Oops…
Ares leaned against the cool marble column, outwardly calm, arms loosely crossed over his chest as he watched Lily standing in the doorway as they left the gathering hall. Play it cool. You're not jealous. You're observant. She smiled softly, the gentle curves of her lips parting at something Apollo said. Ares narrowed his eyes imperceptibly, every nerve in his body coming alert.
Apollo laughed, smooth and polished, a sound crafted to disarm. That laugh again. Always the same before he sinks his teeth in. Ares knew that laughter. He had seen its deceptive glint a thousand times. Lily tilted her head slightly, her wild curls cascading down her back, completely oblivious to the subtle hunger behind Apollo’s seemingly friendly gaze.
Heat bloomed beneath Ares’ skin, molten iron slowly coiling in his chest. He swallowed, tasting bitterness, his heartbeat deepening into a heavy drumbeat in his ears. He flexed his jaw, fighting the urge to stride forward and separate them, knowing how irrational...and how revealing that move would be.
She doesn’t know. His thoughts grated sharply inside him. She thinks he’s her ally. Apollo smiled again, stepping closer, murmuring something too soft for Ares to hear. Lily laughed, her voice gentle like a melody, innocent and unaware.
Ares’ fingers curled tightly, knuckles cracking softly. Walk away. Just walk away. The magic within him surged, a boiling force that pulsed beneath his ribs. He drew a ragged breath, cool marble at his back doing nothing to soothe the fire twisting dangerously in his core.
Apollo leaned closer still, confidence and charm radiating off him. Too close. Ares felt his lip curl in a silent snarl.
Don’t fucking touch her. A quiet, feral thought, barely controlled, whispered through his mind. His muscles tensed, quivering, iron bands wrapped tightly around a building inferno.
Apollo lifted a hand, fingers reaching casually, and too boldly, toward Lily’s waist.
It snapped something inside Ares, clean and sudden.
His vision darkened at the edges, primal anger roaring through him like wildfire. His magic exploded outward, involuntary and violent. Glass lanterns lining the corridor cracked, shattering spectacularly, sending tiny shards glittering through the air. Magic rippled visibly, the corridor momentarily trembling with unleashed power.
Apollo jolted back instantly, startled. Lily’s eyes widened, turning quickly toward the sound. Her gaze landed on Ares, confusion shading swiftly into concern.
Fuck.
Ares forced a lazy smirk, feigning disinterest despite his racing pulse and blazing fury. He brushed nonexistent dust from his sleeve, feeling eyes from both Lily and Apollo heavy upon him.
“My apologies,” he drawled calmly, a faint smirk playing at his lips, voice dripping with casual ease despite the violent turmoil inside. “Guess my reaction to Apollo’s absolutely idiotic proposal in the meeting was stronger than I realized.”
Apollo’s gaze sharpened, irritation flickering briefly before he recovered his cool facade, stepping back from Lily. “Indeed,” Apollo replied smoothly, a cold challenge buried beneath amusement.
Lily’s blue eyes lingered curiously on Ares, thoughtful and questioning. Concern? For me? Or for him?
Ares pushed off the column slowly, his heartbeat only just beginning to steady. His magic retreated, throbbing painfully beneath his skin, reluctantly controlled. He gave Lily one last lingering look, possessiveness and warning hidden beneath a veneer of careful indifference, before turning smoothly and walking away, every step echoing the silent declaration he could never speak aloud:
Mine.