Ares-
The flickering flames of the hearth cast long shadows across the room, stretching over the marble floors of the hall. The air was thick with the scent of burning incense, a strange mixture of both comfort and foreboding. I leaned against the stone pillar, my eyes fixed on the distance, where the looming threat of war hung like a dark cloud.
"Do you ever wonder, Ares," Aphrodite's voice broke the silence, smooth and dangerous as silk, "why you do what you do?"
I turned to her, her figure framed by the doorway, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. She stood there, impossibly beautiful, with that same allure that made me forget reason. Made me forget everything except her.
"Isn't it obvious?" I grunted, trying to sound dismissive, but even I could hear the tremor in my voice. "The war—it's what I was born for."
Aphrodite glided closer, her steps soft, her presence like a whisper in the dark. She reached out, trailing a finger along my arm, sending a shiver down my spine. "You were born to conquer, yes. But not just the battlefield, Ares. You were born to conquer hearts. To make them bleed and burn with desire."
Her words sliced through the tension in my chest, but they only twisted it further. I had known her long enough to understand the game she played. Her intentions were always veiled in sweetness, like poison wrapped in honey. And yet… I couldn't look away. I never could.
"You think winning this war will make me… whole?" I asked, the weight of the question pressing down on me, though I barely understood why it mattered. I had always been the warrior—the one who fought, who killed, who bled. I had never been more than that. But now, with Aphrodite in front of me, my thoughts felt heavier.
She smiled, a smile that could melt kingdoms. "Winning the war, Ares," she said softly, her voice like the distant crash of waves against the shore, "will be nothing more than a prelude to the real victory. The one that will make you feel as if you are more than just a god of war. You'll be a god of everything. Of all things."
I was tired. Tired of the endless cycles of bloodshed. Tired of the games the gods played. But I couldn't stop myself from leaning in closer to her, drawn by something I refused to name. "And you think that... that victory will matter to me?" I asked, though part of me already knew the answer.
Aphrodite tilted her head, her gaze sharp like a blade. "Victory matters, Ares. But who stands beside you when the battle is won? That's what truly matters." She placed a hand on my chest, her touch light but electrifying. "And when you win this war, you will have me. You will have everything."
Her words were seductive, yes, but there was something in the way she said them—an undercurrent of something darker, more selfish. I knew her too well. She didn't just want me to win for the sake of Olympus. She wanted me to win so I could prove myself to her. To prove I was worthy of whatever twisted affection she had for me.
I swallowed hard, my hand finding hers, gripping it tighter than I should have. "You know how to manipulate me, don't you?"
Aphrodite's eyes gleamed with amusement, her lips curling into that knowing smile. "I don't manipulate, Ares," she whispered, stepping closer. "I guide. I show you what you are capable of when you embrace your true nature."
Her words settled deep into my chest like molten metal, burning through the last vestiges of doubt I had been holding onto. The battle was already won in my mind. It was a foregone conclusion. But what came after? What would I be when the bloodshed was over?
The answer lay with Aphrodite. And for the first time, I found myself unsure if that was a good thing.
"Then let's make sure I win," I said, my voice darker now, heavy with the weight of the choices ahead.
Her laugh was soft, almost sweet. "Oh, Ares," she said, brushing her lips against my ear, "I never doubted you."