Tragos didn't know where Ares fist had crashed into his face, the impact had been so hard the fist might as well have been a battering ram, that huge. It took everything Tragos had not to cry out, swallowing the sound like it was punishment too, choking it down his throat as he struggled to stand up straight once more. The pain was so bad it felt like half his head was burning, the fireworks of it popping across his vision, ringing in his ear.
Ares' command was deep and annoyed enough that it cut through the ringing, and Tragos sat, shaken with adrenaline. He lifted a hand to his jaw to check it still worked, and it did, though he could taste blood in his mouth. Had he bitten his cheek, his tongue? Everything hurt.
It didn't stop him replying. "I didn't know, sir," pain as evident in his voice as annoyance was in Ares. "Not till Wednesday. I thought he was yours. I swear."