Page 70 of Love, Nemesis
“I almost felt bad taking the green hostage. He was very scared. Jasper talked him through it. I was grateful. Luckily, you all understand the nature of my previous career and have the intelligence to listen…well, most of you at least.”
“It wasn’t our choice to bring the green,” Ana said. “His name is Cal. He was our soft spot.”
“Soft spot of the orange. Did you think of that?” Ares asked, pulling from a vast collection of perfectly stored memory. “Creative of your brain to remember that then. I like it. You know, I didn’t want to do things this way. I was going to talk to you outside of camp last night.”
“Last night?” she asked, looking over at him.
“Yes. I would have invited you all to dinner, not breakfast. I was glad to see you. Ideally, I would have spoken to you then, but I didn’t realize the nature of your new partner.”
“My new—you mean Lethe?” she asked.
“Yes. I didn’t want to risk anything. He’s impulsive, with little regard to the logic of safety. Jasper would stay put and so would you. I didn’t want to kill anyone, really. Not yet. I’m trying to do that less these days.”
“So, you weren’t surprised when he ran off,” she grumbled, realizing how thoroughly she’d been played. They all had. She wiped her face with the back of her hand as the mist from the garlic caught her eye. She passed it back to Ares. He set it aside near the pot before handing her other produce to chop for a half-prepared salad he’d already put together on the opposite counter.
He gave her a knife, chopping cucumbers with his now. Even though she wasn’t planning on using it, she did feel the slightest bit more comfortable with steel in her hand.
“I saw him hunt down Evira. I imagined he’d go back for her. I was still slightly taken aback by his complete disregard for a perceived threat. I knew it was unlikely you’d find him in ten minutes, which was perfect. I had to make a point.”
Ana glanced back to see Lethe now right outside, opening the door wide before peering in and then leaving the door open.
“Yeah,” she said as she finished her task. “It’s that Rider blood of his, I’m sure.”
“Rider?” Ares asked.
“He’s a Rider of Saint East.”
Ares put down his knife.
Ana looked over to see him fixated on her.
“You are being serious,” he observed. “They’re all supposed to be dead.”
“You’re really that surprised? In all of En Sanctus, you didn’t think there was one straggler who had survived?” Ana asked.
Ares looked past her shoulder with an intensity in his eyes that made her regret telling him. She realized too late that there could have been more than a strategic reason for him choosing a cabin out here.
“You’re a fan,” she prodded.
He reached down and hiked up his pants leg, exposing a tattoo—several lines from the Riders’ sayings, many of which were etched along the cave walls of the Dragon’s Spine.
“Somehow, I’m not surprised,” Ana said after a while.
Ares dropped his pants leg and finished putting the meal together in a rush as if she were no longer there. He left the potatoes to cook.
“Jasper and Cal seem to be enjoying the outdoors,” Ares said, craning his neck to peer out the window. “I am going to speak with your new lover.”
“His name is Lethe,” Ana corrected sharply.
“Was I off-color?” Ares asked, drying his hands off with a towel before handing it to her.
She copied his motion.
“I just, lover—never mind.”
“Understood.”
Ana put the towel on the counter, leaning against it as Ares walked past her. She looked through the open door. Lethe was out on the porch, watching the fields. She wondered if he was reminiscing, though she was sure he was keeping a wary ear inside. It was clear he didn’t like being here by the way he paced back and forth.
