Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine (12 page)

I walked towards Achilles with a purple wild
flower in my hand. “You know Ares very well, don’t you?”

Achilles poked at the fire with a stick.
“Yes.”

I sat down on the log beside him. “What is
he hiding from me? He hasn’t told me anything about his past. I can
only get bits and pieces from him.”

Achilles tossed the stick into the fire and
shook his head. “I cannot tell you. If he’s withholding the
information from you then he must have a reason. I have no idea
what the reason could be, but nevertheless he must have one.”

I looked at the vines on his arms and
watched as they throbbed. I lifted my finger and ran the tip of it
down one of his vines. The vine sparkled brighter and then every
vine on his body glowed brightly and his skin exploded in white
light. Achilles gasped in shock and then groaned.

I yanked my hand back and moved away from
him. I hadn’t meant to hurt him. I’d just been mesmerized by the
vines.

Achilles looked up at me and I stared in
shock at his eyes which were completely white, like two glowing
pearls. “Don’t be afraid,” he said softly. I relaxed and he smiled.
“Do you know what you just did?” Before I could answer he shook his
head and laughed. “Of course you don’t. You don’t know anything of
our kind.” He shook his head sadly for a moment and then looked up
at me again, a look of pure joy on his face. “You just released my
powers with a single touch. It’s rare because the one that can do
that, is your destined mate.”

I shook my head and backed up until the
backs of my legs hit another log. “No. I can’t be your destined
mate if I’m Ares’.”

Achilles gestured at his glowing body. “The
results do not lie. You are my destined mate.” He sighed, sounding
exhausted and his body stopped glowing. His eyes returned to normal
and he shook his head sadly. “It’s going to take years to come to
an agreement with Ares.”

I realized that my skin wasn’t tingly
anymore and my heartbeat was almost normal. “He’s close by,” I
said.

Achilles frowned. “Hm.”

I sat down beside him and sighed. “Can you
wait to tell Ares about what happened? I’d rather deal with him
being mad at me for trying to fight the vampires first instead of
him being mad at me for touching you as well.”

Achilles nodded his head. “I think you’re
right.”

We sat in comfortable silence for an hour
before I felt Ares approaching. I walked out of the ring of logs
and towards the direction he was coming from. My heart beating
faster each time I turned in the right direction, like a homing
beacon.

Ares, Koda and Matt finally came into view
and I exhaled happily. Ares sped up, running ahead of the others
and picked me up in his arms, swinging me around a couple times
before setting me back down on my feet. “Artemis, you’re
alright.”

I kissed his face and lips several times
before I looked into his eyes. “Of course I’m alright.”

Ares kissed me roughly on the lips and
hugged me tightly again. “Don’t you ever try to fight without me
again.”

I nuzzled my nose into his neck and whined
happily. “I’m sorry.”

Koda and Matt finally made it and Ares
released me so that I could hug each of them and rub noses to
inhale each others scents.

Ares picked up my hand and walked the rest
of the way to the camp fire. “Thank you for protecting her,” Ares
said softly.

Achilles bowed his head. “Anytime,
Brother.”

Brother?

Ares growled. “We are not brothers.”

Achilles sighed and poked at the fire with a
new stick. Matt and Koda worked together and hung skinned rabbits
and a skinned fox over the fire to cook. Looking at the cooking
animals made me realize how thirsty I was. I stripped from my
clothes, setting them on the log beside Ares and changed to my wolf
form. I stretched and shook after the shift and then trotted over
to the small stream I’d heard on the other side of the meadow. The
men watched me until I started drinking from the stream and then
turned back around and began talking.

After I had my fill of water I jogged over
to the logs, changed forms again and pulled my clothes on. It felt
good and right to change forms now. I wish I’d known about it
sooner so that I could have enjoyed it more.

I sat down beside Ares and rested my head
against his shoulder. He was involved in a serious debate with
Achilles, but he lifted his arm and pulled me in against him so
that his arms were around my shoulders while his thumb lightly
stroked my arm. I tried to pay attention to what they were
discussing, but I felt a presence out in the dark of the night. It
was as if I was being poked in the stomach. I stood up and Ares
grabbed my hand. I turned to look at him and saw his mouth moving,
but I couldn’t hear anything. I put my hands to my ears and then
shook my head. Ares’ and Achilles’ mouths moved quickly and Koda
and Matt ran off into the night. The poking in my stomach grew
stronger until it felt as though something had pierced my skin. I
screamed in pain and fell to the ground as I felt my energy being
drained.

I couldn’t see my attacker. I didn’t even
know
what
my attacker was. How could I fight it?

Ares had his hands resting against my face
as he talked to me, but I couldn’t hear his words. Tears streamed
down my face as the unseen attacker continued to drain me. What
could be so powerful that it could kill you without ever even
touching you?

Achilles pushed Ares aside and grabbed me in
his arms. His wings sprung from his back and then we were up in the
air. I hung limp in his arms as he flew. Achilles’ mouth was moving
fast and then he pressed his forehead to mine. Images and thoughts
filled my mind and I realized after a few moments that they were
Achilles’ memories. I gasped in shock and then the images and
thoughts stopped, denying me the chance to make sense of what I’d
seen.

Are you alright?

I gasped again as the question was spoken in
Achilles’ voice, but through my mind. “How can I hear you in my
head?”

Achilles shook his head and I saw his chest
heave as he sighed.
It would be best if you didn’t speak out
loud.

“Is this like the werewolves communication
while in wolf form?” I asked out loud.

Yes. Now please stop talking out loud.

Sorry. Why can I hear you in my head
anyways?

We’ll discuss that later. For now we must
discuss what happened. You were attacked by the Queen of the Light
Court, Hera…

Wait…isn’t the queen your mom?

Yes, but…

Why did your mom attack me?

She was simply testing your powers first,
which is why I didn’t interfere, but when she realized that you are
more powerful than her she grew angry and tried to kill…

I’m more powerful than her?! How is that
possible? Does that mean that I…

STOP INTERRUPTING ME! Listen to me Artemis.
We don’t have much time. She’s following us. I’m going to take you
to my father’s kingdom because he will protect you. My mother and
he have been fighting for decades and she’s not allowed to enter
his kingdom. It’s the safest place for you. Ares will meet us
soon.

Why is she following us?

She wants you dead. She’s very jealous and
has always tried to kill those more powerful than her. Vanity is
one of her negative qualities that have caused many wars over the
centuries.

Achilles landed on top of a hill covered in
bright green grass beside the ocean and set me down on my feet.

Where are we?

Ireland.

How did we get here so fast?

Achilles rolled his eyes at me.
We’re not
as slow as birds or airplanes. We’re preternaturals, which means we
have extraordinary powers. Powers great enough to fly across the
world in an hour.
He walked down the hill a little way and
stopped in front of a square patch of dead grass. He placed his
hand against the patch of grass and then his skin began to glow.
The dead grass dropped down and the hole widened until it was at
least ten feet by ten feet and a set of stairs was visible leading
into the ground. Achilles picked up my hand and started walking
down the stairs. I followed him down and swallowed nervously as the
top shrank and the grass returned to cover the hole behind us. We
walked down the steps in complete darkness.

~~~

We descended the stairs in complete darkness
and I felt my nerves increasing.

Achilles?

Yes?

I know it’s childish, but could you
maybe…
Before I could finish my thought Achilles’ skin began
glowing and I could see where we were going. We were surrounded by
stone instead of dirt as I’d assumed and we walked down a narrow
stairway that seemed to never end. I gripped Achilles’ hand tighter
as I began to feel claustrophobic. The wolf didn’t like feeling
trapped and deep underneath a hill in a stone stairway was close
enough to a cage for us as a real one.

Achilles spun around suddenly and put his
hands on each side of my face and stared into my eyes.
Easy.
We’re going to be fine. The door is just ahead and through that we
enter into my father’s realm. It’s completely open. You’re not
trapped. This is not a cage, simply a passageway. You can’t
change.

His touch and words relaxed me until I could
breathe normally again. He turned back around and walked
faster.

Why had his touch relaxed me? Only Ares
should have been able to do that? Did it have something to do with
his new ability to communicate telepathically with me? Did he do
something? Or was he right about the destined mate thing?

I was trying to figure out an answer when he
pushed open a door and sunlight temporarily blinded me. Achilles
continued to pull me forward as my eyes adjusted. I tugged on his
hand to stop him and rubbed my eyes with my hands. I slowly opened
my eyes and then my mouth dropped open.

In books the fairy realm is simply an
underground castle or a large underground room. They were
completely wrong. It wasn’t an underground anything. Birds flew in
the blue skies above us and the oceans splashed against the cliffs
nearby. I turned around and instead of seeing the door we’d come
through I saw even more beautiful grassy land.

How?

The sidhe do not live in the underground as
humans like to believe. We live in a different dimension, which you
can get to by using a portal, such as the one we used to get
here.

A different dimension? That’s crazy.

Crazy, but true. Come, we must hurry.

Achilles picked my hand up again and led me
towards a giant stone castle. We had to walk through a village and
I stared in awe at the people dressed in medieval clothes.
Why
are they dressed as though they live in the medieval era?

Achilles continued walking as he talked to
me.
The medieval era is my father’s favorite, so those that live
in the Dark Court wear that period of clothing and even speak as
they would during that time period. My father is somewhat
egotistical as you can imagine.

The people all wore medieval clothing yet
their skin was of every color of the rainbow with various designs
on their skins. Some had their wings out, but most had their wings
hidden. Men, women and children stared at us as we walked. Achilles
seemed to ignore the looks while I couldn’t help, but look back.
Were they staring at Achilles or me?

We made it to the castle and Achilles
smiled. “Morning guards.”

The two guards, dressed in full armor,
pushed open the doors and bowed their heads. “Greetings, Prince
Achilles.”

We started to walk past them when I caught
their scent. I stopped walking and stared at them in shock.
“Werewolves?”

I realized I could hear and would have been
excited if the two guards hadn’t started sniffing at me. One of
them reached out towards me and I growled at him, snapping my
teeth. He pulled his hand back and stared at me in shock. “Who are
you?”

I opened my mouth to answer when a tall man
with a long white beard stepped through the doors to stand beside
Achilles. “She is Artemis, daughter of Darren of the Werewolves and
Athena of the Sidhe and fiancée of Prince Achilles of the
Sidhe.”

The man looked like Achilles, except he was
slightly older and had a long white beard. I knew who he was
instantly. I curtsied and bowed my head. “Greetings Zeus, King of
the Dark Court of the Sidhe.”

Zeus laughed happily. “I see you’ve started
training her.”

Achilles sighed. “We must speak father. It’s
important.”

Zeus picked my hand up and I stood up to
look at him. He kissed the back of my hand and smiled seductively
at me. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

A blush instantly covered my cheeks, but I
found my voice and said, “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

Zeus took my hand and placed it on the
inside of his elbow as he led us into the castle. The hallways were
wide enough to ride three horses abreast and torches sat in
decorative iron holders every five feet or so. Achilles walked on
the other side of me as we made our way past large rooms filled
with sidhe of every color. I tried to stop to look, but Zeus
continued to pull me along. He stopped in front of a set of large,
ornately carved wooden doors and snapped his fingers. The two
guards in front of the doors pushed them open and then stepped out
of the way as Zeus led me inside.

The king’s bedroom is expected to be
elegant, but the King of the Sidhe’s bedroom was magnificent. He
kept his medieval time period though, not having a single modern
item inside. Zeus released my hand and I walked quickly to the
balcony, pushing aside the red drapes to look out over the ocean
below.

The wind whipped against my face sending a
light spray of water to chill me. I’d never seen anything so
beautiful. I looked up and felt the sun’s rays heat my face.
Everything felt so real, yet how could this exist without the
humans knowing about it?