Kyra

Chapter Nineteen

The laceration on her back was deep. Deeper than Ares was comfortable with. It was caked in blood and dirt and lord only knew what else, just like the rest of her.

And to think, if he'd arrived thirty seconds later, the Amazon would've been dead.

She's dead anyway.

Ares was going to kill her.

He thanked the heavens for the decisions he'd made up to this point. Had he not bonded with her, splitting his Godly energy with her, he wouldn't have known any of this was happening. That energy had spiralled in the wake of that hellfire blow. Ares had known to come. He'd dropped everything to be here and stop this.

Nadine must've been watching the battle. She'd have seen everything Kyra did and decided she'd had enough of it.

The bitch nearly murdered my woman.

He'd never hated Nadine as much as he did now. Never had he loathed their alliance so much. His fingers had never itched so much to kill.

The wound on Kyra's back was deep, still bleeding.

She'd crossed a line.

He couldn't stop watching her.

She laid on the ground, beaten down and defeated. Her wild hair had never looked so unkempt.

After everything, Kyra still tried to stand up. It was pitiful, really. The muscles in her arms flexed as she cried out, pushing against the grass. She took deep, wheezy breaths, scraping her leg through mud. Just as she started to build up a push, Ares put his foot on her back and pushed her back down. With no strength left to fight him, she fell like a house of cards.

And yet she kept going. She kept pushing. She kept fighting.

"Stay down."

And then she stopped, face to the dirt, body limp.

She must've grown on these demons fast. One of them took a threatening step forwards.

"Leave her alone."

Ares bared his teeth, hands glowing. "Unless you wish to try your brawn out against my magic, I suggest you run from this place. Now."

The demons looked to his glowing hands, contemplating their options.

Their loyalty to Kyra was short lived. One by one, they backed up, fleeing.

After that, it was just him, Kyra and the Amazons.

In his momentary distraction, Kyra started pushing again. When her torso was right up, she placed both hands on one knee and pushed.

"Stay down."

She didn't listen that time. God, she might not ever listen again.

She fought against herself, against gravity, staggering to a shaky stand.

"What was that?" He spoke calmly. That calmness wasn't a reflection of his feelings.

Despite herself, despite everything, she still worked up a response. "You already know what that was."

Kyra had taken a stand. She'd snatched the cards from his hands and lobbed them. She'd played as the Queen. That was her royal flush.

"That's enough."

With everyone listening, an audience of Amazons, Kyra wouldn't give up.

"For today," She finished.

His heart wrenched.