The War God's Woman

1. Prologue

Sage thrust the duffle bag at her father. He took it, clutching it to him as if it were a baby. Snot trailed from his nose and he sobbed messily, his eyes bloodshot and pleading.

"I'll – I'll do better, I promise-" he moaned, struggling to breathe as he cried. Sage's expression was cold.

"Open it," she directed. Rain began to fall. Sage pulled up her hoodie to cover her head and a tendril of curly hair peeked out - fluttering against her cheek.

"I'll never steal from you again, I swear-"

"Open it." Thunder rumbled overhead. The rain fell harder and Sage's shoulders stiffened as it soaked through her hoodie. Her dad opened the bag and gasped. "It's all my savings." She explained. He blinked and stared down at the cash, his lip quivering. "You can have it. All of it. But for a price."

He zipped the bag shut, protecting it from the wind.

"I'll pay you back-" he started to promise but Sage shook her head. She'd heard that all her life.

"If you take this money, then you never come near me again. Don't even think of me as your daughter. Because I won't think of you as my dad."

She balled her hands into fists at her sides. "This will be the end for us." 

Me or the money.

Her dad took a step back. His spine was stooped, it was always stooped – he was forever apologising to the world. It was the result of how he lived, selfishly – hurting people. Hurting people and then crawling back to them. He slung the bag strap over his shoulder. He couldn't look her in the eye.

He opened and closed his mouth. Wanting to say something but with nothing to say. Sage held herself very still – as if that would help soften the pain. All her life, people had told her to stop helping him. She'd always said, 'he's family, you can't give up on family'. She'd defended him. Since she was knee high, she'd defended him...

She watched him leave, the downpour stealing him from view. Her clothes were sodden through from the rain and clung to her. Fat droplets bounced off her shoes and into the overflowing drains at her feet. Cars sped past – window wipers frantic – but Sage remained frozen. She felt rooted to this awful spot. The world carried on by but she was trapped. Rain rolled down her face, dripping from her chin – as if the sky was crying for her.

Behind her, stood an unusual man. He was wearing clothing that didn't belong to this world. The rain fell hard against his armour and in his hand, he held a sword – its cruel edge smeared with gold blood. The blood of an immortal. The tip rested against the tarmac and the gold ran down into the puddles, shimmering heavy on the surface like oil.

He clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing with rage. This was exactly his father's trick – to cast him down to earth and have this be the first sight he witness - a parent rejecting their child. Ares turned his back on the mortal woman. Thunder bellowed across the sky and he knew exactly where it came from. They were the bellowing triumphs of his brother, Hephaestus.

There would only be room for one Crown Prince on Olympus, Ares had always known it – he just hadn't expected to be the one cast out.

The lonely god walked through the unfamiliar streets of the modern-day world – a god without a throne. Unbeknownst to him, destiny twisted its strange fingers – making a chain between the god and shivering mortal girl. A chain that would reunite the worlds of gods and men.