Oooh, I think we are quenching our thirst for some group action, huh? Challenges_-_The_Rape_of_Helen.jpg) for the Ares position are started and speaking of positions, how about our first threesome action. Hot! And what a cliffhanger to end on!

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Just a reminder for our Bingo Players, this can be counted as a Bonus Book, a Romance, a 2000 book or a LGBTQ read!

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Patroclus finds out about Achilles and Helen getting together and is furious and resentful. Even so, their partnership for Ares is still solid. The first trial sees a timed course with three different optional routes to take and hidden challenges. Helen ends up forming a temporary partnership with Atalanta and both make it with a kiss! Also making it to next round are Hector, Paris, Achilles, Patroclus and the two ominous strangers. Hermes and Dionysus come for a chat and to deliver a message from Zeus. Achilles and Patroclus bicker and Achilles takes a night walk that interrupts an assassination attempt on Helen! They take her in and really, um, take care of her for two days. The second challenge is a maze with five keys that unlock the door to the third and final round and things get dirty.

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Helen on getting with Achilles:

"He might not have been the safe choice of an outlet, but I can't deny that he was the perfect one all the same. He took my blows and let me provoke him to do exactly what we both wanted. To fuck me like he hated me. Except...it didn't entirely feel like that. I know what it's like to have sex with someone who hates you. Paris proved that toward the end of our relationship" (Chp. 12).

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Helen's feelings on Patroclus:

"I'm not sure I care if he's using me as a weapon to hurt Achilles. All that means is that we're both using each other for selfish purposes. I should just enjoy it instead of thinking so hard. The whole point of indulging in this reckless behavior is that I'll stop thinking" (Chp. 15).

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Helen on both of them:

"They're the first people I've come across who seem to truly see me. Spoiled brat, yes. Pampered princess, mostly. But the strong, savvy woman beneath, too. Patroclus treats me like I'm something of true value. Achilles just takes my strength as fact. They both regard me as an equal" (Chp.21)

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Patroclus on both of them:

"Maybe if we weren't all piled on top of one another from this tournament and stuck in this building, it would be easier to navigate the thorny situation. I don't know. All I know is that the thought of either Achilles or Helen in danger makes me break out in a cold sweat" (Chp. 14).

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Achilles on sex with Helen, when Patroclus demands to know:

"I'd rather keep my mouth shut and say nothing at all than lie. Neither is an option under his intense look. 'No'. Gods help me but I don't hate her as much as I thought i would, and I can't blame the orgasm on that shift. She's nothing like I expected, and yet somehow also everything that I expected. I don't really get it, but I'm intrigued all the same. And the sex was so fucking good. It was intense and a little terrifying but I can't say that I wouldn't do it again. When I become Ares and she becomes my wife, it's almost a certainty" (Chp. 13).

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Achilles on sharing Helen:

"I glance over her shoulder at Patroclus. He looks just as conflicted as I feel. We've shared partners in the past, yes, but we both know better than to lump Helen in with them. It was complicated enough with each of us fucking her on our own. Doing it together feels like a mark of intent that I'm not sure we can follow through on without crashing and burning" (Chp. 16).

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Patroclus on guard duty:

"The bed is plenty big enough for both of us and probably Achilles too...I pause. No. Following that thought to its inevitable conclusion is a mistake" (Chp. 14).

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Achilles on watching and directing:

"They look at each other, and it's like I can see the connection between them. It pisses me off and turns me on. I guess that's no surprise. Everything about this pisses me off and turns me on. Isn't the connection the reason I lost control and fucked Helen on the floor like an animal a single day after badgering Patroclus into promising to stay away from her? I can't erase what's obviously growing between them, but I'm realizing I can ensure I won't be left behind" (Chp. 16).

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Questions to follow. We meet for our last Thirsty Thursday check in on October 26 for Chapters 22-end. Happy endings or tears?

Schedule

Marginalia