🌸 A Good Education
L&W7: The Temple of War whisks the rosy-hued veils off sweet Kore's eyes
Previously on 6 LITTLE SEEDS:
For newcomers: Major spoiler ahoy! If you plan to go back and read this series, it might not be nearly so much fun for you if you know this going in. Then again, maybe it’ll be more fun. Maybe you like to diabolically chuckle over big Olympian secrets in advance. If not, I’d suggest sampling my writing from a different section.
With a groan, he dove his tongue down, down. He ran out of tongue and still she opened to him, so he used his essence instead. Probing. Penetrating. Spearing into her hidden reaches like a ransacker in the night. Her irises went the color of a shadowy forest, such a dark green it was nearly black.
He grinned—That’s more like it!—went to inhale for a harder round. Couldn’t. His ribcage fought to expand, but the pull she exerted on him—he couldn’t pull back.
This time, his eyes shot open.
His chest bucked. Seized. She kept drawing him in deeper, deeper. The ocean of her hunger closed over him. He couldn’t inhale. Couldn’t break free. Then he couldn’t even move!
Am I dying? I can’t fucking die! I’m a god!
He yearned for nothing more than to yield, to let himself fall for the first time in his life, but that lightless pit yawned beneath him, all jaws and claws and never-ending night, and so he yanked her head back—had to wrench her mouth off his.
This time he used both hands to grip her face so he could inspect her without falling prey to those lips. “Who in damnation are you, girl?”
“I–I...” Her smile faltered. Her gaze lowered.
“Oh, no-no-no-no-no...” He closed his eyes and begged her with every mote of his being not to be…
Her.
From: Never-Ending Night
—Start at the beginning
—Mature Content Warnings for this series
KORE, BRINGER OF BLOSSOMTIME
✨🌸✨
Her heart thundered against her ribcage from everything he had poured into her with his tongue. Fire, fury, insatiable passion, his unrelenting press. It had awakened kindred things inside her. “Ares,” she sighed, yearning to say his name over and over and again for all time. Why ever had he stopped? Her hands slid up his meaty forearms to where he gripped her face. Although she couldn’t budge closer for another kiss, she slid a toe up the back of his calf.
He whisked his leg away. Before she could recapture the lost ground, he gripped harder, maintaining the distance between them. “You’re Demeter’s sheltered little sprout, aren’t you?” he said.
Her cheeks blazed at the reminder of the last person she wanted to be thinking about at a time like this. “I’m not as sheltered as she’d like to think.”
“Oh, shit.” He released her and whirled away. “Shit, piss, and blood, fuck me sideways!”
“Ares—”
“No!” His finger jutted at her like a spear. “You cannot be here.”
“But—”
“You need to leave right now, Kore. That is one battle I am not interested in.”
Affront surged through her, as sharp as every weapon hanging on the temple walls. She put her hands on her hips and thrust out her chin. “Don’t tell me the almighty God of War is afraid of my mommy.”
He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Great. Just what I need. The essence of my temple and my breath infiltrating…you. Oh, your mother is gonna smite me.”
Kore lowered her head and crouched into the posture of forest-sneaking that Artemis had taught her on their hunting ventures. Ares suddenly looked as juicy and devourable as a great slab of roasted meat. The floor massaged her toes. The temple’s celebrants began to regard her with interest as she crept toward him. “I don’t mind you infiltrating me. As long as you don’t mind me infiltrating you back.”
“I absolutely mind. And I wouldn’t be the only one.”
“What happens between us is no one else’s business.”
"Tell your mommy that." As she stalked him, he cut her off with a shifty slip to the side, so she circled the other way. “Stop that!”
She halted and gave a reflexive bat of lashes. “Stop what?”
“Don’t even. Do you forget who your mother is? She is the daughter of Titans. And your father? Well, he already takes enough issue with me. I don’t need them and all their allies ganging up on me right as I’m about launch a new war. Do you have any idea what would come down on my head if I were to haul you into my bed and pluck all your glorious little petals off? Thank you, no. You’re not worth that kind of trouble.”
Her breath rushed out with gut-wrenching force, as if he’d punched her there. When her voice finally came out, it was airy. Shaky. “Not...not worth it?”
How could Fated Love not be worth it?
But he only snorted. “I like my head where it is—both of them, actually. Your mother would rend them from my body, along with all my limbs, and scatter every piece across every land with full Olympian sanction. Don’t get me wrong. I like a good fight more than anybody I know, but one afternoon of frolic with you, no matter how tasty, is not worth that price.”
“How can you say it’s not—one afternoon?”
He flopped down on the couch beside the dark, smirking goddess. Her ruby eyes glimmered in triumph as she slid a possessive hand onto his thigh. Fury scorched Kore’s insides at the sight, but Ares only encouraged it. “One,” he stated, grabbing a discarded cup of blood-nectar from the nearby table. “Enjoyable as it’s been, now it’s done.” He lifted the cup in salute, then buried his face in a long swig.
He may as well have stabbed her in the chest. She could barely breathe. The stones at her feet pumped insult into her. The walls all whispered outrage—an emotion she never wanted to feel with him. She scrunched her eyes and shook her head. This was all wrong. Ares was her beloved. Her Fated One. He wasn’t supposed to—
“Prance off, little girl,” he said.
Kore blew a huff through her nostrils. She longed to chomp that goddess’ encroaching hand to a stub, but she forced herself to remain calm. Just the temple, just the temple, just the temple.
Crossing to stand before Ares, she curled her fingertips around each other, hands stacked before her belly, mouth set. “Most valiant and virile, unwearying Spear of Might, become mine and make me yours. Then there will be no trouble from anyone. You could take me as you will, when and where you will, as often as you wished. And let me assure you, I am a fertility goddess. I would wish for it to be often. You have but to request an audience with my mother. Make your proposal of marriage and—”
A roar of hilarity sprang up, crushing the words inside her throat.
Ares’ laughter was the loudest of all, the worst of all. “Oh, mercury-tongued little wood-nymph, I offered the shelter of my shield for you a long time ago, as well as an entire bloody mountain range. But your mother told me to go sit on my spear. I’m not the faithful husband type, see.” His hand landed on the small, clawed one that had claimed his leg. He gave it a pat. “And everybody knows—if you’re not fit to wed, you do not bed The Kore.”
“‘The Kore?’” Fire blazed up her thighs. Ichor pumped through her temples. It made her dizzier than too much nectar in one pass. “What am I? Some sort of trading commodity now?”
“The very priciest. Of all the maiden goddesses who popped off from the Thunderer’s sack, only one is both Olympian caliber and ready to be bartered in marriage. The others, like ole Battle-Axe Athene, would be better described as the River Kokytos—frigid, ice-hearted, always wailing and railing about something.”
Kore’s hand flew to her breast. “My lord Ares, how can you say such things about your own dear sister?”
“Half-sister. Go run back to mommy’s skirts, maiden fair. She’ll find a nice, handsome god who will worship your every step. How about Apollo or Hermes? Come to think of it, some of my own sons by Aphrodite favor their mother more than me. Eros is available again.”
The dark goddess let out a snort. “So’s your brother.”
Ares shot her a murderous look.
Kore’s brows furrowed. “Why would I ever wish to marry the God of the Forge? Isn't he crippled, smelly, grumpy, and hideously ugly?”
“Rather my point, sweetling.” The goddess’ eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “Really, Ares, can anyone be this thick in the skull? And you put your mouth on it? Ew. Shit-for-brains.”
“Choke on my fat spear, Eris,” he growled.
Kore’s eyebrows lifted. Eris…of course. She had never met the Goddess of Discord before, but hearing that infamous name clarified everything the cruel creature had displayed since their first words.
Blessedly, Ares plucked her hand off his thigh and threw it back in her own lap. “It’s only his forge that’s smelly, you know that, so keep your nasty tongue behind your fangs, and off the subject of my little brother.” To Kore, he said, “Heph is only grumpy with those who treat him like spilled guts under their chariot wheels, and he’s no more ugly than we are. It’s just that part of his face is mangled from landing on it when Mommy pitched him off Mount Olympos for being born lame.”
Eris cackled. “What a sight that must have been. I wish I’d been there to witness it.”
“If I recall,” Ares said, “you were. Didn’t you incite it?”
“Ohhhh…oh, dear me. So I did. What an amusing day that was.”
The breath lodged in Kore’s breath at such spiteful words. Then it ignited in outrage. Ares’ younger half-brother hadn’t had the chance to suckle or even strengthen his divine core by eating ambrosia before the catastrophe, so although the fall couldn’t kill him, some of the damage had been irreparable. “You despicable monster!” she cried.
Eris’ eyes flashed in triumph. “Why, little thing. Those are the only intelligent words you’ve spluttered all day.” Turning back to Ares, she said, “Hephaistos might have a limpy leg, but you’re limpy everywhere it counts. Too bad your precious mommy-figs didn’t pitch you off the mount. Maybe I should get to work on her again.”
“You know,” he growled, “why don’t you flit off, too? Maggoty-souled bitch of the abyss.”
“I am the daughter of Nyx, not Tartaros. Get your facts straight, you brainless lump of useless brawn.” Eris hurled a kiss at him and sing-songed, “Limp in spirit, limp in spear. Such bravado hiding fear.”
He jumped up and towered over her. His hand shot out to cinch around her throat. He yanked her nose-to-nose with him. To Kore’s horror, his erection bristled with similar veiny tension to when he rode into battle. It grew larger and tauter with their every hurled word. “Shut your mouth, or I’ll cram it down your throat so hard you’ll be the one sitting on it.”
Eris let out a choked moan, then stroked the backs of three claws up his thigh as she wheezed, “Flirting again already?”
He flung her away. “Hardly.”
“Exactly.” She licked her lips at the sight of his arousal.
Kore couldn’t keep her eyes off it either. Her breathing had gone shallow and spastic. Her knees felt jellied. Ares’ phallus was astounding, arousing, exactly what she had longed to see up close.
But not like this. This was all wrong!
Eris sneered a laugh. “I suppose it has been too long since you tried to satisfy me this morning. Whining boy-soldier always defeated by a girl for love of your papa. I bet you couldn’t manage to spear this unmoving target, even if I guided you in.” With a glance to make sure Kore was watching, she flipped up her apron and planted her legs apart.
All sounds ceased for a long millisecond. Kore’s heartbeat slowed and her aura flared as the Titanic lineage in her ichor ignited. So did the spark of Zeus’ lightning and the rumble of Demeter’s wrath. A ruddy veil descended over her vision. Before Ares could fire back, the Bringer of Blossomtime lunged between them to face Eris down. “I highly suggest that you get your own facts straight before letting your words fly off your toxic tongue, good lady.”
“Oooh…” Eris’s hand dropped down between her legs. Her middle fingers set to drawing sensuous circles upon herself as she snuggled more comfortably into the couch as if basking in Kore’s anger—as if drinking it in and becoming intoxicated by it. “You highly suggest that, do you?”
“I do.”
“Do tell me…and make sure you leave out no details. What is a little flower-flinger like you gonna do about it if I don’t?”
Leaning closer, Kore lowered her chin and her voice to enunciate with searing clarity, “I shall educate you.”
The words came out more deeply than she’d ever growled.
Earthquakes, I sound like my mother about to go on a rampage.
But Eris only batted her eyes, two red gemstones in lava. “Mmm, goodie. I do love a good education.” The quicksilver apron dropped down over her thighs as she slunk up from the couch for an unhesitant toe-to-toe. “Pretty-pretty please, won’t you give me one?” She was shorter in stature, yet more powerfully built. Her aura was enormous and potent, honed through ages of conflict, and only growing brighter with every second.
Kore didn’t care—not in the defense of her beloved, and not with some upstart warmonger shooting off insults just for the sake of stirring up trouble. Other things were stirred up, too—things that had been long-fated for Kore’s passionate touch. But that wouldn’t matter the second Ares joined his song to hers. He is mine. He simply hasn’t realized it yet, so I shall have to educate him, too.
The Bringer of Blossomtime edged further into Eris’ space, eyes locked, chin down, teeth bared. Her aura spread out like a shadow that grew with her every snarled word. “It is common knowledge that the Thunderer’s neglect has more to do with the fact that his only son by Hera more closely resembles her than him, and that the King of Heaven fears being overthrown by his progeny like he overthrew his own father, who overthrew his father.”
Eris jerked to a halt, then rolled her eyes at the nearest onlookers. “Wow. Really took that education thing literally, didn’t she?”
They all sniggered and closed in.
Kore huffed in frustration. Her voice fired out vicious spite as she spat from her upper teeth, “These facts by no means indicate a shortcoming in the almighty God of War himself.”
“Aww…” Eris tossed a glance at Ares. “So defensive of you, Limpy. It’s so cute! And so vewwwy fewocious.” She clawed the air with a hiss and a tiny-cat noise.
To Kore’s shock, Ares only stood back with his arms crossed, chuckling and practically licking his chops at the brewing fight.
Kore had never been in a fight before. She’d never even experienced a circumstance in her life that could have led to one, but the Temple of War whispered that it knew exactly what she needed do. It promised her victory, if she would only yield to it.
Something she was certain that Eris had done centuries ago.
Everyone in the vicinity had stopped to watch. All the torches quivered and blazed. The energy of the place churned out wave after goading wave, like oil on the fire that raged between the two goddesses.
When Eris turned back to Kore, all hint of humor vanished from her gaze. Her eyes went such a deep, dark red they were nearly black. Flame-ringed black. Wings seeped up from her back like smoke. They matched the scent of her breath—the stench of charred, rotting carrion. She was the essence of incineration and soul-sucking malice. She was the putrefaction of everything that had once been pure and beautiful. Although her wings shifted and wisped, sure to be impossible to get ahold of, the tips of them were armed with several talons that promised latching-gouging-rending torment.
Each breath she drew in, each iota of grounding and energy she soaked in from the floor polished the tension from her body. Had Kore not loathed her so deeply, she might have been inspired to track the foul creature and absorb tips on how to wield all the divinely destructive forces her mother had forbidden her to so much as peek at.
Because the Goddess of Discord was not a stalwart fortress of muscle like the Armored Maiden, Athena. She was not a statuesque force of nature like Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. She was certainly not the massive, towering expanse of wrath that was Demeter, Queen of the Earth when angered.
Eris was as petite and delicate as Kore, yet there was nothing fragile or flimsy in her when she snarled, “So then, little thing?” Her tongue slipped out. It had the hue and texture of blood-stained mercury. Wetting her blackened lips, she purred, “Amidst all your inane blathering, you seem to be missing a few vewy, vewy important facts yourself.” When Kore only bared her teeth and hunkered down even harder, Eris gained more height, more mass. “So now let me educate you.”
Another glorious homage from one of my favorite composers ever: Sebastian Angel.
UP NEXT: After fighting with Demeter and finding himself thwarted in his efforts to gain permission to so much as meet Kore, much less wed her, Haides dredges up the most potent ammunition in his arsenal: LOVE LIKE WAR.
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