Goddess of War

 

“Are you a real goddess?” Caledon asked, the breeze ruffling his dark curls.

“Many call me one, but I do not know,” Athena answered.

Dominic frowned. “Wasn’t the god that brought us here your brother?”

“I do not know how you came to be here, but I am happy you are here nonetheless.” And she meant it.

All three children smiled at her.

 

Athena fought with a renewed vigor, and Broadland remembered again why she was called the goddess of war.

But now, she fought for the three children at the palace.

She would end the demons and return home to them.

She would make the world safe for them, whatever the cost.

 

“You cannot keep them,” Kvasir snapped.

“Of course not, but I have no way to return them home. My sword must be capable of more than we thought.”

Kvasir glowered at her but didn’t deny it.

She smiled at him. “I am going to teach them how to ride today.”

 

The sun was already pinking the sky when Athena finally had the children asleep in her bed. She sat beside them, stroking Caledon’s dark curls.

In her world, Caledon had been lured by the demons. Then he had underestimated her. The only mistake he’d ever made, and it had cost him his life.

Dominic. His strength was unmatched, but his kindness would be his end.

Emelia clutched her bear. She was already lost and alone, searching for someone to cling to. But the demons would find her before Athena.

Tears dampened her cheeks. Athena would not lose them a second time.

 

Kvasir watched as the woman nicknamed the goddess of war comforted three crying children.

Holding them. Rubbing their backs. Telling them stories.

For the first time in a dozen moons, she smiled.

Genuinely smiled.

 

Three terrified children stared at Athena.

She always had sweets. And gifts. And she knew them, at least had known them when they’d been adults.

She handed Caledon a deck of cards, Dominic a toy sword, and Emelia a stuffed bear.

They stared at her, then began to cry.