"you already know who your soul belongs with." aphrodite stated it calmly and ree nodded. she did know paden was the person that completed her. it shouldn't be possible to know that, it should be harder to tell, but it wasn't. something in her knew he fit her in every way, but she also didn't want to hurt roland.

"but roland..." ree trailed off, not sure what she really felt for her friend.

"ah, yes." aphrodite frowned. "roland has been led to believe he waited all this time for you." something in the goddess's voice made ree look up. aphrodite was clearly angry about how roland had been misled. "i was overruled on that one. some felt he was a weapon we could not afford to lose."

"so, what? he's an acceptable casualty?" ree shook her head in anger. "i love him, aphrodite. it isn't what it should be, but i love him. me, not just my memories of tria. he is a good man and he deserves better than this. he deserves better than hundreds of years of torture and disappointment."

nodding her head, aphrodite looked pleased with ree's announcement. "i told you i have a soft spot for roland. i think he has suffered more than enough. that's why i'm here to talk to you. i worked out a deal with one of the other gods."

"hecate." ree breathed the word as understanding pulsed in her heart. there was a small tug of jealousy, but it wasn't enough to outshine the relief that ran through her body. "you sent melanie for roland."

aphrodite nodded. "yes, just like i made sure bryce and juliette wouldn't be alone. i knew they would both be watching you, and i wasn't willing to split them up for eternity." narrowing her eyes. "i've been pushed around enough. love can be your strongest ally, your sharpest weapon, and your biggest weakness. it's time the other gods learn a little respect."

"what if we lose? or if one of them dies?" ree asked, her voice trembling.

"if you lose, it won't really matter, will it?" aphrodite shrugged. "and i have a feeling it's going to take all of you to win. that's why i'm here. they don't understand the true power of soul mates. they thought to hedge their bets with having two men in love with you, but that kind of drama would only serve to distract, rather than empower you. "

ree took a few breaths to try and calm her racing heart. was it possible one of the gods was actually worried about their happiness, not just what they could accomplish?

"how do i fix this with paden? i betrayed him." ree swallowed and looked at aphrodite, for the first time really trusting a goddess.

"you'll figure it out. and trust me, paden feels like he has messed up just as badly." aphrodite smiled. "i think he always figured you would end up kissing roland at some point. roland needed to say goodbye to tria, needed to be able to let go."

"i let him kiss me, though. i made the decision to kiss him back." ree shook her head, feeling forlorn. the worst part was, while she regretted hurting paden, she didn't really regret kissing roland. it had been coming, it had to happen, and she was glad they had moved past it.

"he's attractive and intelligent." aphrodite made an amused noise. "you remember how tria felt for him. of course, you kissed him. love comes in many shapes and sizes, alastriana."

"how can paden forgive me?" ree's voice was small and tired. "how could i kiss someone that wasn't my soul mate?"

"that's a question you will have to ask him." aphrodite smiled. there was no condescension, or pity. "as for kissing someone that isn't your soul mate? people do it all the time. not everyone incarnates together for every life. people often date and enjoy other people until they find their soul mate."

nodding, ree looked down at the floor. she would have to talk to paden soon, but she still didn't know what to say to him. the bed shifted next to ree and aphrodite stood up.

"thank you for explaining so much." ree looked up and met her eyes.

"you're welcome." aphrodite smiled. "i know things feel like a complete mess right now, but i think you will be able to figure it out."

"i hope so." ree gave the goddess a small smile. aphrodite winked and disappeared just as another thought crossed ree's mind. "what about weylin?"

no one answered.

chapter seven

after a long, hot shower, ree climbed into her bed and fell asleep almost immediately. unfortunately, her dreams were anything but restful. she flitted between scenes of roland and tria, to images of paden and ree in different lives. some of the moments were happy, others were bittersweet, but in each one the amount of love was palpable.

after a while, the images started to fade and were replaced with a fog ree could barely see through. voices drifted to her, and she moved in their direction. taking careful steps, the fog started to clear and she found herself in an ornate hallway. a large golden doorframe bracketed the end of the hallway, and she crept cautiously forward.

"she needs to be punished!" ares's angry voice rang through the hallway and ree froze, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

"we need her." a man's calm voice carried to ree's ears, and she felt her feet moving again. inching toward the door, she carefully peeked into the room. it was filled with thrones, most of which were occupied by different people. recognition came quickly, and ree bit her lip to keep from making a sound. this was the gods' throne room. the same place hecate had warned her not to return. unfortunately, she had no idea how she had gotten there the first time and no idea how she had gotten there this time either.

"she cannot show so little respect. i am the god of war. she should fear me." ares's angry voice made ree wince. he was talking about her and she knew it.

"i think you've already managed to scare her, ares. perhaps that's why she called the power in the first place." hecate's calm voice was smooth and peaceful.

"she is human." he spat the last word out as if it was an insult. "i can do as i please to her."

"she is the alastriana and should not fear us. we need her to fight for us." hecate's tone turned placating, as if she was talking to an unruly child.

"fear is a good motivator." another god spoke from the other side of the throne room. ree couldn't see his face, but his voice made her shiver.

"anubis, your tactics would defeat our purpose." athena's voice was calm and collected. "the alastriana is not someone who will take well to fear. she is likely to rebel and fight against us."

hushed whispers spread through the room, and ree wished she could get closer to hear what they were saying about her.

"you should not have chosen such a headstrong soul for this job." anubis said again. his voice was dark and heavy with an accent ree had trouble making out. "she may buck your carefully laid plans."

"nonsense. only a strong soul would be able to take on the demands we have laid at her feet. she had to be someone that would rise to the challenge." hecate's voice cut into the conversation.

"we are not here to discuss your strategy." ares's angry voice echoed through the room. "we are here to discuss her punishment."

"why did the alastriana feel the need to call the power in your presence?" another woman's voice asked, this one filled with bitterness.

"hera, i think the better question is why ares was bothering the alastriana in the first place." aphrodite's bored voice made ree's eyes widen. was the goddess really as bored as she sounded, or was she actually taking up for ree?

"stay out of this, wench." ares's voice was disgusted. "why don't you go find someone to play with?"

"don't be angry that i don't like your idea of fun. chains and whips aren't my style." aphrodite's voice stayed bored, but there was an undercurrent of disdain. ares growled when a few chuckles followed her comment.

"settle down, ares. aphrodite has a good point. why were you bothering the alastriana?" the man that had originally said they needed ree spoke up, and it was obvious the people in the room respected him in some way, because the room quieted down immediately.

"i wanted to see if she was ready for the upcoming battle." ares's voice was quieter, more controlled.

"perhaps." the man's voice sounded dangerous and ree wished she knew who was doing the talking. "or perhaps you were trying to further some other agenda."

"mighty zeus, what would ares have to gain by hurting the alastriana?" loki's voice made ree's skin crawl.

"not as much as he might think." athena's voice replied calmly. "it should be understood that anyone seen as a traitor will be treated as such. i give my solemn vow i will hunt down anyone that would see this world taken out of our control."

"peace, sister." loki laughed as if enjoying some private joke. "no one would want you on their trail."

"i am not your sister, loki. do not address me as such." athena's voice stabbed through the room, and ree was glad she couldn't see the goddess's face.

"i will be on the hunt as well. i will not stand for a traitor." a much younger-sounding voice echoed through the room. "athena would not have to hunt alone."

"no one would want to be on the opposite end of your hunt, artemis." loki's voice sounded respectful, but ree would never trust that god. maybe he did fear the young-sounding goddess, but ree didn't doubt he would think it a game to try and outfox her.

"zeus, i would ask that you forbid ares to visit the alastriana." hecate's voice changed the subject.

"you would dare to tell me what to do, hecate?" ares stood up from his black and bloody throne, his back to ree. "who are you to dictate my actions?"

"we cannot afford for you to endanger our plans. we've made many sacrifices to get to this point." hecate sounded like a mother scolding a child. "now, sit down and let your father answer."

the attention in the room seemed to shift toward a corner ree couldn't see, but it obviously housed zeus's throne. no one said anything as zeus pondered the request.

"ares, it is best for you to avoid the alastriana and her guardians. they need no distraction from the task at hand." zeus's voice made it clear he would brook no argument, but ares sputtered.

"father, i am a god of war! shouldn't i be a part of the preparations for an upcoming battle?" ares leaned forward in his chair, as if to look at zeus better.

unable to help herself, ree took a step closer to the door to try and see better. hecate's eyes snapped to hers and widened slightly. ree froze, her heart stuttering. would the goddess announce that ree was present? carefully, hecate turned her head as if she had not seen anything, but ree knew better.

"it is not your place to question me, ares. i have declared you are to avoid the girl. this is a time for strategy, not battle." zeus stood up and walked into the middle of the room. he was taller than any human ree had ever seen. his skin glowed and he carried a golden staff shaped like a lightning bolt. he came to stand in front of ares, and ree moved away from the doorway, afraid that the god's silver eyes might see her. "if you go near the girl again, and i have proof, then you've signed your own death warrant."

there was a loud gasp, and murmurs circulated through the room, but zeus was not finished talking. turning away from ares, he looked at the other gods and goddesses. "that goes for anyone else who would harm the girl in any way."

was it her imagination, or did zeus's eyes rest in the direction of loki's throne? deciding it was time to get as far from that room as possible, ree slowly tiptoed back in the direction she had come. the fog was still at the end of the hall, and ree hoped it would take her away from the home of the gods. last time she had been here, hecate had sent her back. she still wasn't sure how she had gotten here in the first place, but she was glad to have gleaned some more information. everything she knew brought her closer to getting her friends out of this mess alive.

the fog closed around her feet, which she was amused to note were wearing the thin, gold sandals from her last visit to the god's home. the further she walked into the thick, fluffy cloud, the sleepier ree became, until eventually she wasn't aware of anything around her.

ree sat up in her bed and took a deep breath. her eyes searched for the clock and frowned at the numbers. it was almost midnight. she had been asleep a lot longer than she thought. throwing the covers off of her, she hopped out of bed and padded over to the wardrobe against the wall. she opened the drawer and was relieved to find clean clothes. pulling out a pair of jeans and long sleeved t-shirt, she quickly threw them on and looked around for her tennis shoes.

as she finished tying the laces, someone knocked on her door making her jump. if she was immortal, shouldn't she have heard them coming? she was going to have to work on that soon. letting the power wash out of her, she walked over to the door and took a deep breath.

paden was standing on the other side, his face blank and she could feel him trying to hide his emotions from her. "i heard you get up. can we talk?"

chapter eight

"sure." ice settled into ree's gut as she looked up into paden's face. she had messed up her chance with her soul mate. how could he possibly ever forgive her for kissing roland back? "um, do you want to talk in here?"

"why don't we go for a walk?" paden took a step back and jerked his head toward the garden.

nodding, ree stepped out into the hallway and pulled her door shut behind her. stuffing her hands into the pockets on the back of her jeans, ree followed paden out of the house. he held the door open for her and her heart ached. even with everything that had happened he was being polite to her. he was much calmer than he had been earlier and it scared her down to the bottoms of her feet.

they walked for a while, the moon shining through the branches of the trees to dance across the sandy path near the beach. eventually, the trees thinned and ree could see the water. paden seemed to have a destination in mind, so she just let him lead the way. after a while, paden sat down facing the water, his legs pulled up in front of him and his arms braced on his knees. ree sat down quietly next to him and looked out at the water. her stomach was clenched and her heart was thudding in her ears. had he brought her all the way out here, so the others wouldn't hear if she made a scene? she felt as if she was standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for him to push her off, all the while knowing she deserved it.