‘What’s the plan, then?’ Atalanta slung her bow across her chest and crouched down beside Danae, cupping water into her hands and raising them to her lips.
‘The plan?’
‘To take Olympus. The gods are damn powerful and they have the advantage with the higher ground. But there must be a weakness – every fortress has one. What we need is a good old stakeout …’ As the warrior spoke, Danae could not help but think of her without the shell of her armour, the lake water glistening on her bare skin.
She swallowed. ‘Apart from the ability to heal themselves by consuming the life force of another living being, they are just as vulnerable as mortals.’
Atalanta’s eyes raked over her. Then she said softly, ‘It is strange to think they were all mortals once.’
‘Zeus must still have access to the Hesperides tree, that’s how he made the rest of his family Titans.’
Atalanta lowered herself to sit on the ground, and for afleeting moment her face flushed with a deep sadness. Danae joined her.
‘I’m sorry about your sister.’
The current of rage that lived like magma beneath Danae’s skin rose up to choke her. She could not speak.
‘The child you mentioned,’ continued Atalanta. ‘Arius, is he …?’
‘Gone,’ the word splintered in Danae’s mouth.
Atalanta nodded. Then she reached out a hand and clasped Danae’s in hers. ‘Zeus will pay for what he has done. It is prophesied.’
As Danae looked at her, she recalled what the warrior had told her aboard theArgo, of the bond Atalanta and her fellow Arcadian hunters had had with Artemis. And how the goddess had betrayed them, abandoning them when they needed her most.
They held each other’s gaze for a moment, Danae’s hand softening beneath Atalanta’s fingers.
Then the warrior asked, ‘Do you know why he didn’t give Heracles an apple, like his other children?’
Danae shook her head. She bit down on the insides of her cheeks. ‘Atalanta … he can’t come with us.’
The warrior sat back, withdrawing her hand from Danae’s.
‘He needs months more rest and care to be well.’
The truth tasted bitter on her tongue, but if no one else would voice it, she must. ‘He would be a liability and most likely get himself killed.’
‘We’re not leaving him.’
‘He hasn’t even said he wants to take revenge on his father –’
‘Of course he does.’ Atalanta stood. ‘We all want revenge for what those bastards did to us.’
Danae could feel the warrior withdrawing beneath her scowl. She was losing her. ‘Will you show me?’ She rose and gestured to Atalanta’s bow.
The warrior’s lip curled. ‘What need has a Titan for the humble skill of archery?’
‘When Hades put that collar on me …’ Danae shivered. ‘I never want to feel that helpless again.’
Atalanta’s eyes lingered on her face for a moment, then she paced to the palm tree, retrieved the arrow and returned to Danae’s side. She reached for Danae’s hand and closed her fingers around the centre of the bow. The worn leather grip was warm beneath her touch.
‘Hold it here.’ Atalanta stepped behind Danae and placed her free hand around the string, hooking it with her thumb. ‘Keep your weight balanced.’ She gave Danae’s back leg a kick. ‘I said balanced. Now hold your front arm steady.’ Together, they raised the bow, the weapon taut between Danae’s arms. It was an effort to pool her concentration into her limbs with the warrior’s lithe body pressed against hers. ‘There’s a strong westerly wind so aim to the left of the target. You won’t hit it, but the shot will tell you how far you need to correct next time.’ She stepped back and left Danae alone with the elements.
Danae drew a deep breath, then let the arrow fly. It shot far into the air to the right of the tree, to be whisked away by the wind and burrow into the crisp grass beyond the verdant plant life surrounding the lake.
Atalanta clasped her shoulder. ‘You haven’t fired a bow before, have you?’
Danae shrugged off the other woman’s grip and paced towards the arrow.
