Chapter 66 Threads Of Despair

• Aphrodite's Point of View
• The morning sun rose over the horizon, casting a golden hue across the landscape, but it felt like a shroud over our hearts. Zeus and I had hardly slept, and as the first light of day seeped through the windows of our room, the reality of our situation weighed heavily upon us. Ares was still missing, and each passing day only deepened our fear and despair.
• Zeus was pacing the room, his jaw set with determination, but I could see the fatigue etched into his features. His hands gripped the back of his neck as if trying to physically relieve the pressure building inside him. I wanted to reach out, to comfort him, but I felt so lost in my own sorrow that I didn’t know how to connect with him.