War of the Gods

Alex walked back into the living room. “I just got off the phone with Iason,” he informs me. “He told me that Isadora told you a little about what we do.”

I nod. I’m not going to deny that. It’s true, and I left it out yesterday. I honestly don’t want him to tell me what is going on, but I know I need to hear what he has to say about it.

“I wish you didn’t have to find out from her. I mean, I don’t think she told you much, but I’m sure you’re worried about it. Besides, I think it’s time I tell you.” He sits down next to me. His body turns towards me. “Iason and I don’t like how the gods are. We never have. They act like they are so much better than us. They only socialize amongst themselves and the children they like. We have met others who agree with us.”

I look at him shocked. He’s telling me what he does behind the locked door. I can just tell, and I need to hear every word he says. There is this nagging feeling in the back of my head, and I just couldn’t let ignore it. Besides, I can’t tell what it is trying to tell me.

“To make a long story short, we are going against the gods, and we will become gods ourselves. We will be better than them,” he tells me. “You will be by my side through this.”

He says that as if he is sure that I will be there. To be honest, I don’t know if I will. I have feelings toward him, but yet I don’t at the same time. He tells me he loves me, and then he tells me that he wants to become a god. He wants to get rid of my father.

I don’t say anything for a little bit, thinking about what I should say. There is nothing I can tell him. I can’t tell him that I want to be by his side through this, and I can’t say that I want to join my father’s side. What could I do to help him?

“I know this is a lot to take in, and I’ll let you do that. I just want you to know that I care about you,” he tells me before leaving me alone in the living room.



The next day, I find myself back at Ares’s temple. I don’t even know why. I just find myself walking up the steps into the building. I’m not being called there. I just walked this way. I go up to the statue and sit down.

“I was wondering when you would come back,” my father says.

“Sorry, I ran out yesterday. You just kind of freaked me out,” I reply. I go on and tell him what Alex told me this morning. I tell him how he wants me on his side through it all.

“I figured he would at some point. I would have imagined he would have done when you two were married. That way you couldn’t just leave.” Ares rubs my shoulder gently. “I think he is giving you a choice.”

“He didn’t ask me to be on his side. He told me I would be on his side. There’s a difference,” I bark at him.

“There’s always a choice. I know that it doesn’t seem like it now. To be honest, if you side with him, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but it’s not my decision to make. It’s your decision. If you want to be on my side, then so be it.” There was something in his voice that shocked me. He isn’t pushing for me to join his side. He is just trying to get me to see him.

“Did Apollo tell you?” I ask, changing the subject.

“Tell me what?” This shocks him.

I roll up my jacket sleeves, exposing my arms to him. He touches them lightly, but the points don’t light up like they did when Apollo ran his hands across them. I tell him how I got them, and what happens when it’s touched by the god of the sun.

“They are markings. Every god and goddess has at least one. It’s rare when a demigod gets one, let alone two at the same time. The way you describe these about the lighting up makes me think that they are matching marks. It’s rare when it happens, but it does. Did Apollo get one too?” he asks.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. He rubbed his hip when he was looking at mine, but it was covered by a shirt,” I explain.



As I walk back to my apartment from the temple, I see one person I don’t want to see. His dark eyes look at me. He can’t tell where I’m coming from since I’m so close to the apartment building, and I’m sure he was assuming that I’m walking back from the university.

“Hello, Eutropia,” Cassander says with a nasty smile. “I’m glad to hear things are going great between you and Alex.”

I smile and give him a greeting, trying to keep this short. As I have said before, I don’t like being around Cass. He makes me uneasy especially with his smile aimed at me.

“Oh, I do hope there are no hard feelings between us. I don’t hate you. I just don’t like how you behave and dress,” he teases.

I roll my eyes, looking for an escape. It’s not long before I notice the tall blond man heading this way. It’s Apollo, and something inside me comes alive, wanting me to go to him. I just can’t with Cass watching me. He would tell Alex and Iason everything.

“You know you are very rude,” Cass says, calling my attention back to him. “Anyways, I have to go.” He leaves walking down the road in the opposite direction as me.

“Ares told me about the markings. I did get one as well,” he says. “Who was that?”

“Why didn’t you tell you got one too?” I ask walking towards my apartment. I don’t want to be in the public eye. People can say something. I don’t even know why I’m bringing him along with me.



Once we are at my apartment, I look at him. He looks around at the living room. His bright blue eyes scan the area. His blond hair moves with the turn of his head. “This is where you live?” he asks.

“Sorry, it’s not fancy enough for you,” I answer. “It works.”

“No, it’s not that, but you should be spoiled living in the heavens with the gods,” he replies.

I don’t know what to make of this. He’s telling me that I should be treated like a goddess. I don’t understand him. I decide to change the subject. “Let’s me see yours,” I say.

He looks at me strangely at first but then nods. He lifts his shirt up a little. There is one that almost mimics mine. His has sharper points. I reach out and touch it. He lets out a loud sigh as my fingers move across the stems. The points light up like mine. The points are blue unlike the red on mine.

“What does the mean?” I ask, pulling my hand away from his body. I want to touch him more. I’m almost aching to be in his arms.

“We are meant to be together. They are matching marks after all.” He looks at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

“So you’re telling me that we are supposed to be together? Even though I have a fiancé?” I ask him. I was shocked to say the least. Everything is happening at once. There is only so much that I can take before I break.

“Listen, I understand that this isn’t what you want. No one can change it. If you don’t want to be with me, then you can try to avoid me. I feel something for you, and it may be the match right now. I want to give it a chance at least,” he argues.

“It’s not that, Apollo. It’s everything,” I admit. “This is just one thing after another.”

He pulls me into a hug. I don’t know why, and I don’t really care as my arms find their way around his body. He smells like summer and warmth. He feels like the sun compared to my cool skin. His arms are tight, holding me close to him. “Everything will be alright in the end,” he tells.



Apollo left before Alex walks through the door. Alex smiles at me. “How was your day?” he asks.

“It was uninteresting. I just stayed around here for the most part. I ran into Cassander,” I answer.

That seemed to show Alexandros for some reason. “He told me that he wouldn’t be back for a while,” he tells me.

I almost felt sick when I heard that. What was Cassander doing here? Where was he supposed to be? What did he want? Asking myself questions isn’t going to get me anywhere. There’s nothing I can do about him. I have to decide who I’m going to side with.

That is another thing that I’m worried about. If I side with Alex, I will have to take down Apollo and Ares. I couldn’t think of hurting them. They have both been so gentle and kind towards me. Could I really go against them? If I side with the gods, I will help take down my fiancé and his group. Could I betray Alex like that? I know that I have to make a decision soon before one of them makes a move on the other. That’s the issue though. How long do I really have?

“You have something on your mind?” Alex asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I shake my head. “It’s nothing. I’m just kind of tired. I don’t know what’s been up with me today.”

“Oh, well, you’ll be fine. It may just be one of those days,” he says. He comes over and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. “You just need some rest. That’s all.”

“If that’s what you say,” I reply. I want to tell him that my problems aren’t going to go away in one night. They are going to still be there when I wake up. I listen to him though and get ready to go to sleep. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

I’m in some strange house. It’s a two story, and the rooms are huge, or at least the ones I have seen so far. I have been wondering around looking at everything. I’m trying to see if someone else is here. All of a sudden someone clears their voice behind me. I turn to see the blond man that hugged me earlier today.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I could be asking you the same thing,” he says. “This is my house after all.”

I look at him shocked. How did I end up here? It’s impossible. I have never seen this place before. Can’t you only dream of what you have seen? That doesn’t describe the dream with Cassander killing me in it though.

“My thoughts must have called you into my dreams. You can do that to me as well,” he says. “I felt you faintly calling me once.”

Being called into a dream is new to me. I want to ask questions about it, but there is a loud banging sound in the next room. I jump frightened at the suddenness of the sound. Apollo reaches out to me and rubs my shoulder trying to calm me. We both make our way into the neighboring room. I see Cassander standing there with a knife in his hand. “Isn’t it nice to see you here as well as the god, Eutropia,” he says.

“What are you going to do with that knife?” I nearly yell.

“I’m here to eat steak,” he says with sarcasm, lacing through his words. “What do you think?”

“Get away from me,” I demand. Fear is setting in quickly as he takes steps towards me. He pulls the knife back. He is going to bury in my body. I don’t know what I comes over me, but I grab his wrist and pull his wrist until I hear a cracking noise.

Cass howls in pain. The knife falls to the floor. “What have you done?” he yells at me.

I jump awake. What are with these dreams that I’m having? I’m going to have to talk to someone about it. I couldn’t take this anymore. I need to know why I’m having them.

“What’s wrong?” Alex says, sitting up a little bit.

“It’s just a nightmare,” I answer. I look at him. Sleep is thick in his face, and he almost looked like he was still asleep. “Sorry.”

Alex pulls me to him and kisses my forehead. “Just tell yourself they are just dreams. Nothing can hurt you in your dreams.”

I nod as I lay back down. I try to go back to sleep. Alex keeps his arm around me as I curl up under the blankets.