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Ares was also my mortal father

Chapter Thirteen

He had the muscled body of Ares, but his face still resenized him And I don’t knohy I was so surprised or how I hadn’t noticed it before

My father had left htthat Aphrodite, in every life, tolerated But this this did takeit, even if it did seeusting

Jade had just turned eighteen and my father was thirty-nine But I had to push that aside

We weren’t dealing with mortal terms or mortal rules now- because none of us was really mortal at all

And really, none of this should surprise me Ares was present in some form in every life I had ever led He and Aphrodite always found each other, as did Aphrodite and myselfand Cader Macy, Jade, Paul Lockhart or Gavin Neither e Cleopatra, Chareless Tiot ressed

I turned to Cadmus and the Amazons to relay the news Their faces reflected the surprise that I was sure had been on my own

"Nohat?" Cadmus asked in amazement

"Now I tell you the other part He’s here already Look"

I thrust the compass toward his restrained with heavy chains as Alexi stood at his side In the background, I could see the dungeons of Zeus’ palace He was here in the Spiritlands on Olyht of ho and hadn’t returned my mother’s phone calls He had been here And he didn’t look happy

"Why did Hecate say that we needed to find Ares first, before we sought out Aphrodite?"

Ortrera asked "We should reach them at the same time He’s clearly at Olyested Peering into the globe, I fervently conjured up every emotion I had ever felt toward my mother I pictured her as Jade, Cleopatra, Aphrodite and everything in between and the love that I had felt for her each and every ti on soolden cords, her face indignant Of course, the cords oddess and Aphrodite did not look pleased about being restrained I ale on her lovely face, but it died in my chest when I saho she ith

Instead of Eris, who over her left shoulder

Annen

The next thing I knew, Cad me to his chest

"Come back to me, love," he murmured into oddess, I certainly didn’t contain s very well I openedis so, so wrong I don’t knohat to believe anymore Annen is with Aphrodite The Keres have her"

I sluainst his chest and allowed hied against his ribs and it soothed me with his rhythmic cadence I zoned out co to cale

Finally, I liftedthis?" I whispered "What do they stand to gain?"

Cadmus shook his head "I do not know," he admitted "I think there is reement while Ortrera spoke up

"Perhaps this is an instance where Hecate can help Perhaps she knows or can help us sort it out"

"Perhaps," I ed I still felt blind-sided by the Keres’ betrayal I had been so thoroughly convinced that they meant to help me Ahmose had even said asThis couldn’t be right I couldn’t force , ill ride directly to the witches," Cadmus decided "It cannot hurt to try"

The Aht I lay inside the coht as I listened to the sounds around ainst skin, the crackling of the fire and then later, even the eerily haunting cry of a Chih above us I didn’t let it bother me I simply moved closer to Cado through hions

We flew at dahen the sunrise was just staring to peek above the horizon of the Spiritlands Yellowy fingers stretched across the land, bathing our faces in the warmth of the sun I wished that I could ride with Cadh the clouds, but it wasn’t possible I once again clutched Ortrera’s back as I rode behind her in the front of the formation

Below us, I could see inhabitants of the Spiritlands going about their daily lives Just as in the real world, fars, builders built It was easier here, to be sure, because so ree, but that was normal for this enchanted place

After a ti the pulse of their wings I glanced at Ortrera

"They require nectar," she explained "They haven’t been able to drink in a while They are growing tired"

As she scanned the landscape below us, I gazed at Cadht me a flask, but I had not seen him drink from it His appearance was just the same as it was as Gavin’s, so it was likely that he had not He would need it soon, also