Free Love's Forge by Marie Medina Page A

told him she was going to Hermes. Her infatuation with Hermes had been at its peak then.
    Eros tended to be more like his mother than like Ares. That had been some comfort. Hephaestus stopped outside the door. Even having a son together had not inspired true love for Aphrodite and Ares. They fucked. They fought. Occasionally, they could be good to each other. They were not in love. They both had the same story. They didn’t understand what had come over them. If Ares believed that, perhaps he would be willing to go out and find proof while Hephaestus continued pursuing Aphrodite here.
    Hephaestus opened the door. “Ares?”
    Torches lit up, and he looked down at Ares, who met his gaze calmly. “What?”
    “I’m letting you go. I want you to do something for me.”
    Ares stood. “I want you to let Aphrodite go.”
    “She hasn’t been harmed.”
    Ares shook his head and slapped his chest with his palm several times. “You don’t know how easy it is to harm her in here.”
    “I’m not doing anything to hurt her, but you don’t believe that, so I’m not going to argue with you. I know her as well as you do. I won’t say I know her better. Let’s say we’re even, all right?”
    Ares eyed him with suspicion, but he slowly nodded. “All right. What do you want me to do?”
    “You say this is someone else’s fault? Prove it. Bring me proof and Aphrodite will be free to go. Until then, she stays here. She is my wife, and I have that right.”
    “What does Hera say about this?”
    “Our mother is worried about you. I’m an afterthought, but that’s normal.”
    Ares wavered. “What did she say? How is she?”
    Hephaestus pushed his jealousy away. Ares and Hera talked almost every day. They shared their lives in so many ways. Hera had never tried to have that with Hephaestus. She loved him. He knew that. She was proud of him and his work. Now, he’d disappointed her. That was his fault, not Ares’. If he hadn’t avoided all the other Olympians, maybe his life would have been different. Or maybe not.
    He cleared his throat. “You’ll see her soon enough. Go.” He stepped back and pointed to a door in the hallway. “Keep walking and you’ll be outside. You’ll recognize the place. I won’t talk to anyone until you come back with something to report.”
    Ares nodded. His cage door opened and he stepped out. He looked past Hephaestus and walked on, opening the door and passing through it swiftly.
    Hephaestus closed and locked the door behind him. He wanted to go climb into bed with Aphrodite and tell her, but he didn’t dare. He walked back to his room and quietly opened the door. He stepped toward the bed and gazed down at her. She’d tangled herself in the sheets, though she looked peaceful enough for the moment. She hadn’t put any clothes on after their encounter, and he longed to touch her soft white skin.
    He turned away and went back out the door. He hesitated, but then he locked it back gently. He listened, and she didn’t seem to have stirred. He started to walk back to the kitchen, but he saw Hermes appear in the hall. Hephaestus had granted Hermes permission to enter whenever he wanted after receiving that first message from Hera, but now he wondered if he shouldn’t have.
    “Yes, Hermes?”
    “I have a message. I was told to give it to you if you set Ares free first.” Hermes held out a note.
    Hephaestus accepted and read it. “That was fast. Of course.” He eyed Hermes, yet another man Aphrodite had been infatuated with. “Hera was concerned for Ares. Who’s going to care if I’m still holding Aphrodite?”
    “I’m supposed to wait for an answer.”
    He nodded. “Fine.” Harmonia? It made sense she might be worried about her mother, but they’d never been close as far as he could tell. He’d expected the message to be from Eros. Hephaestus hadn’t even known she existed or that Aphrodite had other children until Harmonia had shown up at Mount Olympus to see Eros after he was