War's Passion (Sons of War) by Lia Davis

for several moments. And she wouldn’t have at all if Elle hadn’t taken her by the arm and led her out of the bedroom and downstairs.
    When they reached the foyer and turned to the great room, Gwen stilled, forcing Elle to stop. Good gods, it was Aphrodite. And Gwen assumed the man with her was Ares, but only because he looked so much like Markus. They weren’t looking at her. The goddess had a hand on Ares’s chest and his arm was around her waist as they whispered softly to each other.
    Suddenly , Aphrodite turned her head and froze for a moment before pushing away from Ares and walked toward Gwen.
    Taking an unsure step back, she was n’t sure what to expect. Sure, she’d seen photos of the goddess when she was little. Her dad kept them hidden in a desk drawer, but it was no surprise how much they looked alike.
    Aphrodite stopped inches from her, tears filling her eyes. She lifted a hand as if to touch Gwen.
    Shaking her head, Gwen extracted her arm from Elle’s while still holding the goddess’s gaze. “You let him die.” The words were choked out and tears fell down her cheeks. “Why?”
    Aphrodite closed her eyes briefly. “I had no choice. I…”
    Gwen shook all over. Memories rose, bringing the pain of losing her parents stabbing her in the heart. She couldn’t breathe.
    Turning away from her grandmother, she rushed to the front door, opened it, and ran outside. She didn’t stop until she reached the center of the rose gardens. Sitting on a stone bench, she covered her face with her hands and let the pain pour out of her.
    After what felt like several minutes, she lifted her head and found Aphrodite waiting next to a yellow rose bush that was as tall as she was. “We were forbidden to have direct contact with our earth borne children. That didn’t stop many of us from watching over them. Tom always seemed to know when I was near.” The goddess let out a soft half-laugh, half-sob. “I admired his ambitions, his love for life.” Aphrodite turned to face Gwen, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “After you were born, he summoned me and asked for my promise to keep you safe and, if I had to choose between him and you, that I must choose you.”
    Gwen sniffed and wiped her cheeks. “I don’t understand. Why would he ask that of you?”
    The goddess sighed and walked over to sit beside Gwen. “Your father had the gift of foresight. It was always hard for him to control, because he was half-human. I can only assume he saw something in your future, or his, or both.”
    Foresight? Gwen’s father never mentioned this ability. Then again he never talked about any of his powers. The only time she’d witnessed that he had any was on one occasion—the night he died.
    Glancing at her grandmother, Gwen studied her. There was so much she didn’t know or understand about her life —the last few days had proven it. “The night my parents died…”
    “Garrick came looking for you. When he didn’t find you, he went for your parents.”
    Gwen’s stomach twisted. “Why me?”
    Aphrodite met her stare. “Because your mother was a minor goddess of fate. That is where you got your power of persuasion. It also makes you more powerful than any descendant that we know of.”
    “That’s why you cho se me?”
    Aphrodite reached over and took her hand. “If I ’d had a choice, I’d have chosen both of you. I loved Tom. The only thing I could do was cloak you from Garrick’s sight.”
    “And keep Dad’s promise.”
    Drawing her into a hug, Aphrodite pressed a kiss on her forehead and squeezed gently. “Yes. I’m so sorry.”
    Gwen didn’t reply. Instead, she wrapped her arms around the goddess’s waist and hugged her back. A connection she didn’t know was missing snapped into place, filling the void in her soul. Aphrodite was her family.
    “What about the direct contact thing?”
    Her grandmother drew back, lifted Gwen’s chin to meet her gaze, and smiled weakly. “It was lifted today, within