Doomsday

Courage.

“The necklace shows me where you go.”

“And you knew better than to go to Poseidon's temple so you figured you’d find me somewhere-”

“No, Tori. I just walked to talk to you because I don’t want bad blood between us.”

“You’re married.”

“We are never together.”

“You let me think we had something.”

“Because we do. Tori I swore to never lie to you and I didn’t. I didn’t say that I was single. You should know by now that none of the Gods are single.I can’t kill her because I don’t hate her but I do want to be with you.”

“That’s not how this is going to work. Now, we are going back to the temple.”

“Who’s he?”

“My friend. He came with because I needed support to do this.”

“Tori, I’ll always be here for you.”

“I don’t give second chances.”

“Well maybe you should. Because I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re mad that I didn’t tell you that I was in an open marriage with a woman I see once a month.”

Kiran looked at me.

“Tori think about it like this. You are in a relationship with someone that you don’t love and you have no way of getting out of it because you two are tied together because of some outdated rule. But you want to be happy with someone else so you each have your freedom to do whatever you want and before you can tell the person you’re with about it, they find out in a bad way.”

I looked between Kiran and Deimos.

“Look, I’ll think about it but you have to prove to me that you actually want me and I want to hear from her that the two of you aren’t together anymore.”

He nodded his head.

“Will you come back?”

“No, I’m going to continue my training under Athena.”

He nodded his head.

“I’ll take that. Just please, don’t hate me.”

“I didn’t hate you in the first place. I don’t have it in me to hate anymore.”

He nodded his head then I thought about Athena's temple then a door appeared.

“We have to get back now.”

He kissed my cheek then we left. We went inside and Athena was waiting for us.

“Where were you?”

“I had a personal errand to run and Kiran came with as emotional support.”

She took the tote from me and I looked away. She opened it and saw pictures from my childhood. Drawings that I made as a child and other items. She stared hard at the letters that I wrote for my father as a child.

“Are you happy now? Knowing that you’ve found something personal about me? Seeing what makes me weak?”

I took it out of her hand and put it back in it’s colorful envelope and back into the tote. I closed it and stormed off to my dorm room. I sat on the bed and started sobbing silently as all of the emotions that I’ve been suppressing over the past few days came over me. I looked over the pictures that I saw on the top and I saw my mom when she was my age with her friends. 

There was a knock at the door so I cleaned myself up and opened it to see Athena standing there.

“What?”

She c****d her eyebrow and took a breath.

“I’m going to let that go only because I know I hurt you. Can I come in?”

She held up a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. I let her in and we sat on my bed with the tote.

“I reacted like that because I thought the two of you were doing something else. I thought I had traitors which is why I searched the box.”

“I told you why we were gone and we were only gone for two hours.”

“I know and I’m sorry. I don’t say that to anyone but when I read that letter to your father, I felt your pain.”

“You know nothing of what pain I’ve gone through.”

“I think you forget that every battle in history, I’ve been apart of.”

She poured us each a glass and I knocked mine back. 

“My father was in prison when I wrote him that letter. I wanted to see him every day and all I ever wanted was to see my father again.”

“Then?”

“Then he got out and apparently my mother and stepfather fought him because they wanted him to have a relationship with me and my brother, and he didn’t. Then he turned out to be an abusive dick.”

I poured myself another glass and knocked that one back too.

“Easy killer. I heard you humans get drunk fast.”

“Well I’m not human and even as a human I could drink six of these and be perfectly fine.”

She nodded her head. She picked up a picture and it was my brother when he was six and my mom and they were watching a 3-D movie together at the theater. 

“Your brother was adorable.”

“Still is but he’s just big now.”

We started laughing.

“I’m sorry about your parents. I didn’t know you two are orphans now.”

“Hell, I’m only seventeen now and my brother is fifteen. If we were still a part of the human government, we’d have to live with a family member or be separated.”

She nodded her head.

“The system is f****d up.”

“I know.”

She grabbed another picture and I told her the story behind it. 

“I built my house back up from it’s ashes.”

She looked at me.

“How?”

“I thought about it in its actual form. How the interior looked, each room, everything. Then it built itself up from the ground.”

“That’s amazing.”

I chuckled then poured myself another drink.

“I know that you brought Kiran to Poseidons’ temple.”

“He needed to be with his family.”

“You disobeyed an order.”

“You never gave an order to me stating that I couldn’t bring him to see his family and in return he went with me.”

“Tori, you cannot do things behind my back.”

“I know by reading about your history that you hate your family, but that doesn’t mean you keep us from our families just by where they are located.”

She shook her head.

“There is so much more than just what you read.”

“I bet there is. But at the same time, when someone comes to you on a personal level and asks you if they can be with their family for an hour, you don’t tell them no or make up an excuse because you hate someone.”

She nodded her head.

“And Deimos?”

I scoffed.

“That’s different.”

“You messed around with a God Tori. Is that something that you can come back from?”

“We slept together once. I have no feelings for him.”

“Were you even interested in him?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Because I want to know.”

“Look, we slept together once and that was it. We have no relationship and he’s married.”

“He doesn’t want her.”

“And I get that. But how can I be sure that he’s going to be loyal to me if I know he’s married and is used to sleeping with whoever he wants? Hell, I slept with him and I knew him for two days.”

“Why?”

“Because I was weak and I was hurting. I wasn’t thinking straight and it just happened. Honestly, I wish I could take it back but I can’t.”

She nodded her head then Deimos walked in.

“You mean that?”

I looked between them and chuckled.

“Yeah, I do. I regret letting you touch me, I regret sleeping with you, I regret letting you have that power over me, all of it.”

“You just told me you could give me another chance.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean that I don’t regret what happened between us.”

He looked hurt but I didn’t care.

“f**k you Tori.”

“You already did.”

“You-”

“No, you don’t deserve to make me feel bad, okay? I already feel like hell because I’ve lost everyone! I broke my bond for you for you to turn around and be married! How do you think I feel, knowing that you slept with me thinking I was taken knowing that you were too?”

He looked down.

“If you think, even for a second, that I would ever think about being with you, then you have no clue who I am. I want nothing to do with you and don’t come here again.”

I took my necklace off and went to hand it to him.

“Don’t give that back. Please don’t.

“Why?”

“Because it’s yours.”

I nodded my head then put it back on. Him and Athena walked out and I started drinking the whiskey straight from the bottle. I took another two swigs and started looking at the pictures again. I found some of my brother and I started crying. I drank almost the entire bottle then there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

I snapped my fingers and unlocked the door then Kiran walked in.

“Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?”

He saw the bottle in my hand and the pictures in my other.

“I told her to not bring that s**t to you.”

“I’m glad she did because I’m going to actually sleep now.”

I took another drink then he took it from me. I watched him pour it down the drain then I started crying more. He came over and I pushed him away.

“Drinking is going to make it hurt worse.”

“It was helping.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

He put the pictures back in the tote then took my shoes off. He moved me over and pulled the covers over me.

“Get some sleep. I’ll bring you some pain killers and water later.”

“Don’t go, please.”

“Tori-”

“Please?”

He sighed then took his shoes off and got in bed with me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer.

“Only once.”

“Mmm.”

I started falling asleep and I felt him calm down. He only moved once the entire night and we slept until almost eight. I woke up before he did and brushed my teeth then I changed into a navy blue tank top and black military pants. I was putting on my boots when Kiran woke up.

“You let me sleep in?”

“You're welcome.”

I got up and started fixing my hair while he put his boots on.

“No hangover?”

“I don’t get them.”

He nodded his head then walked out of my room. I went downstairs to the cafeteria and grabbed a cup of tea and poured some honey in it. I heard a few girls behind me whispering.

“How’d she get a God?”

“She’s not even that pretty.”

“Look at those scars, she’s built like a man.”

“I saw Kiran come out of her room this morning.”

“So she’s just sleeping with anyone now.”

“Apparently. And she does nothing but disrespect Athena.”

“So she’s a hoe, disrespectful-”

I turned around and ‘accidentally’ spilled my hot tea on all three of them.

“Oops, I guess you can add clumsy to that list.”

I threw my cup at the one who called me a hoe and walked out of the cafeteria with everyone confused. I found Athena and Ares before they walked into the cafeteria.

“Ready?”

“Yep.”

We walked to a separate training room and I got started with combat. I started boxing Ares and he went easy on me because I was nowhere near as skilled as he was.

“You’re very good. You’re fast, you have a lot of power and control, you’re a skilled fighter.”

“Thank you.”

Athena showed me the selection of weapons and I chose the rope dagger because I know I was good with them. I started twirling it then I picked up some speed. Random targets popped up and I started hitting each with the dagger. I kept going until they saw that I was physically exhausted then they let me take a break to get some water. 

“Tori.”

I saw Ares standing in front of me.

“Yes?”

“My son-”

I groaned and he chuckled.

“He asked me to tell you that he’s sorry and is going to make it up to you. That’s all.”

“Tell him to take his empty promise and shove it down his throat and choke on it.”

He started laughing then we walked to the cafeteria. With the God of War standing behind me, no one said a word.

“Maybe she’s sleeping with two Gods.”

Ares heard it at the same time I did and he looked infuriated.

“She’s just mad.”

“My son?”

“Discussion for a different time?”

He nodded his head then we walked back to the training room. They had me run killers with a hundred pounds on my back then had me shooting targets with different guns. We trained all day before they decided it was time for another break. I walked to the cafeteria by myself this time and I was stopped by the girls I spilled the tea on.

“Can I help you?”

“You think you can get away with what you did earlier?”

“Umm, yes. Now, have a good night.”

I pushed past them and grabbed some water. I sat on the table while they tried yelling at me.

“Look, I’m exhausted and I don’t have the time for this. How about we try this again in the morning.”

That made them even more angry then one of them grabbed my water.

“Enough.”

The three of them stopped and I took my water back. I got up and walked back to the training room but Kiran stopped me.

“The rumors-”

“I know. We know that nothing happened besides a breakdown and a history lesson.”

He chuckled.

“So it wasn’t you?”

“You think I’m enjoying this? No, it wasn’t me and I’m tired.”

He nodded his head then went to say something else but I walked away and went back to training. They had me run for another hour then sent me to my room. I took a shower and went to sleep immediately and we did the same thing all over again the next day. We continued this routine for the next week and I started feeling physically and emotionally better. I would study with Athena during the day and train with Ares during the afternoon and night. 

“Tori, you’ve made huge improvements and I’m impressed that you haven’t broken yet.”

“You are going to start training with Aphrodite during the day instead of studying with me. She’s going to teach you how to seduce and how to love yourself.”

I was struck by the last part.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Tori, you throw yourself at your work so you don’t have to deal with your emotions. If you don’t learn to love yourself and control your emotions, you will be unstable.”

I nodded my head then took a breath.

“You are moving to the temple of Aphrodite.”

“When do I go?”

“Tonight. We are having a going away party for you where everyone gets to dress up.”

“Attire?”

“Black and white but you’re wearing something special.”

She nodded at someone behind me and I saw the designer from the base and he was excited to see me.

“You look amazing dear.”

“Thank you.”

He walked with me to my room and there was a black and red ball gown that had red and gold layers and it was off the shoulders. He helped me put on the corset then the dress and this one was my favorite so far. They curled my hair and added silver vines to make a crown. My makeup was a simple wing and black lipstick and I was in love with my look.

“You should’ve been a model in the normal world.”

“I never had the confidence to wear a dress. I’ve always hated how my body was shaped because clothes never fit me properly.”

He nodded his head then I looked at him.

“I never caught your name. You’ve done so much for me but you’ve never told me your name.”

He chuckled.

“My names Angel."

I nodded my head then he helped me put on my heels. We walked out of my room and he held up a sheet to block everyone's view of me and brought me to a different room where there were several different Gods, including Bo and Deimos.

“Here she is.”

They all looked at me and there were mixed emotions between awe and pride. Athena came up and gave me a hug along with Aphrodite. We all talked for a little while then they slowly started leaving the room and went to the ballroom. Bo and Deimos stayed behind with me and I saw the look on their faces.

“What?”

“We miss you being at the temple.”

“I’m not coming back. Neither of you have made contact with me in almost two weeks which showed me that neither of you actually cared about me, you just wanted my body.”

Bo shook his head.

“That’s not at all what either of us want from you.”

“Really? So the first chance Deimos got, he didn’t sleep with me? The first conversation we had together, you didn’t try getting into my pants after seeing my mark and being told no?”

Deimos looked away and Bo stared at me. 

“Right, that’s what I thought.”

I walked out and started walking down the stairs. I hid my anger behind a smile and Ares helped me down the rest of the stairs.

“Just keep smiling. I can feel your anger radiating off of you.”

“Your sons need to leave me alone.”

“It doesn’t help that you are going to their mothers temple.”

I sighed then I saw Kiran standing there with the other wolves. I smiled at him and he nodded his head at me then I walked over to the bar.

“Whiskey, please.”

The bartender handed me a glass and I drank it. He poured me another one and stood by me.

“You should be celebrating.”

“Well, it’s hard to do that when your only friend won’t talk to you and your ex is harassing you.”

He winced.

“Liquid courage?”

“You know it.”

He nodded his head then poured me another one. I sipped on this drink while I chatted with him and he was nice. Aphrodite walked up to me and smiled.

“Come with me.”

She wrapped her arm with mine and we started walking.

“Now, the first thing we are going to do is teach you how to hide weapons.”

“I already know that. Athena taught me already.”

She nodded her head.

“Then we will get started with the seduction. Now, your first test is that boy that has been staring at you all night.”

“Kiran?”

“His friend. The lighter one.”

I casually looked at him and I knew who she was talking about.

“Why?”

“I want to see what you can do. Just get him to go with you and scratch his neck.”

“That’s it?”

“That is your goal. Get him alone without many people noticing you then scratch his neck.”

I nodded my head then I walked over to the wolves and smiled at Kiran.

“Hey, long time no talk.”

“You’ve been too busy with the cool kids.”

“Not fair. I told you the day I got here that I wouldn’t be training with all of you.”

“True.”

“All good?”

“All good.”

He gave me a hug and I smirked at his friend.

“Who’s that?”

“This is Ricky.”

“Nice to meet you Ricky.”

He shook my hand and looked me up and down. 

“Nice to meet you too. You aren’t matching the theme.”

“Well the theme is supposed to make me stand out considering this is my going away party.”

He nodded his head. Kiran stopped paying attention and so did everyone else.

“Can you help me with something?”

I licked my lips then looked down at his pants. He smirked then nodded his head. We walked over to a secret hallway then I took out the knife that Aphrodite gave me and knocked his neck.

“What the hell?”

I smiled then walked out then noticed Athena and Aphrodite waiting for him to come out. They saw that his neck was bleeding and Aphrodite started giggling.

“A thousand pounds sister.”

Athena groaned then handed her a pouch.

“Athena here didn’t think you could do it.”

I looked at the two of them.

“You literally have to pop a titty out and every man in this room will want you.”

They started laughing then I went to hand her the knife back.

“Keep it.”

I nodded my head then we continued chatting the rest of the night. I noticed that Deimos and Bo were watching me the whole night while they talked with their father. I went to the bar and got another drink then I saw someone watching me from the shadows. I shrugged it off and had another drink. I brought it with me and started talking to a few of the witches then someone bumped into me and kept walking.

“Really?”

I rolled my eyes and drank the rest of my drink. I went to go get another drink but I could barely walk so I clung onto the wall then someone brought me to a different hallway and I couldn’t move. I was unconscious the entire time but I heard what they were saying.