The War God's Woman 3

13. Adonis' Punishment

Sage got up off the loo and winced. Her back didn't hurt as badly, if she walked like a crab. Sage side-stepped towards the mirror to brush her teeth. She felt old. Ares and Adonis were perfectly healed and spry as ever – only Sage had aches and pains and felt generally knackered.

She pulled on her jacket – the procedure slow and awkward. It was time to return to Hecate's palace. They had stopped the titan agent. No more monsters would be forced into servitude to the Titans. No more Titan's would be able to escape from Tartarus.

But this victory didn't do anything about the titans and giants that had already escaped. She still couldn't return to the human realm, not until Orion and the Olympian army had captured them all.

**

                 "We're not using the chariot to return to the palace?" Sage asked, dread in her stomach.

"You and Adonis destroyed my chariot." Ares reminded her.

"Oh..."

Sage's mouth went dry as they approached Ares' dragon. It had been terrifying when it was pulling the chariot – but now the idea of actually riding the thing itself... 

"Ah! Ares I can't do this." Sage tried to shuffle away but Ares' grip was strong and he steered her closer to the beast.

"Yes, you can." Taking her hand, her forced her to touch the beast's warm scales.

The dragon lifted its head, and Sage saw that its teeth were so large that they were always visible with the dragon unable to close its gruesome jaws properly.

"Does he want to eat me?"

"She. And as a snack, perhaps. You're not big enough to be a meal."

With that reassuring thought, Ares lifted her up onto the dragon's back before mounting behind her. Not sure where to hold onto a dragon, Sage held Ares' legs instead. He didn't complain or correct her. Instead, he sat close, his arms resting either side of her and wondered if Sage could feel how loudly his heart was pounding.

The dragon took flight and Sage screamed and scrunched her eyes tightly shut.

"We're flying over the river of fire, now." Ares told her – sounding amused.

"That's great." Sage replied dryly, not looking down. Last time, they'd flown over these flames – this dragon had deliberately tried to tip her into them. It was hard to forget the image of the chariot being devoured by the spitting lava.

Ares leant forward and Sage's heart sputtered – his jaw was resting on her shoulder. Sage focused on trying to breathe normally. She watched, intrigued, as Ares petted the dragon's scales. She felt the dragon rumble beneath her – purring like a cat. Bizarre jealousy made Sage's jaw twitch. 

                      They landed in Hecate's courtyard, the dragon's claws ripping at the broken stone tiles. The dragon retracted her thin wings and snorted irritably - smoke unfurling her nostrils. Sage looked down at the ground and then quickly shut her eyes.  

"Don't you want to dismount?" Ares asked, surprised when Sage didn't move. 

"I do. I really do." Sage however, remained very still. "I think I need help." Her muscles had locked in terror and wouldn't obey her now.