Athena

"I can't believe you let them have so much leverage on you," Ares said, mocking me. Being my protective brother, his concern was obvious. "They may be the cardinal sins but you are a goddess and they should've treated you like one, Athena."

As we walked towards the professor's quarters, I didn't speak anything but managed to listen to him rant. Ares wasn't wrong. Fallen or not, I shouldn't have let the boys walk all over me.

Walking in silence, I felt a pang of guilt settling in my chest. I treated them as my friend and roommates. They were the first of men whom I slept with. While I always assumed them to be respectful to me, today was an eye-opener.

For the cardinal sins, I was merely a Fallen. A girl they had their devious ways with and then tossed aside like a piece of trash. Unlike a human being, I wasn't ready to take that kind of insult and not do anything about it.

"Humans aren't generally that weak... you know right?" Ares said, making me face him.

"What do you mean?"

Halting his steps, he turned to face me. Unlike my father, I couldn't read his thoughts. "I knew what you were thinking, Athena. You think humans are weak but most of them have a thing called self-esteem."

"What's that?"

He chuckled, continuing his walk as we turned a corner towards rows of beautiful buildings.

"It means that when humans insult other humans, they break all ties with them. Some humans know their worth. If their esteem, and pride are hurt, they retaliate by avoiding all connections with those who hurt them. But you..."

Ares' stress on the last word and his hooked eyebrows made me realize he was taunting me. He was questioning if I would act like a human being - severing all ties with the boys - or would act more pathetic than any known Fallen.

We entered the lobby - a marble entrance with beautifully carved engravings of the mythological depiction of the Roman, Greek, African, and Indian Gods and Goddesses.

When we entered the elevator and as the door slid shut, Ares turned to face me.

"You have so much potential, kiddo. Why are you wasting it on those men?"

"Who do you want me to waste it on then?"

The elevator chimed open, breaking our conversation. Keying open the double doors of his apartment, Ares welcomed me inside.

"There are men, gods and even demons much better than them." He signed, uncurling his bridged eyebrows. "The cardinal sins are the least of anything perfect for my sister."

While I nodded to his words, my vision danced around his apartment. Though Ares was bought to Westosand to keep a lookout for the dark magic that had been taking place around me, he didn't let his task deviate his need for perfection.

The apartment was a replica of his room in the Heavens. The symphony of waterfalls emerging from one side of the apartment and a lush forest-like entrance through the hallway, married with Amazonian bird calls filled the room. Yet, it was the rendition of every human destruction - of wars and chaos - being displayed like a scene on television that caught my attention.

Ares, the god of war, was the most powerful when humans fought. His strength flowed from their chaos, bloodshed and violence.

"Straight to your right is your bedroom," Ares whispered as he smiled, looking at the new crisis emerging on his display screen - something about the world's fear of nuclear weapons. "This apartment is enchanted. So you'd not have to waste your energy, using magic here."

Though unsure of our living situation, I nodded when Ares looked at me.

Pursing his lips, he moved closer. "I know it would be daunting for now. One day, you were the girl everyone worshipped and today, you've been treated like someone whose very existence doesn't matter."

"I just thought..." Wrapping my hands over my face, I sighed. "I don't know, Ares, what I thought. I feel so stupid. I ended up giving my-"

Virginity

"Let's go out," Ares broke my rant, holding onto my shoulders and rattling me gently. "It'll be a change of scene for you."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Was today not enough of a change for me already?"

"This..." he chuckled, bopping my nose. "This is the Athena I'm talking about."

"What do you mean?"

"This attitude... This devil may care act of yours is the reason you always land in trouble."

Look pot, it's me, kettle.

"What about you, brother? You're one to talk about attitude." I rolled my eyes and Ares, who stood far away, snapped his fingers and appeared next to me. He grabbed my hands into his tight hold, watching me with hooded eyes. "You are hurting me, Ares."

I pushed him away. Ares blinked a couple of times before looking back, his face dancing with a disheartening emotion. "I hate it when people roll their eyes at me."

Raising my hands in surrender, I nodded. He was the God of War. Getting angry, losing his temper and creating chaos was both his strength and weakness.

"I'm sorry, brother."

"You know what, kiddo." He moved back, running his fingers into his hair, clutching them at its roots. "We are both new at this sibling thing."

"I know, we suck at it."

In the Heavens, Ares and I had very little time to interact with one another. While humans prayed to me for peace, knowledge and literature, they worshipped him for wars. In a perfect world, Ares and I were poles apart. He thrived when I failed and vice-versa.

But in a Fallen World, we both were very much alike.

Ares held my elbow and walked me towards my new room. Opening the doors, he stood at the threshold.

"Get ready quickly. We're going out."

I nodded, pursing my lips.

Once he left, I peered at my room.

It was yet another marvelous creation of things I loved - books and music. At the window of my room, I stood, overlooking the magical world shimmering outside. It led me to rethink every bad decision I took from the time I arrived at Westosand.

I felt the burden of all those decisions weighing me down, draining my energy.

"Enough with the brooding, Athena," I said to myself, moved to take a quick shower and get ready.

Once I donned a simple, black dress, I twirled to check myself in the mirror. Walking out of my room, I found a note fluttering underweight on the table from Ares.

** Note **

Meet me at Z bar.

It felt strange reading his message because usually, Ares loved accompanying me to places.

Not having been to the Z bar before, I Googled the place. It was a retro, magical place, trending on every social media. But that was the human trend. For us Fallens, the place was made to be quaint and rustic.

I closed my eyes, conjuring the images I saw on my phone. The very next moment, I was teleported to the bar, at the glass entrance of the place. The door - a magical portal that separated the place for the humans, Fallen and Gods, registered my presence - and flung itself open.

The bar appeared hip and funky, unlike the quaint vibes I got from the social media accounts. It didn't take me a lot of time to notice that Ares wasn't present at the place. Navigating through the peering eyes of every magical, I moved around, hoping to find Ares in some secluded corner with some girl in his arms.

The silence and darkness of a seat at the outer edge of the bar caught my attention. Sliding towards it, I texted Ares, hoping he wouldn't abandon me for some girl he must have already found to spend the night with.

As I waited for the server to take my order, cold beer bottles appear out of thin air.

"They don't serve you here..." A familiar voice addressed me. As I turned, Rex stood behind me, smiling. He donned a black shirt, matching pants and a tie. A man in all black attire might have been a fashion disaster for many, for the Apocalypse, it seemed fitting.

The shirt hugged his chest, his taut muscles. The smile, every growing waited for my reciprocity. I nodded at him, smiling subtly.

Rex moved near my table, hoping to be seated. His gaze danced at the empty chair beside me.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," I said, gesturing at the chair. Rex dropped his weight on the chair as the floating beer bottles slid on the table, inching towards us till we grabbed them. "And do let me know how I place the next order of drinks if there are no servers to help me."

"You serve yourself." He whispered while the air conjured another drink for him, this time a glass of whiskey. "It's my bar, Athena. I hope you like it."

With raised eyebrows, I scanned the place. It's funky yet silent. Brightly lit yet not blinding. I liked it.

"How did you manage to own a bar?"

"Oh, I can't expose all my secrets in this short meeting of ours." Rex smiled. Unlike the last of our encounters, this time he seemed composed and in his element.

"Are you going to make me work to get the answer?"

"I wouldn't dare make a Goddess work, even if it's to use her beautiful mind to deduce an answer."

"Charming," I said, gulping my beer and closing my eyes to the light music playing in my background.

"What do you feel when you sit here?" Rex questioned. I eyed him in confusion.

Wasn't it obvious?

Gesturing around the area, I began. "Funky graffiti, neon lights, cool vibes and nice music for a bar."

"You know what I see?" Rex leaned closer. His minty breath fanned my face.

"Umm, hello. Are we in two different places?"

"This bar is magical." He chuckled. "It shows the person what they want to see."

"So you mean to say that I wanted to see funky neon colors?"

He nodded, explaining. "You see those things because you are a funky, cool kind of person. The bar shows you your inner quality. Shows you who you are and what you like the most."

"Aha. So what is it that you see?"

Rex looked away as if my question burnt him.

"Athena, do you know how the drinks appear?"

I knew he was avoiding my question.

"Nope. Tell me."

"Another magical spell. Thanks to Professor Segil."

I choked on my beer. "Our professor Segil?" Rex nodded. "She seems so..." I look around, checking if she was there.

Rex pulled his chair closer. Our arms touched when he leaned in to whisper. "Don't worry. Professors are not allowed here."

"Okay, then. Professor Sigil looks so intimidating, Rex."

"Yes, she does. But she's a sweetheart if you get to know her."

I couldn't help but giggle at his comment. "Someone has a crush on her."

Rex waved his hands in the air. "No, no. It's not like that. She is like a guardian to me."

"Sorry." I laughed, surrendering my hands up. "I thought you and her..." With my hand gesture, I communicated what I thought. Rex held my palms, smiling inwards and biting his lips.

"I know what you mean, you dirty-minded woman. Just for this, you are cut out. No more alcohol for you."

My thoughts wandered the night we first met. I judged Rex without knowing him and at the behest of those, who now abandoned me.

"Hey," Rex cleared his throat, sliding his hold off my hands. "Where are your friends?"

"They... We don't..." I stuttered. "They're not my friends."

Rex must have sensed the change in my mood. He stood from his seat, tapping at the table and quickly changing the topic to something about his alchemy class. We talked, laughed and cribbed about our state of uselessness till we both began yawning.

"Come on." Rex lent his hand. "Let's get you home."

I stood off the chair, stumbling over him. Rex broke my fall, holding me still. At that moment, l sensed him - darkness and doom, death and destruction from his touch.

Within moments, Rex slid away, maintaining himself at a distance. "Sorry about that. It seems like you can read me and I don't want to be a buzzkill."

My chest ached at his concern. We walked out but I halted my steps.

"Rex..." He turned around. "Show me what you see in the bar."

He nodded sideways, walking away. I quickened my steps, walking ahead of him.

"You can't change the topic, Rex."

"I don't want to subject you to what I see, Goddess..."

That was when I saw it - his true form. Within the charisma and an attitude of a Casanova, Rex hid his true self, away from everyone. The self which wreaked havoc.

"Trust me on this," I said. "I won't be scared."

It took a little more convincing but Rex finally agreed. He took his gloves off, holding my hands.

"I'm sorry, Athena. This is what I am. I hope you can brave through it."

My vision blurred, then burnt. Sadness crept inside me. The place we stood in appeared deserted, charred. Like it was consumed by fire but not destroyed. The skeletal remains of the place stood, dancing with despair. I didn't know if it was the alcohol or the sadness but being touched by Rex, the eeriness of Apocalypse crept underneath my skin, braiding into my bones.

Carrying the burden of death and destruction was heavy. At that moment, I felt something else too.

Using what remained of my powers, I entered his thoughts. I waded through the darkness of his mind, reaching that part of his memory that he put on show for me. His eyes were closed, eyelids fluttering when he displayed his pain.

Although Rex showed me the ultimate truth, of death and destruction, I used my power to add something. A small plant germinated from the soil, upon which the shambles of the bar rested. The plant grew bigger and bigger, becoming a tree laden with fruits.

Rex opened his eyes and his lips elongated into a beautiful smile. His hands remain pasted over mine as he closed our distance.

"What was that, Goddess?" Whispering into my ears, he held me closer.

I looked into his eyes, placing my hands on his chest. "This was me showing you that there is hope. There is always hope."

"Hope of what?" He smiled, waiting for my answer as I navigated my way from getting lost in his hazel, brown eyes which portrayed all kinds of emotions.

"Hope of a better tomorrow."

The distance between us closed. Rex crashed his lips over mine. My breath hitched and my senses scrambled.

The feeling of tenderness and ages of longingness passed through me while Rex picked me up in his arms, coiling my legs around his hips as we deepened our kiss. His tongue rolled over my lips, biting my lower lip as I moaned into his mouth.

A sensation - deeper and intimate than I ever assumed to come from a first kiss - emerged in my gut. For long our tongues fought for dominance. For long, Rex ran his hand over my dress, my bare thighs but holding onto the last shreds of being a gentleman.

When we broke apart, panting, Rex kissed my forehead, smiling. "Thank you."

Heat fluttered in my gut as he held my hand, walking me back to the apartment.

"May I ask where are you currently staying if not with the boys?"

I chuckled at his formal approach after we just finished being our most informal selves.

"With Ares."

His eyes widened and his jaws unhinged. I assumed Rex's baffled expressions to be either because he didn't believe me or that he saw a ghost.

"He... he is here?"

"Yup."

Running his hand over his neatly gelled hair, Rex huffed. "You're really lucky to have him as a brother."

I rolled my eyes at that statement. "Not actually. He stood me up today."

Rex pulled me closer, short breath hitting the nape of my neck. "His loss is my gain."

Trying not to blush, I clenched my jaws. Walking back to the apartment, we talked about college, friends and the debacle of our first meeting.

Not long after, Rex and I stood in front of Ares' apartment. Coiling his arms around me, he pulled me closer.

"So..." He smiled, knowing what I was thinking.

"Sooo..." I dug into my lower lip.

Lowering himself, he was about to kiss me when a booming voice crashed through the darkness of the night.

"Stay away from her, you doom."

~

Liked how Rex is shaping up to be?

Let me know if you like him? Or will he be another heartbreaker?

And who is this person who asked him to stay away from Athena?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments...