Xenia was in the middle of a particularly unpleasant bout of morning sickness, so she wasn't in a good mood to begin with. Seeing two of her men bringing her a muscle-bound prisoner put her in a worse mood. They drove him to his knees while keeping a firm grip on his arms.

"Who is this fool?"

"Your friend," he answered for her.

"We found him coming into camp as easy as you please as if he had a right to be here," one of her soldiers answered.

"And no one spotted him before then? That's a mistake that's going to have to be corrected," she said darkly, insinuating heads were about to roll. "My friend, huh? You looking to join up in my army?"

"No, I'm here to save you."

She couldn't help but smile. Did he have no idea who she was? She was more than capable of saving herself. "From who?"

"From yourself."

"Slit his throat," she said with a snarl.

"Ares is manipulating you," she said before they finished drawing their swords.

She held up a hand to halt the pending execution. "Go on. You have my attention."

"Do you think he just happened upon some young girl, felt sorry for her, and decided to make her a warrior and have her conquer the known world?"

She rolled her eyes. "What did he do then?"

"He has known you in other lifetimes. He is obsessed with you. Do you think he cares that in a previous life you came to regret the death and destruction you caused and wanted to walk a path of goodness and heroism instead?"

"No?" she ventured in a bemused tone.

"No. The God of War only cares about himself. Everything he does and everything he says is to benefit him. You benefit him because you conquer in his name like few could, if any, but it doesn't have to be that way."

"And you know all this how?"

"Because I've stood in his way many times. I'm Hercules."

"You're Hercules? The demigod with superhuman strength? And two of my men have captured you without a struggle?" she said with a laugh. "Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

He jumped up from his kneeling position and threw them off his arms as if they were mere ragdolls. "I don't want to see you make the same mistake twice."

She pulled out her chakram at the same time as she looked him up and down, taking in the truth of his identity and hating that it made her wonder if the other things he'd said were true as well. "There's a problem with your theory though. I don't feel regret. I also don't appreciate you trying to turn me against the father of my child."

She had shocked him because his mouth was agape.

"Does that strike fear in you?" she asked. "It should."

"It does but not for the reason you think. It's another innocent person for him to manipulate."

"I've decided to let you live because I want you to see you're wrong. I want to be there when you have to eat your words."

He looked disappointed that he hadn't succeeded in persuading her, but he left her with these parting words, "Or maybe you're not as cold-blooded a killer as you think."

Feeling nauseous for another reason entirely than her pregnancy, she returned to the privacy of her tent where Ares was waiting.

"I see you met my annoying half-brother," he said. "I'm glad you didn't let him get to you."

He put one hand on her neck and leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled back, leaving him only a handful of hair. "But was he right about any of it?"

"No. We just have years of bad blood between us."

"Ares," she growled, warning him that she would tolerate no deceit.

"Okay, yes. I have known you before. He was right when he said mortals have lived other lives. And I've loved you in every single one of them." He kissed the ends of her hair, making her shiver even though she couldn't feel it. He released her hair and put his hands on her shoulders. "But he's wrong about me manipulating you. I just want you to be your true self. Don't you enjoy war? Don't you enjoy me?"

That elicited a smile from her, and she went into his arms. "Yes. But if I ever find out that you've lied to me about anything. Well, let's just say you'll regret it."