Oh my. I never expected this story would have any types of reviews, or this much favorites, or even this many views! You guys rock! So, in lieu of the somehow buzz of the story, I've decided to sit my ass down and continue, to kick my muse into gear, so to speak. I kinda miss writing, you know? Anyways! Enjoy!


An hour later, Gaia found me outside of the training room, nervously looking at the door with my thumbnail in my mouth. She smiled softly and laughed at my dilemma.

"What is it, Eveleen?" she asked. Nathaniel had shown me to where Achilles trained daily, but now, I had no wish to go inside.

"I'm having second thoughts."

"So I see," she replied. Normally I would have glared at the comment, but I let it pass this one time. "You realize that even if you have no skill with the blade, Achilles wouldn't mind? Believe it or not, he makes a great fighting instructor, and he will love to train you."

"I don't want to disappoint him." Gaia walked the step over to me and gently took my hand from my mouth. She slid a hand over my hair and smiled down at me, much like my mother used to.

"You will not disappoint him with lack of skill with the blade. Firstly, I have seen you fight and you will be enough of a challenge for Achilles to keep his interest. Secondly, he would be disappointed if you did not show up, when you clearly promised you would train with him." Her hand smoothed down the curls around my forehead, and slowly but surely, I began to relax.

"I guess," I muttered, already knowing Gaia had won this round.

"Now go on. Behave and make me proud."

"Is Kerys almost done with Zeus?" I asked Gaia. "I need my sword and whip."

"I will call for her," she replied. "Now stop stalling and go." I shot her a disgruntled look but walked in regardless. And boy, was I glad I did.

Achilles wore tight cloth pants and the V neck shirt Ares had worn which dipped down and showed an incredible amount of muscles, each defined beyond what a man should be. He was fighting an invisible opponent, so his hair whipped around his perfect face, and his sinful eyes were alive with the pleasure of the fight. His muscles rippled underneath his skin as he showed off his prowess as a man and warrior and I could no more look away that I stop breathing. He was magnificent.

"Are you going to stare all day or will you come and play with me, Eveleen?" His amused voice brought me out of my feminine perusal, and a light blush stained my cheeks in response. Drat the man for being so observant.

"I have to wait for Kerys," I replied. "She has my sword and my whip."

"Kerys will be at Zeus's mercy for a while yet," Achilles replied as he finished his mock fight. He turned to me and my heart literally clenched; the sheer male aura combined with his drop dead sexy looks was just too potent of a combination. "He always had a weakness for the 'wee ones'." Again he surprised me with his knowledge, but this time I let it pass. "Is there someone else you can call, mortal? I do wish to play with you." The blush darkened on my cheeks, but I nodded reluctantly.

"I call Bruadar. Please, Bru. Can you hear me?" It was difficult to call the Fae from their realm; I hadn't their ability to transverse ethereal planes, so my voice to them was as if they heard it from underwater. It was unreliable at best, but sometimes I was heard and answered. Fortunately Bruadar heard my call.

A green portal opened beside of me and I smiled in relief. Bruadar stepped out, looking every inch the mischievous Cheshire cat, and cast an assessing glance at Achilles. Achilles, however, was looking at the Fae with a contemplative stare. He could sense that this Fae was a warrior as well; Bruadar always struck men as imposing or too powerful to deal with. Fortunately, Achilles was probably his match and perhaps even more.

"Beauty, have you finally called for a champion?" he purred, his eyes watching Achilles like a hawk. "I'll be honored to fight for you, beauty." I just shook my head at the Fae and smiled.

"No, Bruadar. I'm sorry to have summoned you for so little of a thing, but can I have my whip and my sword? Kerys is still in conference with Zeus and she will probably be there all day. I would like to train and spare with Achilles."

"Beauty, nothing is too trivial for you." With a wave of his hand, the whip materialized on my left side and my sword on my right hip. "Remember beauty, call for me if you have need. Any need." The last part made me blink in surprise; he rarely showed a romantic interest in me and it did catch me off guard. He stepped back into the portal and glanced once at Achilles, who smirked at the Fae. The portal closed, leaving the warrior and I alone, and Achilles looked at me with that probing stare of his.

"Is he your lover, Eveleen?"

"No!" I cried out. "He's more of my guardian than anything. He just…likes to stir up trouble to amuse himself."

"I see. So I still have a chance at capturing your heart." Quickly I buried my face in my palm and groaned in exasperation and embarrassment. Achilles chuckled at my discomfort and raised his sword to point it at me in mock challenge. "Come, Eveleen. Show me your skill with the blade and I will stop tempting you for the moment." Even though my face was on fire, I drew my sword and uncurled my whip with both hands.

"Go easy on me," I told him, nervousness finally beginning to set in. I did not want to disappoint him, but I didn't want to be seriously injured again like Ares had done to me.

"I know how to treat a woman," he purred. Even though the comment made me blush, I cracked the whip once in the air and sent him a hopefully saucy smirk. If I could draw him away from these topics, I might actually learn a few pointers on combat. I was actually looking forward to his instruction; I found a bit of fun to be had in battles and fighting. Strange, but it must be my Irish ancestry.

At the crack of the whip, his gaze darkened and his grin widened.

"Kinky," he replied darkly. Now that I was fully drawn into battle mode, the comment rolled off of my shoulders, much like Zeus's compliments.

"You have no idea," I retorted. For a moment, we were silent as we waited anxiously for the other to begin the battle, and I was getting even more excited by the second. How was I nervous about this? I almost didn't fight him! That would have been a mistake on my part, because I was definitely ready to begin.

So I made the first move and cracked the whip near his sword. Achilles lowered his arm and charged, only getting caught by my whip once on his left arm, and slammed into my blade. I was surprised by the amount of force put into his attacks, but I only took one step back before I could recover. His smile was a few inches away from my own, the locked blades trembling with the force we put into our defenses.

"Well. I didn't expect you to be particularly strong," he allowed. "Now I am impressed, Eveleen." His praise warmed me and gave me the strength to push him back. He took only one step back, but it was enough for me to crack the whip on one of his legs. The cut was easily ignored, which was probably the only reason he didn't realize the tip was dipped in the paralyzing agent. Instead he attacked again, this time, in a flurry of slashes and hacks designed to wear down my defenses. However, defense was my strong point. The handle of the whip was enough to deflect and absorb the power of his attacks and the sword could catch what the whip could not.

After a few moments of watching Achilles, I realized that he was indeed much better than me, even though that came as no surprise. He wasn't fighting at full capacity and I had been since the battle began. I was destined to lose again, but this time, I didn't feel as if I had lost. I felt as if I was going to be merely bested by a better warrior and that I could live with.

What seemed like ages later, his sword finally broke through my defenses and he pointed the tip at the hollow at the bottom of my neck. I immediately went still, though my body heaved with each breath. His eyes, dark with the pleasure of battle and the desire of a woman, were trained on me as he watched me for my reaction.

"You win," I simply stated.

"Indeed." We both fell silent again until he finally dropped his sword. "You fight remarkably well for a woman. I am actually impressed with your skill. A shame that you do not serve Ares."

"I think I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one." Behind us the door opened and I turned, expecting to see Gaia. To my dismay, I realized the sea of red only meant one thing. "Ares," Achilles greeted.

Damn.

"What are you doing training without me?" the man behind the god said, coming out to mock glare at Achilles.

"Playing with a woman, Ajax. Can you fault me?" I knew of Ajax…somewhat. My brother had spoken of me of the Trojan War and through him, I had learned of the second best warrior. Ajax. He had been close to Achilles and probably was still very close.

The warrior's eyes roamed my body and I just sighed in frustration. Would all men be like this here?

"Is all you men think about on Olympus sex?" I asked, the grievance in my tone enough to cause both men to laugh and Ares to smirk.

"What else is better?" Ajax replied as Ares watched me calmly. "And who won this battle?"

"Achilles, of course," I replied. "Even if I trained all of my life, I couldn't come close to beating him." Now Achilles looked down at his arm, then back at me.

"Your whip. It's tainted." I smirked and slid my eyes over to the now disgruntled blond.

"Now you realize this?"

"Hush, wench."

"All's fair in love and war, Achilles." Though he tried not to, a smirk did grace his handsome features. "Do you need me to leave so you two can spar?"

"The day we don't spar for a woman is the day I visit old Hades again," Ajax replied glibly.

"I can see Achilles has no influence on you whatsoever," I quipped as I sheathed my sword.

"Wait. Play with me, mortal. You can't show favor to just Achilles." Ajax said, walking over to the horde of weapons on the far side of the room. I cocked my head to the side, confused. What was it with men and wanting to see how I fought? There were enough female attendants I'd seen at Ares's table to make me realize I wasn't the only female warrior here, but for some odd reason, I was getting the same response. Mentally I shrugged. I didn't mind the extra attention, I would admit it, and I would love to continue my education on fighting.

"If you wish," I allowed. I wasn't going to turn down a fight just because I was a bit tired from Achilles. I only missed Kerys, because Oberon would have loved to have seen me fight with these two famous men. I would have been richly rewarded and pampered for it, I was sure. Thinking of the Fae king made me smile, like it always did.

Ajax selected a spear and twirled it experimentally. I was impressed by the dexterity in his fingers; he really looked as if he had been born with a spear in his hand. He nodded, then turned and came back to me, holding his spear at the ready.

"Are you ready, mortal?" he asked.

"Only if you are." He smirked and leapt almost in the same instant, thrusting his spear at my midsection in a relatively weak blow. I knew that these warriors had to be gentle with me, but that attack was just pitiful and insulting. I blocked his spear and brought my whip down high on his shoulder, smirking at the small hiss he elicited. Achilles began to laugh as Ajax stepped away, now wary.

"Old friend, you are an idiot. You can see she is a warrior, yet you don't fight her. You merely pamper her. Show her how you truly are, but she does want you to 'be gentle'." I glared at the unrepentant blond, then at Ajax as he began to chuckle.

"Fine," he replied. "Are you ready, mortal? I won't hold back." Again I cracked my whip, this time tapping the tip of his spear, showing my control and aim with the unconventional weapon. Now he lunged and the duel began once again.

I had to admit, fighting against a spear wasn't my strong suit. I wasn't used to the way he would stab, then try to slice, and I was kept on the defensive for the majority of the battle. The movements with the spear were odd and wholly unexpected, so it was no surprise when he finally cut my leg. Immediately he stopped the battle, but I didn't want that. I wanted to fight more with him, to watch how the spear was utilized and fought with, and a mere cut like this wasn't going to stop me.

He blocked as I jumped at him, and I crouched and whirled, catching one of his legs to throw him off balance. Knowing this was my chance to even the odds if but for a moment, I kicked his stomach using my position from the ground, and he stumbled back a step more, wavering between falling and standing. Now I just gave up all pretenses of hand to hand combat and leapt, catching the hilt of his spear with my sword as he went down. I landed straddling him and I quickly pointed the bottom of my hilt against his throat. It was enough for a victory, since if I hit him hard enough; he could choke and give me the opportunity to finish him.

"Well, well," Achilles whistled. I quickly got off of Ajax, ignoring the sharp stinging in my leg, and sheathed my sword and curled up my whip. Ajax got up slowly as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Teaches me to underestimate and coddle a wench," he stated. "Well done. I didn't expect that of you." I shrugged daintily and looked back at Achilles.

"So, are you going to train me?" I asked. Now it was Ajax's turn to be surprised, because I saw his jaw drop.

"Achilles volunteered to train you?"

"Well, not in so much words, maybe just enough to show me a few pointers…I mean-" I rambled, but Achilles interrupted me.

"I did. Fascinating mortal, is she not?" Ajax watched me thoughtfully, then nodded his assent.

"She is." I flushed at the two men speaking as if I wasn't in the room with them, but I didn't speak up. Apparently Achilles training me was a huge ordeal if Ajax's reaction was anything to go by and I wasn't going to screw this up with a thoughtless comment. "I want to train her as well."

"Naturally. Wench. Have you been trained or told about your god powers and responsibilities?"

"Not yet," I replied. "Gaia hasn't really started to teach me anything yet." Achilles nodded.

"She will today. Probably wanted you to have fun for a while before the training begins," Achilles informed.

"You know the mortal won't be taught for a while yet," Ares replied, finally speaking up. I was glad he did, in fact. A quiet Ares I wasn't used to. "You will be allowed a week to come to terms with this place, as if you need it." I quirked an eyebrow, not sure of whether the last part was an insult or compliment. "Then you will begin training with your powers. Achilles, train her in my quarters."

"Planned on it," the blond replied. All three male eyes were on me and I fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. "Though I have to say I love the unique fighting style, I'm going to teach you how to wield other weapons. Have you been trained with anything else?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Just the whip, sword, and the bow."

"The bow? We will have to call in Odysseus to judge. It has been a while since any mortal with considerable skill has come through Olympus." Oh great, more tests and tribulations I had to endure.

"I'll teach her the spear," Ajax interjected. "It would be entertaining, I'm sure." Strangely I didn't hear a sexual connotation in that, and it slightly unnerved me. He seemed almost…fond of me, instead of interested in how I was in bed. Shocking.

"I don't know if I could," I answered. "It seems like an odd weapon to use." With a grin, Ajax threw the spear at me, and I easily caught it in both hands.

"Here, wench. You have nothing to do for the day, so let's begin your training." I honestly thought about it for two seconds before I nodded. I had nothing to do but explore for a week – supposedly – and I was interested in the spear, plus, I had two of the greatest warriors and a god in the room to teach me. Call me opportunistic, but I wasn't going to pass this up.

"Okay." Ajax walked back to the wall and grabbed two spears, then threw one to Achilles.

"Watch, wench. This is how a spear battle is fought." With that, the two men thrust at almost the same time, and the battle was on. I watched avidly as tried to grasp the mechanics of fighting with the spear. It seemed to focus on the quick jabs and the position of the hilt to block, parry, or defend, and the spearhead itself was not only used to jab, but to slice the opponent as well. Achilles' shirt had already suffered a small tear, but neither man was really attempting to make the battle anything but a mock one. I also knew they were slowing their moves to allow me to watch, and I was grateful.

"Do you see?" Ares spoke, and I jumped. He had his arms crossed as his seasoned eyes watched the two warriors.

"See what?" I asked. I was unnerved by the fact Ares hadn't tried to insult or antagonize me, and I did miss the verbal sparring. But then again, I didn't want him to be an asshole when he was trying to teach me either.

"How they fight. Or are you not watching?" Okay, so he could still throw an insult out there. That put me back in stride and in the comfortable Ares zone. I knew this Ares. I could fuck with this Ares…not the silent, watchful one.

"I am," I countered. "I'm not an idiot." I was silent for a moment, then finally admitted, "But I don't understand the mechanics yet. It's a lot different than the sword."

"Of course it is. It's a different weapon. What did you expect?" I spared a small glare for the god before turning my attention back to the battle.

"Why are you letting them train me?" I asked him quietly. "You said that you just love to annoy me."

"I'm the god of war," he replied. "I would never forbid someone from learning the art the world has lost. You have enough talent to eventually be useful to me, and perhaps I will allow you to fight by my side eventually. That is, if you show promise, mortal."

"You fight?" I asked him. "The world uses guns and other technology to fight. Why would you participate in those wars?"

"You don't understand, wench. I'm a god. I can take any form I please, and can fight in any war I wish to. Do you think that I cannot find one battle in which to fight? Plus, we are not the only gods in this world, mortal. We have fought many times against Odin, and we have won."

"Odin?" I queried.

"The Norse god. Catch up on your mythology, would you?"

"I've been here for a couple of days. Fuck you."

"Hmph." I glared once more at the god before turning back to Achilles and Ajax, who were winding down their battle. A few deflects later, they turned back to me, their eyes still alive with the thrill of battle.

"So you see, wench?" Ajax asked. "This is the best weapon. Not the sword."

"You have been misinformed," Achilles replied, cutting his eyes to the brawn warrior on his right. "The sword is vastly superior to the spear."

"Do you want to find out?" Ajax threatened, though his eyes were playful.

"I'll pass. I've no wish to defeat you in front of the woman."

"Oh?" Ajax drawled. I just giggled at their antics; both of them together were quite amusing instead of being intimidating.

"So will you teach me or flirt with Achilles all day?" I teased, catching onto the playful atmosphere of the two men.

"Wench," Ajax growled, but I could see he was still playing with me. Good. I didn't want to alienate him, just to tease him. "Hold out your spear." I did as he asked, trying to remember the way he held it. "No, like this." Ajax walked over to stand behind me, then lifted the spear to slant to chest height to my knees in the back. "You hold the spear with strength." He gripped the spear and shook it. "That way no enemy can rip this away from you. Tighter." I complied, though I was feeling like a lost little kid, but I kept with him. With Ares watching, I was a bit tense and uncomfortable, but not to the extent of where I had to flee to escape him.

"Put your leg back. Lead with the right leg. Now swing more to the side. There." Achilles was watching me closely, and I was amazed to see no lust or desire in his eyes. He was now every inch the commander and teacher, and I saw what Gaia had meant about him being a great instructor. He knew not to push or demean me in front of others and he was just stating instructions instead of barking them out. "That's the basic spear stance."

Behind us, the door opened again, and I glared at the door and the intruder. I was busy, dammit! I was learning something interesting and didn't want anyone to disturb us. But I just had to sigh as I saw who came in. Gaia entered with Kerys and both women made the same expression of amazement that I snorted in laughter.

"So you're going to teach my attendant?" Gaia asked. "Achilles, you never cease to amaze me. Ajax, I could see you teaching her, but not the lofty Achilles." Her tone was teasing and a tad bit sensual, but Achilles merely grinned at Gaia.

"Your attendant is intoxicating," he repeated. I rolled my eyes even as I rose from the battle stance, and placed the bottom of the spear on the floor as I watched Gaia.

"Isn't she?" Gaia replied easily. "Yet I must take her away for now. You can play with her later, Achilles."

"A shame," he replied on a sigh. He turned to put the spear away and Ajax grabbed my own spear and walked over to the weapons stock as well. "Come, Eveleen. We have much to discuss, and we must heal the cut on your leg." I looked down, totally forgetting about the cut on my leg, then grinned as I heard Kerys sigh in frustration.

"How many times do I have to tell you to watch how you train?" the Fae asked. "If you're hurt, you must treat the wound."

"It's just a flesh wound," I replied.

"This is not Monty Python. Come on, let's get you fixed up." Kerys gestured me over to the women, and I sighed, resigned in the fact I wouldn't be trained today. Gaia turned and walked out, Kerys on her shoulder, and as I reached the door I hesitated and turned back to the three men. Ajax and Achilles had their back to me, but Ares was watching me with a look I couldn't even begin to place. His arms were crossed over his defined chest, and I could see the raw strength in him, causing me to sigh inwardly. If only he was a mortal; I would have liked to try my hand at him. With a last look, I turned and walked out, feeling the weight of his stare on my back.

"How was it, Eveleen?" Gaia asked as the door shut behind me.

"Fun. Really fun, actually. Ajax is going to teach me to fight with a spear and Achilles said he would train me farther. Probably with the sword."

"That is indeed a surprise," Gaia admitted, leading me down hallways toward our quarters. "He is picky when it comes to people he trains. His women, not so much, but he values prowess more than you can imagine. As a warrior, you made an impression on him, one that will last for your time here."

"Why?" I asked her. "I lost to him, I lost to Ares, and the only reason I beat Ajax is because he didn't expect me to be any good."

"You beat Ajax? Impressive."

"But he was surprised. That's the only reason why I won."

"That is war, is it not? A surprise attack will nearly always decimate an enemy. You beat Ajax and gained his respect. You will probably not defeat him again, but it was enough for him to begin to respect you as a warrior. Achilles, however, has the ability to see your mettle as a person and as a warrior. If he sees enough potential, only then will he acknowledge you. Women are notoriously low on his list of potential warriors, Eveleen, and you have enough mettle for him to respect you."

"He said that I should have been an attendant to Ares," I stated.

"Oh Oberon protect me," Kerys stated. "That would have been a nightmare. Imagine what havoc you could start living in Ares's quarters. Temperamental warriors could easily kill one another."

"You are right, Kerys," Gaia stated. "But I'm sure Eveleen could hold her own."

"That's what scares me," Kerys groaned. "They would come to her to take the position of the strongest. She'd always be fighting and eventually start to really get annoyed and beat the shit out of them." I snorted at the Fae's imaginary woes. "Think of how I would explain to Oberon why you were in time out with Hades." Now I burst out laughing, because the possibility wasn't that improbable. Or it was because of the 'time out with Hades' portion of that comment.

"Don't worry, Kerys. Gaia found me first."

"His loss, my gain," the god replied with a dainty shrug. "But take that compliment and keep it close, Eveleen. Achilles does not say those words lightly." Her explanation and the knowledge of how much those words actually meant warmed me.

"Do you think Achilles and I could be friends?" I asked seriously.

"I believe so," she replied. "And if he decides that he wishes to be, you will have the greatest protector the world has ever known." Her words stirred something in me, a fierce pride that caused a smile to form on my face. Perhaps it was because I had made my first friend, or because it was the great Achilles. But perhaps the pride was for Achilles himself, because he was the greatest warrior the world ever knew, and still remembered to this day.

"Here." I looked up to see that we were entering the outer chambers of my room, and relaxed when he finally entered my own room. Kerys shut the door behind her with her latent magic and Gaia just waved a hand. The bloody dress disappeared and I blushed, instinctively covering my bra. Kerys began to laugh and I glared at the impish Fae.

"Now, I want you to look at your leg. The cut is very shallow, right?" I nodded at Gaia's words, and she knelt and took my hand in her own. She placed it over the cut and looked up at me. "I will heal you, but only using your own powers." I was still surprised to hear that I had powers, especially since I had not been able to use them yet, but I was getting used to the fact that I indeed had powers. Heady feeling, that.

"How will you do that?" I sat down on the bed and watched her, still trying not to feel uncomfortable with my lack of clothes.

"The ambrosia you drank granted you powers, but they are still small because you have not trained with them yet. It is not a flaw," she continued, almost as if she was reading my thoughts, "But a fact. We will begin training when you are ready. Now. Do you feel this?" I felt a curious stirring in my body, a slight tingling and a sort of influx of power in my fingertips.

"Yeah," I breathed out. Again the tingling swept from my heart to my extremities, causing me to shiver in delight and anticipation. Something in me leapt at the power I began to feel flowing through me, feeling much like a heartbeat.

"It is," Gaia answered. "The power is aligned in your blood, in your very essence. It is your heartbeat. It is your life-force. This is now who you are. You are a demi-god in human terms, and never forget that you are special, Eveleen." The power began to beat faster, harder, and I knew that Gaia was drawing on more of my power. I closed my eyes at the ecstasy of strength and competence, and I knew that this would be the best part of coming to Olympus.

Below, I felt the power concentrate in my hand, and I opened my eyes to watch. My hand was glowing a dark green that matched the drapes in my room and I felt a heat begin to rise on my leg. It was if the heat began on the bone and expanded outwards, and I couldn't feel any pain as I felt the heat began to concentrate on the cut. I watched in fascination as the cut seemed to sew itself back together, the wound disappearing as if it had never been.

"Amazing," I breathed. "This is what Bruadar must feel like." The power began to hum and die, but the warmth remained even after Gaia released the healing spell. Suddenly, I was swamped with a wave of exhaustion so fierce I nearly fell to the floor. However, Gaia caught me easily and kept me sitting on my bed.

"I overdrew your power on purpose, Eveleen. I want you to feel this feeling. This is a slight overdraft of your powers, and you must understand that you can never use everything you have or you will die. This is a lesson I cannot stress enough of. You have not had enough ambrosia to compensate for using all of your powers and you will not use your powers outside of Olympus until I can trust you. That is non-negotiable."

"I…understand." It was tough to even keep my eyes open and I felt as if I was swimming in water. My head felt light and fuzzy and the rest of my body felt as if weights were attached to each limb. It took a lot of my concentration to even clench my first, which terrified me. I never wanted to be this vulnerable. Ever.

"I'll give you my powers, but remember this lesson." Oh, I would remember this all right. Now Gaia placed a hand on my head, and I felt my heart beat painfully once before I felt the influx of power once again. The heartbeat of power began to grow stronger and I sighed aloud in relief. Never again did I want to feel like that. "This is not so you will not use your powers. You must train with me every day until you become used to the drain."

"I understand," I repeated, shaking my head to clear the fuzzy feeling. With a wave of Gaia's free hand, I was once again clothed in her garb, and I sighed in relief again. However, I found myself still tired, even though I felt the power in me once again.

"Tomorrow, Eveleen. You will still be tired from overuse, so you must sleep, no matter if you wish to or not. Plus, you must rest to train with Ajax and Achilles." The hand on my head began to grow warm, and I felt the pull of sleep become more than I could handle. I felt Kerys's magic lower me to the ground as Gaia took away her hand, but the goddess didn't stop there. She picked up the covers and placed them under my chin, then smoothed down my hair once as a mother would do.

"And Ares," I replied softly. "Ares said he'll train me too."

"You are an incredible mortal," Gaia stated, her hand still petting my hair. "Go to sleep, Eveleen. We will speak more tomorrow." And with that, the heat from her hand finally pulled me into the realm of dreams.