ARTEMIS’ POV

I gently drop her thin, cold, lifeless wrist by her side, brush a lock of hair away from her face, and stare at her for a moment. Long enough to feel too much and to wonder what could have been.

If I had been nicer to her, if I had helped her fully escape the influence of her father and realize her own self-worth.

If we could have been real actual friends, simply existing side by side as comrades, what would it have been like?

I clench my fist, turning away from her. It’s ...