I shook my head. “I wasn’t until I told you I needed a glass of water.”
A Sidhe woman with green colored skin knelt before me. “May I assess your health, Princess? I am a healer.”
I looked at Ares who nodded. “Sure,” I said, “But I don’t think it’s necessary. I just got a little dehydrated.”
She smiled sweetly at me and placed one hand on my stomach and one hand on the center of my chest. She was silent for four of my heartbeats and then pulled her hands away. “You’re in very good health. Drink plenty of water and stay away from alcohol since it dehydrates.” She stood up and turned to Achilles, motioning for him to follow her. He obeyed and they talked a few yards away.
Ares stroked my cheek. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine, Ares. I didn’t mean to startle you both.”
Suddenly, a pain flashed through me. Achilles’ anger was like a whip of fire against my skin. I gasped and turned to face him. He stood alone where he and the healer had been talking a moment ago. Why was he so angry all of a sudden? His back was to me, making it impossible to gauge his problem from his face.
“What’s wrong?” Ares asked.
“Achilles is very angry,” I whispered.
Achilles straightened and turned to us, a smile on his face. “Sorry, Artemis. I saw someone I did not wish to. How are you feeling?”
He was pretending as though he wasn’t mad, but I could feel the anger and pain simmering beneath his smile. His eyes were also pinched, a sign of pain. “I’m fine. How are you? Why are you in pain?”
He sighed, looked down at his feet and then laughed. “This bond is burdensome in a few areas. I’m fine, just dealing with feelings about something I cannot deal with. You needn’t worry, you have done nothing and I am not mad at you.” He reached down and patted my hand reassuringly.
Why were men so stubborn? Why did they have to be hard asses all the time?
We returned to Hera’s court and the rest of our pack to find a hundred Sidhe dressed in battle armor and practicing with swords, bows, and axes. Our pack watched from the sidelines, but I could see them taking it all in as they tried to memorize the moves.
Koda waved at us from the front where he was practicing using a bow and arrow with Erebos. I jogged over to him and asked, “Can I try?”
Erebos handed me a wooden bow instead of the silver one he had been using. I nocked an arrow, aimed and released. The solid “thunk” of the arrow hitting the target brought a smile to my face even before I saw that I’d hit the very center of the bulls-eye.
Erebos whistled. “Wow. You are definitely a natural with a bow.” He turned and yelled, “Hephaistos!”
The tall Sidhe with forearms as big as my legs jogged up to us. “Yes?”
Erebos pointed to me. “You remember Artemis, right?”
Hephaistos dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “Princess.”
I still wasn’t used to this type of treatment, especially not after pretending to be human for so long. “Stand, please.”
He stood and looked at Erebos who said, “She’s a natural, as you can see.”
Hephaistos smiled. “Indeed, she is.”
“I would be greatly appreciative and honored if you would make me a bow and set of arrows. Your brand was great,” I said.
He bowed. “Thank you. I’ll return as soon as it’s finished.”
I spun around and jogged to find Ares. “Ares!”
He turned from his discussion with a pack member and met eyes with me. “What’s wrong?”
“What happened to the humans? All those people we gave the brand to? I completely forgot to ask with all of this mayhem going on.”
He averted his eyes a moment and said, “That’s something we should discuss later.”
“Why? What happened?” I asked frantically. “Where are the townspeople and all of the other humans from everywhere that we went? What happened to them?” Everyone had stopped practicing and turned towards me, but I didn’t care. I had to know what happened.
Ares took my hands in his. “I’m sorry, Artemis. We were locked up so we couldn’t help them. It’s all my fault and I know it doesn’t make it any easier, but…”
“They’re all dead, aren’t they?” I asked in a small voice.
He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly against him, offering me his warmth and touch as my mate and pack mate to soothe me. “Yes. I’m sorry. Even if they hadn’t been turned, humans don’t live over one hundred years often.”
Every person I’d grown up with in the town. Every person who had believed in me and wanted to be saved from the preternaturals. They were all dead and it was my fault. I knew that I should be sad, that tears should be pouring from my eyes, but the only thing I felt was anger.
I pulled away from Ares and saw my glowing body reflected in his eyes. “The vampires killed them?”
Victor walked over to me from the castle. “Yes, my father had anyone bearing Ares’ marked killed.”
“When is the battle?” I asked through clenched teeth as I tried to reign in my anger and power.
“We leave in the morning,” Victor said softly.
I inhaled deeply and shoved the anger and power down. I could open it up and use it tomorrow. I noticed that everyone was still staring at me, so I turned away and walked towards the other side of town. With the anger pushed away, my grieving surfaced. Tears streamed down my face and body. Wrenching sobs forced me to stop and sit down as I cried over the losses. People had died because they trusted me. They might have lived if I hadn’t come to them. If the vampires had come and given them the choices, they might have chosen differently and been allowed to live, albeit as slaves. My head and body hurt from the fierce sobs breaking out of me. How could I save the world from the vampires when I had doomed hundreds or thousands or however many people to death already?
“Artemis, it’s not your fault,” said Achilles softly from beside me.
There was no way I could defeat the vampires. I was just a worthless girl on a power high. I should have given myself to Maurice before Hera had stolen me. Then everyone would be safe.
Achilles squatted down in front of me and grabbed my arms. His body was glowing and his eyes were solid white pearls as he looked into my eyes. “You listen to me! Giving yourself to Maurice would not have accomplished anything except your torture and possibly our deaths as we tried to rescue you. Do not ever think about giving yourself to that monster! I would sooner give up my life than see you in his hands.”
“If you died I would die too,” I whispered softly as I wiped at the tear tracks on my face.
Achilles stopped glowing and the warm gentleness returned to his eyes. “Yes, I know. I was just trying to make a point.” He sat down beside me and I let him take me into his arms. “It was not your fault. It was Maurice’s decree and his vampires who executed them. The only person you should be mad at is Maurice.”
He was right, but it didn’t help the pain I felt in my heart. Inside it felt as though I had stamped their execution orders with my brand.
He rubbed his hands up and down my arms and started to sing in a language I didn’t understand. His voice was amazing and the language was incredibly beautiful. We sat together for at least an hour and he didn’t stop singing until Ares approached us.
Ares sat down and picked my hand up in his. I expected him to be angry that I had run off and he had found me with Achilles, but he did the most unexpected thing. He started singing where Achilles had left off. Achilles joined Ares and the brothers sang to me while the grief and sorrow I felt eased and then settled into a low ache.
They stopped singing when they determined I was no longer in pain and cuddled around me from both sides as comfort. Ares kissed my cheek and stood up. “I’ll be on the training field when you’re ready to return.”
“Ares,” I whispered. He looked at me and the sadness in his eyes made me struggle for a moment. “Thank you,” I finally managed to say.
He dipped his hea
d and disappeared around the corner of a building.
Achilles stroked my hair and whispered, “I love you, Artemis. I’m sorry that things are so difficult for you. If there is anything I can do to make it easier, please tell me.”
“You’ve done so much already, Achilles. More than I could have hoped for.”
He adjusted our position so that I was leaning against his chest and hugged me tight. “Will you please stay beside me during the fight tomorrow? I know you don’t like the idea of us guarding you, but if it were up to me I would leave you behind for the fight. After you were gone so long, we’ve had so little time to spend with you.”
“My life always seems to be hectic. We rush from one fight to another or one place to another. I just want this war to be over and the world to return to what it was, or as close as it can be.”
“Will you stay by me?” he asked again.
I nodded and turned to face him. “Yes, but you have to focus on yourself and not me. If I get into trouble I can always use the sunlight magic.”
Achilles smiled. “I will try to remember that.” His smile wilted a moment and then he kissed me on the lips. Unlike Ares’ kisses which filled me with a raging fire, Achilles’ kiss filled me with an electric buzz, as if I was holding a live wire.
His hands ran from my shoulders to my stomach to my back and then he pulled me closer to him. It felt wrong to be kissing someone other than Ares and yet it also felt so incredibly right to kiss Achilles.
He pulled away first, and I knew without looking that both of our wings were out and that my eyes were pearl white like his. He smiled one of the first true smiles I had ever seen on his face, and yet I could sense sadness in him as well. He kissed my lips quickly. “Come on, we should get back. I’m sure Hephaistos has your bow ready.”
I let him help me stand. It took a moment of intense concentration for me to calm my powers and bring my wings in. I was suddenly glad that he’d pulled back since I hadn’t.
We walked back to the field where everyone, halfbreed and Sidhe, were now practicing together. It warmed my heart more than a million kisses could. Koda put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me away from Achilles and towards Hephaistos and Erebos. “You have to see what Hephaistos worked up for you.”
“Sweet,” I said excitedly as we increased our speed to get to Hephaistos.
Hephaistos smiled at me and then blushed. “I got a bit carried away, but I think you’ll like what I’ve made.”
I smiled at him. “I’m sure I’ll love it. Your work is always beautiful.”
He picked up a covered bundle from the table behind him and slowly unwrapped it, revealing a beautiful bow. Never before had I seen one so exquisitely crafted. The frame was covered in intricate carvings of vines which matched the ones on my face and arms. The string and frame were both a glowing silver color and seemed to throb as though alive. “I made sure not to use any silver since I know you’re allergic to it, but I couldn’t make you a bow simply out of wood.”
Achilles and Ares had joined us and at the sight of the bow in Hephaistos’ hands they both gasped. Achilles asked, “How long has it been since you made a bow this way?”
Hephaistos smiled. “Too long, but I believe Princess Artemis is the best recipient for such an item.”
I cleared my throat and they all turned to me. “May I see the bow to understand why you are all so excited?”
Hephaistos laughed and held out the bow. “My apologies.”
The bow was much lighter than I expected and as soon as it touched my skin I understood the excitement. My back arched in a mixture of pain and pleasure as the bow determined if I were suitable to hold it or not. After a moment the power of the bow receded and it vibrated slightly in my hand. “How did you harness starlight to keep the form of the bow?” I asked in shock.
“We are Children of the Stars and a mother is always willing to help her children,” Hephaistos answered softly. “I am glad that you are able to wield it. I had not thought about the possibility of you being unable to.”
I laughed and pulled on the string which was also made from starlight to test its resistance. “Do you have an arrow I can try?”
Hephaistos unwrapped another bundle and I gasped. “Starlight arrows?”
He smiled. “Starlight shafts with steel tips which have been dipped in sunlight.”
Several of the crowd which had gathered gasped and started talking loudly.
I picked up one of the arrows and nocked it. I looked across the field and saw a target about two miles away. I aimed and released. The arrow sped across the field faster than any normal silver or wood arrow could and flew through the target and into the tree behind it.
“I never knew you were an archer,” Ares said teasingly.
I shrugged. “It appears so.”
I ran to the tree and pulled the arrow from the trunk. The tip of the arrow was no longer dipped in sunlight. I jogged back to the group, slung my bow over my shoulder and formed a ball of sunlight in my palm. I dipped the tip of the arrowhead in the sunlight and turned it slowly so that the sunlight coated it. “How does it stick?” I asked Hephaistos as I coated the arrow head.
“The iron is enchanted and the starlight can understand your desire and assists as best as it can,” he said in an awed whisper.
I put the arrow back into the sheath and looked up at all of the eyes focused on me. “What?” I asked as I blushed.
“I was not aware that you could control sunlight,” said Erebos from beside me.
I smiled at him. “Yes, I can.”
“Ares!” Koda called. “We have a problem.”
I followed Ares over to where Koda was standing with an unfamiliar Sidhe on the other side of the grass. The Sidhe left and Koda kept looking at me in a weird way, almost as if he was uncomfortable with me being there. “What’s wrong?” asked Ares.
Koda looked at me a moment then sighed. “You’ll find out anyways so I might as well just tell him in front of you. Ares, they’re fighting a werewolf in the Games.”
Ares folded his arms across his chest and it took me a moment to stop staring at his biceps. “Why is that a problem?” Ares asked. “They’ve used a wolf before to fight one of the humans.”
“It’s a problem because the wolf isn’t fighting a human. The wolf is fighting an elf,” Koda said slowly as though trying to clue Ares into the secret without letting me figure it out. I really wished I could read his mind. Where was Victor when you needed him?
Ares asked, “What did the wolf do? Which wolf is it?”
“The wolf killed a vampire to protect a human that did not have his brand.” Koda stopped talking, looking at me for a long moment before saying, “It’s Bret.”
“My Bret?” I asked in shock. Ares growled and I rolled my eyes at him. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
Koda smiled at me. “Yes, your Bret.”
Ares sighed. “Crap.”
“What are the Games?” I asked.
“They’re like the old Roman gladiator fights to the death, but usually the humans are pitted against ogres or some other preternatural. It’s rare that a preternatural has to fight another preternatural, but in some instances, they do it. Usually the fight serves as a public execution.”
“And Bret is going to have to fight in it?” Dread overwhelmed me.. I turned to Ares. “We have to save him. We can’t just let him die, especially if he was protecting a human.”
Ares closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his fingers, as though trying to get rid of a headache. “I knew you were going to say that,” he whispered.
“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you in front of her,” said Koda.
“Where’re the Games held? How long will it take to get there? When is he fighting?” I asked frantically.
Ares threaded his fingers through mine, giving me reassurance and calming me. “Koda and I will take care of it. You stay here with Achilles.”
“No way!” I yelled, pulling my h
and from his. “You’re not leaving me behind.”
“Artemis, the stands are going to be full of vampires and Maurice will be there, sitting in the pulpit, watching over everything. Do you really think it’s a good idea for you to go?”
“You’re not leaving me behind. I’ll teleport myself to the Games if you try to leave me.” I was not giving up on this. No matter what he said I was going.
“She’d probably teleport herself right into the center of the ring,” said Koda more to himself than anyone else.
Ares growled. “I am not taking you there! What if Maurice catches you?”
“I’ll teleport out,” I answered quickly.
“She has a point,” said Koda.
Achilles walked towards us, a deep frown on his face. “What’s going on?” He must have sensed my anger and come looking for me.
“Artemis’ former friend is being fought in the Games. She wants to go with us and threatened to teleport herself if we leave her behind,” summarized Koda.
Achilles gaped. “You can’t go to the Games. It’s not really even safe for Ares to go to the Games. What if you get captured?”
“I’ll teleport out,” I said calmly.
“It’s not that simple,” Achilles said with a hiss, “They could kill you before you had a chance to teleport. And we all know that you wouldn’t leave us behind just to save yourself. You are not going, Artemis.”
My mouth dropped open. Achilles had never spoken to me that way before. I expected it from Ares, but not Achilles. “You don’t make the decisions for me,” I said quietly trying to summon my anger, but in my shock I was unable.
“I am your mate, whether we’ve mated or not and therefore I do have a say in what you do, especially if it puts your life, and consequently mine, at risk. Plus, you’re the Princess of the Sidhe and it’s every Sidhe’s job to protect you. Do you really want to fight off the entire Sidhe race just to go rescue Bret?”
Never in my life would I have expected Achilles to speak to me like this. “You’re trying to push me into a corner.”
He smiled. “No, sweetheart, I shoved you into the corner and shackled you there. Ares, Koda and I will go to the Games and save your friend. You will stay here, watched by Sidhe guards whom I know you won’t hurt and you will wait for us to return. Are we clear?”
Artemis Lupine- The Complete Series Page 58
