When Eli returned to the castle he kissed Minerva goodnight before returning to his room and finding a naked Aratessa waiting for him. He was pent up enough from his time with the angel that he barely slowed down as he charged towards the bed, shedding his clothes as he did. It took 3 releases that night for him to finally calm down enough that he could sleep.

  Unfortunately for him though, morning came far earlier that he would have liked. Just as the sun was peeking over the horizon someone was pounding on his door, causing him to shoot to his feet. Still naked he raced to the door to find Naz waiting for him wearing a set of black yoga pants and a tight pink sports bra.

  “Oh.” She said, her eyes flicking up and down.

  The ego boost from the look on her face never got old for him. “Well good morning to you too. Is there something you need?”

  “I… yes.” She replied before resolutely staring him in the eyes. “You’re needed outside the main door.”

  “Is it Athena? Are we headed to the front line?” Aratessa called from behind him as she slipped on a robe.

  “No.” Naz answered. “It’s a messenger on behalf of Ares. She says he’s requesting your presence on the training field.”

  “Fuck.” Eli swore. “Alright. Is anyone else awake?”

  “Yes. Zee is already downstairs.”

  Aratessa appeared at Eli’s side holding a black t-shirt, a pair of black pants, and a pair of boots. She kissed him softly on his neck before handing the clothes to him wordlessly and slipping past him into the corridor, yawning widely as she did. Eli furrowed his brow at her as he watched her hips sashay down the hall.

  “I’ll go let the staff know where you are, but then I’m going back to bed.” She said before blowing him a kiss. “You kept me awake all night and I need my beauty sleep.”

  He rolled his eyes before kissing Naz and quickly getting dressed. The moment he was ready he set out at a jog, reaching the end of the hallway before bounding down the stairs two at a time. Naz was right behind him the whole way, catching up to him as he slowed down to kiss Zee at the front door. She wore a similar outfit to Naz’s – black yoga pants and a blue running bra – and her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail.

  “Come on.” Zee said, breaking the kiss after a moment. “The messenger said Ares gets upset if he’s kept waiting too long.”

  “Ugh.” Eli grunted, breaking into a jog again. “Of course he does. Did the messenger say why Ares woke me up this early in the morning?”

  “No, she didn’t.” Zee answered.

  His mind worked as he jogged towards the training fields, trying to work out what the cantankerous Royal Blood could want. He hadn’t seen the man since their less-than-stellar introduction the previous day, nor had Athena given him any additional insight into why he seemed so angry when they first met. Even though he’d made a special effort to learn more about Greek mythology since his first encounter with Athena, he still had no idea what his motivations might be.

  He's not going to try anything dumb like actually hurting me, is he? Eli thought to himself as they reached the training field. I get that he’s an asshole, but he’s got to recognize that there aren’t enough Royal Bloods as it is.

  Eli wasn’t given any more time to think about it though – he quickly saw Ares approaching on foot, moving far faster than a normal human should have. He’d traded his armour for something right out of a historical movie set: a red cape bound around his neck, brown leather vambraces, a brown leather loincloth, and armoured boots. His clothing – or lack thereof – revealed a patchwork of scars scattered across his body to go along with the ones on his head.

  “Pathetic.” He grunted as he came within earshot.

  “What?” Eli asked, unsure of what he was referring to.

  “It took you 16 minutes to arrive from the moment the messenger knocked on your door.”

  “I was asleep.” Eli blinked.

  “Do you think that the Titans will wait for you to wake up before they attack?” Ares asked rhetorically. “No. A soldier must be ready for action at a moment’s notice.”

  So it’s going to be that kind of day. Eli rubbed the bridge between his nose, wishing he’d had time for a coffee before this. “Alright Ares. You made your point. You’re a better soldier than I am. Was that why you asked me to come here?”

  “No.” He answered. “I am here because against my better judgement, you are visiting the front line tomorrow.”

  “What do you mean ‘against your better judgement’?” Zee asked.

  Ares turned to look at Zee and narrowed his eyes. “Shut your mouth, elven whore.”

  Eli felt rage bubbling in his chest as he looked at the Royal Blood – rage that was enflamed when he saw that he now wore a malicious grin on his face. He cast a glance backwards at Zee who shook her head slightly, indicating that he should let it go. His rational mind slowly reasserted itself as he took a deep breath, recognizing the comment for the trap that it was.

  “She speaks for me.” Eli said slowly through gritted teeth. “What do you mean?”

  “The front line is my domain.” He started. “Last night, the others came to me with your request to see the front line for myself. I denied their request, so they put it to a formal vote. I lost that vote, and am now honor-bound to take you to the front line.” He paused before narrowing his eyes at Eli. “Make no mistake – I do not want you in my domain. But if it is to be forced upon me, I need to understand your capabilities in combat.”

  “So this is…what? A test?” Eli asked.

  “Yes.” Ares said, the malicious grin growing. “You and I are going to spar. Based on the results, I will determine how much protection you will require.”

  Eli cocked one eyebrow in surprise. “You want to spar with me?”

  Ares didn’t answer with words. Instead he turned around and started walking slowly towards the center of the field. Eli watched him go for a moment before rolling his shoulders and neck, loosening up for the eventual fight ahead.

  “What’s your plan?” Zee asked, stepping beside him.

  “My plan is to punch him in the fucking face.” Eli said. “Something that I think I’m going to enjoy.”

  Naz snorted with laughter. “You’re not the only one.”

  “I’m serious.” Zee said as Eli jumped a few times on his tiptoes. “You’re sparring with the literal god of war.”

  “He’s not dumb enough to try to seriously injure me.” Eli insisted. “I’m willing to bet this is all bravado.”

  “Even so, he’s going to be powerful. You need to go in with a plan.”

  Eli shook his head from side to side. “Alright, I’m open to suggestions.”

  “I was reading last night that the ancient Greeks perfected a martial art called ‘Pankration’ – something that combined boxing and wrestling. I was looking forward to learning it myself.” Zee said. “He’s probably going to come at you with that.”

  Eli furrowed his brow, sizing up his opponent for a moment. “Both of those are close-combat sports, and he’s got some size on me.”

  “Keep him at a distance. Lean on your kickboxing and wear him down.” Zee kissed him softly. “And keep a cool head, okay? I’m a big girl, I can take a few insults. He’s trying to bait you into doing something stupid – don’t let him.”

  “Got it.” Eli said.

  As if to prove the point, Ares called to him. “Are you done with your whores now? Because I’m ready to fight.”

  Zee rolled her eyes and kissed Eli one more time before he jogged towards the middle of the field to meet Ares. He stopped 15 feet in front of him, taking a deep breath before bending his knees and dropping into a ready stance. Locking eyes with his opponent, he nodded tersely.

  The battle began.

  Ares darted forward, showing his superhuman speed once more. Eli barely had time to leap backwards from an open-handed strike to his face, responding with a kick towards his knee. The god of war absorbed the strike but kept moving, grabbing onto Eli’s sides and using his weight to throw the two of them to the ground.

  Shit. Eli thought to himself as Ares landed on top of him, winding him for a moment. Time for a new plan.

  Knowing that he was in a disadvantaged position on his back, Eli punched hard into Ares’ exposed stomach in an attempt to drive him backwards. Ares grunted in pain as he took the blow, but managed to grab onto Eli’s wrist as he withdrew it. For a moment Eli hesitated, his eyes wide as he saw the malicious grin appear once more before he brought down his other arm towards Eli’s face.

  In desperation, Eli blocked the blow before lunging forward, slamming his forehead against Ares’ nose. He felt the satisfying crack of bones breaking as he did – one that was accompanied by a groan of pain as Ares’ head was thrown backwards by the impact. To Eli’s shock Ares kept his iron grip on his wrist as he rolled off, trapping it between his legs in a Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu-style arm-bar. The large man wasted no time in applying pressure to Eli’s arm, breaking it at the elbow before kicking Eli painfully in the head.

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  “Submit!” Ares commanded.

  Eli cried out in pain but refused to give up. The inkling that he might have been wrong and that Ares was legitimately trying to injure him crossed his mind, causing him to curse the fact that he didn’t take it seriously from the start. Drawing on his mana he triggered his transformation into his orcish form, looking to even the scales. His skin started to turn green before he felt the mana drain from his body, disrupting the change. His frustration only increased when he heard Ares’ harsh laugh.

  “You are weak!”

  Realizing that Ares was stealing his mana Eli mentally blocked out as much of the pain as he could, instead focusing on trying to figure out how to make him stop. His mind instinctively flashed back to his original magic lessons with Talaedra, remembering the mental technique that stopped his mana from exploding outwards uncontrollably. He envisioned his mana hardening into a diamond at his core, causing the mana loss to slow. Unfortunately for him, Eli didn’t have time to figure out how to fully reverse the process as Ares chose that moment to try to hook one leg over his neck.

  Eli caught the leg with his free hand and pushed with all his might, barely keeping it from descending on him. The fact that he was fighting a losing battle occurred to him, causing him to switch tactics. He channeled most of his remaining mana into a spell, focusing the power of it into his still-healthy hand.

  “Ventilabis Retro!”

  The power of the spell rippled against Ares’ leg, but was quickly absorbed into his body. The shock and realization of what he’d done hit Eli as the muscles in his arm failed, allowing Ares’ leg to close around his neck. It quickly tightened, causing the edges of his vision to blur and grey.

  Fuck. Eli thought as he passed out.

  He woke up a moment later with Zee standing over him with a concerned look on her face, and the sound of yelling in the background. The adrenaline from the fight had fully faded, causing him to feel the full force of the pain in his broken arm. He winced as he moved his fingers before coughing.

  “You had us worried there.” Zee said softly.

  Mentally amending his list of ailments to add a killer migraine, Eli grunted. “Where’s Naz?”

  Zee glanced behind him for a moment. The look on her face grew even more concerned, causing Eli to grunt in pain before rolling slightly – enough that he could see what she was looking at. He felt anger bubbling up in his gut when he saw Ares cast a spell that shot a fireball towards a still-yelling Naz. A golden shield flared to life around her, draining his remaining mana and causing him to fall to his knees in surprise.

  Thankfully for him, he was rewarded with the sight of an unharmed Naz plowing through the flames, catching Ares by surprise. She hit him hard enough to send him flying backwards, bouncing several times before landing on his back. His relief was short lived though – he saw Ares leap to his feet at the same time as Naz resumed her charge.

  “Zee, stop her!” Eli commanded.

  Zee didn’t hesitate. “Wa'sim wa'tauqib!”

  Naz quickly sunk to her waist in quicksand, halting her advance. She roared wordlessly in anger as she struggled forward, somehow still intent on fighting Ares. Eli grit his teeth through the pain, running over to Naz as fast as he could before kneeling in front of her.

  “Hey. Babe.” He said softly. “I’m right here. Come back to me.”

  Gradually, the blood rage that consumed her subsided – replaced by the feelings of deep love she held for Eli. Once she was herself again he took one of her hands and Zee took the other, the two of them working together to pull the 8-foot-tall muscular green woman out of the sand. When it was done they laid on the ground for a moment, panting from exertion.

  “You lost.” Ares shouted.

  Groaning in pain, Eli rolled to his knees before standing and sliding into another fighting stance – this one favoring his unhurt side. “I didn’t hear a fucking bell.”

  Ares approached, his eyes narrowed to slits in anger. “I could kill you where you stand, right now. And there would be nothing you could do to stop me.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Naz interjected, standing next to Eli. “He doesn’t fight alone.”

  “Is this your strategy? Asking your whores to fight your battles for you?” Ares taunted.

  “Why, are you jealous?” Zee added, taking up a fighting stance on Eli’s other side. “I don’t exactly see anyone lining up to fight next to you.”

  Ares looked at the trio with contempt. He summoned his mana, glowing with a golden light before glancing to the side of the training field. Eli followed his gaze to see that Athena, Isla, and Aria were approaching. He didn’t let his gaze linger though – he quickly refocused on Ares just in time to see his eyes flash gold in the same way Eli’s did when he activated his mana vision.

  Ares looked between Eli and the approaching group before dismissing the spell. “We are done fighting. It no longer interests me. If you had bound the dragon already it may have, but you have not.”

  Eli blinked in confusion, relaxing his stance slightly. “What?”

  “The dragon.” Ares repeated, nodding towards Isla. “You have chosen not to bind her. Why?”

  “Bind?” Eli asked before he realized what she was asking. “Oh, you mean bond.”

  “What you call it does not concern me. Why have you not done it?”

  Eli shook his head from the change in direction the conversation was taking. “We’re not having that conversation. My relationship with Isla is none of your business.”

  “Relationship?” Ares repeated slowly as if he didn’t understand the meaning of the word.

  “Yeah. You know, a relationship. Where two people like each other very much…?” Eli trailed off, one eyebrow raised.

  “When two people…” Ares started. “You mean to say you ask her whether she wants to be bound?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “You are soft. Weak. Your kindness will mean nothing when you die by a Titan’s hand. All you will have succeeded in doing is making them weep at your death.”

  With that, Ares leapt into the air. He quickly disappeared into the clouds above, clearly having decided that their sparring match was over. Eli mulled over his last words for a moment as Zee handed him a mana potion – one that he accepted gratefully before drinking.

  “I see Ares had his sparring match with you.” Athena said as she entered earshot.

  “Guérir líkami!” Eli shouted, casting a healing spell on himself before responding. “Yeah, he did.”

  “What was he talking about afterwards? I didn’t quite catch it.” She asked.

  Eli furrowed his brow. “He was talking about binding women to gain their power.” He paused for a second before locking eyes with Athena. “Without their consent.”

  She met his gaze for a long moment before looking down. “Yes.”

  “That’s wrong.” Eli said instantly.

  “I thought Royal Blooded powers only worked when there was a strong bond between the two?” Aria asked.

  Athena shook her head. “Where did you hear that?”

  “In a book in the Irandell library. It was one of the few texts we could find which had any information about Royal Bloods – at least, before Zephyra came forward.”

  “Some texts say bond – implying a two-way consensual relationship. Others read bind. Either will result in the transfer of power.” Athena said.

  Eli glanced over at Isla before looking back at Athena and shaking his head. “No way. Not happening. I will only bond with others who consent.”

  “If you’d like, I can procure some workers here who would gladly consent to-”

  “That’s not going to work either.” Eli interrupted her. “I bond with others based on mutual attraction, not based on what powers I’ll get as a result.”

  “You should at least consider bonding with more partners.” Athena replied. “It will make you more powerful.”

  “But that is not why I’m here.”

  “Why are you here?” Eli asked slightly harsher than he intended.

  “She’s here because I asked her to tell me about my mother.” Isla revealed, speaking up for the first time. “I asked that Aria be here as well, to help with any context I may be missing.”

  “We heard you were at the training grounds though, so we thought we’d walk by and see how you were doing while we talked with Athena.” Aria finished.

  “I see.” Eli responded.

  “Would you like to come with us?” Aria offered.

  Eli considered it for a moment before shaking his head. “Later. This is your moment with Athena, and if I come along I’m going to be in a foul mood and ruin it. Besides, after what just happened I think I need to clear my head a bit – get some coffee, maybe a bit of food, and spend a few minutes centering myself.” He looked at Isla. “Will you tell me the story later though?”

  “Of course, my mate.” Isla replied before kissing him.