks out a laugh, pulling into a driveway to possibly the prettiest mansion I have ever seen. "It was getting annoying. Sorry." I'm relieved that Apollo doesn't call again, and I step out of the car, handing the phone to Ares.
When we're out in the outside, I feel him look me up and down, before smirking. I blink. What was his problem? "You know, you actually don't look half bad." I arch an eyebrow at him, suddenly confused.
Did I just get a compliment from him? What?
"Here, take my hand." I blinked at his outstretched arm, and then looked up at his face. He tilted his head toward it, and I swallowed. The second my skin came in contact with his, a feeling of nausea filled me, and I squeezed my eyes shut. What the hell!?
"Hey, uh, we're here. If you want, you can open your eyes..." Ares drew out his words, looking at me as if I had sprouted an extra limb. And I do. I first open my left eye slowly, then my right one. We're in front of what looks like a Greek mansion, but... modern...? It was beautiful here. With a lush green courtyard and statues everywhere, along with a structurally victorian clump of buildings. Everything seemed to be made of marble--white marble to be exact. How the hell did we get here?! What the fuck!? "You can also let go of my hand now. Or not."
I realize that I've been clutching at his hand tightly, and I let go instantly, blushing beet red. "S-Sorry..." I gulped, hoping that he wasn't going to hit me or go berserk. Instead, he smirks, instinctively the charmer.
He starts toward the buildings but I catch him before he could get out of earshot. I don't take a single step. "Why did you bring me here? Why haven't you killed me yet? What is this place? What do you want with me?"
"Well, first of all, I brou-" Ares is cut off when someone basically comes up and punches him in the face. I flinch back in surprise, backing straight into someone's chest. The smell of mint and vanilla engulfs me, and I look up to see golden eyes. Apollo. His eyes widened when they see me, but both of our attentions were drawn toward the fight that was currently going on.
"Hep! Fuck!" A girl with her eyeliner on fleek screamed, jumping forward, trying to separate the two. Another girl, one with exotic purple eyes and black hair that came to her shoulders was trying to just get the first girl to leave the two to battle it out alone.
"Back off! She's part of my prophecy so I had to get her!" Ares roared, his eyes turning into the same shocking red color. A heavy punch catches the other guy, who I assume is Hep, in the stomach, before Ares knees his nose with a sickening crack.
"You fucking locked me inside of a Hera shrine!" The man retorted, blood dripping down his nose. I gagged and turned away, and felt Apollo move past me and toward the quarrel. "I was in there for three hours!" More shouts and more sounds of pain makes me almost sick to my stomach. Violence just wasn't my thing.
Ares's laughter is sudden and twisted, a sadistic trait of his that I was pretty sure he honed. I turn back toward the fight, as Apollo intervened, holding Hep back by his arms. I swallowed, wringing my hands together. His eyes are still red.
He's basically clear of injuries, beside a reddening cheek from the punch before. Hep, on the other hand, seems mildly beat up. His nose was broken, with trails of blood leaking onto his chin, and a cut searing his cheek. I blinked and shuddered.
"Clean yourselves up. The meeting is in like, fifteen minutes. Mia, come with us as they go get rid of that blood and wounds." I glanced toward Ares's who was now staining his hoodie with blood that from his knuckles--blood that certainly wasn't his. He nodded toward me and turned around, sauntering to another place. Part of me didn't like the fact that he just left me alone in a group full of strangers, and part of me was jumping for joy that he wasn't here anymore.
"C'mon, I'm Athena, that's Artemis, and that's Apollo. You look like a mess. We'll freshen you up." Taking my arm in hers, she drags me toward the building with what seemed like superhuman strength.
And of course, I had no choice but to be dragged along.