Free Destiny Bewitched by Leia Shaw Page A

legitimate heir to Ares’
throne.” His gaze, stark and grave, met hers from across the fire.
“And I’m his bastard son.”

Chapter
9
    Aside from the
crackling fire, the cabin was quiet for several long moments.
Samantha was reeling. If what Geo said was true, that would make
him a….demigod.
    Talk about a mind
fuck.
    For two days she’d
teased him about being a demon when she’d actually been in the
presence of the son of a god. And not just any god. Ares, god of
war.
    According to her
mythology studies, Athena was the goddess of war – the cunning and
organized part. Ares was the destruction. It didn’t seem fitting
for Geo at all.
    “My mother was human,”
he explained. “Ares watched her as she sacrificed herself to save
her human family during a rock slide. He brought her to the god
realm to be his concubine. She was a gentle, selfless soul and a
favorite of my father’s. Probably because he saw everything he
wasn’t in her.” His face lit up when he talked about her.
    “But why did he make
you a demon?” She stared at his horns, which looked painfully
obvious now.
    He shrugged. “The gods
aren’t in the habit of explaining their actions.”
    Isn’t that the
truth?
    “I can only guess it’s
because I’m valuable to him. I’m a good strategist and I make
quality weapons.” His voice filled with pride at that part. “But I
have no interest in taking over Ares’ reign.”
    “You make weapons?”
    He smiled. “Hand me
your sword.”
    She hesitated a moment
then gave it to him. If he wanted to steal her sword, he could’ve
long before now.
    With eyes narrowed in
concentration, he held it flat on his palm, bobbing it up and down.
“Balance is good. Weight is appropriate for someone your size.” He
slashed it through the air a couple times. “It’s a bit heavy on the
front end though.”
    She scowled, feeling
like he’d just insulted her. It may have only been a sword, but it
was hers through and through – almost an extension of her. And
she’d stolen it fair and square. Growing up, she watched her
brothers practice fighting each other. First with sticks then
wooden swords, and then when they were old enough to make money –
or steal it from their dad – they each bought their own. She envied
them and finally asked the youngest, Andrew, to teach her. They
laughed at first but Darren, the oldest, thought it might do her
some good. He said if she could find a way to get her own sword,
they’d teach her.
    Her sophomore high
school class had one rich girl, Priscilla, who bragged about her
father’s weapons collection. Samantha rigged it so the next pairs
assignment in science class put her and Priscilla together. While
studying in her massive mansion, Sam wandered the house under the
guise of using the bathroom. She filched the sword, tossed it out
the bathroom window then faked being sick and grabbed it out of the
bushes on her way home. No one in town had ever solved the crime of
the missing gladius sword. Of course, the spell she’d used to steer
the investigation away had been helpful.
    After she’d swiped the
sword, she researched its history. It was said to have been used by
Emperor Commodus – a famous roman gladiator who’d fought a thousand
matches using the name Secutor. And that’s what she’d named the
sword.
    But it had been hers
the moment it was made – she’d never been so sure of anything in
all her life. Every time she grasped the ivory handle, it felt like
shaking hands with an old friend.
    Geo handed it back to
her. “It’s one of my abilities as a demigod. If I had my true
powers, or even my shop, I could fix it easily.”
    She glared at him. “I
like it the way it is.”
    He had the nerve to
chuckle. “So be it. Anyway, Ares doesn’t want me dead or I would
be. I think he gave me a demon’s strength – mind control, but not
its weakness – chaos, so I would survive my sentence. And here I
am, waiting to return home.”
    He stared into the
fire, his