It took him a minute to realize they were her memories.
Suddenly the images slowed and he could hear actual sound bites while they danced through his mind.
He saw her in her mother's garden, laughing with other handmaidens. Saw her in Greece on a boat with a woman named Geary as they discussed Atlantis. Then the memories changed to a club in Minnesota where Kat was dancing with a blond woman...
It was so strange to be inside Kat like this and it gave him insight into what it must have been like for her when she'd viewed his dreams. Surreal and dizzying, he had a hard time sorting through the memories.
Cradling her head in his hands while she fed, he saw her as a young woman in a girl's white and light blue bedroom, sitting at a white table, reading a small leather-bound scroll.
"Katra!"
She jumped at the sound of Artemis's frantic call. "What now?" she muttered under her breath.
"Katra, please. I need your help."
Kat flashed herself from her room to Artemis's bedroom. She drew up short as she saw...
Sin lying on the bed, half-dressed.
He flinched at the image that hit him through his own memories and through hers, but curiosity kept him from banishing it. He wanted to know what had happened that night.
Artemis was panicked as she pulled Kat into the room, her eyes damp from tears. "You must help me, Katra. He... he broke into my chambers and tried to rape me."
Artemis was covered in blood, her gown torn. And for the first time in centuries, Sin remembered the past that his mind had buried.
He remembered Artemis smiling at him and handing him a goblet. "Yes, it is a shame about Ningal. I saw her earlier tonight sleeping with my brother in his temple. She is a faithless whore, isn't she?"
Sin had refused to answer. His and Ningal's relationship wasn't any of Artemis's business, and it was something that never failed to cut him to the bone. "I don't want to discuss it, Artemis."
Part of him had suspected she'd mentioned it hoping he'd kill his wife in anger and unleash the Chthonians on him.
But Artemis surprised him with her reason. "I have a proposition for you, Sin. You solve my problem and I solve yours."
"And what problem do I have?"
She'd wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Don't be stupid, Sin. Everyone knows your wife cheats with anyone she can drag to her bed... that the children you claim as yours aren't. That your own pantheon looks down on you even though you control the moon, the calendar, and their fertility. I can't imagine how terrible it must feel to be laughed at by everyone, especially given how much power you have."
It was much more complicated than that. As much power as he held, he knew it could be negated in an instant by the Tablet of Destiny. Without power, he'd be an easy kill. Not to mention, he was kept at bay by loyalty to Zakar. If Sin died, they'd soon learn Zakar was still alive and in no time they'd kill him, too.
Artemis had leaned against Sin and breathed in his ear. "Haven't you ever wanted to get back at them?"
More than she could imagine.
However, his hands were tied and he knew it-better he be unhappy than his brother be dead. And as that thought went through Sin, he realized he didn't want to be here tonight... with her.
This all felt wrong and he needed to leave.
Sin had set the goblet aside. "I made a mistake coming here."
Artemis had pulled him to a stop and smiled prettily at him in a way no goddess had done in centuries. "No, love, you didn't. You belong here with me." She'd pulled him toward her room. "Like you, I'm tired of being alone all the time." She'd raised his hand and placed a tender kiss on his knuckles as her eyes seduced him. "Stay with me, Sin, and I will make you the next reigning king of the gods."
"I don't need to be king."
She'd left him to get more wine. "Of course you don't. But think of the others bowing down before you. Imagine them all doing any- and everything they can to please you... wouldn't it be fantastic?" Returning to his side, she held the goblet to his lips. "Drink, my sweet. It's good for you."
Sin had downed it all. But no sooner had he finished it than the room began to swim. Too late, he'd realized that she had drugged him.
He'd tried to walk but stumbled to his knees. "What have you done to me?"