I��ve been alive for 200 years, and have seen a lot. My tribe is certainly no stranger to torture, and my father on occasion would encourage me to watch people being tortured. Learn how to do it, for when I took over and would have to get my hands dirty.

I��ve seen a siren be torn apart by dogs. Watched one get skinned alive. Heard the heart wrenching shouts of pain, but nothing could compare to the time I spent in the tank. I wish I would have died.?

By all means, I should have died. I was on the very cusp of death when he came back for me. I can barely remember Ares rescuing me from a situation he was the cause of. It��s like trying to recall a dream��

His hold on me was so gentle. It seemed like he was being so kind--right up until he raped me.

Forced himself on me while I was straddling the line between life and death.

And the worst, most disgusting, most shameful part was that I��m pretty sure I orgasmed. He fucked me while I was within an inch of death, and my body enjoyed it.

I look around his bedroom, barely able to move my body. I guess any torture incoorporating water seriously weakens a Siren, because I��m having trouble just moving on my own. He was absolutely correct, I won��t be able to run for weeks. It��s like I have to re-learn how to use my legs, and I feel so helpless.

I clench my eyes shut when the door opens. I don��t need to look in order to know who it is--it��s Ares. Nobody else would dare come in here, and nobody else exudes an aura of absolute authority like him.

��You were out for quite a few days,�� he murmurs as I hear his footsteps approaching me. I can��t help but start trembling. What is he going to do to me this time?

Surely there can��t be anything worse than that tank...can there?

I tense and shake even more when he walks over and kneels down in front of me, swiftly ripping the cover off of my body. His hand traces the now smooth skin of my leg before he speaks again.

��You��re an impressive healer. I would have expected some scars to last at least a few weeks,�� he says. The gentle praise only makes my stomach drop in fear. Is he going to hurt me more because I��m a skilled healer?

I want to move away from him, but I can��t. My body��s too weak. Even if it wasn��t, I��m frozen in place by fear.

��Talk to me,�� he demands, his fingers starting to trace patterns on my thigh.

��Wh-what do y-you want me t...to say?�� I stutter out, frustrated at the fact that I can��t even complete a sentence without tripping over my own words.

��I don��t care. Just let me hear your voice,�� he says, startling me. Is he being nice to me just so it hurts that much more when he hurts me?

No.

I won��t fall for this nice-guy act. This man has raped me, beaten me within an inch of death, and left me to deteriorate in a tank of feces.?

��No,�� I say, my voice coming out stronger than what I could have imagined possible. All that strength dissipates in a moments notice when Ares��s face turns deadly. His features that looked neutral only a moment ago now scream murder. Scream pain.?

I shouldn��t have said no.

��You don��t want to talk to me?�� he practically growls, glaring at me. I don��t respond.

��Fine. Don��t talk. Don��t make a single noise.��

His fingers start to dig into the delicate skin of my thigh.

��If you make a sound, you will regret it.��

With that, he slaps me. Fiercely. Right across my face. Despite my efforts, a small whimper escapes.

��What did I say?��

He enunciates, wrapping a hand around my throat as he hits me again. This time I can��t make any noise with the pressure on my windpipe.

��Here��s what��s going to happen, Aphrodite,�� he says, his voice a sinister murmur against my ear.

��I��m going to do what I do best�� I��m going to hurt you. Bad. You won��t utter a single word while I��m doing so. And when I��m done, you will obey my command, and will speak to me. If you refuse, we��ll start over. And don��t think passing out will save you...I��ll wake you up and keep going.��

??? ??? ??? *??? ??? ??? *??? ??? ??? *

��Are you ready to start talking?��

Ares��s voice is cheery. His mood always seems to be best when he��s inflicted an extreme amount of pain on me.

This time I was too weak to fight back. All I could do was occasionally twitch away from him, but that only frustrated him further.

He stuck needles under my fingernails. Cut open my skin just to watch it heal, and repeat the process. Broke my right arm four times because of how fascinated he was with my rapid healing.?

I��ve always known I was a particularly skilled healer, being able to heal both myself and others faster than most Siren��s, but Ares seems even more fascinated by it than I am. At first, it angered him. Now, he watches it with child-like interest.

A squeeze of my thigh pulls me out of my thoughts.

I��m so disoriented from the pain I just endured that I don��t even know what to say to him.?

Ares settles his body on top of mine.

No, not again. Please not this. Anything but this.?

��I��ll go easy on you...how about I ask questions?��

It amazes me how easygoing he sounds. As though he didn��t just destroy my body yet again.

I nod my head, knowing better than to talk back and earn another beating.

��What��s your favorite color?�� he questions breezily. I fight the bile that rises in my throat at this situation.

My mate, torturing me repeatedly, and then breezily asking me questions to get to know me.

��Red,�� I rasp out. He nods in acceptance before leaning back and spreading my legs. A part of me wants to beg, to plead with him not to rape me again, but I know that��ll trigger him into hurting me.

��What��s your favorite animal?��

��Elephants.��

His eyes meet mine before his next question, as he slowly begins removing his clothes.

��Have you ever had an orgasm?��

Despite everything he��s done to me, I still blush. The honest answer is I don��t know. I very well might have when he took me in the bathtub, but it��s too hazy for me to be sure about it. And before I met him I did�� touch myself�� a few times, but I don��t think I ever finished.

��I��m not sure,�� I answer quietly. Ares chuckles as his hand finds its way to my core, parting my folds and starting to play with me.

Just as I��m about to open my mouth to ask him to stop, he speaks, cutting me off.

��If you ask me to stop, I will hurt you,�� he warns, slipping his pointer finger inside of me as his thumb circles my nub.

He uses his free hand to spread my legs even wider, completely baring me to his gaze. I turn my head to the side, ashamed of my position. The spartans have no sense of modesty. Thebians, however? We hold on to our modesty like it��s armor. And he��s stripping even that away from me.

I feel a tingling sensation start to tug on my core, strengthening until I can��t seem to bear it anymore. Just as I��m about to say fuck it and beg him to stop, he gives me a command.

��Come.��

His deep, velvet-like voice rubs itself all around me, and I feel my muscles start to spasm and contract around his finger as wave after wave of pleasure crashes over me. After a few more seconds he finally removes his hand.

��That was an orgasm, Aphrodite.��

Tears start to stain my cheeks as he climbs off of the bed, casts me one last look, and then walks away.