Athena jolted up on the floor, Silvy, Callen and Andi hovered over her. Their eyes shimmered with worry. Athena stretched her hands to hug her back. Her pale fingertips grazed her shoulder blade.

  Nothing.

  No tear, no cut, nothing. Nothing, except a long, deep, winding ivory scar about a foot long. Tears bubbled up in Athena’s eyes. She looked at Ares, who had seemed just to awake beside her.

  Athena still felt searing pain in her back as she tried to stand, like she was re-opening old wounds. Ares winced as he breathed, and Callen ran over to examine him.

  Burn marks scattered along Ares’s body. His neck, his arms, some parts of his face. Silvy rushed for ointment. Andi crouched down to Athena, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

  “Athena..What. Was. That?” Andi asked.

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  Nights had gone by. Days had passed.

  Athena lay still in her cot, fingers twitching as she held her knees to her chin. Midnight blue had blanketed the kingdom like a dark cover. Stars mottled the blanket of night, twinkling faintly.

  Ares was asleep, trying to get rest.

  But Athena couldn’t. Her back ached too much when she tried to lay down. Her muscles were sore from fighting.

  That–let Athena get to thinking. When you have nothing better to do, you get a hurricane of thoughts.

  Who was that lady? Athena thought. It seemed she was aiming for my back and back only. Was this another one of Hubris’s plans?Does she work with him?For him?

  Athena inhaled sharply, her back had a sharp P A N G of pain as she did.

  She immediately coiled herself again.

  Ares had burn marks. So whoever he ‘met’ must’ve given him those.. Athena exhaled, softer this time.

  She had this look in her eye, the woman. Athena stared at the floor. I wonder what?

  Athena sat, coiled up tight. Her eyes were dry now, she had wiped the tears from before. She needed answers, she had questions.

  Ares must have some answers.

  Athena looked to her brother, sound asleep.He needed rest. They both needed rest. But Athena couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t move. So she had to think. Why had the woman tried cutting my back?And what was that feeling, like something was coming out of me? It felt like–almost like wings. The woman planned it, she must have!

  Athena winced sharply as she tried to lay back down. Maybe if she just closed her eyes.

  So she did.

  And sleep consumed her like a trap in a bush.

  -------------------------------------------------------------

  When Athena was awake,she realized she was back in the milky white dress, and in a different place–but the same too.She roamed where she had woken up.

  Silvery grass, black dirt, and a dozen skies. Athena immediately froze, ready for the impact of the woman. Yet she felt nothing.

  “Calm down child, I won’t hurt you anymore,” A voice retorted behind her.

  Athena spun on her heel, facing the woman. Her ginger hair was flowing down her shoulders, wavy slightly. Her hazel eyes were cold and her face was like a porcelain mask. Tan freckles mottled her pale skin. She wore the same white dress from the other night, still stained with red and black.

  Blood, possibly. Athena thought.

  “What do you mean anymore?” Athena eyed the woman suspiciously.

  The woman raised her hand, and waved it dramatically. “I mean what I needed to do was done, thank you.”

  Athena reached over her shoulder and ran her fingers along the scar. “What did you do to me?” Athena choked.

  The woman stood up abruptly from the random victorian style stool she was sitting on. “I got the blood that was owed, the price that must have been paid, don’t whine child.” The woman turned, facing the ground. “People don’t like whiners..”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Who are you?” Athena took a step back, her voice was hoarse and dry.

  “That–however is none of your concern. All I’m saying is that we are on the same side. Literally,” She added quickly.

  The woman turned around back towards the stool, she sat and snapped her fingers. Another stool appeared in front of Athena. The woman beckoned for Athena to sit.

  “Come, come, child we have much to discuss.”

  Athena sat, noticing the table with two cups of tea that appeared in front of her. Served on a silver platter were the two porcelain cups of tea, and about four singular apple slices on a plate beside it.

  “What are we discussing?” Athena questioned skeptically, before taking a porcelain cup gently. She took a sip of the tea, feeling better instantly. She didn’t feel sore anymore, her back didn’t feel like it was still torn open. Maybe this woman was on her side.

  The woman barked out a laugh. “Why, the arrangements of course!”

  The woman’s voice was partly muffled by a sip of her tea she took. “My, it still truly works wonders.”

  “Arrangements?” Athena nearly choked on her tea.

  She placed the cup down softly, reaching for an apple slice, but the woman swatted her hand away.

  “Sorry love, those are for me.”

  Athena nodded, holding her cup again. She was taking a sip as the woman explained the ‘arrangements’.

  “The arrangements of our body of course. When do I get to control, and when do you get to control?Has he not told you?Of course he didn’t!The old ‘dob would forget everything!Well, then again I do suppose it's been a good couple years. How many was it?--12 B.C?” The woman tilted her head innocently.

  “Body sharing?Control?Who is he?12 B.C?” Athena asked, voice confused.

  The woman grinned devilishly.Holding her face with her hand. “My, my, he really didn’t tell you did he?”

  “What are you keeping from me?” Athena’s eyes narrowed on her.

  The woman lifted her head again, closing her eyes, her voice filled with taunt. “Oh nothing!Just a whole world's worth of mysteries, riddles, and answers.”

  Athena raised an eyebrow, her gaze never left the woman's.

  “Like an answer to those scars on your back,” She grinned devilishly again.

  Athena tapped her foot on the grass impatiently, her mind was a hurricane. “You haven’t answered any of my questions.”

  The woman stood, dusting off her silk dress. “You haven’t asked me any questions.”

  “I did.” Athena replied, voice cold. “For example, who are you?, Body sharing?, Control?, Who is he?12 B.C?, may I have answers now?”

  The woman snickered, voice loud and cruel. “Flled with questions aren’t we?” She wiped a tear from her eye. “As much as I’d love to chat, I have things to do. We, Athena, have things to do..” She held her hands up. “We can discuss the control later. For now-ta ta!”

  She clapped her hands, and Athena fell into the black pools.....

  Athena blinked her eyes open, she hadn’t jolted awake, or jumped with fear. She felt like, for the first time in a year. She hadn’t been scared. Who was this woman?Better question, what..was she?

  Day hadn’t come, night was still covering the sky. Why had the woman not told her her name?Athena pushed herself upright slowly, careful of her back.

  The pain wasn’t the same.

  It was still there — dull, lingering — but no longer tearing through her like fire. More like pressure. Like something resting beneath her skin instead of inside it.

  She frowned.

  Her fingers drifted behind her shoulder again, tracing the long scar. The skin felt warmer than the rest of her body.

  Alive.

  Athena swallowed.

  The woman’s words echoed in her head.

  The arrangements of our body.

  A chill crawled down her spine.

  Across the room, Ares shifted in his sleep, letting out a quiet breath. Moonlight slid across the floor and caught on the burn marks along his arm. For a moment, Athena just watched him, thinking.

  If that woman was real — if any of it was real — then Ares had seen something too.

  And he might know more than he was saying.

  Athena swung her legs off the cot, wincing as her feet touched the cold stone floor. The kingdom was silent, the kind of silence that only existed before dawn, when even guards grew tired and the world forgot to breathe.

  She hesitated.

  Part of her wanted to lie back down. Pretend none of it happened.

  But the scar throbbed again, sharp and insistent.

  No.

  Something had changed.Athena stood, steadying herself against the wall.If answers existed, she wasn’t going to wait for dreams to give them to her.

  She was going to wake Ares.

  He had seen something too, she knew he did. The burn marks, where did he get those? She limped over to him, shaking him gently. He jolted up quickly, eyes glistening with fear, sweat dripped down his temple. His eyes softened once they saw Athena.

  “Athena, I found something....”