Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine (19 page)

“I love you, Ares,” I whispered before I
kissed his lips.

He pulled back from our kiss and smiled,
giving me one of beautiful, true smiles and whispered, “I love you
too.”

* * *

Ares and I walked hand-in-hand through the
castle courtyard out to where everyone was gathered to step through
the portal back into the human world. Various sidhe watched us walk
by, some with glares, while others just watched us with curious
expressions. Erebus, Eros and Heracles, or as the Western States
called him, Hercules, were the three sidhe chosen to go with
us.

Achilles kept his back to us as we walked up
and instead of speaking to us, he simply opened the portal and
stepped through, holding the door open for Erebus who was behind
him. I could tell he was upset, but I couldn’t figure out why.
Athena ran forward and hugged me tightly. “Stay safe,
daughter.”

I kissed her cheek. “I’m well
protected.”

She looked at Ares and sighed. “As much as I
dislike this, I must admit that you are a different man with her.
If she weren’t so happy I would press the issue.” She stopped
talking and looked at the ground before looking back up, a fierce
expression on her face. “Keep her safe or you’ll have to answer to
me.” She kissed my cheek and then walked away.

Everyone filed through the portal single
file. Once inside, the portal closed behind us and darkness
surrounded us. Koda, Ares and I growled softly and whined as we
walked through the confined space. It still amazed me how a portal
between dimensions felt like a stone staircase.

Achilles opened the other end of the portal
and stepped out into sunlight. Everyone hurried out. I basked in
the sunlight for a moment and then walked to Achilles. “Hey.”

Achilles turned away from me and pointed
behind us where a forest started. “This is the way to go.”

He started to walk away and I grabbed his
arm. “Achilles.”

He sighed. “Yes, Artemis.”

I moved to stand in front of him. “Why are
you refusing to look at me? You’re acting like I did something
wrong?”

Ares grabbed my other hand and started to
pull me away. “It’s alright. He just needs a few moments alone,” he
said softly.

I growled. “Dammit stop acting like a
sulking teenage boy! Talk to me.”

Ares released my hand and Achilles looked
down at me. “I’m trying not to be mad at you because I understand
that you don’t know how this bond works, but my emotions are on
edge on the moment.”

“Explain,” I said softly.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. “Through
the bond it lets me feel what you are feeling. I can’t read your
thoughts, though we can communicate telepathically when you don’t
have a wall up. For some reason you’re blocking me out so you don’t
feel anything I feel, which is why you don’t understand…” He
stopped talking and looked up at the sun.

“Don’t understand what?” I asked.

“I can feel your emotions, such as love,
lust and…euphoria,” he said through gritted teeth.

I blushed and stepped back from him with my
eyes on the ground. “Oh.” He’d felt my emotions while Ares and I
mated. I hadn’t even considered that. I hadn’t even thought about
Achilles at the time. “I’m sorry.”

Victor cleared his throat. “We should keep
moving.”

Everyone started walking away, but I stayed
still, wanting a moment alone with Achilles. Ares seemed to
understand and followed Koda who was walking behind Victor.

I looked up at Achilles. “I’m sorry. I
didn’t know. You should have told me this before. I hate that you
guys keep so much from me and than just let me stumble upon it like
this. I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He smiled at me. “Thank you. All I wanted
was a sincere apology.” He pushed back a strand of my hair and
whispered, “I love you, Artemis, which makes it incredibly
difficult to stay mad at you.”

I stared at him in shock. “You love me? Or
do you mean you love me because of the bond thing?”

He shook his head and whispered, “I’ve loved
you since you were born. Every summer I would sneak near your house
to watch you grow up. Since the time you were sixteen I could see
how beautiful you were going to be. Now that I can see you since
you’ve gained your sidhe powers and can witness how great a woman
you are, I love you even more.”

I swallowed nervously. “Achilles…”

He put his fingertip to my mouth. “I know
that you do not love me yet. I just hope that soon you will see
that I love you as much as Ares does. Perhaps we can figure out a
way for you to be happy with both of us. Whatever happens, it will
not change the fact that for me, you’re the only woman I want to be
with.
Verus amor vincit omnia
. True love conquers all.”

Before I could respond he kissed me on the
lips. The kiss started off gentle and then became more passionate.
He caressed my back softly and I lost myself in his touch. The
barrier he’d been talking about in my head broke and images of him
watching me as I grew up and then his current feelings bombarded
me. He truly did love me and I knew he would do anything to keep me
near him.

We broke apart and I gasped for air as I
returned to my own thoughts. Achilles took my hand gently. “We
should catch up with the others.”

I realized his body and eyes were glowing
and giggled. “Oops. Looks like I activated your powers again.”

He sighed. “Yes, so it seems.”

We started walking and Victor called from
within the trees. “Could you turn off the light? You look like a
damn Glowworm doll.”

I giggled and then focused on my sidhe
powers and the connection I could now feel between Achilles and me.
I poked him in the arm and said, “Off.” His body returned to
normal. I poke him again and said, “On,” and he began glowing
again.

Achilles smacked my hand as I reached
towards him again. “That’s enough. No more Glowworm jokes.”

We caught up to the others, who had waited
for us in a clearing and I hurried to walk between Ares and
Achilles.

Ares asked, “Aren’t Glowworm’s supposed to
sing when you turn them on?”

I giggled. “No, they just play music.”

Achilles snapped his fingers. “Darn I forgot
my flute.”

Erebus said, “I just happen to have…”

Achilles sighed. “
Enough
with the
Glowworm references.”

We continued walking for three hours and
then we came to the ocean. I frowned as I looked up and down the
beach for a boat. “Um, how are we going to cross this?”

Dmitri’s and Victor’s bodies convulsed and
shrunk as they changed shapes. I stared in shock at the two black
bats they had turned in to. Vampires could turn into shadow, mist,
wolves and bats. I really needed a notebook to keep track of it
all.

Erebus, Eros, Achilles and Heracles let
their wings out and I smiled. “Oh I see.” I was very glad that I’d
put on a top with a low back as I let my wings out.

Ares and Koda walked to stand in front of
Erebus and Achilles who would carry them and then everyone was
airborne. I flew up after them and then followed the two black bats
as they lead the way to France. I trailed my hand in the ocean for
a little bit and then flew up as high as I could, reaching for the
moon before coming back down and joining the others. “I love
flying,” I said wistfully.

Erebus smiled and spoke in his incredibly
deep voice, “The nighttime is the best for flying.”

It only took us one hour to fly from Ireland
to France, but I was tired by the time we arrived. We made camp in
a wooded area which was a short trip from the vampires’ nest. I
found an area with few rocks and laid down in the dirt. Ares
appeared next to me, but in wolf form. He was as handsome in his
wolf form as he was as a man. I ran my hands through his thick
black fur and kissed the tip of his large nose. As far as I had
seen, Ares was the only black werewolf. It made me wonder why. I’d
also never seen another white werewolf like me. Was it because of
our mixed genetics? Ares laid down in the dirt and I scooted closer
to him, letting his large wolf body circle around mine. Koda walked
to us, also in wolf form and laid down facing Ares, he extended his
paws so that they overlapped Ares’. Taking the hint I laid my head
on top of their front paws and let them arrange themselves
comfortably.

The sun rose earlier than I would have liked
the next morning. I started to stretch when I remembered the
vampires. I bolted upright, knocking Ares’ and Koda’s heads to the
sides as I searched for them. Victor smiled at me and I remembered
he was a born vampire and the sun didn’t harm him. “Your concern
brings a smile to my face
mon papillon
. Dmitri is safely
buried so you need not worry for him,” he said softly.

I exhaled and calmed my raging heart.
“Sorry.” I laid back down against Ares and he sighed, rearranging
himself around me. I slept for a couple more hours and then my
stomach grumbled incessantly.

Ares walked into the trees and came out a
few moments later dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. Koda was
whining and kicking his hind leg as Ares walked back, but after a
quick throat clearing from Ares, Koda was awake and whining
unhappily as he walked towards the trees.

Ares wrapped his arms around me and asked,
“So, what’s for breakfast?”

Victor straightened his shirt and said, “I
thought it would be nice if we took Artemis out.”

I looked over at the black, white and red
sidhe men, all with various vine and etched designs in their skin,
sitting a few yards away. “Don’t you think they might draw
attention to us? Not to mention me.”

The sidhe men laughed and all stood up. I
watched in shock as their bodies began to glow softly and then each
of them had normal looking skin. They looked as though they
belonged in Greece. Achilles smiled. “We learned how to use glamour
when we were going to be around the humans.”

“Glamour?” I asked.

Erebus said, “It’s a specific type of magic
which alters our physical appearance.”

“Oh. Well how do I do it?” I asked.

Achilles picked my hands up and whispered,
“Close your eyes. Picture what you looked like before you came into
your sidhe powers and pull at your powers.”

I did as he said and when I opened my eyes I
couldn’t believe that it had actually worked.

Victor stood up and dusted off his jeans.
“Are we all ready?”

Koda walked out of the woods in jeans and a
t-shirt and nodded his head. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Victor led the way to a small café where we
could sit outside in the warm sunlight. Ares ordered my food for me
since I couldn’t read the menu which was in French. It was nice
having someone who could speak multiple languages so I didn’t look
like a dumb American traveler.

Our food came out quickly and I ate every
last piece of food. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was and I was
thankful that Ares had ordered extra sides of eggs and bacon for
me.

The men started talking in French and I felt
extremely left out. Achilles smiled at me from across the table and
then began talking to me telepathically.

They’re discussing the best place to have
the sidhe wait. I will be going with you into the main door, but
the other three will wait outside for our signal.

What signal?

Oh you’ll know it when you see it.

As the morning turned into afternoon the men
continued to plan and Achilles continued to translate for me. The
plan was rather simple, but they were being very meticulous about
the small details. We ordered lunch at the same café and sipped on
wine until dinner time. I was feeling pretty lightheaded when
dinner came, but my quick metabolism flushed out the alcohol the
third time I used the restroom. Each time I went to the restroom,
one of the men would accompany me, though each time it was a
different man. After we finished our dinner we walked back to the
park and sat down in our camp spot. As soon as the sun went down an
arm shot out of the dirt in front of me, making me gasp in shock
and jump backwards.

Victor patted my arm and pulled me back down
on the ground beside him. “It’s just Dmitri, rising for the
night.”

Dmitri dug himself out of the ground and
then shook like a dog to get the excess dirt off of him. Victor
stood up and together they left to hunt for their meals.

I picked up a pine needle and set it in the
palm of my hand and then brought fire to my hand, burning the pine
needle. I formed a ball of fire in one palm and then started
tossing the ball back and forth in my hands. Erebus was watching me
with a small smile of satisfaction on his face. “Catch,” I yelled
as I tossed the purple ball at him. Erebus caught the ball of fire
and I watched in shock as it changed to a black ball of fire. He
started playing with it before he tossed it to Achilles who changed
it to a blue flame, played with it for a while and then tossed it
back to me. As soon as I touched it, the flames turned purple.

“Why does the color change?” I asked
curiously.

Erebus said, “The flame changes to match our
colors. So anytime you use fire or touch it, it will become purple
while Achilles will always turn it blue. We aren’t quite sure why
it happens, but it does.”

We occupied ourselves with that for the next
thirty minutes while we waited for Victor and Dmitri. They returned
and stood twenty yards away from us as they watched our game.

“Could you please put that out?” Dmitri
asked. Achilles tossed the ball up in the air. It went up and up
and then disappeared completely. Dmitri smiled. “Thank you.”

Victor looked at Ares and smiled. “It’s
time.”

Ares exhaled. “Alright. Let’s go.”

We ran for an hour through the city streets,
just fast enough the humans wouldn’t see us as we ran. As we
approached the mansion I could feel the evil that resided there. I
could feel the hundreds of vampires and the king of evil himself,
Maurice. My heartbeat picked up as I grew more nervous and my palms
began to sweat. What if we couldn’t defeat him? What if Ares died?
The thought of Ares dying ripped at my heart and brought tears to
my eyes. I couldn’t let him die. I had to keep him safe.