Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine (13 page)

Achilles walked to stand on the balcony
beside me and leaned his elbows on the stone railing. “This is my
favorite spot in all of the Dark Court.”

“I can see why,” I said softly as I looked
out over the ocean. A whale breached the water a mile or so away
from us and sprayed water up into the air.

Achilles picked my hand up and turned me to
face him. “Your eyes are glowing with energy. You’re even more
beautiful when standing beside the ocean.”

The wind whipped my hair from side to side
as Achilles and I stared at each other. The desire to kiss him was
almost as bad as it had been with Ares, but thinking of Ares helped
cool my hormones and allow me to turn away from him. “Thank
you.”

A table had been set up in Zeus’ bedroom
while I’d been on the balcony. I hurried inside and sat down in a
chair and began piling meat and cheese on to my plate.

“So, what brings you here?” Zeus asked
Achilles.

Achilles sat down beside me and nibbled on
some fruits and cheeses as he spoke. “Let’s see, where to begin?
Well, first let me tell you that Mother attacked Artemis and wishes
to kill her…”

Zeus stood up and stared at Achilles. “Is
that why you…”

Achilles held up his hand. “Yes, I only did
it out of necessity.”

“Did what out of necessity, my dear son?”
asked a woman.

Achilles was instantly out of his chair and
standing beside me, his skin glowing.

The woman was beyond beautiful. Her skin was
like buttery cream with a beautiful filigree design which glowed as
she looked at me and Achilles. “You had better explain why you are
assuming an attack stance against me.”

Achilles spoke softly. “She’s my fiancée,
Mother. I will not let you hurt her.”

Hera looked at me with clear disdain. I met
her eyes as I continued to eat. If she wanted to kill me she
probably could, so I would at least die with a full stomach.

I won’t let her kill you.

My eyes flickered over to Achilles as he
spoke to me, but I quickly looked back at Hera.
Can’t she
technically order you to kill me if she wanted to?

Yes, but she won’t do that because…

“Are you communicating telepathically?” she
asked angrily.

Achilles glared at her. “You tried to kill
her! What else could I do?!”

“
You. Bound. Her
?” She asked in angry
pants. Her skin began glowing again and her eyes turned to white
pearls as Achilles’ had done when I’d released his powers.

Bound me? What did that mean?

“There was no other way. I had to save her,”
Achilles said angrily.

Hera stopped glowing and turned away. “You
were always an impulsive man.”

I turned to Zeus since he wasn’t involved in
their conversation either. I might as well get as much information
from them while I was here. Who knew when the next time I’d be
allowed to go to the sidhe court would be? “Do all sidhe have Greek
names?” I asked.

Zeus smiled. “Technically we had the names
first, but the humans used to believe that we were gods and so
their stories were based on us.”

I looked from Zeus to Hera and then back to
Zeus. “Is she really your sister?”

Hera gasped in shock and Zeus laughed. “No.
Most of the family trees that the humans created are wrong. Hera is
not my sister, only my wife.”

“So can you really use lightning bolts?” I
asked curiously.

Zeus put his arm out, palm up. His skin
started glowing and then a sizzling lighting bolt appeared in his
hand. “Some of what the humans recorded about us is true,” he
said.

“Wow.” I chewed on a grape when it occurred
to me that “Ares” was a Greek name too. “Wait. Are the sidhe who
the humans based their stories off of the only ones with Greek
mythological names?”

Achilles opened his mouth to say something,
but Zeus said, “Yes.”

I stood up from my chair and walked quickly
towards the balcony.
That was it. That was what Ares had been
keeping from me. He is part sidhe too.

Achilles stood next to me and put a hand on
my back. “I cannot tell you his story. It’s very personal and I
feel it is best for him to tell you himself.”

“Who are you talking about?” Hera asked
angrily. “I hate it when I’m out of the loop.”

Achilles turned around. “Why is she here? In
your realm?” he asked Zeus.

I turned around and found Hera sitting on
Zeus’ lap. Zeus sighed, “Well, son, you see…”

Achilles groaned. “You’re dating again?! You
remember what happened last time?”

Hera shrugged. “It was a small battle.”

Achilles scoffed. “A small battle? You call
World War Two
a small battle?!”

Zeus turned to me and asked, “Do you have
wings?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I didn’t know you
had wings until Achilles showed me and I haven’t tried to get them
out.”

Zeus stood up out of his chair, helped Hera
sit down in it, then walked to me and took my hand. “Focus on your
surroundings. Do you feel the energy from all of the living things
around you?” I nodded my head. “Good, now focus on those energies
and ask them to loan you some of their energy.”

If my life hadn’t been as crazy as it was I
would have thought he was joking with me or that he was crazy.
Instead I closed my eyes and asked the plants to borrow some of
their energy. I opened my eyes when I felt the excess energy
flowing through me and lighting my body up like a fluorescent light
bulb.

Zeus smiled. “Good. Now close your eyes and
picture your back. In the center of your back between your shoulder
blades I want you to picture two vertical slits, one foot long
each.”

I pictured exactly what he said and then
felt my skin rip apart and my wings flare out behind me. The pain
forced me to my knees and my body sizzled as though I’d been
electrocuted. Zeus helped me stand up and walked around me to look
at my wings and body. “Interesting,” he said as he came back to
face me.

“How do I move them?” I asked after the pain
had subsided.

Achilles smiled from beside me. “You just
think what you want and they do it. Once you get used to it they
move like your arms or legs, almost without thought.”

I moved my right wing forward and stared at
the purple wings with purple vines. “Purple vines?”

Zeus whispered, “They match your eyes, your
new skin marks and the streaks in your hair.”

“Streaks? Skin marks?” I started trying to
pull my hair forward, but Achilles grabbed my wrists and then Hera
snapped her fingers and a full length mirror stood before me. My
black hair was now randomly streaked with purple. It was very punk
and yet I loved it. My skin was a lighter color and I had thin
purple vines, like flower vines covering my arms and face and as
much of my body as I could see. I loved my new look. I looked tough
and beautiful at the same time. I looked hot! But…what would Ares
think? Would he still think I was beautiful?

Of course he will.

I looked at Achilles and smiled.
“Thanks.”

He smiled back.
Anytime.

Zeus cleared his throat. “Okay, now to put
them away you simply imagine your back, flat and devoid of any
slits or wings.”

I closed my eyes and the wings disappeared.
My shirt flapped forward and I clutched it to the front of me.
“Great, another way to ruin clothes.”

Achilles laughed. “It’s alright. I’m sure we
have some clothes you’ll fit in.”

Zeus disappeared through a side door and
then came back out with a large t-shirt. “It’s a little big for
you, but it’ll work for now.”

I pulled the shirt on and smiled gratefully.
“Thank you.”

Achilles asked, “Would you like to
explore?”

I nodded my head vigorously. “Yes,
please.”

Achilles took my hand and walked us back out
to the balcony. His wings popped out of his back and then we were
up in the air. He made his way beside the water and then to the
village we’d originally walked through. He set me down on my feet
and then took my hand in his and led me through the town.

I stopped at a booth where a red and blue
colored sidhe woman was selling strange looking items. Achilles
started steering me away then whispered, “They’re magical items
that you have no need for.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why do men hate shopping
so much?”

He continued leading me through the town and
then out into the green fields surrounding the castle area.

I relaxed and asked the question I’d been
dying to know the answer to, “So, were you really the hero of the
Trojan war?”

Achilles rolled his eyes. “Yes, I was the
one who thought of the Horse, but I’ve won many other wars besides
that. Unfortunately Ares was with me and as the ‘God of War’ they
gave him more credit than they gave me.”

“So you two used to be close then?”

Achilles nodded his head and then sighed
longingly. “It was a long time ago though.”

“So, why the ‘Achilles Heel’?” I asked,
having been curious about that as well.

Achilles laughed. “If I had a dollar for
every time someone has asked me that I would be able to buy the
world.” I stayed quiet and waited for him to explain.

“Well, as you can imagine a hit to my heel
won’t kill me, but during the Trojan War I was in a terrific fight.
I’d been shot by arrows and one of the Trojans was exchanging blows
with me. I was growing weaker as the metal in the arrows stayed
buried in my skin and then just as I was attempting to use a large
portion of my magic some bastard shot me in the heel with an arrow.
I screamed in pain and then my Mother appeared and using her
ability to teleport, took me somewhere to safety. Unfortunately all
the humans saw was me get shot in the heel by an arrow and then
disappear in a flash of light. Can you believe that they all
thought I exploded? Simply ridiculous!”

I laughed and then quickly tried to stifle
it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh…”

He put his hands on his hips and said,
“Really you didn’t mean to…” and then he tackled me to the ground,
tickling me in every ticklish spot I had. I was laughing loudly and
struggling against him, but he seemed to be an expert at tickle
torturing. I finally had to concede and yelled, “I surrender!”

He collapsed onto the ground beside me and
laughed. “I haven’t had that much fun in a while.”

I sighed and sat up. “Me neither.”

He sat up beside me and pushed my hair
behind my ear. “You have fun with Ares.”

I nodded my head. “Yes, sometimes, but the
fun times are always clouded over by the awful times.”

Achilles smiled. “You’ll have good times
with him again. He’s a lot of fun to be around when he’s not trying
to win wars or conquering the human world.”

We sat in comfortable silence for a few
minutes and then Achilles asked, “Has Ares told you where each of
the main races come from?”

I shook my head.

Achilles twirled a blade of grass between
his fingers as he spoke. “We are children of this world, though
from different parts. For instance, the werewolves are Children of
the Moon, which is why your power to change comes from the moon.
Humans are Children of the Sun, though their species has a strange
desire to forget their histories instead of remembering and I’m
sure none of them understand that. We, sidhe, are Children of the
Stars.”

He paused and I asked, “What about
vampires?”

He tore the blade of grass in his hand into
two and whispered, “Vampires are Children of the Darkness, which is
why the sun harms them and they are so powerful at night.”

“So, I’m half star and half moon?”

Achilles nodded his head. “Yes.”

“Which is why I’m so powerful?”

“Which is why you have the potential to
become extremely powerful. You are powerful, Artemis, but you are
not able to harness your power like Hera or Maurice who are
thousands of years older than you. Though, with practice and time
you will become more powerful than them.”

“Which is why they want me dead?”

Achilles didn’t respond, but I knew the
answer. Now, it made more sense. With the combined power of two
dominant races I had the ability to surpass any being who was a
purebred of any one race.

We walked back to the castle and then out to
the balcony. I asked, “Can I see my mother?”

Achilles smiled. “Of course, but she lives
in the Light Court, so we’ll have to wait…”

Hera stood up and smoothed down her dress.
“Nonsense. We can be there in an instant.”

Achilles rubbed his temples with his
fingers. “Mother, please.”

Hera smiled. “You have no need to worry now
dear. Achilles has seen fit to save you from any desire I might
have had about killing you.”

Zeus waved at me. “Goodbye, dear. It was
nice to meet you.”

Achilles walked to Zeus and quickly spoke in
his ear before hurrying over and grabbing my hand. Hera grabbed
each of our free hands and whispered, “This might make you a little
queasy,” and then we were in a black spinning vortex. At least,
that’s what it felt like to me. When everything stopped spinning I
dropped to the ground and tried my best not to throw up.

Achilles whispered, “You’ll be alright in a
moment.”

“Guards! Take Achilles and Artemis to their
chambers. Someone else go find Athena and ask her to report to the
Prince’s chambers.”

I looked up and stared at the men standing
in the hallway. Each of them was a different color and each had
various patterns and designs on their bodies like Achilles’ vines.
Achilles helped me stand up and then an attractive white skinned
man with exquisite black scrolling designs across his arms stepped
forward. “Greetings, Artemis. I’m Erebus.”

Erebus, God of Darkness and Shadow. I was
actually meeting
the
Erebus. How cool is that?!

“It’s an honor to meet you, Erebus,” I said
sincerely and as normally as I could when I secretly wanted to jump
up and down as giddy as I was at meeting “Gods”.