The Stone Queen (The Dark Queens Book 9) Read online

  And again, that sound of his laughter was like listening to music, oddly soothing and pleasant to hear, but my face burned with humiliation. “It is not nice to tease me, you arrogant male,” I groused with a stomp of my foot, which only caused him to laugh harder.

  Though I knew I should be vexed, all I could do was admire the perfect beauty of such a stern male dropping his guard.

  Then as the smile faded, he looked seriously at me and gave a deep and eloquent bow, wrapping one arm around his middle while the other lifted elegantly into the sky behind him. “Until we meet again, woman,” he said deeply.

  I bit my bottom lip before whispering, “Will we meet again?”

  His only answer was a soft but mysterious smile. And just like last time, he faded from sight. Gone as though he’d never been.

  Immediately I heard the rushing of footsteps, then I saw one of the attendants huffing and puffing, her blond hair matted to her forehead and her eyes wild. “The priestess has sent me to find you. It is time for your chores, Medusa.”

  My heart hurting, though I wasn’t sure why, I nodded. “Coming.”

  The girl I didn’t know well turned and hotfooted it back to the temple. I stared at the spot where Ares had been, noting the shifting of the dirt where he’d sat. The only proof that he’d actually been there and that it’d not been my imagination.

  Shoulders slumping, I turned for the temple and shook my head. I would likely never see him again.

  That should have been okay, and yet it felt like a blade to my soul.

  Chapter 8

  Ares

  It’d been months since I’d last seen the little bird. My duties to home had kept me long away from her. But more than that, I also sensed that I should not allow myself to become infatuated by a human.

  I saw what that had done to my father, time and again. The mess he’d made of his marriage by not keeping his damned cock in his pants.

  Things with Aphrodite were at their worst, and I was trying to make things work for us. But if I was being honest, my attempts were half-hearted at best. War kept me often away from Olympus, and the rumors amongst the golden ones were that Dite and my own brother were starting to become much more than mere friends.

  Mother was quite vexed at the thought of it and took any opportunity she had to let me know it. “You should go to her home right now and fuck her until she forgets his name entirely. Use all your powers at your disposal to make that girl mind to whom she belongs, Ares.”

  Mother, crass as ever, was glaring at me from the corner of my room. I preferred darkness to light in my own home, enjoying the coolness of Nyx’s domain over that of Apollo. My room was decorated nearly all in black, all of it tasteful, much of it handpicked or designed by Aphrodite decades ago, though she warmed my bed less and less often these days.

  And while it bothered me mightily, a side of me wasn’t sure it bothered me quite enough. “Mother, don’t be vulgar.”

  She sneered. Hera was still a beautiful and powerful woman, with hair the color of richest chocolate, full of riotous curls she always pinned back. She wore a crown of stars upon her head, signifying all her children. As goddess of mothers, she had a look that always bespoke strength and the wisdom of the mother, though it was artifice. Beautiful as she was, there was none of the kindness associated with her that a good mother held in spades.

  Hera was petty, spiteful, and vindictive at the best of times.

  She growled in a melodious tone that again was at odds with who the woman really was. “Well, Ares, it must be said. If you won’t see to your home, then I shall be forced to step in.”

  I rolled my eyes. There would be no more sleeping in for me this afternoon. I’d only just returned after a two-week sojourn on Earth, helping to battle a terrible war and turn the tide in favor of my chosen victors, the North. It’d been a bloody and brutal thing, but my arm and sword had finally given them the impetus they’d needed to hurdle the impossible.

  I wished I could say my reasons for being there had been altruistic, but they’d not been. I’d been plagued by the demons of doubt these past many months. My crumbling affair with Aphrodite burned in my heart, with questions about who I was versus who I wanted to be. And then mired up in all of that was the female who, no matter how hard I tried to forget her, refused to be silenced.

  She was mortal, barely even more than human. If there was one thing I’d learned watching Father, it was that a god and a human should never mix. We tended to make their lives hell when we did, even if our intentions with them were initially pure.

  I’d already caused her enough damage. Sister Ceto, no doubt, hated my very guts, and should she discover my further attentions to her daughter, it would not be me who paid for it. If I cared for the female at all, I would leave her be.

  Which was what I’d ultimately chosen to do and no doubt why I’d seen so much war lately. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not forget her smiles. Or how she challenged me. Or how much more beautiful she looked each time I went to her.

  I clenched my molars tight and glared at my mother. “I can handle my own affairs. And you know as well as I do that Aphrodite belongs to no one. She is her own woman. I knew that the day I agreed to make her part of my life.”

  She sneered. “Your arrogance offends me, Ares. Can’t you see the fool she and Hephaestus play you for? Do you not recall the Fates we visited at your birth who told you that you and she would bear children together? The Fates are never wrong. She is your wife. Not his. Not that lame-footed bastard’s.”

  I loved Mother, because she was my mother, and I was forced to. But I’d never enjoyed her names for Hephaestus. Though she was my mother, he was my brother. “Guard your tongue, female. He is yours, too, and deserving of your respect.”

  Her upper lip curled back, but she swallowed hard. Mother was not a bloodthirsty goddess, and she did not have the power to strip me of my pride, dignity, and even life, but I did have that power over her.

  I would never abuse my power. But on some level, she understood the power dynamic was not hers with me and quickly tipped her head in acknowledgment.

  “As you say, dear. You know I meant nothing by it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You think I’m happy that Dite has found love in the arms of my brother?” I asked Mother in all honesty. Truth was, I was as confused by my reactions concerning all of this as anybody else upon Olympus. On the one hand, I ached at the loss of my Aphrodite because I had let her into my heart and soul. I’d given her all of me a long time ago. And it was never fun when someone who held that much power over you no longer wished that type of power.

  I also felt like a great fool amongst my peers. I heard their whispers, their silent jeers. There was nothing Olympians loved so well as juicy gossip, and my failed romance was the juiciest they’d heard for quite a while.

  But I believed it was my pride that smarted more than my heart. No one liked being rejected, and I was feeling that in spades.

  “Then why do you simply lie here like a jilted lover? Fight, Ares. You and I both know she does not belong to him. He is lame. And dull. Simple. How could a vivacious creature like that not eventually become stifled by someone like him? You are doing her a service by fighting. Sometimes a woman just wants to feel important, like she matters. There are times that when we act out, it’s not so much for the attention as it is because we wish to know that we are not insignificant to our partner. That we, too, matter.”

  Sometimes, mixed up in all of Mother’s nonsense, would be kernels of advice that resonated powerfully with me. I blinked. “You think she’s done this because she wishes my attentions?”

  And if that was the case, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this revelation. Curious, absolutely, but also uneasy and unsure. Contrary to popular beliefs, Aphrodite was much more than merely a pretty face. Beneath the dazzling smile and unbelievable body was the kindest soul I’d ever known. I’d always imagined that in Aphrodite there was truth. That if she felt something, she wou
ld never leave me in doubt as to what that could possibly mean.

  And yet, she’d not spoken to me about what was happening between her and Hephaestus. More often than not, she avoided the subject by avoiding me altogether. It’d been many weeks since we’d shared a bed.

  I loved my brother, much to the everlasting shame of my father and mother. I was sure they wished I would despise him as much as they did. But Hephaestus had a sincerity that was rare amongst the gods and that I craved to be around. Unlike Mother’s protestations, Hephaestus wasn’t simple or unintelligent. He was quite witty and had the ability to see beneath the façade of others to the true hearts within. He often helped bring clarity when issues troubled me. In fact, this was just such an issue I would have sought my brother’s counsel about before. But he was part of the problem, and that made everything so much more damned confusing. Though I loved him, if I were honest, his actions with Aphrodite had wounded me deeply.

  Mother’s shoulders slumped, and the golden cape she wore fluttered like a wave upon the polished black ivory of my floor. “You know I despise speaking of my marital problems with your father, but Ares, I often act out in this manner when I crave his attention. Though it shames me to admit it, I know”—she glanced away, staring at nothing in particular—“that your father steps out on me often, but he will always return to me.” She looked back at me, pleading silently with her cow-shaped eyes for me to believe her and not judge her for her choices. “Because he always has.”

  Moments like this made it impossible for me to truly ever hate my mother. Much of her braggadocio and even her actions stemmed from the constant pain she felt in her relationship with my father.

  I couldn’t honestly understand why these two didn’t just separate and be done with it. What they had was toxic, to all involved, and yet the heart wanted what it wanted, consequences be damned.

  I knew only one thing with certainty—I might love Aphrodite still, but I had no wish to one day look back and realize I’d become my mother. I might love my mother, but her choices would never be mine. I could not stay with someone who did not wish to be with me. Period.

  After reaching over, I gripped her hand lightly. She clenched up for half a moment before taking a deep breath and dropping to take a seat on the edge of my bed. “Oh, Ares, what fools love makes of us all,” she murmured tenderly.

  I shook my head, feeling close to her as I so rarely did. “But Mother, you assume that this hurts me. And though my pride is pricked, I cannot say that it wounds me as deeply as you might imagine.” I did not lie. I would always love Aphrodite, but I’d been examining my heart for some weeks and had come to that astonishing conclusion. Though I wasn’t certain what my next move should be, I did at least understand myself well enough to know that I would not crumble without Dite by my side. “I always knew that Aphrodite and I might not last.”

  Mother snatched her hand away, practically vibrating upon my bed like a snake gearing up to strike. “How dare you,” she said quietly, her voice seething with barely checked rage.

  My brows rose, confused by how personally she seemed to be taking this. She’d never really liked Aphrodite all that much, and to be honest, I would have expected Mother to be happy to be rid of her in my life. “Excuse me?”

  Her spine was stiff as a board as she imperially stared down her nose at me. “You and Aphrodite will give me grandchildren. She and Hephaestus will give me nothing but heartache and woe. I don’t care what you have to do, Ares. You will fix this, or so help me, I will make your life a living hell.”

  Snorting, I shook my head. “Grandchildren. Come, now, that’s a bit premature don’t you thin—”

  Her teeth showed as she snapped at me. “The oracle of Delphi herself told me so! It is prophesied.”

  I blinked, realizing several things at once. As the goddess of mothers, Hera was desperate to enjoy the privileges of being a grandmother. Again. It wasn’t like she didn’t already have several, but she made no apologies to any of her children that I was her favored child. And as such, I knew that it was my children in particular that she keenly waited to dote on. And two, she didn’t give a damn about my personal happiness in how I should achieve those children for her. I chuckled, though I wasn’t particularly humored. “So this isn’t really about me at all. It’s about these mythical grandchildren you’ve pinned your hopes and dreams on. Well, Mother, as ever, it’s been enlightening to say the least. Now, I have to go and see about my day. Please leave.”

  I pointed at the door, barely able to contain my growl of displeasure.

  She didn’t look shamefaced or even embarrassed by what she’d just done. She wore a smirk that looked full of malice and made my blood run cold. It wasn’t that Mother was more powerful than I, simply that she was my mother. I would never raise a hand against her, and well she knew it.

  “It is foretold, Ares. And no matter what you, she, or your damned imbecilic brother does, that will not and cannot change. Your destiny is inked in stone.”

  “Get. Out.” I said it once more, this time allowing her to hear the tone of my displeasure.

  Her thin brows rose, and with a careless shrug, she smoothly got to her feet. I stared straight ahead at my wall, hugging my arms to my bent knees, pointedly not looking at her.

  With one last sniff, she turned on her heels and click-clacked her way out of my room. I didn’t move until I heard the low snick of the door sealing shut behind her.

  Only once I knew she was well and truly gone did I move, and when I did, I let it all out. Shooting out of bed, I raged. The flames of war circled me, tightening like a fist and squeezing the air from my lungs. But I did not care.

  I picked up the first thing I spied and slung it against the wall. Only once I heard the unmistakable snap of broken pottery did I realize that I’d thrown the last gift Aphrodite had ever given me.

  It was an image of us, entwined upon a bed, “eternal lovers forever” she’d claimed. We’d been happy then. Contented. And I’d been thinking of things I’d never thought of before.

  Dropping to my knees, fires all but spent, I set upon the shameful task of cleaning up the mess I’d made, sliver by sliver, bit by bit. Only once I’d gathered all the bits into a pile did I run my hand over the clay and release a stream of my war flame. The pottery instantly ignited then turned to dust.

  Leaning my elbow upon my knee, I took several deep breaths. It was dangerous for me to ever give in to my temper, for all involved. It was why I kept such a close check on my emotions. And why I would extricate myself from any situation that would cause me to ever lose control.

  I quivered with rage I’d not released. I was always angry, something my sister Athena often accused me of. Never smiling. Never able to find any contentment or joy with my lot in life. But no one understood why I had to be. They just thought me a stick in the mud. They didn’t know that what I did, I did to keep those I loved safe from my own fury and rage that always simmered just beneath the surface.

  Swallowing forcefully, I slowly got to my feet and, with a sharp growl, called my war armor to my bed. I quickly dressed. I needed to get out of this godsdamned bedroom.

  And I knew where I wanted to go. I also knew I could not. I’d promised myself that the last time was absolutely it for us. I would not bother her again. If she did have prophecy linked to me, as she seemed to think she might, I had to keep away from her. And yet when I was with her, the anger within me didn’t burn quite so hot. I could smile. I could laugh.

  I blinked and shook my head. Clenching my jaw tight, I flicked open a travel tunnel with a negligent wave of my wrist. I would seek Athena’s counsel. My half sister and I weren’t very close, but she could often offer advice worth taking. It’d been weeks since I’d spoken with her last, but since she was the goddess of wisdom, there was likely none better to guide me through this emotional quandary.

  Maybe Mother was right. Maybe all of this had less to do with the mortal bird girl and more to do with the betrayal of my lover and
my brother.

  After stepping through the tunnel, I traveled quickly toward Athena’s lands. Like me, she wasn’t one who enjoyed the company of many. She preferred, as I did, to be somewhat isolated from the rest of the pantheon. In fact, most days, Athena didn’t even live on Olympus. She mostly resided on her island, Nixas, just off the Mediterranean coastline, where she could oversee the training grounds for her all-female warriors. She stood upon an emerald-green hill, dressed in the snow-white tunic she often wore. A golden laurel crown rested upon her head. Her bearing was tall and erect, her face composed and often not prone to showing much emotion.

  Athena wasn’t simply the goddess of wisdom, she was also a master tactician in battle. But where I tended to rush into the fray, my sister was cautious, employing more of a surprise approach than a direct one like I did.

  Artemis wasn’t the only one of us who kept and trained an army. Her Amazonians were simply the most well-known because of their vows of chastity and the idea of a community comprising nothing but females. Neither Athena nor I required our supplicants to swear such fealty to us, though if they should, their vow was binding and inviolable.

  Beside her stood her eternal general, Asophinia. Where one went, the other usually wasn’t far behind. Asophinia had once been mortal, but my sister had long since bestowed immortality upon her. On the rare occasions Athena was unable to be on the island, Asophinia was more than capable of handling matters.

  The shift in winds heralded my arrival, and my sister finally turned, a soft frown upon her usually stoic features. Once she spied me, she gave me a graceful nod, letting me know I was free to approach her.

  I walked steadily, eyeing the training combatants, impressed all over again by the deadly skill and grace of the Athenian warriors.

  “Brother,” Athena said in a husky drawl uniquely hers, quickly leaning in to kiss both my cheeks with warm affection. “What brings you to Isle Nixas?”