Banished

45

Artemis PoV

I sighed with relief as I finally took my leg out of the tub of ichor.

Percy was standing next to the bed, the bag of board games he had sat and played with me while I healed in one hand, and his other extended for me to take when I got out of the hospital bed.

I stood up and grabbed his arm to help myself balance.

Before my brother could say anything, I cleared my throat. "Let me guess. If it starts hurting more or I think anything is wrong, come check in with you."

He sighed, nodded, and dismissed me.

Percy took me home and sat me down on the comfy chair in our bedroom. "I love you, and I'm glad you're well enough to be back home."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Percy. Thank you for spending all that time with me while I was healing."

"You're the love of my life," he said. "I wasn't just going to let you sit bored and without company while you healed. So, now that we're back home, is there anything I can do for you?"

"I haven't bathed in over two weeks," I stated. "I'll start with a bath."

The god nodded and lifted me into his arms, carrying me into the bathroom and sitting me on the counter.

He chuckled at the surprised look on my face and I gave him a little shove. "So, did I miss anything while I was in the hospital that you didn't want to risk accidentally telling my brother?"

"Athena and Demeter have been hooking up in the mutated monster complex," he informed.

"Not the most romantic of places," I said with distaste.

My fiance kissed my cheek before getting the bath started. "Well, not much can beat a kitchen counter."

I blushed deeply at his comment, thinking back to his birthday and the dish towel that had been stuffed in my mouth as we did naughty things together.

He stopped the water and walked back over to me, giving me a quick kiss as he put his hands on my waist. "Do you want me to help you get into the tub?"

"No," I replied. "I'll gladly accept help getting from the bath to the bed when I'm finished, though."

"I'll be in the kitchen preparing dinner," Percy explained, stepping out of the bathroom. "Just yell if you need anything."

I smiled, my heart feeling as though it would burst if that man were any more spectacular.

I stripped down and hobbled over to the bath, where I slid into the warm water and took time to think.

The thoughts that came to my head started out as extremely menial, like what my future husband might possibly decide to cook for dinner.

My brain moved on to more serious matters, like what effect my injury would have on the wedding.

There was still more than a month until the original date that had been set, so I figured it would be fine.

Then again, there was the matter of the drakons who could turn invisible and just wait in groups.

Demigods would most definitely be unable to hunt down and kill these mutated monsters. They wouldn't even be able to see them, especially unaware that they existed.

My hunters would probably be able to handle them, though.

Shit, my hunters.

They were starting to run low on supplies when I was injured, so they were probably almost out by now.

Of course, to top it off, they didn't know about the deadly monsters that could now turn themselves invisible.