Vatra awoke with a pounding headache. The steady ache in her arm forced her to reposition herself from the clutches of her sheets and pillows. She pushed aside the last pillow from her face and stared at her ceiling.

Her eyes flickered to Aspi's tank. "I don't suppose you know how I got here?" she questioned the creature.

An unhelpful bubbling sound was her only reply. As if the creature could speak, anyway.

"You're even more important now, you know that?" Vatra groaned and pulled herself to the edge of her bed.

Shooting pains rolled up and down her arm in waves. She looked at the brace with a scowl and noted her bare feet dangling over the side of the bed. Drawing a confused gaze around the room, Vatra's eyes fell on her boots tucked at the foot of her closet.

The door to her room slid open. "I did not expect that you were properly taken care of when I heard you were left here in such a state," Spyro stated. He stepped inside, but didn't close the door behind him. "I took the liberty of removing your magnetic boots for you. I hope you do not mind."

"No, thank you," Vatra said quickly. She felt as if she owed Spyro a thousand apologies for whatever may have happened while she was out of it. "You'd think whoever put me here would have helped a drunk friend or two to bed," she added with a grumble.

"You were not under the influence of alcohol," Spyro said. He was expressionless, unreadable. He might as well have been reading Vatra her own medical chart.

"I would hope not." Vatra stepped down to the floor and walked over to her boots. "I haven't been black-out drunk in a few hundred years."

"I do not understand the mortal's appeal to it," Spyro commented. He watched Vatra put on her boots with a careful eye.

Vatra shrugged once she finished and turned back to Spyro. "Pray tell, who got me here? And did they tell you what happened? I don't remember much." She held back how much she actually remembered about the fight and their talk with Ares, just in case she needed to approach her conversation more carefully.

"I do believe it was Hisato, Enyalius and Fulgora who escorted you to your room. They even told me Enyalius was the one who carried you here," Spyro said, the corner of his mouth turning ever so slightly down in a frown.

"Really?" Vatra laughed.

"And I did have a talk with Hisato. He filled me in on what was discussed back on Tau Honnor," Spyro added.

"Hisato didn't take very long to step up, then. I'm sure we need to have a meeting to go over everything. A lot happened on Tau Honnor," Vatra said. She went to step past Spyro, but he turned and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Some time has passed, Vatra. You were out for nearly a full day. I do not believe what you intended to bring up gently was meant to be kept quiet for so long," Spyro warned.

Vatra paused. Her eyebrows raised, heart fluttering in her chest. "What do you mean, Spy?"

Pausing for a second, Spyro stepped out into the hall first. "Enyalius found out Ares is here, and he is not too pleased with what was discussed when you and Hisato met with him."

"Hisato snitched on me? And here I was thinking we had such a good relationship between us," Vatra said. Her stomach felt heavy and weightless all at once. She wanted to vomit. The truth behind Enyalius and Vatra's fate was supposed to be her story to tell.

"No," Spyro said. "I do not think Ares was as patient as you might have thought him to be. Nor was he so willing to wait for you to do what you wanted with the information he gave you. Ares snuck his way through Tau Honnor to our ship and spoke with Enyalius directly."

"Gods, the bastard himself is here? I'll kill him right this time," Vatra growled. She pushed past Spyro, ignoring his rushed steps behind her. "That snake of a war god. He can't help but ruin everything, can he? I wonder what poison he's put in Enyalius' ear."

They trudged through the empty hall. Doors were left open, but lights were on. Wherever everyone else had gone, they'd left in a hurry.

Vatra climbed the ladder easily with one hand. Behind her, Spyro moved with a protective haste to put himself in the destructive path Vatra was set out on. She was shaking with anger.

As soon as her boots cleared the last rung, Spyro leapt forward and grabbed her arm. He pulled her to a halt, stopping her from a rushed charge across the room.

Everyone gathered in the kitchen turned, their mouths closing in whatever words were about to leave their lips. Vatra felt like she was walking into a room where every single person had been gossiping about her, but she didn't care much for the theatrics. Her eyes were on Ares, standing proudly between Geb and Set as if they were catching up on each other's personal lives.

Vatra noted Enyalius, sulking about at the edge of the counter with Revna at his side. She couldn't tell if he looked beaten down or angry at whatever Ares had told the group. Everyone else in the room blurred into one shape as she stared down Ares once more.

"I thought you were supposed to be hiding out in that medical bay?" Vatra asked, her tone icy. She pulled her arm from Spyro's grip and leaned back on her heels, keeping herself from sprinting across the room.

Ares gave a half-smile. "I thought about it not long after you left. What kind of father would I be if I didn't come here to see my own son?"

"And you felt the need to tell everyone what you told Hisato and I?" Vatra questioned. She clenched her jaw.

"My, my, you still have such a temper. And here I thought you would have calmed down after a little rest. It's why I convinced Julia to give you a little extra to put you to sleep. You seemed like you really needed it," Ares said. The forced smile faded from his eyes and lips ever so slightly.

"You had me drugged?" Vatra clenched her fist, looking about the room. The same expressions of disgust towards Ares passed through the group. Even Geb and Set distanced themselves from the war god.

"You're a little bird in my way. I could have done a lot worse if I wanted," Ares said.

Vatra took a step closer, pure fury in her eyes. "I'm the captain of the Agkistrodon, asshole. You crossed a line. Get off of my ship and never come back."

Ares scoffed. "You don't frighten-"

His words were cut short as a static shot through the air. The god's eyes widened, an expression of both shock and fear. He dared a glance to either side of him, moving only his head just the slightest bit.

The three gods of the storm—Geb, Set and Fulgora—had drawn their godkillers without hesitation. Electricity filled the air, vibrating over every inch of the Agkistrodon as if a bolt of lightning were about to spring from beneath their feet. Hair stood on end, and small, visible zaps of light glimmered off the edges of their blades.

Vatra crossed the remaining space between herself and Ares. She ignored the shocks across her body the closer she approached the war god, and the three surrounding him. A deep vibration in her chest thrummed stronger and stronger until it felt like her heart was going to explode. Still, she neared them.

Leaning over the counter, Vatra maintained an unwavering eye contact with Ares. "If you threaten me or anyone else on this ship again, I'll kill you. Do you understand me?"

Ares forced the smallest of nods.

"Good. Now, please, can someone get him off of my ship? We have too much to worry about." She waved her hand, ignoring how painful it was to actually move a single muscle.

The air returned to normal in an instant.

Hisato and Geb took the liberty of leading Ares away, while the others remained in the kitchen. A silence had fallen over those who stayed behind. Vatra couldn't take her eyes from Enyalius, her mind wheeling about all the possible thoughts he could have been thinking.

Do we hate each other again? Is he going to take Ares' side? Will he just run away? Vatra shook away the nagging questions from her mind.

"Wow, I could use something to eat after all the excitement. What about you guys?" Vatra forced a laugh and decided she would circle back to the inevitable conversation.

 Food would mend any tension between them for the time being.