Vengeance

7

Percy PoV

Artemis bit her lip again.

I kissed her forehead. "None of what he said was true."

"I know," she murmured quietly. "Apollo is my twin brother. He's my baby brother. I'm supposed to protect him, and he's supposed to look after me too. But those things he said...he knew they would hurt me, and he said them anyway. All because I had a boyfriend."

"I'll leave, if that's what you want," I
mumbled quietly.

"Oh," Artemis sighed, shaking her head. "It's not your fault. Nobody ever changes on Olympus. They're just afraid."

I looked at her, confused.

Her lips moved to my ear. "Percy, I don't want you to leave. You mean a lot to me, and everything is so much better with you around."

Artemis sat up in my lap, kissing me softly on the lips.

The kiss was wet.

Like she was crying.

I pulled back, wiping the tears away.

Artemis turned away, trying to hide her tears.

I held her close, kissing the top of her head. "It's okay to cry, Artemis. Just let me be your strength."

As she cried into my chest, the doorbell rang. "You should get that," she murmured.

"You're more important than a damned doorbell," I replied.

"I'll answer it then," Artemis snapped, suddenly angry.

Women were confusing sometimes.

I answered the door, finding the visitor to be none other than Apollo.

"Mason," The Olympian greeted curtly. "I need to speak to my sister."

"No," I denied. "You do not need to speak to Artemis."

"I need to apologize!" The god exclaimed.

"You hurt her," I stated bluntly. "What you said was untrue, but it hurt her badly. Apollo, you made your older sister cry. You're supposed to care for and protect her, not go stomping all over her emotions."

"Which is why I need to tell her I'm sorry!" Apollo yelled.

"You'll only upset her more, Apollo," I explained.

There was a pattering of feet from behind me. "Mason? Who is it?"

"Artemis!" Apollo called. "It's me. I wanted to say sorry for my actions last night."

Artemis stepped behind me, as though hiding.

Her eyes began to water. "You know what would happen when you said those things, Apollo. You knew exactly how much it would hurt if you said those things, but you did it anyway. You thought of what would hurt me most and did that."

"But I-" the god was cut off by the door being slammed shut.

I brought Artemis back to bed, stroking her hair as she cried into my chest.

I murmured sweet nothings, holding my girlfriend close.

"A council meeting was called," Artemis whispered. "He'll be there."

"You don't have to go," I assured her. Artemis nodded, closing her eyes.

Sometime later, there was another ring on the doorbell. "I'll get it. You stay here, alright?"