Page 15 of Warrior

Quite the different reaction to when I asked for him…

Although when I replay it, the bartender glanced at Kade first.

Because Kade is connected to the bar, too.

“Find them,” I snap. “For fuck’s sake, man. I don’t think Artemis is going to wake up?—”

“Don’t say that.” Apollo’s voice fills the line. “Don’t fucking say that about my sister, asshole. She’s stronger than anyone I know?—”

“I know that,” I grit out.

I know it and I don’t have much hope either.

“Just keep looking.”

“One more thing,” Jace adds. “We need to go to Emerald Cove for a few days.”

I wait for the punch line.

“It was the favor to Reese,” he hurries to add. “And listen, I know he’s the last person we should be helping, but I figure some goodwill for Reese Avery might go toward finding Kade. And finding Kade…”

“Would mean finding Gabriel,” I finish. Finding Gabriel would put us a step closer to waking up Artemis.

The night the three of us went to Olympus—me, Tem, and Reese—Apollo and I kind of goaded Reese into fighting Kade. It wasn’t completely intentional. But then Reese won. As a prize for winning your fight at Olympus, you can ask a favor of the gods.

He asked for their help extracting anold friendfrom Emerald Cove.

I still don’t know who they’re looking for. I didn’t see the paperwork Reese handed to them that night, and we got a little distracted from asking questions.

And even as I consider asking now, I can’t get the words out.

It’s not my problem.

“Apollo is staying?” I clarify.

“No.”

“While Artemis?—”

“You’re going to call us with any changes,” Jace says smoothly. “You’re as much her family as we are. Okay, Saint? Can you manage that?”

This is another test, and I fume silently for a long moment. Then I spit out an affirmative and hang up on them. I don’t need another test. I’m sick of them.

I backtrack into the hospital and stop into Reese and Artemis’s room. Reese is awake.

Artemis is not.

He brightens a little when he sees me, struggling to sit up straighter. I take the chair between their beds, positioning it so I can see both of them. She’s by the window. It creates least one layer of protection if no one else is in the room—they’d have to get past Reese, first. Which might not be the best benchmark because of his recent injuries.

Still. Better than nothing.

“How is she?”

“Sweating,” he replies. “I don’t know why.”

I go over and touch her skin, shocked at how clammy it is. “This isn’t normal.”

“Her vitals…”

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