When she returned, she reloaded the shaft and lifted the bow to her cheek. ‘Again.’
Shot after shot was caught by the wind and hurled far from the target. After the ninth attempt, Danae emerged dripping from the lake, the sodden arrow clasped in her fist.
‘Perhaps we should try a sword,’ suggested Atalanta. ‘A novice would never start learning in these conditions.’
‘I can do it,’ Danae grunted, fumbling the arrow back into position.
Let me help, murmured the voice.
Danae stared at the target, jaw clenched.
Don’t you want to impress her?
She drew a breath. On the exhale, glowing threads wound from her palm to twist around the shaft. She let fly. It landed in the centre of the palm’s trunk, between the stag’s eyes.
She grinned. ‘Not bad for a novice.’
Atalanta snatched back her bow. ‘If you’re not going to take this seriously, you can fuck off.’
Danae’s chest constricted. ‘How did you … could you see the threads?’
‘You’ve clearly never held a bow in your life, yet you hit the target despite the wind. I’m no fool.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.’
Atalanta scowled, then she looked down at the bow in her hands. ‘When Artemis hunted with us in the forests of Arcadia, she would always use her power. It took me a decade to learn my skill, yet she was the better archer, though she never practised a day.’
‘I understand,’ Danae said swiftly.
The silence stretched between them, strained by the keening wind.
‘I’m going to kill her,’ said Atalanta, so softly Danae almost didn’t hear. The warrior’s brow darkened at Danae’s expression. ‘You don’t think I could defeat her?’
Danae fought to hide the fear that suddenly chilled herinsides as she imagined Atalanta facing down the Goddess of the Hunt.
‘You are the finest archer I have ever seen, but even you cannot match an Olympian.’
‘I could take you.’
They stared at each other, then Danae’s lips twitched into a smile. Atalanta’s nostrils flared. She dropped her bow and punched her. Danae cried out as she staggered back.
Wiping her lip, she stared at the warrior in disbelief. ‘You hit me!’
Atalanta’s weight was perfectly balanced between her powerful legs. ‘I’m not afraid of the gods. And I’m not afraid of you.’
‘You should be.’ Danae summoned a clutch of life-threads and, ignoring her training, whipped her will into a gust of wind strong enough to send Atalanta sprawling into the bushes surrounding the lake.
Danae advanced. ‘Admit you cannot beat me.’
Atalanta ran her tongue over her teeth and leapt to her feet. She launched herself at Danae, and they slammed into the ground, rolling across the gritty earth. The warrior had the advantage of physical strength and pinned her. Danae engorged her arms with life-threads and was about to hurl Atalanta into the sky, when the warrior’s scent stilled her.
Oak, salt and honeysuckle. A stolen moment on theArgobeneath the stars. Her skin prickled with heat.
‘Giving up already?’ Atalanta panted triumphantly.
Danae’s retort died on her lips. She was acutely aware of the warrior’s fingers curled around her arms, the weight of Atalanta’s thighs pressing into her hips. She could toss her aside as easily as drawing breath, but she did not.
The air became thick as honey in the world between their faces. Perhaps it was the struggle, but Danae was sureAtalanta’s breathing had quickened. Neither of them moved. Danae’s eyes were drawn to Atalanta’s lips, the shape of which she had come to know better than her own hands.
