I swallowed, a little disgusted with myself for locking it up in the first place.
No, not myself. Artemis wasn’tme.
There were roughly a million statues, and over half seemed to feature, well—me. Some were giant, over ten feet tall, but even then, I could tell the subject was short. The human-size ones were of a woman of my exact height, with a nose just like mine, a little turned up, and even that specific pointed chin I wasn’t fond of.
It was hard to tell anyone, including myself, that I wasn’t really Artemis with these statues locked in a safe that belonged to me.
I had to conclude that no one in her life had any imagination, because there were also thousands upon thousands of baubles that must have been gifts or offerings, most in the shape of a crescent moon, and the occasional little animal. Game, mostly, though there were several hounds, and the cutest little wolf cub in silver.
Something else dawned on me. All these things felt like mine. Even the creepy stuffed animals. I was utterly comfortable here. That in itself made me highly uncomfortable. I remembered what Apollo warned us about weeks ago. When a god took over a human vessel, they fought for dominance and the god died.
Except I didn’t feel like I was fighting anyone.
I don’t know what you are, but my sister’s spirit didn’t attach itself to you when it recognized a fitting soul. You were born with it.
I hadn’t believed him, certain Apollo would do just about anything to protect his sister, including erasing me, but I suddenly remembered one thing. The reason they made him the god of prophecy was because Apollo was incapable of lying.
He might refuse to answer, or twist his words with more agility than a fae, but if he spoke clearly, it had to be the truth. And here, amongst Artemis’s treasures, I had to admit that I was at home here. These were my things.
I hated it.
I made myself turn to the banker, clearing my throat. “What about that third account?”
9
CAS
Icould tell that the doll wanted me gone. She had the subtlety of a red-horned bull. But if she got to nose around my dirty laundry, so to speak, I didn’t see why I’d afford her privacy while she perused hers.
The head of the immortal banking guild took us up several levels in a cylindric tube not unlike the one that took us down to the underside. My mind supplied that they were called elevators—at least the human version running on electricity was. These were clearly magical, and I was stumped on an appropriate term.
Silver glared, as though staring at me with that wrinkle between her eyebrows was going to reveal all my thoughts to her. I half wished it would, so I could see her face as she saw me pondering terminology.
The upper level seemed more modern, containing several safes close together. The banker led us to 16TCN3, pressing his palm against a panel on the wall to open it up.
The moment we entered, I stilled at the presence I felt all around it, somehow the antithesis of and complementary to the previous one. Artemis was dark, mysterious, wild, natural, and a long list of green, mossy things that made me want to breathein deep. This felt straightforward, righteous, too bright, and deeply, personallyannoying. Like looking directly at a midday summer sun without glasses.
I cursed under my breath.Apollo.
The room was much smaller than either of the other two vaults we’d visited, and only contained one coffer at the center.
I spotted the note on top of it, tilting my head to read.
Careful, pet.
Silver advanced, but Lucian shook his head. “We ought to scan it for traps.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s nottrapped.”
“He’s not wrong,” I found myself saying. “Apollo probably has protected it against anyone but you.”
As the words escaped me, I realized that I knew the smug bastard well enough to speak with authority on the matter. My mind flooded with half smiles, the annoying shoulder bumping against mine, a constant laugh.
I saw three men—one blond, with the brightest sky-blue eyes, the second, dark-haired, the third, with a head of fiery red waves. All had hosted the same irritating soul.
I knew Apollo. I also knew Artemis, though she was more elusive in my mind, like a vague acquaintance I never truly understood. And I knew for certain that whatever was in this box would be a considerable peril to anyone who wasn’t a cute pink-haired brat.
“We ought to step back.”
