God of My Dreams (Greek Heroes #1) ✅ Completed

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Trials of Morpheus, Final Act

The Trials of Morpheus, Final Act

“I never thought it would be you I’d kill before Apollo,” Morpheus spoke the words calmly enough but inside he was raging to destroy. He wanted to pull Artemis’ head clean off her shoulders and punt it like a football before tossing her body clear to the moon just to see if it would make another crater.

He knew Gwen-Stacey was still behind him and that still put her in very real danger, but letting Artemis live was an option he was not willing to entertain at this point. With the power of the Night coursing through his veins, he knew he had more than enough juice to do the job once and for all. The darkness inside his blood called for retribution and he meant to have it, one way or another.

Artemis stood before the dream god, her legs slightly apart and every muscle ready to react. It was like she was seeing Morpheus for the first time. He was glowing with so much energy it flowed off him in black, seductive waves. It was the devious allure of death which beckoned, tempting her to get closer so it could pull her under. For once, the legendary huntress was in the rare position of being the hunted instead of the hunter.

Quietness slipped over her like a well worn glove. It was the distinct silence of the true hunt, of the split second between life and death that she knew better than her own name. The serenity flowed through her, allowing her to find perfect calmness as she faced off against the black, riotous fury before her.

Artemis gave Morpheus a small smile, her voice even as she spoke, “That is a lofty goal considering your place, Oneiroi.”

“It is no goal, huntress. Today you pay for what you have done,” he pushed the words out through lips set in a hard line.  

The huntress knew Morpheus was upset, but he was only a dream god. What was his power compared to hers? She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, with plenty of Titan blood flowing through her veins to make her a formidable adversary but an even more powerful ally. Hera, who’d despised her mother, eventually got over even her misplaced hatred. The queen of the Olympians was smart enough to understand the benefits of having such influential friends as her and her brother.

Morpheus could do the same.

He took a step closer. Artemis’ eyes never left his face as she tracked his movements.

“Is that a fact? And here I was, only attempting to do you a favor,” she replied easily.

“A favor?” The incredulity in his voice said what he thought about her charitable nature.

“Of course,” she said, shrugging one bare shoulder. “What would people say if they knew you were throwing everything away for an ordinary human?”

Morpheus’ wings rustled angrily at the tone in her voice. “Tread lightly, huntress. That human is mine. You have made an egregious error if you think I shall stand idly by as you harm her or do nothing to avenge the damage you have caused.”

“Damage?” she spat the word angrily, rare emotion breaking through her outward stillness. “Who are you to talk of such things when you would throw everything away for a talking monkey?”

Morpheus’ eyes blazed hotter, his voice cracking like a whip around them. “You have never bothered to appreciate the true nature of man! All that he is capable of, all that we can inspire in him to become.”

“And what, pray tell, am I so oblivious to?”

“Everything! We can help them achieve something greater, something better than what each of us are separately. Instead, you chose to destroy that which you are too feeble minded to fully understand.”