Warrior Rising (Goddess Summoning #6)(66)

“Good. We’ve decided,” Hera said.

“Sadly, we have.”

Venus sipped her ambrosia and thought about how distraught Achilles had been the four days Kat had been unconscious. Well, at least he has known love, no matter how brief.

"Okay, all I said was I wanted a bath—as in being submerged in water versus splashing in a little bowl that smells like roses. You’re kicking me out of your camp for that?” Kat asked teasingly.

“Did I not tell you that I would give you anything you wished, if it were within my power?” Achilles touched her arm briefly where it linked with his. She noticed he did that a lot lately—touched her with brief, gentle caresses. He didn’t let his touch linger and he didn’t kiss her. It was as if he was attempting to become used to her in stages—small stages that wouldn’t arouse the berserker. She felt his eyes on her and looked up to see him watching her closely. “Tell me if we’ve gone too far. I won’t have you fatigued.”

They’d gone down the beach away from camp for a while, and then turned inland, following a little goat path. It hadn’t been a short walk, but it hadn’t turned into an exhausting hike, either. “Like I told Jacky. I’ve slept enough for decades and I’m perfectly fine.” Kat made the statement firmly. Not that she hadn’t been freaked out by how much last night’s meal and discussion had exhausted her. She’d planned on another little hypnotism exercise with Achilles, but had been out the second her head had touched the pillow. And, worse, she’d slept all the way through to early afternoon. She felt good now, but the whole incident had scared her. She’d already killed off one body. What was the limit? What if this one went bad, too? Would Venus save her? And if she did, what kind of body would the next one be? She was actually getting attached to this one and wasn’t sure if she wanted to even consider what might—

“You look troubled.” Achilles broke into her internal babble.

“I was just thinking about mortality,” she said.

“Mortality—that is a subject I have thought little about until lately,” Achilles said.

“Really? I would have thought that after you made the choice to die young, you would have been counting down the years and thinking about it all the time.”

He gave a self-deprecating snort. “When I was young I rarely thought—and if I did it was only of the next battle and the next opportunity for glory.”

“Hey, twenty-nine is not old. You’re still really young.”

“I haven’t been young for more than a decade.”

Kat looked up at him, knowing that the deep scars that had prematurely aged his face had also taken a similar toll on his soul. “Maybe some of that can be reversed,” she said.

Obviously noting the direction of her gaze his lips lifted and he said, “Your friend is an excellent healer, but even she cannot reverse these.” Achilles pointed at his facial scars.

Kat grinned. “Was that a joke? And the sky didn’t fall in, nor did you get struck by lightning.”

“It’s your bad influence on me.”

“Don’t you mean the fact that I’ve bespelled you? Remember, Jacky’s a witch—I’m a witch—everywhere a witch—witch.”

“I stand corrected. You have bespelled me.” Then he surprised her by pulling her, briefly, into his arms and hugging her hard. “And we are here.” Achilles took her by the shoulders and turned Kat around.

“Achilles! It’s beautiful!” Kat was facing an oasis. Willows ringed a basin formed by butter-colored limestone. A stream dumped into the basin, filled it and then gurgled out the other side. It was small, but definitely big enough for someone to bathe comfortably in. Overlooking the oasis was a small temple that reminded Kat of a gazebo, only this one was made of marble with graceful columns and a domed roof. In the middle of the temple a blanket had been spread out. Atop it sat a laden basket. “What’s all this?” Kat asked, walking around the pool to the temple.

“It’s a shrine dedicated to Venus. I discovered it years ago. It’s been abandoned because of the war. I’ve come here many times to think—to get away.”

Kat glanced back at him, surprised to see that he looked embarrassed. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone needs time alone.”

“Ah, but Achilles, terror of maidens and battlefield berserker, is not everyone. If my men knew I found solace at a shrine dedicated to the Goddess of Love.” He laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “They would probably begin to believe that I had finally gone mad.”

“But they seem to have accepted me being with you just fine. Haven’t they?”

Achilles shrugged. “Right now they are too preoccupied to even be shocked by you warming my bed.”

“They want to fight,” Kat said, her stomach clenching.

“They do.”

“And what do you want?”

“You already know my heart. I long for nothing as much as to return to Phthia and to find peace.” Achilles paused, meeting her gaze before he continued. “And love.”

“You’ve already found love,” Kat said softly.

Achilles closed the distance between them, joining her in the middle of Venus’s shrine. He took her hand. “Have I found love? Even though we don’t know that the berserker can be defeated?”