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She spread her arm out and a table covered with food appeared beside the bed

Acheron gaped at the feast

"If you&039;d like so else, tell me"

"No, this is wonderful" He left the bed to tear into a loaf of bread His eyes widened at the taste of it Coated in honey and warm, it was the best he&039;d ever had

Artery"

He took the cup gratefully then drank deep of the rich flavor "Thank you, Artie"

She arched a brow at his unintended nicknaed as he realized his slip of the tongue "Artemis I meant to say Artemis"

She nuzzled him "I think I like Artie No one&039;s ever called me that before"

Acheron leaned his head down to kiss her hand

Artemis couldn&039;t breathe as that simple touch electrified her What was it about this ? She wanted to hold and protect him More than that, she wanted to devour every inch of his lush body

Closing her eyes, she leaned into hi scent that was all male and all him "Eat, Acheron," she whispered "I don&039;t want you to be hungry"

He stepped away from her and she felt the sudden cold left in the wake of his heat like a punch against her stomach She watched as he dipped the bread in a small dish of honey before he took a bite and smiled a smile so handsome it made her heart lift

He dipped another piece, then turned toward her "Would you like some?"

She nodded He held it for her to take a bite Arteue, she licked his fingers that were delicious Salty and sweet, they whetted her appetite fora wave of desire to flare deep inside her He dipped his fingertip in the honey, then outlined her lips before he pulled her close for a blistering kiss The taste of hi hied his hand until he was on top of her

Acheron growled at the sight of Artemis underneath him "You are so incredibly beautiful"

Artemis couldn&039;t respond verbally She was completely captivated by the look of tenderness on his face No one had ever looked at her like this And when he buried his lips against her throat all rational thought was lost to the fire inside her

She&039;d never been coown, she didn&039;t protest With an excruciating slowness, he slid the cloth down her body until she was bare to him He made no move to remove his own clothes

Instead, he lifted her foot to nibble her instep Biting her lip at the exquisite torture, she watched hiently licked the inside of her thigh "Do you want me to stop?"

Artemis shook her head "I love for you to touch hs farther apart and touched the part of her that ached the ers in his hair and fisted her hands

Acheron pulled back with a hiss as if she&039;d hurt hirab and pull my hair I hate it when people do that"

"Why?"

"Itthe raw pain in his voice "I don&039;t understand"

"People snatch at my hair to control me or to hold me down at their feet They yank it while they violate and humiliate me I don&039;t like it"

Arte to soothe him "I&039; else you don&039;t like?"

Acheron froze at her question No lover had ever asked him that question before He still couldn&039;t believe he&039;d told her that he didn&039;t like having his hair touched It wasn&039;t so he&039;d normally do, but since she&039;d asked, he felt co on the back ofa slave with no will of my own and it makes my skin crawl"

"Then I shall never do that to you"

Those words touched hiht tears to his eyes He sed the lu he wouldn&039;t do to please his goddess Arteine why she wanted to befriend sorateful to be with her

Wanting to please her not because he had to but because he wanted it, he took his ti her body until she screarab his hair as she came She sank her nails into his shoulders

Grateful that she&039;d kept her word, he crawled up her body and pulled her into his arainst hi for yourself?"

"I don&039;t find real pleasure in sex"

She frowned at hiin to explain to her that nothing about sex ood He liked to touch her, but he didn&039;t have the saasms were pleasurable no doubt He just didn&039;t care whether or not he had one

"I enjoy it," he lied It would ood to hear that He would keep the truth of it buried inside hiether he felt like a oddess liked hinant as his father and brother ainst his body

Acheron closed his eyes and savored the sensation of her warm body next to his "I wish I could stay here with you forever"

"If you were female you could, but only my brother is allowed in my temple No other male"

"But I&039;m here now"

"I know and it&039;s our secret You can never tell anyone"

"I won&039;t"

She lifted herself up to give him a stern frown "I mean it, Acheron Not even in your sleep are you to breathe a word aboutI learned early in my life I knohen to keep my mouth shut Besides no one really talks to o home"

One minute he was in her teain He realized too late that he hadn&039;t really eaten anything Damn But at least it was dark outside He&039;das his father hadn&039;t sent guards to beat hi, Acheron draped one arm over his eyes Maybe he could just sleep until Arteht occurred to him he knew this couldn&039;t last A whore didn&039;t befriend a goddess It was impossible Sooner or later Artemis would be like everyone else

Yet deep in his heart was a tiny splash of hope that odhood would be different

"I would sell my soul to keep and protect you, Artie," he breathed, wondering if she could hear hiods too

He shook his head at the harsh reality he knew all too well "And if wishes were horses, I&039;d have been run over in childhood"

No, this was all they could ever have All he could do was ods help him if anyone ever did

January 12, 9528 BC

Acheron sat on the railing of his balcony,held in her honor and she wanted to spy on the people there in person She was odd that way and liked to see people worshiping her while she pretended to beand had to admit that these last feeeks had been the best of his life

Artemis was the only person who&039;d ever allowed hi, he could tell her and she&039;d proain

She never broke her word to hi was a dreaether, and Acheron wasn&039;t causing trouble or sneaking out through his guards, his father had left him alone He couldn&039;t remember a time in his life, except for thehit or beaten

The reprieve was divine

Suddenly the doors to his roohtened Afraid it was his father coripped the stone beneath hihtest smile he&039;d ever seen on her face "Good day, little brother"

"Good day," he greeted hesitantly in return, wondering at her mood and the fact that she&039;d left the doors behind her wide open "Is so?"

Maybe his father had finally died It was the best he could hope for Stopping just before him, she pulled a small purse out from behind her back and held it out toward him "You&039;re free"

His father s down "What do youwith Apollo Father listens to one and you&039;ll have a monthly stipend to spend however you wish" She placed the purse in his hand "I&039;ve also procured for you a reserved spot at the stadium for any and all plays No one but you will be allowed to sit there Ever"

He couldn&039;t believe what he was hearing "What are the conditions?"

Her sravation "Typical comment of Father&039;s You&039;re not allowed to sha as you don&039;t cavort with anyone I think you&039;ll be fine"

Acheron scoffed at the mere idea "I have no plans to cavort with anyone" At least not publicly He&039;d grown tired of that long ago He didn&039;t like being a spectacle

She leaned forward "Would you like to go to a play with me?"

"What about Apollo?"

"He&039;s off with his sister I have most of the day to myself" She held her hand out to him "What say you, little brother? Shall we celebrate your freedo he almost never did "Thank you, Ryssa You&039;ve no idea how much this means to me"

"I think I have an idea"

Acheron went to retrieve his cloak froiven hioddess even more than before Hoished he could celebrate with her, but that would have to wait

After dressing himself quickly, he followed Ryssa out of the rooht walls With the exception of Ryssa&039;s offering to Apollo, he&039;d never left his roouards with sex

The degree to which his life had changed hit hier a prisoner He was free now

Acheron lifted his head proudly with the knowledge that he had et it More than that, he had a friend and a lover who treated him like he mattered

For the first ti and not a possession or an object It was a da and he didn&039;t want it to end

Ryssa took his hand in hers and led hih the hallways, out the front door as if she wasn&039;t ashamed in the least to be seen in his co people, Acheron reed

Other people&039;s reactions to his beauty He pulled the co over his face and kept his eyes on the ground at Ryssa&039;s feet He&039;d spent so otten about his eyes and how h the town square, he paused There was a group of children with a teacher standing in front of a te the text that ritten at the feet of the god

" &039;In all thingsthe past&039; "

"Acheron?"

He blinked at Ryssa&039;s voice and turned away to see her staring up at hilanced at the students "Not all Those are senators&039; sons They come out here to learn about the pantheon and to see how the priests serve the gods while their fathers overn people"

Acheron stared at the words that held noto him He was too asha of his lessons with her and Maia "All nobleed at his hand without answering "We&039;re going to be late to the play"

Acheron turned and followed her "Have you any word about Maia?"

Ryssa s her first child"

The news hit hiirl he&039;d been so fond of He hoped whoever she&039;d ard she deserved "Isn&039;t she too young for that?"

"Not really Most girls wed at her age I was a rare exception, but Father refused all suitors who asked for my hand"

"Why?"

"I honestly don&039;t know He would never explain hirateful to Apollo If not for him, I&039;m sure I would have lived s worse than that But his sister was allowed her delusions he supposed "Does Apollo entle most of the time" There was a sadness in her beautiful blue eyes that belied her words

"But?"

She touched her neck in a nervous gesture that"I&039;ether"

So Apollo fed from her in the same ods did that or was it so unique between Artemis and Apollo "You deserve to be happy, Ryssa More than anyone I know"

She smiled at him "Not true You&039;re the one who deserves happiness I could just choke Father for his blindness"

"I don&039;t mind it so nored than abused"

She shook her head before she bypassed the crowd to show him where the proprietor had made a special entrance to the royal seats reserved for them

Acheron hesitated They were separated from the crowd by a cord and each of the ten seats was covered with a cushion But what he didn&039;t like was the fact that the area stood out and others kept glancing over at them He hated people to focus their attention on hiift Pulling his cloak tighter, he followed her to the seats

Neither of them spoke while the actors caht about the children they&039;d seen on their way here He wanted to read the way they did Artemis deserved a consort as literate

Maybe if he could read, she ht not have to hide their friendship

Artemis felt her brother&039;s presence behind her like a physical touch As twins, the two of them shared a special bond

And a special hatred

She wasn&039;t sure when they&039;d becoh there was nothing they wouldn&039;t do for each other, they could barely stand to be in the same room

Hatred aside, she couldn&039;t deny that Apollo was one of theblond hair was cropped short and the strong lean lines of his face were set off by the sence, power and a hint of cruelty

He arched a brow at her "I&039;m surprised to see you here"

"I could say the same for you It&039;s about tiinning to think she was the one controlling you"

His look turned arctic "And what has been keeping you so occupied? Father said you haven&039;t been to the Oly there"

"That&039;s never stopped you before"

She rolled her eyes at hi to watch the humans worship me"

Before she could move away, Apollo took her arm and pulled her closer to him so that he could whisper in her ear "You haven&039;t co your nourishripped her neck as his canine teeth elongated "There&039;s only so long you can feed fro a little more substantial" He dipped his head toward her neck

Artemis stepped away from him "I&039;m not interested"

Apollo&039;s eyes flamed red "You do remember what happened to the last ed at the reminder Orion Artemis had taken a fancy to the man but before she could even approach hi hie in the stars to always remind her that Apollo was the only male she could feed from

"I didn&039;t trifle with Orion"