Arrows (19 page)

Karma raised one eyebrow. “Should I, uh, add that to your bucket list?”

“Karma, I’m serious.”

“Serious about what? Moving or still being my friend or—”

“If I move away for a while, I, uh, might not remember you. At least not as well as I do now.” More like not at all.

“Nice.”

“So you wouldn’t talk to me?”

She sighed and shook her head. “You know that’s stupid to say.”

“I could get a tattoo that says
Lakefield, Wisconsin.
You know, to make it official. Make sure I come back.”

“Okay, if you think that’s a good idea, go ahead. Maybe you should add
That one girl Karma
to your tat. Or
No regrets.
”

“I’m serious. The tattoo would work.”

“I think you better lay off the wine.”

Nell started fussing, which was probably a good thing, since I needed time to think things through. Karma kissed Nell all over when she picked her up, and the two of them looked really cute sitting there, Nell with her mom’s eyes, both of them a little distraught.

The tattoo might work—a permanent reminder that I had to go there after Blackout, one the gods couldn’t change. The lead arrow would work, definitely, no doubt in my mind that she’d leave Danny right away once she wasn’t under the arrow’s spell. And then she’d have room for me.

If I stayed…

We could be together. Her spell would be broken, and she’d remember these moments. She’d remember:
I’ll really miss you.
I wouldn’t need my memory to realize she was amazing.

I sat back. I felt weirdly excited, and it wasn’t because of the wine. I had a choice. My destiny was not as preplanned as I’d always allowed myself to believe. Choice was power.

I wanted to stay, wanted her, and for the first time since I’d landed I knew there was a chance.

That night Peyton and I were up late. The hotel room was dark except for a gap where the curtain didn’t fully close, and through that space the city was out there, the streetlights and traffic, no stars visible in the sky.

“I can’t believe it’s all over,” I said. Juliette was on her side in the bed across from us, snoring. Nell was in a playpen next to me. The other girls were in the adjoining room and they were probably up, too, wired from everything that had happened. Aaryn was down the hall. Room 223. I placed my hand under my cheek.

“It was an amazing day,” Peyton whispered.

The room felt hot. I flipped the sheet off my side and rolled onto my back. Darkness, gray foreign darkness in a room that smelled like food and dust and too many people.

Peyton sat up on her elbow. “Tell me more about your adventure.”

Somewhere in the distance a siren wailed, and little kids were running up and down the hall, their feet pounding. The hotel room was so different from what we were used to. It felt like we were in a place where anything could happen.

I told her everything—the part about Aaryn moving, the bucket list, him coming back in three months. I rolled over to face my friend. “He said he’s getting a tattoo that says
Lakefield, Wisconsin.
”

“That’s weird,” Peyton said, leaning close. “Why bother moving?”

“I know.”

She smoothed the blanket beneath her arms, then started picking at her nails. “Did you talk to Danny?”

I covered myself and sank down a few inches. “I texted him.”

“Oh.” Like she knew he hadn’t replied.

—

“What was your favorite part of the trip?” Aaryn asked. We were on our way home, all of us a little sad to go, and all of us stuck in some morning-after daze. The girls offered an obligatory glance over their shoulders at him. Aaryn held up his hand. “Mine was when Karma danced her solo.” He smiled at me, to his left. “Actually the whole trip was my favorite part.”

My face was on fire. I pulled my knees up to my chin, comfy and content in yoga pants and one of Danny’s old sweatshirts.

“Well.” Svetlana hooked her arm over the seat. “My favorite was meeting Harry. He’s such a good dancer. You guys should have seen him.”

Monique blew a laugh through her mouth.

“What? He’s named after the
prince.
”

“I didn’t say anything about that,” Monique said. Svetlana rolled her eyes and settled against the window with her phone, presumably so she and Harry could send love notes. We were all overtired and all on the brink of misinterpreting things. Juliette merged onto the freeway.

Peyton leaned over to our side and smoothed Nell’s forehead, which caused her eyelids to flutter. “My favorite part was when you got back to the hotel and took Nell for a walk. You know I love her, but wow. She’s a lot of work.”

I chuckled, holding my hair out of my face. “Really?”

The van slowed to a stop as traffic jammed. “My favorite part,” Juliette called, eyeing us in the rearview mirror, “will be when I get this van back to the dead roads of Lakefield.”

“That’s the worst part,” I said.

“You really hate the country that much?” Aaryn said.

“Yes.”

“Do you think you’d feel different if you grew up in, say, New York?”

“Not a chance.”

“Wow.” He held the word, like he was teasing me at the same time.

“I think I’m going to win,” Sofia said. “I had a good feeling about how things went.”

“You were awesome,” Juliette said. “All of you.”

My stomach dropped, which made me feel terrible, even though I smiled at Sofia and told her, “That’s really good.” With a sigh I scooted closer to Nell’s car seat and spent a long time watching her sleep. I couldn’t get comfortable, though. The van inched forward, and the sky had grown cloudy, which made the morning feel really dark and slow.

The next thing I knew, drool was slipping from the corner of my mouth.

“How was your nap?” Aaryn asked.

I wiped my mouth and glanced at his shirtsleeve. Thank God. No drool mark that I could tell. I smoothed my hair, which was warmer on my temple from where I’d fallen asleep against his shoulder. I cleared my throat. “Where are we?”

“Almost home,” he said.

“What time is it?” I clicked my phone. No new messages, though judging from the party photos Dmitri had posted last night, Danny was probably still in bed.

The brakes made a low squeal as the van slowed, then stopped. No one moved, because moving meant we were finished, we were home, and it was really over. Lakefield. Juliette angled the mirror toward the back and removed her sunglasses. “Well, Aaryn. This has been really great. Thank you. I know things didn’t go as planned onstage—but you’ve helped Karma more than you know.”

“Of course,” he said. He unbuckled and got out of the van. The seat beside me felt very empty.

“I guess I’ll see you around,” he said. He was framed in the opening, the fall colors of Lakefield behind him.

I flicked my seat belt off. “I’ll be right back.” I shimmied out and shut the door without worrying what the girls would think, and then I hugged him, hard, and closed my eyes. “Thank you.”

He hugged me back. “Of course. You’re welcome.”

“I can’t remember if I thanked you before.”

“You probably did.”

I stepped away, my hand reaching for the door, my gaze unable to hold his. “You should come by the studio sometime. I’ll be there every night. We have to plan your party.”

“Okay.” He held on to his bag strap. “When?”

“Anytime. Tomorrow. The next day.”

“I will.”

The birds were singing, and our van was the only car in sight. “Bye, Aaryn.” The door made a grinding sound as it shut. Inside, the air was so stuffy, Aaryn just standing there on the grass, and I was hot and hungry, and sad that it was all over, and sad that I probably wouldn’t win.

We drove off. I thought about calling Danny to wake him up—maybe he’d come over—but then I decided that all I wanted to do was get home, where I could be alone and unpack and cry until the depressed feeling in my chest was gone.

Day 40

“Hey, Aaryn.”

Phoebe. She was relaxed at the top of the stairs when I walked inside my apartment foyer. “Surprise!”

“Yeah. Wow.” My foot caught on the step. “Is everything okay?”

“More than okay,” she said as I walked up.

I unlocked the door. “After you.”

She shrugged out of her quiver and leaned her bow against the wall. “I’ve missed you.” And then she reached through the quiver’s opening.

The sound of metal drawn out, clear and bell-like, rang through my apartment. “The assembly doesn’t know I’m bringing you this.”

The golden arrow burned with light. I held it at arm’s length. The blades couldn’t get anywhere near my skin. Warmth radiated from the arrow, something I’d never noticed as a god. Now that I was human, the arrow felt so different. Almost alive.

“What is this?” I asked, even though I knew. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s an unmarked arrow.” She hesitated. “A universal arrow. Just made. You can shoot Danny with it and no one will know his proposal came as a result. There’s no way to track it—no way to know it exists. Once he proposes to her, which shouldn’t take long, you can come home. A lot has happened since you left.”

I tried to hand it back, but she ignored my offer. “Where did you get this?”

“Somewhere.” Her expression became serious. “Trust me, this will work. We won’t have to go to Blackout. You do trust me, don’t you?”

Flecks of gold danced along the arrow as my hand shook, the glint drawing my eyes to the point. The power to change someone’s life forever. I swallowed. “I can’t keep this.”

“Okay,” Phoebe said, laughing a little. Then, realizing I was serious, her smile vanished. “Shoot Danny and come home.”

“No, Phoebe. I can’t. I cheated once—lied once—and look where it got us.”

“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes. “Once again, we don’t have much of a choice, do we?”

Had she always looked like that? Like I disgusted her if she wasn’t in charge? The weight of the arrow felt enormous. I hated it. “An unmarked could be dangerous. What if the formula is wrong? What if it kills him?”

“Would you care?”

“Wow. Yes, I’d
care,
what do you think? I’m not a murderer. Not to mention—Karma would never recover from losing him.”

“And I’m supposed to suffer as a result of all of this?” She stepped forward, the glow of her skin making my eyes feel scratchy. “I’m supposed to rot in Blackout, and lose my immortality, because some girl might
cry
a lot?”

The thought of Karma crying filled me with sadness. “We both lied, Phoebe.”

Her eyes darkened. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. I thought you cared about me. Anyway, I guess you’ve decided my fate. Thanks for the info.”

“Tek is bringing me a lead arrow to break her enchantment. He’s giving you a chip for protection. My father knows.” I felt free when I thought of my plan to stay on Earth. Like I could really leave that messed-up world in Olympus behind me.

“
This
arrow is the only way.” Her arms relaxed. “I know what Tek said, but we talked everything over and I told him you’d be more than happy to join us once you get home. Chaz and I, Tek, too—we all agreed a golden arrow is the safest bet.” Her chin lowered. “You really need to get focused again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Focus, Aaryn. Stop worrying about that stupid girl and finish the mission you were sent here to do.” She took my hand and closed it around the golden arrow. “You can’t decide to cheat one way but not another. Don’t be a hypocrite. Come home.” She twisted her lips. “We need you there.”

“She’s not a stupid girl. Far from it. And she’d never dream of asking me to lie or cheat.”

“How sweet.” Phoebe shrugged. “Everyone is counting on you to finish your mission. Tek’s under a lot of pressure from the assembly, your father is—”

“I thought Dad and Tek were working together now.”

“Yes,” she said quickly.

“I should have told Dad the truth a long time ago.”

Phoebe gave a short, cynical laugh. “Why? So you could have gone straight to Blackout like some loser?”

“Tek said he’d give you a chip.”

“Yeah, well, no one really knows if that will work.”

I placed the golden arrow against the back of the couch. “Tek said he’d be back. He wants me in High Tower, and I told him I won’t go without the lead arrow.” I did feel like a hypocrite for lying to them.