Roman
My human brain couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but it tried hard to rationalize it.
Something had grabbed me, and I was flying through the sky so fast I couldn’t even scream.
Whiplash turned my vision into a blur, and then I landed against a pole of sorts, which I clung to with all my might.
It was a metal rod, high above Ethica. Lightning flashed again, illuminating the entire city below.
I leaned to the side, trying to assess the situation.
Black soot and burn marks scorched the area beneath the antenna.
My stomach had been left somewhere on the ground with Meg, but I still had enough guts to swallow back as I realized I sat on top of the media tower that the lightning had already hit, no doubt the catalyst behind the destruction of the power grid.
Then the floor dropped from under me, and I was falling instead of flying.
This time, I found the voice to scream.
I landed hard on a tiled floor with my rifle digging into my back, and sucked in a shaky breath, grateful to be alive, as I rolled to the side.
The entire room was white. The walls, the tile, the ceiling that had no hole and no rational explanation as to how I’d fallen through.
I blinked to clear my vision, crouching low as I took in my surroundings.
Male laughter filled the room, echoing off the walls and vibrating along my skin.
I grabbed my rifle and spun around, taking aim as a man materialized from thin air.
Not a man. A god.
The one I’d seen a glimpse of through the window of Helen’s house. Meg had called him Ares, and if that was the case, what the hell did the god of war want with me?
“Such a crude instrument.” Ares nodded at my rifle. “Effective, though.”
I thought about shooting him just to see if I could paint these walls red, but if I were a betting man, I’d say gods probably didn’t bleed.
Slowly, I lowered my weapon.
Ares smirked. “You didn’t even want to try it?”
“I have no plans to die today,” I told him.
Ares’s laughter echoed off the walls. I stood steady so as not to flinch under the weight of that voice.
“Spoken like a true warrior,” he said. “A fool who thinks he holds the power of life in his own hands.”
I let him talk, racking my brain for stories my dad had told me of Ares. There weren’t many. He didn’t seem as adventurous as the other gods, despite riding into numerous battles.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for you, Roman.” Ares sobered, taking the echoes in the room with him.
I hated the fear that came from hearing his words. Lies, I tried to remind myself. Trickster gods with their riddles and agendas.
“No, you haven’t,” I said. “You’ve been asleep a long time.”
Ares grinned. “Did you know gods can dream? Oh, how I dreamed of this day. It’s been too long since Earth has been cleansed by bloodshed. And you, my champion, will lead us into battle like the world has never seen. Pick up your weapon.”
My fingers twitched as images of glory and fame came unbidden to my mind, and all the while, the mating mark burned, screaming under my uniform, reminding me.
I forced my eyes open. “I don’t want war.”
“War comes whether we want it or not,” he said. “The question is, will you be ready?”
“No.” I stood firmly. “This isn’t my fight.”
Ares moved closer, a snake taunting his prey. “And what do you think your little alpha mate will do when she learns you are a coward? A soldier too scared to take up arms and protect his people.”
Ares tsked.
“You don’t know her.” I forced the anger at his words somewhere else, refusing to let him get under my skin.
“You think I don’t know wolves?” Ares’s smile was tender, as if appeasing a small child.
“Do you know what those wolves did? They were created to help guide the humans, to bridge the balance between beast and man. They had a purpose. A role to play. Instead, they abandoned your people, leaving them to work themselves to the bone for the cruelty of humanity, while they hoarded the earth for their own kind.”
His voice was a caress against my ear, calling me to right the injustices of the past. To balance the scales. Just like my father used to do when he told me stories of great heroes.
That’s all this was.
A story.
I knew hundreds of them.
One little story came to mind. Not even a story, a mention of one, buried deep as a detail in some other journey. About a god of war and his wolves…
“History doesn’t have to repeat itself,” I said.
“Oh, but it will.” Fire raged in his eyes. “The time has come for humans to take back what is rightfully theirs, and the wolves won’t give it up without a fight. Will you let your people—your men—die in the coming days when you alone have the power to protect them, given at my mercy?”
“I won’t be your champion.” I braced for the blow that would surely come.
“Why not?” Ares growled.
The mating mark throbbed against my collarbone, but I wouldn’t give her up, even if it was the last thing I ever did.
Boldly, I met Ares’s glare. “Because you’re not a god worth fighting for.”
“No?” That simple word turned the entire room cold, so cold the very air burned my skin. “Allow me to change your mind.”
“No need,” I said, bending a knee and bowing my head. “I invoke the true god of war. Mars, I pray for your protection in this fight.”
For a split second, I was sure I’d screwed up. That he wouldn’t answer the call and I’d be left kneeling before Ares as his punishment came.
But if Morrigan—the ancient warrior goddess of the Celts—could walk among us, then why couldn’t Ares’s Roman counterpart?
The one strong enough to balance the scales between them and match him on the battlefield.
The floor beneath us fractured as the wolves of war brayed their arrival, and from the smoke rose a Roman soldier wearing an ancient galea upon his head and wool tunic around his muscled frame. Solid gray eyes stared past his straight nose, watching me as he rose to a monstrous height.
Mars drew his sword from the hilt.
I lunged for my rifle.
Ares roared his battle cry.