Page 49 of Can you take it?

“So, are you going to give it to me yet?” Anna said. “No,” I answered.

She smiled. “Figured you’d say that.”

The truth was, watching Anna handle Bexley with nothing but kindness and patience had rattled me. There was only so far faking it could get you. It seemed like, deep down, she was a good person.

We started to walk around, looking at a field of pink and red flowers.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” I said. “I expected to find pots of money or something, some type of test in Greed, not this beautiful landscape. It’s sort of lovely here.”

She shook her head. “No, that’s too obvious. Besides, none of us ever lacked money. At least, that I know of. What can I do to convince you to hand me the pendant?” she asked.

I sat down on a log covered in moss and Anna sat on the ground next to a patch of yellow flowers. It looked like a picture, like she was meant to be in a place like this.

“I know you love Kaohs and that he’s your father, but… you’re Artemi,” I said.

“And?” she asked.

“And Artemi don’t belong in Tartarus. Artemi are filled with goodness. They care and they’re genuine. And as much as I couldn’t see it to begin with, I see that in you now. You’re not the evil sister. You’re gentle and kind and everything the most powerful Artemi should be.”

Her cheeks flushed. “How do you know I’m not tricking you?”

“You are tricking me,” I said. “But occasionally the real you peeks through. And I can see it. The Fates need you. They need someone good and wholesome and helpful and kind. They need you in Moirai. Think of all the good you could do,” I said, trying to reason with her. “You could be safe. You could sit in fields of flowers. They’re literally everywhere in Moirai.” Then something dawned on me. “Is this the first time you’ve seen the sun? Real sun?”

She was quiet for a moment. “The last time I saw the sun, I was in a car. That’s not my fondest memory.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I know you are,” she responded.

“Don’t you miss it, though? Flowers and happiness and goodness? All Tartarus is evil, lying, and trickery. I just don’t understand why you’d want to stay there.”

She smiled at me. “A mud flower doesn’t get uncomfortable because it grows in the mud. It’s grateful for the mud. It uses the mud to flourish and turn pink. It’s home. I should be asking you why you don’t want to stay,” she said.

I scowled so hard that I almost fell off the log.

“You’re supposed to stay, aren’t you?” she asked. “Technically, you would be in Tartarus forever. And you will be if I get that pendant,” she said with a grin.

“If I had to stay here with no sunshine, I would go mad,” I said. “There’s no sun. I have no powers. My family’s not here. I hate everything about it.” Well, maybe not everything about it, but she didn’t need to know that.

She nodded. “But when you leave here and you go to the Elysian Fields, you will not have your powers there either, and though there is a sun, there are as many liars, cheats, and thieves,” she said.

Something inside me sank. I hadn’t thought about it, but the realization that I wouldn’t get my powers as soon as I left Tartarus hit me like a ton of bricks. “It’s about more than missing my powers. I can go without my powers. And I get your point. But it’s still better than Tartarus.”

“Why?” she said. “You’ve never been to the Elysian Fields.

For all you know, there’s no sun there and it’s in a pit.”

“It’s not a pit. It’s glorious and heavenly. And my sister will be going there. I didn’t get to say goodbye to her.”

She nodded again. “See, that makes sense.”

I watched a snail crawl across the moss next to me. His little antennae moved slowly. I wished I could be like the snail. No one needing anything from me. Just existing happily. “It’s about more than just seeing my sister. It’s the Elysian Fields. It’s where the good go.”

“Ah,” she said. “You feel you’re too good for Tartarus.” “Yes,” I said flatly. “I am too good for Tartarus. I’ve done nothing but be a good person and fight against evil. I’m not going to live here amongst the people I’ve fought.”

“Well, you should know it’s not anything that you think it is. And it’s not as bad as you’re thinking. Besides, why would you want to go to the Elysian Fields and be around a ton of people that never really appreciated you for you?” she said.

“Stop doing that,” I said, standing up from the log. “Please stop getting in my head and thinking things for me.”