The War God's Woman

28. Broken Arrow

Sage was standing in the bathtub showering. As the water cascaded down over her, she thought about Ares.

'I won't let anything hurt you.'

She remembered his arms embracing her. Holding her close... 

She crossed her arms and held herself, her tears mixing with the clean water running down her face. Water droplets trailed down her icy skin, meeting the nasty rash that now grew up her arm. With a shaking hand, she picked up a razor from the side and removed its safety guard. The water thudding against the bathtub filled her ears, getting louder and louder.

She couldn't save herself from this nightmare. But she could save Ares. Perhaps this had always been in the back of her mind. Perhaps, this was why she'd tried to deny her feelings for so long. Because once she admitted that she loved Ares, she had to free him. She held her wrist up to the blade.

It was time to remove his love arrow.

                          Ares was on the rooftop, gazing out at the city below. His long coat flapped in the wind. He stood guard, his face stoic like a statue. All of a sudden, pain lanced through him. He cried out, groaning in agony, and put a hand to his chest.

                      In the cake shop, Jaz was sat in his office holding a matchbox. With meticulous care, he arranged the matchsticks so that they were all the same way around. He looked up suddenly, his gaze resting on a violin case set on top of his filing cabinet. He'd sensed something. Something bad. He rose quickly to his feet and opened the case to inspect the love arrow that was nestled inside.

Blood gleamed on the shaft of the arrow, weeping from the grain and turning the arrow's aura dark red. The love arrow was breaking. That could only mean one thing. Jaz's face drained of colour. Sage was dying. And the spell would soon be broken.

                        Ares materialised in the bathroom.

"Sage!?" He pulled aside the shower curtain and stared at her, horrified. Sage sagged, falling into his arms, the water puddling at her feet turning crimson. "You fool." Ares exclaimed, cradling her against him. "Why would you do this?"

Sage blinked sleepily. It had hurt more than she'd wanted, but at least it would end soon.

"I'm setting you free." She murmured. A tear slid down Ares' face, falling onto Sage's bloody wrist. "I'm sorry." She wanted to say more. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry for trying to kill him. But the fuzziness in her head was taking over and her tongue wouldn't form the words.

Ares' tears glowed like liquid fire and, where they touched her wrists, the skin stitched back together. The scars left Sage's wrist and shone instead on Ares' ethereal skin. These scars would last forever, becoming a vulnerable chink in his armour. His own 'Achilles heel'.

It was the price demanded to heal her. And Ares paid it without hesitation. He hoisted her out of the bathtub and carried her in his arms.

"Fool." He whispered, gazing sadly down at her sleeping face. How could she imagine that he was worth dying for?

                              Jaz arrived at the penthouse looking shaken.