Page 67 of Hero Worship

Ares gets to his feet, expression open and calm. He’s not always like that. Apollo’s the one who can shrug on nice manners, like he was raised rich, at the drop of a fucking hat. Ares is the angry one. The one who doesn’t mind putting his body on the line for a cause.

Right now, though, he’s the fucking—

Thepictureof serenity.

“They wouldn’t,” he reassures Apollo.

“What are you talking about?” I’m interested, because half the conversation is missing and I’m drunk.

“Mmm. No.” Apollo says that like he’s declining a refill of his water glass and leaves the room.

Ares slides back down to the floor. His eyes trace a path along the carpeting. My heart’s going fast and hard, but there’s no fucking way I’m getting off the couch. I doubt I could sleep, either.

“He was talking about our mom,” Ares says into my drunken silence. “The hospital upset him.”

“Wait.” I close my eyes to see if it makes me less drunk. When was the last time I had a drink before this? Before the Army, I think. “What hospital?”

“The one she died in.”

My stomach lurches. “Why didn’t you say before?”

“I don’t know, man. There was never a good time. You were pissed as hell when you got here, and Apollo doesn’t like to talk about it. Was he supposed to challenge you to a duel? Force you to sit down with him?”

“A duel?”

“You’re actually drunk, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, because ofyou.”

“To be fair, you look like you need to be drunk. A least for a while. Take the edge off.”

“The edge of what?”

“Of almost getting into a fight with Hades. Nobody walks away from those.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.”

He’s quiet for a long time, watching.

“I think everybody else would mind if he took you out. If anybody took you out.”

I shake my head, dismissing it. “They’d be fine.”

“No,” he says slowly. Pointedly. “We wouldn’t.”

“I wasn’t here long enough for anyone to get attached.”

“Just out of curiosity, how long do you think it takes?” He blinks, his dark eyes unreadable.

“A lifetime, probably.” That makes me laugh, but I get a handle on it before it gets out of control. “Longer than any of you motherfuckers have.”

“Do you…think some of us are going to die?”

“Not soon, since we’re surrounded by a bunch of teen parents, all grown up.”

Ares gives me a look. “Nobody here was a teen parent.”

“The point is—”

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