Page 10 of Artemis' Bow
She may be a millennia old goddess of spring, but she will not bully me into getting married before I’m ready. I’m not like the gods.
“I’m going to change. You two have a seat,” Jayden says, pointing to the black overstuffed sofa in the middle of his common room.
Flopping down on the couch, I blow out a breath. I’ve tried to keep it together, but at some point, enough is enough. How many times are we going to be expected to save the world?
“You good?” Raven asks, sitting next to me.
“I have to be, right? I don’t have a choice but to be good.”
“You’re not a robot. It’s okay to break every once in a while.”
“I’m still struggling with what happened on the island,” I whisper. “I have nightmares about it.”
“You never told me exactly what happened.” Raven nudges me.
I glance at the hall to make sure Jayden isn’t heading back and sigh in relief. “I don’t think the events bother me so much as the way it made me feel. I was so tempted to just stay there and forget the rest of the world was in danger. What does that say about me?”
“It wasn’t real. It was a test that you obviously passed. It was meant to shake you. Don’t let it. So what if for a split second you considered saying fuck it and staying there. You made the right decision in the end. You’re stronger than I am.”
“It was Jayden,” I whisper. “I had to choose between Jayden and saving the world.”
“That’s diabolical. If I ever see that meddling sea god, he’s going to wish he was never created!” Raven yells in outrage.
“Shhh, I haven’t told Jayden yet. I’m afraid.” I clap a hand over Raven’s mouth.
“What’s going on in here?” Jayden rushes down the hall.
I remove my hand from Raven’s mouth. “Nothing.”
“I thought I heard Raven threatening murder.” Jayden raises a brow at her.
“It’s not important. That can wait. We need to get a hold of Hades.” I pull the shell out of my backpack.
“I wish there was a way to warn him so we don’t witness something I may never recover from,” Jayden groans.
“Don’t look and I’ll tell you when we have the all clear.” Raven grins.
Shaking my head at Raven, I hold up the shell and call, “Hades, god of the underworld.”
A few seconds tick by while nothing happens, then mist clouds in front of our faces, forming a picture inside of Hades seated on his throne with a giggling Persephone in his lap.
“Son,” Hades booms, grinning. “Why do you have your back turned?”
“He was afraid of what we might interrupt.” Raven bumps her shoulder with mine.
Jayden turns as Hades’ booming laugh fills the room. “It must be important if you were willing to risk interrupting us to contact me. What’s happening in the mortal realm? I’ve been getting some odd reports from Thanatos.”
“We don’t know what’s happened, but our best guess is something has happened to Artemis, but I can’t contact Hermes.” I shift in my seat.
“Hermes has been cloaked while he runs an errand for me. As soon as that is complete, I’ll send him to Olympus to find out what’s happened to the huntress and report to you.”
“We need this soon, Father. The sun has been shining nonstop for over a week.” Jayden runs a hand through his hair.
“The moon isn’t in the sky? Hmmm, that would explain the bizarre reports from Thanatos about freak storms in the desert.” Hades taps a finger to his lips.
“Freak storms in the desert?” Raven leans forward.
“Yes, the number of dead mortals has increased due to unexpected weather events. It makes so much sense now.”
