Apollo rolled his eyes and I laughed. Ares was a character. If you were in his inner circle, he graced you with his true personality which was funny and witty. If you were not, you only saw what the world thought him to be, ruthless and bloodthirsty. And to be fair, if the need arose, he could certainly be those things too.
From his left, a shadow moved and I watched curiously as a man emerged into my field of vision. Tall and broad-shouldered, he was as handsome a man as I had ever seen. Hair as black as night fell to his shoulders. His arms and legs were thick with muscle although his waist was slim. He had a chiseled jaw and perfect proportions and I found myself holding my breath as I looked at him. I made a conscious effort to breathe before I broached the question to my mother.
“Who is that?”
Aphrodite glanced at me sharply, before answering.
“That’s Cadmus, your father’s slave. Remember, Harmonia? He killed your father’s favorite dragon a few years ago. Surely you remember the drama that your father kicked up over the entire affair.” Aphrodite rolled her eyes for effect before continuing.
“Cadmus is a Phoenician prince, the son of the King of Tyre. I might have caused Zeus to fall in love with Cadmus’ sister, Europa. It was a slow day and I grew bored. Having love in the air is always a good thing, right?” Aphrodite raised an innocent eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes in answer. One thing my mother was not, was innocent.
“Anyway, after Zeus fell madly in love with Europa and had stolen her away, Cadmus’ father, Agenor, demanded that his sons find her from wherever Zeus had taken her or not to bother coming home at all. Europa was the apple of Agenor’s eye, better loved than even his wife, and he desperately wanted her found. The boys set out, but one by one, they either gave up or perished during their search. Years later, out of all of Agenor’s sons, Cadmus was finally the only one left standing. He traveled far and wide to find Europa because he was still determined to find his sister.
“Anyway, blah, blah, blah, long story short, along the way, Cadmus killed your father’s most favorite dragon and your father demanded justice for this most grievous crime. Zeus sentenced Cadmus to eight years of slavery to your father as compensation for the foul deed. I personally am glad that the dragon is gone. Ares spent entirely too much time with it, anyway. Some silly mortals claim that the dragon was actually Ares’ son. Isn’t that funny? They’re such smelly creatures. I don’t see what your father sees in them. Dragons, I mean. Not mortals.”
I was not distracted by my mother’s prattling or her airy re-telling of this tale. I did remember the affair. It had been a huge scandal some years back and I searched my memory for the details.
I had never seen this man, the subject of such controversy, because I tended to steer clear of the trials in Zeus’ court. As the goddess of peace and harmony, I shied away from discord. And there was always anger, resentment and back-biting in Zeus’ court.
“He’s a mortal,” I remembered out loud, my eyes still frozen on the perfect man. Ares had just handed him the bow and I cringed, hoping that Cadmus knew Ares enough to not best him. Ares did not like to be beaten.
Cadmus drew back the bow string gracefully, just as Ares and Apollo had before him. I held my breath as he aimed, paused and released the quivering arrow.
It struck its mark, splitting straight through Ares’ arrow and landing in the center of the target. An impressive feat. My eyes flew to my father. Ares stared at the arrow for a moment and at the splintered shards of his own before he burst into loud laughter. I expelled the breath I hadn’t realized that I was holding.
Ares slapped Cadmus on the shoulder and I smiled. My father was surprisingly friendly with his slave. As Cadmus turned to grin back at my father, with what I couldn’t help but notice was a beautiful smile, his gaze caught mine.
His eyes were dark, almost as dark as Ares’, but very kind and sparkled with warmth. He looked surprised for a moment and stopped what he was doing as he stood still and our eyes locked from across the field. Time seemed to stand still. The electricity between the two of us was almost palpable and I drew in a sharp breath.
Ares followed Cadmus’ gaze and when he saw me, his eyes narrowed, then he stepped between us. With his back to me, they continued their conversation and my heart started beating again.
“Of course he’s mortal,” my mother answered, as she carefully watched my face. “He’s a Phoenician prince. Don’t become taken with him, Harmonia. He’s a slave and I’m certain that once he serves his time, he will return to his home. He is King Agenor’s only remaining son, after all. He is not free to be with you. And your father would have heart failure, anyway.”
“Father will have a heart attack no matter who I end up with,” I replied absently, still trying to catch another glimpse of the beautiful man standing with my father. “And besides. Ares is immortal. No amount of heart attacks that I cause him will ever be fatal.”
“That’s beside the point,” Aphrodite announced, squaring her thin shoulders. “It’s never wise to seek out that which you cannot have. I should know.”
I glanced at her and found her attempting to look sad. I knew her well enough to recognize it as an act, however, and laughed.
“Mother, not five minutes ago, you were telling me how perfectly happy you are and how you do not need to marry my father. Don’t try to draw parallels here where there are none. Besides, I haven’t even met this man. Yet.”
With that last word, I did my best imitation of a flounce as I headed for the door. I heard my mother sigh as I rounded the corner and out of her sight. I smiled in response. It did her good to worry. She was very used to getting things her own way. This would be a nice change of pace for her.
I wound my way through the opulent halls of the palace and slipped out the back doors, through the gardens and into the fields beyond. I turned just once to find Aphrodite watching me, her silver eyes filled with…something. Anxiety? Worry? Curiosity? It was difficult to say, but I put it out of my mind. It didn’t matter.
I crested the top of the hill and burst upon the trio of men as they good-naturedly bickered back and forth, arguing about which of them possessed the most impressive skills.
They stopped speaking as I approached and all three turned to watch me.
I instantly felt self-conscious and a blush flared across my cheeks. I dared a glance at Cadmus and found the corner of his mouth twitching, as though suppressing a smile. He found my embarrassment amusing, which caused me to blush all the more.