I had almost fallen asleep, too, when a sudden flutter by the window caught my attention and I was instantly alert. I'd already stood up in a flash, knife in hand, when I saw the sparrow flying back to a tree. I sat back in the uncomfortable chair and twirled the knife between my fingers.
I didn't expect Deimos and Phobos to come again – they were much too busy doing chores for Aphrodite, anyway – but I wanted to stay awake just in case. It was hard, though, with Emma's soft, regular breathing being the only thing breaking the silence, and my own exhaustion nearly overpowering me. The past weeks I'd spent night and day getting Hades his souls and I hadn't allowed myself to rest even for a moment – the earlier I finished my task, the better. Plus, I hadn't been able to sleep for a few nights now anyway. Worrying about Emma – about her health, about what she'd do now that she knew it was my sons that had been stalking her – had kept me up.

'So I hear you want my granddaughters to help,' a smug voice then said.

I looked behind me. Apollo and his dramatic entrances… I couldn't believe he still enjoyed doing that. 'I haven't actually asked them yet.'

'You might as well wait it out, you know.' Apollo sat down on the other chair.

I frowned. 'Wait it out? That would take months, years, if it would ever disappear. I'm not going to subject her to that.'

'Actually, Ares,' he started, assuming his usual air of superiority, 'it's not PTSD. It's just an acute stress reaction, basically shock, and she's already in the last phase. So long as Deimos and Phobos stay away from her, it'll dissolve in about a week.'

'Yeah, and you.' I looked at him pointedly. 'You're part of it. You know you dug up memories with what you did back on Olympus. And then you thought it was a good idea to stalk her at the university, too.'

'I offered her my help,' he protested vehemently.

'Come on, Apollo. You and I both know you weren't there for that reason. And keep your voice down.'

'Fine.' He settled back into the chair and crossed his legs. I sighed; he clearly was not planning to leave any time soon. 'What's she dreaming of?' Apollo asked in a softer voice.

'A walk along the California coast.' I blankly stared at Emma, but focused on the image of her dream in the back of my mind.

Apollo snorted. 'Creative.'

'Yeah, well, we can't all be as artistic and visionary as you.' I put a field full of blue flowers into the dream, right over the edge of the hill she was now climbing. She'd like that.

'And I assume you're on that walk with her?' he smirked.

I slowly shook my head, then added her brother, climbing toward her from the other side of the hill. She hadn't seen him in months – might as well see him now. I knew she missed him. I just wondered how he would react to… well, me. 'Giving her some time off.'

Apollo didn't reply to that. He was quiet for a little while, but didn't break into Emma's dream – he was giving her some privacy, at last. I leaned back into the chair.

'Hey, Ares,' he finally said. 'Be careful, okay?'

I had just closed my eyes, but looked back at him now, frowning. 'What do you mean?'

Apollo nodded towards Emma. 'I mean, take care of yourself. With her. I know you're hopeful again after what happened earlier tonight – anyone could see, you're almost radiating hope – but when she wakes up… All I'm saying is, the situation hasn't really changed.'

'I think it has,' I said stubbornly, refusing to look him in the eye again.

'No, Ares.' His voice was still low in an attempt not to wake Emma, but I felt him staring at me intently. 'She doesn't know you went to see Virginia. She doesn't know the body count you left for that. And she has no idea that you're finally free of Gin's grasp.'

'Can you at least pretend not to know everything I do and think?' I ignored the actual content of what he said. I wasn't even sure he was right about that last part.

'Persephone told me, actually. She's very proud of you. She told everyone.' Apollo softly laughed – typical Persephone. If Hades wouldn't tell people what happened in the Underworld – which, naturally, he never did – she absolutely did whenever she got the chance. I smiled along with Apollo. Spring was much too far away; I was looking forward to seeing Persephone above ground.

'Tell me she's wrong,' Apollo challenged.

I looked down at my hands and picked a bit of basil from under my fingernail. 'I don't know, okay? I only went down yesterday. I'm going to need some more time. I'm not even sure if I did the right thing.'

'Well, your timing sucked.'

I raised an eyebrow at him, but remained silent.

He grinned. 'I'm saying you should've done this years ago. You've made an art form out of beating yourself up over her in the past decades.'

I looked away, back to Emma, and let her dream version paddle in a river. It was probably the most boring dream she had ever had – but she needed that. I inhaled deeply. 'Why do you even care, Apollo?'

He shrugged. 'You're my little brother. Someone's got to save our big protector from himself.'

I silenced. Such a thing was not necessarily unlike Apollo to say, but I couldn't remember the last time he'd said it to me. He enjoyed feeling like he was needed, but that was never really in relation to me. No one ever thought I did need anyone, either, no one but Aphrodite who was (in her own twisted ways) always there for me, just like when she offered to…

Aphrodite.

I sat up on the edge of the chair, dropping Emma's dream altogether, my mind racing.

'Ares?'

I lamely lifted my hand to silence Apollo, still thinking the entire situation through. It fit. It all fit; Aphrodite helped me in her own twisted ways. I shook my head. No. She wouldn't.

'Hey, Ares, mind sharing this eureka moment with me?' Apollo asked impatiently.

My thoughts were completely jumbled up and it took me a few seconds to collect myself, but then I turned to face him. 'It's Aphrodite. She did this. She's the one who gave Emma this… acute stress thing.'

He looked at me skeptically. 'Didn't she swear on Styx she would help you win her back?'

I almost forgot to keep my voice down as I explained restlessly. 'But that's the thing, isn't it? Before Dei and Pho did this I didn't have a chance of even seeing Emma. And now here I am. It's basically cheating.'

Apollo took in my words and my disgusted face for a few seconds before a smile cracked across his face. 'Ares, I know how you feel about cheating, but Aphrodite got you a step closer to getting the girl. This is good. This is victory.'

I opened, then closed my mouth, considering this. Was it victory? Apollo definitely always knew what to say – that word and that feeling were, of course, some of my favorite ones. It just didn't feel like victory right now and even if it was, it didn't taste as sweet as it normally would. I realized then that this wasn't good, this wasn't good at all, and I felt my epiphany making place for what would soon be an enormous fit of rage against Aphrodite. With her not present currently, I glared at my big brother, whose smile literally dimmed. 'This isn't about me getting the girl, Apollo! It's about what Aphrodite did to Emma, no matter her intentions. If I'm right, she purposely put Emma through hell. If that's what it takes for me to be with Emma, then I – I… forfeit.' It was almost physically impossible for me to say that last word.

He didn't respond to that. He just kept looking at me while I kept looking at him, feeling as if I reeked of desperation and cowardice. Finally, he raised his hand and said, 'You should've kept feeding her dreams.'

Cazzo. I looked at Emma and broke into her dreamscape, but it was blank, which meant she would be waking up soon – or maybe she already had. The thought that she might have heard our conversation, or even only part of it, was harrowing.

'She'll open her eyes in thirty-six seconds. I advise you to get out while you can,' Apollo said, and he'd disappeared in a flash of light before I could even ask him for an explanation.

I dropped my face into my hands and rubbed my cheeks. Should I take my brother's advice and leave, or should I stay? The choice was easy. I would never, never flee from a conflict. It would be a disgrace if I did what Apollo said I should.

Emma stirred in her bed and let out a sigh. Fifteen more seconds.