Page 29 of Artemis

She decided that the best way to get to know her son again would be to take him somewhere new and fun. He’d never been to the human world, and he’d be safer, since it was unlikely that whoever was after him would think about following them there.

Plan decided upon, Artemis went to pick up Alexander from daycare. He abandoned the train he was playing with to run at her legs and hug them.

“You don’t get here until after DamienandLyta are gone!” Alexander said.

“I’m sorry, do you want me to leave?” Artemis teased.

“No! Are you here to see Maddie?”

“I’m here to get you. And I thought maybe we could go somewhere new. What do you think about that?”

Alexander’s jaw dropped open. “Yes!” he squeaked.

“Tidy up first, please,” Artemis said, and Alexander scampered away to put the train tracks in their designated bin.

“He’s an angel, you know that, right?” Maddie said. “We love having him here.”

“He loves being here,” Artemis replied, her heart swelling with pride. “I thought it would be nice to do something different together today.”

“Oh, totally.” Maddie rubbed the swell of her belly. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Did you ever regret being pregnant?”

Artemis glanced over to where Alexander was finishing up and lowered her voice. “Many times. But once I held him, I knew I had made the right choice.” She frowned. “Is Jaden having second thoughts?”

Maddie chuckled. “Definitely not. He’s very eager to meet our little one.”

“What’s up then? You’re going to be a fantastic mother.”

“It just feels so soon. Jaden and I only barely moved in together and now we’re welcoming a baby? We didn’t have much time to just be the two of us.”

“I see.” Artemis tried not to be jealous, but it was hard. “Your vision of your life isn’t the same as reality.”

Maddie blushed. “I guess you’re right.”

“Enjoy what you’ve got. When your little one is grown, you’ll have time with Jaden.” Artemis smiled. “And do you really think that Augustine and Hera wouldn’t babysit?”

“That is an excellent point.”

“Mom! I’m ready!” Alexander shouted, bouncing up to them.

“Great!” Artemis held her hand out to him, her heart melting when his tiny fingers slipped into her own.

She was honestly impressed as she drove out of Purgatory. Alexander hadn’t asked her even once about their destination. She drove through the portal meant for cars, coming out in the bright sunshine of downtown Los Angeles. The portal was disguised as a “No Entry” fence. It had powerful compulsions on it for humans tostay away, but allowed any denizens of the Underworld through without a problem.

Alexander pressed his face against the window, looking out over the beaches of Santa Monica eagerly.

“Do you want me to put the window down?”

“Yes, please!” He took deep breaths of the salty air. “What’s that smell?”

“It’s the ocean,” Artemis replied, amused.

“What’s an ocean?”

“It’s a huge body of water that surrounds the continents.”

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