From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(16)

After Anne had died, Josie had retreated into herself, into her work, keeping herself busy as she waited for the time when the pain was behind her.

It was a feeling Artemis knew all too well.

Orion’s face filled her mind, but she took a breath and turned her attention to the things she could control.

Past the camaraderie she felt with Josie, Artemis knew the human would not be quick or open with her heart. Jon had hurt her so deeply that, of all the possible choices Aphrodite might have made, he had to be the least likely to succeed.

Artemis was certain Josie would never forgive him, for who could forget such a betrayal? She found she couldn’t fathom the concept. Relationships were black and white. There were rules, and once a rule was broken, trust was broken along with it. The connection had to be severed for preservation, for protection against the offender.

Forgiveness and acceptance were not concepts Artemis had patience for.

She sensed movement and opened her eyes just as Eleni flew up to the top of the rock. Eleni was Artemis’s second-in-command and was as impertinent and brazen as she was capable and loyal. She was a cloud nymph, a Nephelai, with milky-white skin that glittered against the sun and wings the color of a rain cloud. When her feet touched the stone, she twisted her dripping black hair over her shoulder, extending her wings until they shuddered and trembled, shaking excess water off.

“Am I interrupting your solitude, mistress?” Eleni asked.

“No, although I am not certain how riveting my company will be. Are you sure you’d not be happier with everyone else?”

She settled in next to Artemis. “It was all fun and games until I was assaulted by a flying lily pad.”

“Ah, that is never agreeable.”

“No, it is cold and slimy and fills me with rage,” she said cheerily as she closed her eyes. “Well done on your choice of player. Josie is quite talented, if not a bit prickly.”

“I suspect I have a fair chance of winning. Josie plainly loathes Jon.”

Eleni scoffed. “Loathing is not the word I would choose to describe her feelings.”

“She does loathe him,” Artemis shot back. “He abandoned her for another woman, a woman who had his child. Three years have passed, all while Josie stewed over that singular fact, cursing his name. And when he returned, he dredged up emotions she would rather have forgotten. He is a constant reminder of her pain.”

“Jon is loyal and did what he believed was right. He left Josie because of Tori, not for her. Very different.”

“He left her all the same. The reason is irrelevant.”

Eleni cocked an eyebrow.

“Would you forgive him if you were her?”

Eleni pondered the question for a moment as they watched the clouds roll by. “I would likely consider it if he was persistent. He is very handsome.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Artemis said on a laugh. “How very human of you.”

“Groveling and gifts wouldn’t hurt either,” Eleni said with a shrug.

Artemis snorted.

The Nephelai sighed. “Humans are not all that bad, you know.”

“Not that bad?” Artemis propped herself on her elbow with her mouth agape. “Truly?”

Eleni rolled her eyes, and Artemis’s narrowed in answer.

“You impudent nymph. Fortunately, you have use to me, or I might have banished you a hundred times before today.”

Eleni laughed, the sound like tinkling bells, and Artemis fought the urge to throttle her.

“Oh, let’s not be silly, Artemis. You would never banish me.”

“I cannot say that I remember why at the moment.” She gave Eleni a look as she ticked off points on her fingers. “Humans have overpopulated the world and are thus destroying it. They’ve slaughtered animals and each other, consumed everything they’ve touched like fire and tinder—so much, in fact, that we have moved here to escape their destructiveness. They’re just as stupid as ever, and lastly, they ruin everything.”

“Personally, I find them fascinating.” Eleni gazed up at the sky.

Artemis glared. “You are vexing. Do you know that?”

“I do,” she sang.

Artemis lay back on the warm stone and closed her eyes.

They soaked up the sun for a few minutes in silence before Eleni spoke again, “Do you have any specific plans for the game? Anything waiting to rip the poor, unsuspecting humans apart?”

“Strategy has never been my strong suit. I much prefer a good chase to a chess game.” Artemis sighed. “I do so hate this game with Aphrodite.”

“Yes, but you do enjoy winning in general.”

“True,” Artemis said with a smile up to the sky. “I believe I might have a way to convince Josie to leave town for a while, which should put a damper on Aphrodite’s plans.”

“I am not convinced Aphrodite has many plans. She has endured quite a lot as of late.”

The crispness of the morning clung to the breeze that pushed past.

“Oh, I doubt she lacks in ideas, but she is distracted. If I find anything to stoke that flame, I’ll use it.”

“Well, what all is distracting her? Ares, but stoking that seems unnecessarily cruel.”

Artemis nodded. “I agree. I am uninterested in involving Ares in any plans of mine. Her other immediate distraction is her loss of Adonis. I cannot make that any worse than it is, not with him in the underworld and well beyond my reach.”