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"Here, my sweet I heated some nectar for you It should war You will need your strength"

I srin I took the flask and sipped at it

He was right The warmed nectar onderful I felt the warmth slide down into my belly and it warmed my whole body I hadn’t even realized that I was cold until he had re ar me close I closedjust for a second, that ere nor at the swirling sky of the Spiritlands

As I stared upward at the stars, I couldn’t help but ht yawned far and wide; the blacks, blues and grays swirling together and appearing as sort of an unnatural aurora borealis The night glowed ever so slightly, but still re that you would only find here

"What are you thinking, Love?" Cadmus murmured into my hair, before he kissed my forehead I could feel the exact place where his lips had been even after he re the differences between Pasadena and here," I answered softly "And how you have taken to this place with surprising panache You h you never left"

"Well," he smiled "It helps that I had no memory of who I hen I first arrived

Eris depositedof who I was or where I had co sense of love for her It was as though I had always been with her But at the sa, because it was absolutely superficial I couldn’t think of any details surrounding our relationship because there weren’t any I’hed and snuggled closer

"You don’t wish you were back with Eris?" I asked teasingly But then I stiffened as another thought occurred to me "You didn’t I mean, you and Eris" I raised nervous eyes to meet his

"Honestly, I don’t reht me back to one All I can ree sensation that I felt the entire tih a sort of fog had descended upon me It ely satisfied by that answer Whatever had happened, it wasn’t his fault

And if he couldn’t re at all At least, that hat I would tell myself

As I situatedout of the corner of ht On the edge of the circle of fire, just beyond the light, two eyes were staring at lowed in the darkness and I froze, lanced down at er and pointed at the sa towardsat on the peri me as I tried not to panic It very slowly lifted a paw and licked it, keeping its yellow eyes onI could tell fro at

"What do you want?" I called to it It was no more than ten feet away Cader fro

The dog watched me silently for a moment h of relief and I felt Cadsmile

"Why is it that you are so ju?"

"I wouldn’t call you little," I replied "What is it that you want?"

"Aren’t you going to say thank you, Harave you the tools to awaken your friends"

By this time, my ‘friends’, the Amazons, had formed behind me, every one of them ready to defend me if need be I could feel the tension in the air and I addressed the

"It’s okay, friends I am sure Hecate means no harm Do you, Hecate?" I raised my eyebrows

"Of course not," she replied, her s

"And yes We should thank you," I added "You saved the night We appreciate your efforts"

"Your gratitude is not why I am here," she replied brusquely "I’ that you don’t know I saw a vision of Aphrodite She wants you to find Ares before you come to her She is safe, no harm has come to her But she feels that you will need Ares in order to help her"

"How do you know this?" I asked uncertainly

"I saw her, of course," Hecate answered matter-of-factly "She’s well, I assure you But you must listen to me You must do as she wishes and you must find Ares He will help you save us all"

I took a shaking step backward Save them all? I couldn’t even save Aphrodite

Hecate noticed my hesitation

"I have foreseen that you will save us, Harmonia It will be written in the stars for all of eternity If you choose to act on your destiny, that is" She stared at ly "Will that be your choice?"