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We would be alone.
And then she did step in.
And then she did get killed.
And I lost her.
But we weren’t alone for long.
We were alone with our mother for an hour with her heart stopped and her eyes closed, and when the social services lady came to take us away, we ran.
We ran to the shelter.
We ended up with Zeus.
And we weren’t alone at all, which is what she’d been so afraid of. And it’s what I’d been so afraid of. So afraid that I did every favor that anyone ever asked of me. And I’ll keep doing favors in the form of my think tank for as long as I can, because I don’t know what to do to make up for all those other worthless favors.
“You don’t have to do that.” Artemis strokes my face. Her hand feels cool, but I’m not on fire. The hand at my shoulder isn’t holding on so tight.
I feel very, very tired, but I’m not on fire.
“I don’t think I’m dying anymore,” I tell her, though I can barely keep my eyes open.
Artemis leans closer. “You don’t have to make up for any of that,” she says firmly. “It wasn’t your fault. Okay?”
“Okay,” I say.
It’s the first time anyone’s been able to say that to me, because I didn’t want to hear it from Ares, and I didn’t want to tell anyone else.
“You can quit your think tank,” Artemis says. “You’re the boss. You can do whatever you want.”
“Okay.” I try to get closer to her, which is not within my means right now. She climbs onto my bed.
“I’m going to be doing it with you,” she says. “I don’t really care if you want to break up.”
“I don’t,” I say. What a terrible thing to say. “I want to get married.”
“I want to get married too,” Artemis says. “Just as soon as you feel better.”
She leans in and kisses me.
I’m pretty sure I’m cured.
21
ARTEMIS
Apollo sleeps for three full days and nights, during which time my dad has a complete breakdown and has to have his brothers put him back together again. His sister, my Aunt Demmy, sends the biggest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen to the hospital with a handwritten letter that reads I AM VISITING THE MOMENT YOU RETURN TO THE STATES. YES, THIS IS A THREAT. The bouquet is so outrageous that a group of nurses is able to re-plant it on the lawn. My mom is thoroughly tended to by Aunt Persephone and Aunt Ashley, and in no time at all, Poseidon is back to teasing my dad relentlessly.
I think that’s what helps the most, honestly, because Poseidon teasing is a sign that everything’s going to be okay.
Delphi stays in Germany, too, and spends most of her time in Apollo’s hospital room, perched near the window. She mostly plays her guitar and hums.
“No new lyrics?” I ask on the second afternoon. Apollo always talks about the songs she writes at the office, so I expected more ballads and less humming.
“No songs with words,” she says. “That was too close for comfort.”
“What was too close for comfort?”
