Page 112 of The Cursed Chalice

My mother clears her throat. “Look at him. Our son. He asks not for victory, not for blood, not for his own dominion. Only love. Perhaps that is the greatest battle he has ever fought.”

Zeus stands and points down at us. “You would defy balance, Ares. You would barter your divinity. Why would I resurrect your mortal wife?”

I clutch Soraya tighter, and my voice breaks. “You will never understand this pain…feeling your love torn away from you. Mortals have that gift, the pain of feeling love.”

Zeus huffs. “Careful, son.”

“Take everything. My divinity, my throne, my godhood. Just let her be again…with no consequences, no hidden attachments.”

The gods murmur. I can hear some laugh; others are grumbling under their breath. Aphrodite’s voice shrills out loud. “This is madness. You will trade Olympus…me…for her? A mortal? Are you forgetting what we had?”

My neck turns in her direction. “Speak of her ill, and I shall kill you.”

Aphrodite rubs her chest. “Ares?”

“I know you are the person behind Elias, the trafficking. It took me a while, but I figured it out.”

Aphrodite stands. “I was doing it for us. What does she have?”

“Speak of my wife again, and I will spill your golden blood where you stand.”

The pillars shudder. The marble floor beneath me cracks.

Zeus lifts his hand. “Enough. It can be done. But the price is final. You must surrender your godhood. You will live and die as a man. A mortal bound to the earth. No throne. No eternity.”

I look down at the woman in my arms. “I will take it.” The words leave me before he adds more. “She is worth more than all of Olympus.”

My mother’s eyes glimmer with unshed tears. “Then let it be.”

The chalice appears in Zeus’s hands, and it crumbles. Light bursts forth, and Talia appears radiant, unshackled. She looks at me not in accusation, but peace. “Thank you, Ares.”

She bows her head and dissolves into golden starlight.

“Your soul, may it become one mind again.” Hera stretches her hand toward me.

“Goodbye, my friend.”Aric’s voice echoes in my head.

“It’s not goodbye; you’ll always be a part of me.” With that, the humming presence that I normally feel is gone.

The curse is broken.

The gods erupt in applause and shouts. Olympus rejoices. Their God of War is free.

I look up at Zeus and plead. “Please, she is my everything.”

Zeus stretches out his hand and forms a fist. My body pitches forward; power surges through my veins. Flames pour out of my mouth and eyes. My godhood burns as it is torn away from my body. I scream until I collapse, trembling and empty.

I feel so weak…so human.

But Soraya stirs, and her chest rises as she takes her first breath. Her eyes flutter open, dark brown and alive. I cradle her face in my palm.

“My love.”

Her lips part. “Ares?”

“Yes.” My voice breaks. “I’m just a man. But I’m yours if you still want me.”

Soraya pulls me down and kisses me softly. “I will always choose you.”