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—THE party lasted a lot longer than Judith had anticipated — and frankly, wanted. She wasn't a socialite and if the school dance they had gone to before the quest was anything to go off of, she wasn't a fan of dancing either.
She had mainly kept to the sidelines of the party, distancing herself from the gods and goddesses that were roaming around. She especially didn't want to come across her dad, but as her luck would have it, he was also on the sidelines. She came upon Ares stuffing a small sandwich into his mouth wholly. Judith honestly wondered how her mother ever dealt with this man, but then she thought about her step-dad and how much worse he could be at times.
Judith knew Ares noticed her as soon as she felt the hardened fire within her. She wasn't sure if that was just their blood connection or if his eyes truly could incite the deepest heat and anger just by looking at someone. Both answers seemed plausible.
"Your friend sure knows how to deceive his way out of things," the man's deep voice boomed even though he kept it quiet enough to keep from prying ears.
Judith looked up at him, choosing to ignore the friend comment for the time being. Fighting against it at this point just felt futile. "He's not deceiving anyone."
"You're too in cahoots with him to understand," the man growled. "He's dangerous and will bring the end as we know it."
The girl looked far away from her father then. "Don't you want war? You say he's going to bring war to the gods, isn't that what you thrive on?"
Ares stuffed another sandwich in his mouth before answering. "However much war thrills me, his prophecy decides the death or life of the gods. That's a war even I never want to see. I can find and make war where and whenever I please."
Judith thought on it for a moment, seeing where her father was coming from. "But I know him. His allegiances are with the gods."
Her own father crossed his arms and fully turned to her now. "You must know by now what your fatal flaw is," he blatantly said. Judith nodded, knowing her tendencies. "You've shown plenty of it on your quests." The girl could sense his eye roll underneath the dark aviator sunglasses. "Well, Jackson's is his downfall."
"What's that supposed to mean? What's his flaw?"
"You've seen how loyal he is. He took the sky from you without thinking it through because you were in pain. It makes him weak, not strong," Ares snapped. "At any point Kronos could turn the tides by taking something he loves and bending Jackson to his will because that boy will do whatever it takes to make sure they are safe, no matter what."
