The War God's Woman

43. Cupid's Second Arrow

Sage sat at her new 'work desk' and rubbed her aching head. It had been a tough day, but Jaz was right – this was working. Getting strangers to hold her hands and ask her questions was making the visions come to her. Not always and when they did, they weren't always completely clear. But it was progress. She sipped the drink Jaz had brewed for her, pulling a face at the strange sour taste. He'd told her that this would help also.

She frowned at the desk. She wasn't sure about the sequins. It definitely had 'fortune-teller' vibes, which was the aim, but the sheer amount of sequins was slightly intimidating. The tablecloth could probably be used as armour. Sage heard the approach of footsteps and  she quickly fixed a tired smile in place.

"What question can I help-" She broke off from what she was saying and blinked. 

Ares pulled out the vacant chair, that was opposite her, and sat down.  He only met her gaze briefly, before quickly looking down at the table between them. Sage stared at him.

Every night, she'd been dreaming of him. She studied his face now, the lines of his jaw and his nose. Her dreams remembered him perfectly. That hurt.

"You're an oracle." Ares observed, still not looking at her.

"Hmm. It's because of the eyes."

They sat for a while in silence. "Have you come to take them back?" She asked, warily. 

"You tell me." His lip twitched up into half a smile. 

"No, you haven't." She sat back in her chair. 

Sage's heart ached. Seeing Ares again, talking to him, hearing his voice - it was everything she wanted. But the knowledge that they could no longer be together was crippling. He was the love of her life, and he was so close that she could reach out and touch him. But something bigger than the ocean divided them. 

A deal made with Aphrodite. 

"I'm offering people one question." Sage told him, hoping he wouldn't notice the quiver in her voice. "One question, and I'll find the answer for them. Do you have a question?"

Ares' gaze moved about nervously.

"Sage," he uttered her name reverentially and Sage shivered. "Have you ever thought that you loved me?"

Sage's eyes filled with tears. Ares looked up at last and his intense gaze searched her face for answers.

"Does that matter?" She asked. "I don't love you now." 

"Why are you crying?" He asked, hope and uncertainty in his voice.

Sage took a deep, steadying breath. Keep lying, you have to keep lying - or Ezekiel will die. 

"Because I didn't want to see you again." She held his gaze. "I don't like you."

Ares swallowed, struggling to compose his face.

"Do you... hate me?" He asked, his voice shaking. A tear slid down Sage's face. Her heart felt like it was being put through a grinder. 

"Yes, I think I do."

Ares' head bowed in defeat. His chin crumbled, as he struggled not to cry. Sage clung onto the table, digging her nails into the table cloth. "I'd like you to leave now." She stared grimly at the wall behind him, no longer trusting herself to look him in the face. She didn't want to read the hurt in his eyes. She didn't think that her heart could take it.