The lavish room and Aphrodite dissolved around Antonia. A strange sound like a cyclone filled her ears, though she felt no breeze. Her eyes remained open, but her vision left her.

Panic set in. What was the goddess doing to her? What would be the next task?

A horrible stench filled Antonia's nostrils. It remained her of the butcher's in the village market if he'd left all the animals he'd slaughtered in the sun to rot. Her stomach pitched.

Antonia tried breathing through her mouth, but that made it worse. Somehow, she could taste the disgusting stench. It smothered her tongue and clawed its way down her throat. She gagged, hoping the bitterness of her stomach acid would lessen the impact. It did nothing, and she knew the taste would never leave her, even if she removed all her taste buds.

As Antonia feared she'd lose her mind to the taste and stench, her vision returned to her.

At first, the return of another sense brought a reprieve, but it was short-lived. As soon as her sight cleared, Antonia wished for blindness.

She didn't know the land she was in, but a battle had taken place, and no one had collected their dead. Bodies in various forms of decomposition littered a field dried with blood and entrails. What clothing Antonia could distinguish from the gore spoke of an older time period than the one Antonia had lived. She couldn't tell if it was when her spirit had first been born, but it was long before guns.

Her stomach flipped again. She'd seen nothing this horrible, not in any of her past lives. She knew war was a hell no kind person would wish on their worst enemy, but she hadn't thought it would be this bad. The smells, the sights, the tastes, none of it would ever leave her. If she made it to ninety, this would haunt her until her last days. If the Fates were as unkind as they'd proven themselves to be, this moment would be the last she remembered before death claimed her.

But Antonia had to ignore her disgust. She had to find out why she was here. What was the task she had to perform?

As she gazed at the macabre scene, the worst thoughts came to her. Did she have to clear the entire battlefield of the bodies and scrub the grass clean? Would the fallen armies rise from the dead, bloodthirsty, and she had to kill every single one again? Was Antonia meant to search the gore for a pin that was smaller than the nail on her little toe?

Whatever it was, she would do it. As grotesque as her surroundings were, they couldn't convince her to give up on Eros. Losing his godhood was worse than what was in store for her. If he could suffer through his transformation, she could undergo this task.

The minutes ticked by with no sign of what she had to do. Every so often, Antonia would turn in place but nothing around her changed.

Should she try walking in a direction? Any direction?

Nothing stood out. All she could see were decaying bodies and small patches of ground that were untarnished. Not even carrion birds were present, which unsettled Antonia. Shouldn't they cover parts of the field as they fought for the juiciest pieces of the fallen soldiers?

If they wouldn't touch the dead, what did that mean for Antonia?

"Hello?" Antonia called. Her voice carried in the silence, lonely and confused.

What she would give to know if the three tasks were always the same, and if this was how the second one went. How was it reasonable that Aphrodite had all the information every single cycle, but Antonia had to be content with anemic scraps that left her with more questions than answers? Was it so any watching god could get a good laugh at her? Could that be all this was, a giant show for the other gods?

Or maybe Aphrodite had cheated. Maybe she'd banished Antonia to a pocket in time where no one could find her or would think to look. Maybe Aphrodite intended this to be her final resting place. There was no food or water. Antonia would perish in a matter of days without—

A thought worse than any of her previous ones hit her.

What if Antonia needed to survive until Aphrodite retrieved her? That would be impossible (and the tasks weren't allowed to be unwinnable) unless Antonia did the unthinkable: she ate and drank from the surrounding bodies.

Antonia shook her head. No, this couldn't be what Aphrodite had in mind. It was despicable and evil. The gods had punished mortals who'd gotten desperate and had no other choice but to eat the dead. Aphrodite couldn't turn Antonia into a monster that not even the worst of society would accept.

This must violate a rule!

She couldn't do it. As much as she loved Eros and wanted to beat his mother, Antonia couldn't bring herself to sink so low. She'd rather endure a million more cycles than complete this task (could this be why she'd never gotten far?). The chance of her spirit finding rest in the Underworld wasn't worth the price.

"Aphrodite, I won't—"

The soft murmur of quick feet racing across the ground caught Antonia's attention. If the wind had been blowing and her hearing unskilled, she would have missed the telltale sound of the approaching attack. It was coming from behind her, and she had a few seconds to act.

All previous thoughts left Antonia. At that moment, she gave herself over to Mr. Ignotus' training. No hesitation could exist in her if she was to survive. Antonia was nothing more than a well-programmed robot.

She couldn't see her opponent, but Antonia could tell from the way they ran that they carried a close-range weapon. She hadn't changed her stance since sensing their approach, so maybe they would believe they were still undetected. If so, they'd try to get as close to her as possible before they used their weapon. So near, they wouldn't expect her to act.

It took tremendous effort to remain where she was. Antonia had several other ways she could outwit her attacker without them getting too close to her, but none would be as effective as what she had planned. If she kept the element of surprise, her success rate was high.

As her opponent took the optimal position to strike, Antonia dodged to her right. She avoided all the stiff limbs in her path as she kicked to her right. Her foot connected with her attacker's arm and he dropped the sword he held.

Before he could recover, Antonia launched herself at her opponent. Much like she had Arron days prior, she tackled the figure to the ground, though this time she did everything right to keep her opponent from breaking free of her hold.

Her attacker's wide mouth split open to reveal long, cat-like teeth. He didn't bite Antonia, though.

A wild bark of a laugh tumbled out of him that shook Antonia's bones, but she didn't loosen her grip. Whatever he did, she couldn't let him get back up.

"Mother said you'd be more fun this time around," her attacker said once his laughter died.

Antonia couldn't help herself. "Mother? Aphrodite?"

Her attacker nodded, and tendrils of his stiff blond hair tumbled into his narrow face. "What? Can't you see the resemblance?"

No, Antonia couldn't. Except for his terrifying teeth and the strange cat-like slant to his eyes, nothing about her attacker stood out. He was as bland as his mother was attractive.

"Poor thing. You must take after your father."

This brought another round of laughter.

Antonia frowned. This couldn't be good, her attacker being so amused. He was trying to unhinge her or maybe convince her he wasn't as much of a threat as she first thought. This was all an act to get the better of her.

"You know, you're the first to make the comparison," her attacker said a minute later. "I wonder what Father would think of it." He grinned. "I bet he wouldn't find it as funny as it is."

"Is that who will appear next, your father? Will I have to defeat both of you?"

Her attacker cocked an eyebrow. "Ambitious of you to think you could best both me and Ares."

"Ares is coming?"

Her attacker rolled his eyes. "You're not important enough to garner his attention. I wouldn't even be here if Mother didn't nag so."

"Are you always the second task?"

"Unfortunately."

Antonia couldn't say why her attacker was so talkative, but she would take advantage of his loose tongue. Maybe he'd reveal something she could use to help her pass this task.

"Have I ever made it past this point?" she asked.

Her attacker snorted. "Oh, no. Today was the first time you've ever got me to drop my sword. Oh, take that back! Once, when I was chasing you, I tripped over a body and lost my sword in the carnage. That was embarrassing, though I still killed you."

Her attacker scrutinized her. "You know what you're doing this cycle, fighting-wise. How? Who trained you?"

"My father insisted on it."

The lie came easily. Not even under threat of torture, Antonia wouldn't reveal Mr. Ignotus' involvement. Nothing would stop Aphrodite from taking revenge on him if she discovered the truth, and though he was a strong man, he was a mere mortal. And Aphrodite was right about one thing: Mortals couldn't compete with the divine.

"Uh-huh."

"My father is—"

Her attacker stopped her with an odd hissing noise. "I don't care. Mother would want me to get the information from you, but I can tell that would be impossible. Besides, I'm glad for the change. Do you know how dull it's been to kill you every cycle you wind up here? Most times I can sneak up on you and take off your head or rip out your heart with you being none-the-wiser. Occasionally, you run, but that lost its appeal centuries ago."

"How grateful are you for this change?"

Her attacker smiled. "More than I can express. I keep begging Mother to add some variety, but she's afraid that might give you an advantage." He dropped his voice so low Antonia had to strain to hear him say, "Between you and me, I don't think she has a third task planned. This is the limit of her creativity."

"If that's the case, then I doubt there's a way for me to even win this task."

"No, there is. Mother likes to bend the rules, but she doesn't break them. How much fun would it be to beat you if she had to cheat to do so?"

"Fair point. So how do I win?"

Her attacker's gaze became unfocused. "Wait another twenty seconds."

"What?"

He chuckled. "All you have to do is survive with me around for ten minutes."

"No, it can't be that simple."

Her attacker shrugged. "I told you my mother wasn't creative."

"How haven't I been able to do that before?"

Her attacker waved to the nearest bodies. "This is very traumatic. Well, for someone like you it is. Anyway, it always horrifies you to where you can't think, and rarely can you move. It might not be creative, but it is effective."

Antonia glared at her attacker. "Are you telling the truth?"

He smirked.

He bucked Antonia off then, and she landed on her back. The next moment, he pressed a small blade to her throat. She could move, but if she did, the blade would slice the tender flesh there.

"You may have surprised me, but you didn't get the upper hand. I've been able to get out of your hold this whole time."

"Then why did you let the time run down?"

Her attacker sighed. "Oh, I can't say for sure. Maybe you impressed me. Maybe I'm tired of all this. Maybe I hated the idea of getting my hands bloodied today." He snickered. "Okay, no, not the last one."

"Won't this upset Aphrodite? She'll punish you."

"Sure, she'll rant and threaten, but all the blame is going on you. On Eros, too. Oh, and whoever trained you. They'll feel Mother's wrath."

"I won't say—"

"Mother will find out. Especially since I feel there's more to the situation than you know."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, the god removed the blade from her throat. He stood and held out a hand to Antonia.

The thought of accepting it sickened her, but she wouldn't give him a reason to rethink his decision. Sure, she might have won this task, but nothing could stop this god from exacting revenge for rudeness.

When their fingers touched, a fear so strong it was a rabid animal set loose in her chest overcame her. She'd never felt it this intensely. She forgot how to breathe. Her insides turned to ice.

"Oh, sorry about that."

He released Antonia's hand.

The instant it was, the fear disappeared. Her chest loosened and warmth flowed through her veins again.

The god laughed. "I forgot what direct contact would do. I don't make it a habit to touch mortals."

She shook, but Antonia got to her feet without aid. "No, that's—I'll be okay."

"Of course, you will. You're young. Your heart's strong. I should know. I've seen it enough."

"... Thanks."

The god chuckled again.

"What now?"

"I've got to contact Mother with the news. She's going to—Brave yourself."

Antonia nodded. She knew she would see the goddess more furious than any mortal had in a long while, maybe even in all of history. All she could hope is that her son spoke the truth and that no matter how angry she got, Aphrodite wouldn't break the rules.

"I appreciate all you've done," she said.

"Eh, think nothing of it. I'm glad you gave me a reason to do what I've done today."

"Yeah."

The god flashed another smile. This one was no less terrifying than the others, but Antonia thought she saw a hint of good-naturedness in it. "It was nice making your acquaintance, Psyche. I hope it all works out for you and Eros."

"Really?"

"What? I may be the God of Fear but that doesn't mean I can't wish for my big brother to have a bit of happiness. Zeus knows he earned it putting up with Mother—alone—for as long as he did."

Antonia didn't know if it was safe to agree or not, so she remained silent.

The God of Fear winked at her and disappeared without a sound.

Antonia refused to look around, couldn't awaken the panic that had slumbered under the surface during her exchange with the God of Fear. To distract herself, she wondered how long she would wait until she got Aphrodite's response.

It didn't take two minutes.

A terrible screech echoed on the battlefield. As it did, Antonia's body vibrated, though the ground under her remained solid. Her vision went black and she fell unconscious.