Page 27 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

I pulled the reins, steering the horses along a steep, rocky trail. Yes, he knew that. I chewed the inside of my cheek. Apollo, despite not liking to lie directly, was excellent at putting on a face, dipping secrets and worries down beneath his radiance when he wished to.

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready, won’t you?” I whispered.

He sat up straighter, the hood of his coat fluttering in the breeze. “Tell you what?”

“Whatever you’re not sharing from your meeting with Ares?”

He sucked in a breath and then released it, his shoulders dropping. “I will. Yes.”

I studied him, longing to push for more.

But trust and respect were always what we’d had between us since we’d started our relationship. In our positions, they were essential. They were all we had, really.

“All right,” I said, and I clicked my tongue, urging the horses farther into the cooling world.

11

Artemis

“I’m going hunting,” I said as I snagged my bow and bundle of arrows. Epiphany had tucked into our tent, and a restlessness swept through me. Valerian brushed down a horse in the distance, his shoulders drooping as they had all day.

Theos jumped up from his seat at the fire, where he sat with other guards, and scrubbed his fingers into his dark hair. Twilight sparkled around him in a hazy plum. “I must insist that you do not.”

I sighed. “Listen, this is our final day before we reach the port city and therefore probably my last chance to have some time in the woods before we are on a boat. And I cannot be the only person who’d like to have meat with dinner.”

“But, if you run into another god?”

I tossed my braids back behind my shoulder. “I won’t. Hera already made her point; there’s no reason for her to return. And I can’t let her intimidate me away from living my life over one incident.”

Theos’ lips snapped apart, and he swept his hand out. Guilt that he’d allowed me to go alone before seemed to weigh on him. I held off a groan. “What if I take someone with me?”

He nodded. “That would be ideal, yes.”

I ran my tongue over the back of my teeth, keeping my expression in place. “All right. Valerian!” I yelled. He raised an eyebrow. “Would you go hunting with me?”

He looked at me for a long moment before nodding.

A cool earthiness permeated the woods. Moss clambered along the roots of massive trees, and mist tangled with low bushes as evening light trickled through branches, illuminating the world in a foggy gray.

“I can’t decide,” Valerian said, his expression drawn, “if you brought me out here because you want to reprimand me or because you’re hoping another goddess stumbles upon us and ends me.”

“I brought you with me,” I whispered, “because you’re an excellent shot and I wanted fresh meat to eat. But if you’d like to talk about how you fucked up, I’m happy to listen.”

He frowned and crossed his arms. “You know why I can’t be with Epiphany.”

I stopped walking and turned towards him. “And why is that?”

“I’m not good enough for her.”

A bird fluttered at the volume of his voice, and I sighed. So much for hunting. “Look me in the face, Val, and tell me I’m a worthless bastard.”

He startled, his eyes brightening. “Why would I do that?”

“Because”—I thrusted my finger into his chest—“your story and mine are the same. My father is apparently a god, and he’s never claimed me or been in my life. So, I’m like you,” I hissed, “a bastard, rejected by her father. And with the way you’re acting, that must mean I have no value.”

“That’s… It’s…” He gave his head a shake. “That’s a different scenario altogether.”

“Is it, actually? Or could it be that you give grace to others you won’t extend for yourself? I’d argue it’s the latter. But I’m not good at pep talks, so that’s all you get from me. I advise you to pull your shit together before you spend your life regretting the choices you made because of someone else’s actions you had no control over. But really, it’s up to you what you do with it. Now, could we be quiet, so we can actually attempt to not alert every animal within five miles of our presence?”