Pertemis A Moon's Tale

Chapter XXXII: The Tale of Revelation

Percy's POV

Artemis.

That was Artemis. It couldn't be just a coincidence. She had the exact same face as Artemis. It took me a while to get over the shock before I scrambled up to my legs. She was gone. Gone again from my sight.

Was it a dream? Did the bleeding lead to this hallucinations?

But it felt too real. My legs crumbled as I tried to chase after her. Whether Lunar was Artemis wasn't important at that point. She had just ran out of my barrier. If I don't bring her back into the caves, the assassins will track her down soon.

I dashed through the lines of trees. Her scent was still around. The bush. I jumped into it, but only to discover a piece of her clothes. She must have left it there to confuse me, so I wouldn't be able to track her. I kept on my way, following where her aura was the strongest.

Three thousand years I have searched for her. Three thousand years I have scorched the Earth, yet when she was under my nose. I couldn't sense that she was my mate. The feeling was overwhelming yet devastating at the same time. I wasn't sure myself if I got the right person. Lunar is Artemis. But if she was my mate incarnation, then why didn't that mating bond notice me. Was it only worked when she was a god? No, I know how powerful it was. Even if Chaos snuffed her out of existence, the bond would still shine if comes near any trace of her presence. Then why? Why didn't I sense anything of Artemis on Lunar?

Perhaps, I was wrong. I was wrong in many ways that now I realised how stupid I was. I had been in denial, for quite sometimes now that it made me looked like a fool. Lunar was a different person. But I have taken interest in her. In fact, perhaps I have been slowly falling for her for awhile now. Yet, because I kept on searching for Artemis, to find someone that looked like my mate. I forgot one thing. Artemis look did not define her. My mate could be anyone in the world, it was her personality that spoke Artemis. I might have come into contact with my mate incarnations many times in the past now. But because I only searched for the person that looked like Artemis, I completely ignored them. That was why the bond stayed dormant, hidden and never shine. Because I never gave it the opportunity to. Now with Lunar, I knew why. Now I have seen her face, I somehow let that beacon shine across the world. But how could I explain myself. How could I tell Lunar she was the incarnation of Artemis?

I heard a cracking of twigs at my left. I saw a faint blue cloth. I dashed to the side and immediately tackled her. Lunar screamed.

"Get off me! Let me go!"

I used my strength to hold her down.

"Lunar...listen. Please"

"No! You are a monster! Let me go!"

"Please" I begged her. "Just let me explain"

But she was more ferocious than I expected. Because my forearm was held across her neck. She grabbed it and sunk her teeth into my skin. I winced and loosened my hold on her. Lunar jumped away from me as she wiped out her small knife.

"Don't step closer" she held it in front of her, but was shaking.

The tears from her eyes broke me.

"Please..." I whispered. "Give me a chance"

"A chance!?" She cried "how many times did I give you? How many, Perseus? You could have told me who you were. And I could have been more lenient. So what? You also lied to me about being born without a voice as well?"

"Lunar" I tried to make a step closer. But she held her knife high and I halted. "I never lied to you about my voice. You gave me my voice back. Because of you, I can speak again"