Page 137 of Ares' Shield
“Did you bring the horns?” Artemis glances between us.
“Raven stored them with her weapons to hide them from the humans.” I point at Raven.
A second later they are back in Raven’s hands. They are huge. If it weren’t for her strength, she would probably drop them. It pays to be a child of Ares.
She hands the horns to Artemis who shakes her head. “Of course, he made the horns from god metal. Stupid blacksmith.”
Artemis turns the horns over in her hands and gasps.
“What is it?” I ask, stepping closer.
“Whose blood is this?” She peers at me with wide eyes.
“Mine. One of them got me in the gut. Why?” I hug my stomach where the scar is.
Artemis drops the horns and grips my shoulders. “Do you have a scar?”
“What? How did you know that?” I ask.
“It scarred?” Adrian asks with a frown. “It shouldn’t have. I healed it as quickly as I could.”
“It’s god metal, like the weapons Ares gave you. You have the mark of a warrior now,” Artemis says but from her tone it doesn’t sound like a good thing.
“Why do you make that sound like I’m doomed?” I ask.
“Because no one who has ever gotten that mark has gone on to have a happy life. Trouble will always find you.”
“I really wish I wouldn’t have asked that question now.” I tilt my head back and blink at the bright blue sky.
Shit. I knew life was going to be rough since going to the academy, but I never thought I would be doomed for the rest of my life.
“We can fix this.” Jayden pulls me into the circle of his arms.
“The only way to fix it is to become a goddess yourself.” Artemis drops the bomb.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s not. Ichor is already pumping through your veins as well as the rest of you except for Draven.” Artemis glances at Draven with a scowl.
“I don’t want to be a goddess. I just want to find the items of power and stop a war. Now I’m being told that doesn’t matter because I’m doomed. All because I choose to help the gods. Great.”
Jayden squeezes me close. “We will figure something out.”
“We don’t have time right now. We need to handle the mares of Diomedes first.” I turn to Artemis. “Where are the horses?”
“Follow me.” Artemis hefts the horns and jogs into the field.
We follow closely behind her. I try to tune out the voice in my head, replaying what was just said. Danger and disaster already follows me everywhere. Why would it be any different now?
Jayden jogs next to me. “What do you remember about the mares of Diomedes?”
“Legends say they breathe fire as well as eat human flesh so hopefully we are two for two with fire-breathing beasts.”
“They were a labor of Heracles, right?” he asks.
“Yeah, he had to steal them. There are different versions of it though.”
“Usually if we defeat them the same way they were defeated in history, we can turn them to ash. So, remind me how that happened.”
