From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(103)

“It happens to all of us, even those of us who should know love better than anyone.”

Artemis met Dita’s eyes. “I am sorry for what I said and did to you. I was cruel.”

“You were right.”

“Knowing the truth is the first step to moving forward, I’ve found. Once you know a thing, you cannot un-ring the bell. The knowledge is yours, and the knowing changes you.”

“Wise words,” Dita said with a nod.

“From a stubborn goddess.” Artemis smirked.

Dita snorted. “Uh, have you been to Olympus recently? Because I’m pretty sure the first synonym for goddess is stubborn, right next to incorrigible and shortsighted.”

“Well, let us be sure to do our namesake proud,” Artemis answered with a laugh.

And, as the goddesses sat in the sun, Dita found hope that they would both survive their past.



Dita waited until Artemis had eaten her entire bowl of cereal before she climbed down the rock and walked up the path and into the elevator, bound for Ares’s apartment. She smoothed her shirt and wiped her sweaty palms on her back pockets. It was the day of the awkward talks, and she was determined to get through it, doing her best to convince herself that she was prepared.

But when the door opened into Ares’s foyer, she froze. It took all her willpower to force her to take a step instead of pushing any or all buttons on the elevator to get it to close so she could vacate the premises.

He came out of his bedroom and stood stock-still when he saw her.

“Dita?” His eyes on her were like cold, demanding fingers against her skin, running a chill up her spine.

“Can we talk?” she asked with more confidence than she felt.

“Of course.”

She watched him as he walked across the room and sat on the couch, and she followed, keeping a wide distance. He was graceful and muscular, beautiful and deadly. She moved to sit on the couch opposite him with trembling hands.

Dita braced herself, repeating her speech in her mind before opening with the disclaimer, “I don’t want to fight, and I don’t want you to touch me. Can you agree to that?”

He nodded.

She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry and sticky. She held her chin up and sat straight. “I’m not going to hide in my apartment for eternity because I don’t want to see you. We’ve got to live with each other. But I need to know that you won’t hurt me again.”

His face was blank as he watched her, not hearing her, just like Perry had predicted. “I don’t know what to say, Dita. You know how I feel about you.”

“I do know. But we’re through. I need you to let me go.”

He slung his big arm over the back of his chair and shook his head. “How do you suggest I do that? I haven’t been able to shake you for my entire eternal life.”

“You’ve got to find a way. I need you to leave me alone. If you love me, can you do that? For me? Can you let me heal?”

“I can give you time.”

“Time can’t fix what you did,” she fired back. “You can’t go back and leave Adonis alive. You can’t undo the countless lies you told. You can’t turn back the clock to a time where you didn’t hurt me. You can’t erase it, and I can’t love someone who would betray me the way that you have.”

“You say that now—”

“I’m not going to change my mind.” The finality in her words surprised her, but she felt them all the way through her, knowing they were honest and real the moment they’d left her lips.

“I can wait to see if that’s true or not.”

He was patronizing her, she realized. He still didn’t believe, couldn’t grasp it, though she had always known it was an impossible thing to ask of him.

“You’ll be waiting forever.”

“We’ll see.”

She pursed her lips and took a breath, allowing him the last word even though it killed her not to argue. “Can we agree to a truce?”

“You need time and space, and I will give you that. For now.”

“Someday, you will understand that this is it.” She stood and left for the elevator. “See you around.”

“Yes, you will.”





Day 21





JON FOLLOWED JOSIE INTO her apartment, and she dropped his bag next to the door. He reached for it as she closed the door behind them.

“Ah, ah!” She slapped his hand. “Doc said no lifting anything over five pounds for two weeks.”

“It’s a duffel bag full of socks and underwear. I think I can handle it.”

“You got shot in the chest, asshole,” Josie said with an eye roll and a smile.

“And then made a miraculous recovery because I am just that epic.” He smiled smugly, and that single tug of his lips practically made her panties burst into flames.

“Okay, Mr. Epic Man of Steel, you indestructible favorite of the gods.” She grabbed the bag and made for her bedroom. “Jeez, I can’t leave you alone for two seconds.”

“You’d better not.” He looked around as he followed her. “I like what you’ve done with the place.” He motioned to the wall where the crime shrine had been replaced with paintings and a framed photo of her and Anne.