The Olympian's Concubine

Chapter 8

My butt hit hard on the floor, and I was panting like an exhausted dog. The air around me felt hot and heavy, charged with the tension of relentless training. A slow clap echoed through the room, and I looked up to see Alkmini grinning from ear to ear. She leaned against the marble column, her arms crossed as she watched with clear amusement.

"Two hours, Aurora," she called out, a teasing lilt in her voice. I think even the gods are impressed by how well Ares is kicking your ass."

Ares stood above me, arms folded, his expression unreadable. The gleam in his eyes suggested he was enjoying this more than he let on. I swallowed hard, readying myself for the next round, and promised myself I wouldn't end up on the floor again.

Ares stepped back, his lips curving into the faintest hint of a smirk. "Get up, Aurora. Again."

Every muscle in my body screamed for rest, but I grit my teeth and pushed myself to my feet. The room felt like it spun for a second, marble columns blurring in my peripheral vision before snapping back into focus. Alkmini's quiet chuckle fueled a flare of stubbornness in my chest.

I dropped into a fighting stance, trying to mirror what Ares had shown me a hundred times today. He circled me like a predator, his eyes sharp and calculating, looking for any sign of weakness. My heart thumped like a drum in my chest as I awaited his next move.

Suddenly, he lunged. The room seemed to shrink around us, every detail fading except the relentless god advancing on me. I shifted my weight and tried to block his strike, but he was faster, more precise. His arm brushed past mine, and I felt the force of it like a jolt down my spine. I stumbled back but managed to stay on my feet.

"Better," Ares said, the word like a begrudging compliment. He paused, studying me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. "But you're hesitating. If you're going to face real danger, you can't afford that."

I nodded, swallowing the sting of frustration. I was learning, but the stakes here felt higher than ever. The weight of what he said wasn't lost on me—it was more than training. It was preparation for something bigger, something looming on the horizon that I couldn't yet see.

Alkmini's smile softened as she watched the moment pass between us. "You're getting there," she said encouragingly. But there was something in her eyes, a flicker of worry that she tried to mask.

I took a deep breath, trying to shake off the exhaustion. "One more round," I said, squaring my shoulders.

Punching and kicking as well as I could at the infuriating god of war, ares stopped me and started laughing.

"You look like a newborn horse trying to find your footing" he commented amused.

A flush of embarrassment crept up my neck, but I clenched my fists tighter, refusing to let his mocking laughter break my resolve. The sound of Alkmini's stifled giggle only made the fire in my chest burn hotter.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" I snapped, shifting my stance and lunging at him again. This time, I aimed lower, hoping to catch him by surprise. But Ares, with an infuriatingly casual move, sidestepped me, barely moving an inch. His laughter deepened, echoing in the high-ceilinged training hall.

"Patience," he said, circling me like a hawk. "You're too eager, too emotional. That's going to get you killed."

I glared at him, wiping a bead of sweat from my brow. "Maybe if you stopped taunting me, I'd actually learn something."

His smirk faded, replaced by a serious expression that made my breath catch. "If taunts make you lose your focus, how do you expect to survive the real trials? The ones where failure isn't an option?"