Page 8 of Make Mine Nymph

“Not all.”

She rolls her eyes. “Figures. I don’t know why you’re complaining, though. My aim’s as immaculate as ever.”

“Oh? So you meant to slice me with your fletch?”

“Owed you, didn’t I?”

Alex chuckles. While I scowl at Noelle—I had no idea that was what she meant before—Alex actually chuckles. “Ah. And I guess I’m never going to live that down, huh?”

“Be lucky I just sliced you. If Hunter hadn’t jumped in front of me, that arrow you shot would’ve got me dead in the forehead. And don’t tell me that bullshit line like you knew he would take the arrow for me. Doesn’t change the fact I had to yank it out of the meat of his shoulder.” She shudders. “The meat.”

Oh. I know what she’s talking about now. Alex told me about how, when he first met Noelle, he knew she was his twin—just like how he immediately recognized me as his soulmate—but Apollo wasn’t so sure. He wanted to test Hunter. If the big guy believed Noelle was Artemis, he’d sacrifice his life for her; if he didn’t, then she wasn’t worth any more of Apollo’s concern. That’s Apollo in a nutshell. He doesn’t care who he hurts to get what he wants which is another reason why I’m so glad that I’m with Alex and not the sun god.

So he shot at Noelle, but his arrow hit Hunter when he did what Apollo thought he might and jumped in front of her. What Alex neglected to mention was what happened after that. He just said Apollo was satisfied, Orion expected no less from him, and his twin… well, she got over it.

From the way Noelle’s whole body is lit up like the lights on a fucking Christmas tree, I’m thinking she hadn’t gotten over it as much as her brother thought.

While Alex continues to stare at the bloody slice on his arm, Noelle waves her hand at me. I just look at her. Huffing softly, she cocks her head in Alex’s direction. When I still don’t understand what she’s trying to tell me, she throws her hands up in the air.

“Hey, Daphne? Is it really that bad? Maybe you should make sure Alex is okay.”

Oh. Oh… I get it now.

I hurry over to Alex. The second my hand lands on his arm, he goes from self-confident archer and teasing brother to one of my exes with a bad case of man flu.

“Ow.”

“Does it hurt?”

Alex nods. A stray lock of white-blond hair falls forward into his grey eyes, but he leaves it there as he glances down at me. “I’ll heal.” Right. Because he isn’t just some regular immortal god. Apart from being one of the Twelve, Apollo is also the god of healing. “But it still hurts.”

“You ready to go home then?” His eyes brighten when I mention home. He loves it when I refer to his golden palace as ours, which is precisely why I did. I run my fingers down his forearm. “I can clean this up. Take care of this cut for you.”

“I think it would be for the best.”

Behind me, I hear a low chuckle. When it’s followed by an oof, then a quick cough, I can bet what happened. We might be laying it on pretty thick, but Noelle must’ve elbowed Hunter in the gut when he started to laugh.

I ignore them. Instead, I tap the top of Alex’s hand. “Come on. I’m ready when you are.”

“Lead the way, my Daphne.”

“Wait!”

We both look over at Noelle. Holding up her hands, she’s already running forward. “Before you go, Daph,” she calls over her shoulder, “you gotta come with me.”

I exchange a glance with Alex. When I shrug, he waves his hand in front of him, a wordless gesture to go on ahead.

I don’t run. While Noelle sprinted awkwardly into the trees, I saunter until I meet her by the tree she’s standing next to. Alex is matching my pace, while Hunter brings up the rear.

“Ah, darlin’,” he murmurs, moving to stand next to her. “Perfect as always.”

Huh?

She points up. Ah. A good foot or so about my head, I see three arrows: one golden, two silver. There were maybe three inches in between the golden on the left and the dim silver on the right, but the glowing silver arrow that Noelle shot is in the exact center of the two.

Turning to me, Noelle raises her eyebrows. “Well? You’re the judge. Who’s the best archer here?”

“Sorry, baby.” I pat Alex on his shoulder. “But she wins.”