Vatra tried to hide her confidence as she waded over to the others, but she knew her smile gave away every thought swarming around in her mind. She'd bested Ares at his own game. The stubborn god had given in to her. Sure, they still had to fight, but that was the easy part. Convincing a god, especially a war god like Ares, to do something they didn't want to do was like moving a mountain. And she'd done it so effortlessly.

"Why are you grinning like that?" Enyalius pried, eyeing her over. He glanced past Vatra's shoulder to Ares, but snapped his gaze back. "Surely you didn't get all the information from Ares so quickly."

"Hmm, not exactly," Hisato muttered. He treaded the water past Vatra and grabbed on to the side of the pool, turning himself around to face the group. "Vatra convinced Ares to fight her for the information."

"A fight?" Revna swam over close to Vatra, ducking down to draw Vatra's gaze to her. It was pointless, Vatra was on a high.

Vatra's attention was on the ceiling above them, head lolled back as she dipped slightly into the water, swimming back and forth in a small circle. She'd tuned out the conversation the moment Hisato had started speaking for her. The heavy scent of oils wafted out of the water, filling her nostrils and calming her spinning mind.

Enyalius scoffed. "You're crazy," he said, addressing Vatra. Again, the words fell on deaf ears. The god pointed at Vatra and looked around at the others. "She's crazy, right? It's not just me that thinks my father would rip her to shreds?"

"She did come close to fighting him off back on Tau Honnor," Hisato said with a shrug. "I don't think that was a fluke."

"In case anyone else missed the air around here," Enyalius paused and wafted his hand around dramatically in front of him, "Ares is going to be a lot stronger here."

"Oh, have a little faith in our phoenix," Fulgora said defensively. She patted the water in front of her and frowned. "We can't let her think that she doesn't stand a chance against him."

Vatra pulled her head up out of the water, narrowing her eyes at the goddess. "I heard that." Listening to Enyalius doubt her was nothing new, but the goddess' words of uncertainty forced Vatra to pay attention to the conversation once more.

"They're right, Vatra. Ares is a lot stronger in the resort. He was weaker when you faced off against him on Tau Honnor. It would be like fighting him back on Earth," Set warned.

The voice of reason, Vatra grumbled to herself and looked between the glaring eyes on her. Even Nat, who probably couldn't have cared less if she had her skull beat in by Ares, looked concerned.

"You all really think I'll lose?" Vatra asked after a moment.

Most of them nodded instantly, but Revna and Hisato hesitated in their quick dismissal of her confidence.

"You just seem too sure," Hisato said slowly. "I know you're strong in a fight, and you've already proven yourself against Ares, but Set is right. I know you've lost to Ares every other fight before, that's not a secret. And, all of those other fights were on Earth. I wasn't lying when I said I don't think it was a fluke, but I do think he wasn't at his best."

"That's basically a fluke," Vatra deadpanned. She splashed water at Hisato. "Oh, c'mon, guys, I thought you would like this plan. You're supposed to support me. I'm your captain."

A round of groans passed through the group. Obviously, that wasn't a card she should have pulled at the moment.

"Right," Vatra mumbled.

"It's not that we don't," Geb said, "we're just trying to be logical here."

"And I'm not?"

"That's not what I said," Geb retorted. "Did you even consider the fact he was going to be stronger in the resort, though? Be honest."

Vatra bit her tongue. She swam around in a circle and debated spilling out the truth that, no, she hadn't considered the fact that Ares was going to be a lot stronger than her. How it had slipped her mind, she wasn't sure.

Oh, right, I was just thinking on the spot for a plan.

"No, I didn't," Vatra said. She stopped avoiding the inevitable and faced the others, dread filling her chest. "Gods, he's going to kill me, isn't he?" Her voice dropped down to a hoarse whisper as she leaned into the middle of the group, biting her lip.

Enyalius laughed, chuckling so loud he drew the attention of several gods relaxing in the pool across from them. Thankfully, it didn't appear that Ares was close enough to hear them. He quieted down after a moment, earning a slap over the shoulder from Revna.

"If he does rip you apart, feel free to take him with you in your blaze," Enyalius said, wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye as he fought back another laugh. "I truly can't believe you didn't consider the position you're in."

"Shit," Vatra cursed, palms pressing tightly on either side of her head. "I'm dead, I'm so dead."

"Why would you even be worried about him killing you? Just come back and fight him again," Nat said.

"Wow," Vatra dropped her hands in the water, "if only I had thought about that."

"If only you'd thought at all," Enyalius muttered.

Revna smacked the god again, a loud crack echoing across the pool.

Shaking her head, Vatra ignored Enyalius' comment. "Contrary to my rather convenient abilities, I don't like dying. It's not fun, it's not painless, and it's not something I look forward to experiencing. In fact, I was really hoping to dial down on the frequency of deaths just in case my unlimited time here is, in fact, limited," Vatra snapped.

"So," Fulgora tapped her chin, "you're afraid of dying?"

Vatra glowered at the goddess. She'd expected an insensitive comment from Enyalius, but she also wasn't surprised that another immortal had pointed it out.

"Sure," Vatra said slowly, "you can put it that way."

"You should have said something before," Hisato said, his tone empathetic. He eyed the others, as if he realized the position they were all in wasn't the best place to have such a conversation.

Like I want to talk about my biggest fears while cooking naked in a pool with gods, Vatra thought. She could barely hold back the frown tugging at her lips.

"I'm sure I've mentioned my reservations about not wanting to die," Vatra said dismissively, trying to minimize her true feelings about it.

In fact, dying and coming back wouldn't have been all that horrible to her if she didn't relive the same moment over and over again every time she burst into flames. The unbearable pain of being thrown into a volcano the very first time she was killed—when her mortality was taken from her. Vatra restrained herself from eyeing Enyalius as the thought passed through her mind.

She'd moved past the blame on the god so long ago, why was she feeling resentment toward him again?

It probably has to do with the fact he's laughing at my fear over dying when it's all because of him.

Vatra could feel her fear over the oncoming fight turn into rage. Good, she could use that. Rage was useful in a fight. She knew how to use those emotions to her advantage.

No one had said anything further after her comment. They'd read the room, thankfully, and waded in silence until Vatra swam for the edge of the pool. There was no point in staying in the pool any longer. She'd made her deal with Ares, and he said he'd reach out to her when the time was set.

"Are we done?" Fulgora asked. She sounded disappointed that Vatra was climbing out of the pool.

Wrapping her towel back around herself, Vatra turned to the others. "I am, but I can't tell you guys where to go. I'm going back to my room to wait until the fight is set with Ares, or until I have something else come up on my itinerary. It's not like we're really allowed to mingle with each other, anyway."

"I thought we had to stay where we were scheduled until it was time to leave," Revna said. "Don't get into trouble by leaving early."

"They can't force me to stay here and soak with you lot," Vatra said, her lip curling up into a smile. "I'd rather get myself thrown into a resort jail forcing myself out of here than cook in a god soup for another minute."

"Let us know when the fight is on," Hisato said.

Vatra nodded, turning to leave them all to continue their soak. She wasn't quite sure where she was supposed to go. Changing back into her clothes was a start, but if Revna was right, would she even be allowed out of the room?

Only one way to see. I could always fight my way out, or pretend I was sick, Vatra thought, making her way toward the changing rooms. She just knew she needed space to prepare herself for a fight against Ares.