From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(84)

Artemis ached for comfort, and her thoughts turned to her mother, who lived at the edge of the lake below her. Leto always made her feel better, no matter the situation, and it had been too long since Artemis saw her.

Her mother would make things seem brighter.

She ran her hand down Pegasus’s neck and pointed to the edge of the great sparkling lake below, and he reared his head in answer and dived for Leto’s home.

The green hills grew larger, the mountains rising up to meet them until they approached her castle.

It was small in the way of castles with small turrets that reached up to the heavens and hatched glass windows. Stone walkways and balconies rounded the house, and Leto stepped out of one, tall and regal, the gold lining of her white robes shimmering in the sunlight. She waved like a queen as Pegasus’s hooves touched the ground.

Artemis dismounted and ran her hand down his jaw. He whinnied before kicking off the ground, his wings stirring up dust in a cloud.

Leto bounded out of the entrance with open arms. “Artemis.”

“Mother.” The warmth of their embrace lightened her heart, earning a sigh that lessened the weight of her burdens.

Leto pulled away, smiling, her cheeks rosy. Her diadem sparkled atop her crown, her long blond hair waving down her back. “I am so pleased to see you; it has been too long. Come inside. Are you hungry?”

“Famished.”

Artemis smiled and followed Leto into the kitchen, feeling like a girl as she always did when in her mother’s presence. Of all the places in all the world, it was the only one where she felt safe and free, released from her responsibilities, able to just be.

Leto reached for a block of ambrosia on the shelf and transformed it into a steaming loaf of bread. She sliced a piece off, drizzled honey on it, and placed it on a plate before sliding it across the worn wooden table to Artemis.

“How are you, darling?” Leto asked.

The bread melted in her mouth, the honey thick and sweet against her tongue, and a groan escaped her. “Admittedly better now.”

Leto laughed and propped her head on her hand as she watched her daughter with sparkling blue eyes. “So, all is not well?”

Artemis’s brows furrowed as she swallowed another bite. “I am competing with Aphrodite, and the outcome is…unknown.”

“Ah.” Leto nodded, though she still looked amused. “Competitions with Aphrodite have always nettled you.”

“She and I do not see eye-to-eye.”

“No, you do not. What is the current dilemma?”

Artemis huffed. “I have been cut off at every turn. Every effort has been batted away, and now, my player is in close confines with Aphrodite’s for at least the next few days. My chance, my only chance, was to keep them apart. And my play, my one play, was turned around on me by Aphrodite. She is now at a gross advantage.”

“I see,” Leto said with a nod.

“And I am alone in the competition. Everyone has abandoned me.”

“Everyone?”

“Eleni and Apollo,” Artemis answered, realizing she sounded like a child.

“Hmm. Everyone.” Leto’s eyes were merry, and agitation crawled under Artemis’s skin.

“Apollo took sides, and he did not choose mine.”

“Well, dearest, Aphrodite did just return Daphne to him.”

“Gods, not you, too.” She set her bread down and glared at her mother. “Yes, she returned Daphne—after she tortured him for thousands of years.”

“Granted, but does sacrifice have a time limitation? Is the act any less noble in that it took time to come to fruition?”

“It shows lack of character.”

Leto laid her hand on Artemis’s. “Your brother would never betray you. He only wants what is best for you, as do we all.”

Artemis stood and walked across the room, stopping at the window to look across the open water, listening to the waves lap the shore. “Mother, is it possible to leave your pain behind when you have been through so much?”

Leto followed Artemis and leaned against the wall next to the window, facing her daughter. She tucked a stray hair behind Artemis’s ear. “I do believe this. How could I not? I have lived almost all of my existence surviving one trial after another. I have been chased and hunted. I have had to fight for everything I love, for everything I believe in. If Hera had her way, I would have been dead long ago. Only since we have lived here have I found true peace. And do you know what has guided me through all of that?”

Leto waited until Artemis turned to look into her eyes before continuing“Hope.” Leto smiled. “I look forward, not behind me. I enjoy every moment because I have lived through so many I thought would be my last. You cannot live your life looking back, considering things that you can never change.”

Artemis reached for Leto, who stroked her hair and kissed her cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling lost and reassured, wondering what kind of life she could live if she could only be as brave as her mother.

Because she didn’t know if she had the strength to turn around and look forward, not when everything she loved was behind her.





Day 10





JON LEANED TOWARD HIS open window, welcoming the cold air whipping his skin. It was the closest he could get to a slap in the face.