AN: Welcome to Chapter Twelve. So there is a slight warning for this chapter due to mentions of domestic violence. You'll see it coming long before it does. So feel free to skip over that part if you don't feel comfortable. I'll give you a heads up just before it occurs. Hope you all enjoy! Be sure to drop some comments as you read! Now onward and forward to Chapter Twelve!
*Soren*
We all looked at Arrow in surprise. His statement had left us all speechless for a few moments. We all remembered what Ares had said in the park.
"Are you insane?!" Ryder asked, "Do you not remember what Ares said at the park?! Because I do! He threatened us, Arrow!"
"I know," Arrow replied.
"He threatened to make us suffer if anything happened to Eris and Enyo!" Ryder continued.
"I know!" Arrow growled, "But we can't let Eris and Enyo keep terrorizing Moonshell. We have to draw Enyo away from Eris and finish her."
"I'm with Arrow," Nemesis agreed, "Enyo has gone too far."
"What about imprisoning her? Couldn't we do that?" Calix asked, "Why risk the fate of mortals when we don't have to."
Arrow shook his head.
"If Enyo siphoned Ares' powers, it means that she has the power of an Olympian and it is virtually impossible to imprison an Olympian," Arrow explained.
"As much as I'd rather imprison Enyo, I know that she will most likely break out of whatever prison we put her in," I stated.
"We don't have any other options, Ryder," Arrow told our brother, "We have to level the playing field. As long as they're both involved in this, Moonshell and the rest of the human world will never be safe. We can't kill Eris because you and Calix haven't been freed from the curse yet. You're not strong enough to face Eris. If we kill Enyo, we'll eliminate half of the threat to the human world."
"She needs to be punished, Ryder," Nemesis told him, "I've seen her heart. She did this because she blamed the four of you for Cicero's death. She betrayed the pantheon and went against the Fates. She doesn't deserve to be imprisoned. Imprisonment is a mercy. Enyo has gone too far to deserve any kind of mercy. What's even worse is that Enyo doesn't feel any remorse. She doesn't regret doing this. If she had then maybe I'd think she deserved a different punishment, but Ryder, she has to die. She's done far too much damage and destroyed too many lives."
Ryder sighed.
"Okay," he relented, finally understanding our reasoning.
I understood why Ryder was so apprehensive about killing Enyo. I remembered Ares' threat. But there was something else. A bad feeling that kept washing over me. I recalled my vision from earlier. Eris has been angry. She had blamed us. Did that have to do with us deciding to kill Enyo? Even with my powers becoming more stable, I couldn't be sure.
"If we kill Enyo and Ares tries to make good on his threat, would you be able to stop him?" Calix asked Aphrodite.
The Goddess of Love and Beauty shook her head.
"Ares and I don't exactly have the best relationship," she admitted as she hugged herself. Hera wrapped her arms around the younger Goddess. Everyone had always believed that Aphrodite was the only one who could soothe Ares' anger.
"What do you mean?" Nemesis asked. I saw that look in my sister's eyes and knew that she sensed something. Something was off.
Aphrodite was shaking in Hera's arms.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Clarissa told her, probably sensing the fear of the Goddess.
(AN: WARNING Aphrodite's next bit of dialogue contains small mentions of domestic abuse.)
"No, no, you deserve to know exactly what kind of monster the God of War is," Aphrodite replied. She swallowed hard and continued, "When I was with him, he treated me like I was a pretty porcelain doll. He showered me with gifts and was incredibly gentle with me. But that was in the beginning. Things changed after he came back from the wars. He'd accuse me of sleeping around and I hadn't been. I know that it's hard to believe, but when I was with Ares, I was seeing him exclusively. So he beat me and then he'd get so rough me that I had bruises all over my body. I was scared of him. I couldn't show my face in court because I was afraid that people would ask questions. For the longest time, I told myself that it wasn't his fault, he was just being rough with me because of the horrors he had seen in the wars, but part of me knew it was wrong. Hermes came to visit me. He and I had always been such close friends. He saw the bruises and demanded to know where they'd come from." Aphrodite started to cry and Hera held her tighter, trying to soothe her. "I told him the truth. I told him that Ares had been beating me. To say Hermes was furious was an understatement. He challenged Ares to a fight and won. Then while Ares was incapacitated, he took me to his area of the palace and helped me heal. He kept me safe from Ares and he, Artemis, and Apollo made sure that Ares stayed as far away from me as possible. We got Hera involved after Ares attacked me when I went out into the gardens to tend to my roses."
(AN: Alright we're good. Carry on.)
"Abusing a Goddess is a serious offence," Nemesis stated, "Why wasn't he punished?! He should have at least been removed from the Council!"
"I tried," Hera assured my sister, "But even as the Queen of the Gods, I don't have the power to strip Ares of his privileges. That power ultimately lies with Zeus. And my dolt of a husband refused to do anything to help. I doubt he even believed his own son was capable of doing such a thing. So Ares was never punished."
"I've been staying with Hermes ever since," Aphrodite replied.
"What about your husband, Hephaestus?" Rosalie asked.
"Hephaestus and I aren't together anymore," Aphrodite replied, "We split a few weeks after our wedding when he realized that I'd never love him as much as I loved Ares. So he set me free and I fell into Ares' arms and then this all happened. Gods, why did I ever think he loved me?"
"It's alright," Hera soothed her, "He can't hurt you anymore."
"Anyway, Hermes and I got closer and we've been seeing each other for a while now," Aphrodite replied, "But to answer your question, I can't soothe Ares' anger and stop him from making good on his threat if you go through with this." She dried her tears and turned to Ryder. "You're right to fear him, Ryder," she told my brother, "Ares is a monster. And I know for a fact that he will make good on his threat. He will make you all suffer if you kill Enyo."
"How do we stop him when the time comes?" Ryder asked.
"I don't know," Aphrodite admitted.
"I think that's enough for one night," Apollo told us, "Come with me Aphrodite, I'll escort you home. Hermes must be getting worried."
Aphrodite nodded and she and Apollo vanished in a flourish of rose petals and a flash of light. Hera and Athena followed suit soon after.
Ryder rushed off towards the lake and Arrow went after him. Rosalie turned to me.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked. I nodded as Calix, Clarissa, and Nemesis went inside the house.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing," she assured me, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine," I assured her, "Being around you is helping. I can feel the curse lifting a little."
"Do you still want to take things slow?" she asked.
"I don't know," I admitted, "I don't know how fast I can go just yet." I bit my lip. "Do you mind if I try something?"
"Go ahead," she told me, "I trust you."
I took a deep breath and captured her lips with my own. I heard her sigh in contentment as our lips moved in sync. I moved quickly and pinned her against the exterior wall of the lake house. I pulled away and began to trail kisses down her neck. We both breathing hard and as I reached her bare shoulder, I felt it. The barrier I used to hide my pain was starting to break. I quickly moved away from her and cursed.
"Why'd you stop?" she asked.
"There's a barrier that hides my pain and the closer I get to you physically, the more likely it is to break," I admitted, "I don't want to subject you to my pain. But I know that I'm going to have to at some point. I just...I don't know if I'm ready."
"Soren, I'm here to ease your pain," she told me, "I'll wait until you're ready to let me see it. I'm not going to push you into anything. That's not how I do things."
I nodded, grateful that she was willing to be patient with me. I couldn't have asked for a better soulmate. Aphrodite and Hera had truly found someone perfect for me.
It was silent for a moment then Rosalie spoke.
"I feel awful for Aphrodite," she told me, "What she went through was terrible."
"I know and I feel bad," I admitted, "I had no idea that she was going through that. I should have known."
"Why do you say that?" Rosalie asked.
"Because I can see the future," I replied, "If I'd seen Ares beating her, then maybe I could have done something to stop it. I could have helped my friend."
"It's not your fault, Soren," Rosalie assured me.
"I'm the Allocator, I could have given her strength and power. I could have helped her fight back," I stated.
"It's not your fault," Rosalie said again, "You didn't know. Besides, it seems to me that Hermes did everything he could to protect her. He sounds like a good person."
"He's a good man," I agreed, "He's become so much more than the trickster messenger the humans know him to be."
"I wonder what his daughter is like," Rosalie mused, "His name was mentioned in the prophecy right?"
"That's right," I admitted, "I just wonder if she'll end up with Ryder or Calix. If she's with Ryder, she's going to have her hands full."
Rosalie laughed. "Well I'm sure that she'll be able to handle him, whoever she is," my beloved assured me.
"Ryder seems like he's getting closer to needing her," I stated, "I wonder where she is."
"I'm sure she'll be here soon," Rosalie replied.
We both fell silent for a moment then Rosalie turned to me and spoke again.
"Do you think we can do this? Kill Enyo?" she asked.
"I don't know, but we'll find a way," I replied, "We don't have a choice anymore."
AN: Thanks for reading! Be sure to drop some comments and vote!