4. THE GENERAL OF KÓRINTHOS
Chapter four
THE GENERAL OF KóRINTHOS
Amira
T ears stung my eyes and the back of my throat ached from attempting to hold back an emotional response to being looked at like I was gum on the bottom of a shoe. Ornella tried to warn me, and I had thought I was prepared for it, but the hostility was overwhelming. His mother’s look of disappointment was haunting which I supposed was why Riordan said not to strive for the esteem of these people. It didn’t even seem attainable for someone like me.
Riordan was positively vibrating with fury next to me, and his voice was uncharacteristically rough while he was admonishing everyone, but it was still comforting. It was strange that his temper would make me feel so safe when aggression had only ever frightened me before.
Rhea tried to reason with him, but although his voice softened with his sister, Riordan remained firm until she eventually curtsied.
The king turned to me, his wings lifting abruptly to block the others, and Orion moved in response to lift his right behind me with his back to us. I felt Riordan erect a shield around us to protect our words so it was almost like being alone as he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze.
“Are you alright?”
“I will be,” I mumbled into his shirt, closing my eyes to soak up his proximity while I was able to.
“Rhea will take you to your room so you can have a hot bath and relax.”
“Where are you going?” I asked, leaning back to look up at him in concern.
“I need to know what is going on with our defenses so we can begin to determine what the Autumn Prince wants with our people. So we can get Ornella back,” he said.
“Now?” I verified.
“I do not like that intruders have been able to infiltrate our borders so often without consequence. And the sooner I remind this court who I am, the sooner they will accept my authority and your place at my side,” Riordan added.
I looked up at him in surprise with this last response. “And who are you to them?” I asked, genuinely curious what he meant by that statement.
“The General of Kórinthos,” Riordan answered with a crooked smile and a shrug of one shoulder.
“So, you’re not taking Orion’s advice then and plan on waving your sword at everyone,” I teased him. I tried to force a smile to my face in spite of my reluctance to be left alone in this unkind place without him.
Riordan did not buy my attempts for a moment, and he leaned forward to press a lingering kiss on my forehead.
“I am not good at etiquette, I am good at war, so that is how I must make you safe,” he reassured me.
I understood his reasoning, even if I was not sure how I felt about it, but it was his home. These were his people. He understood them better than I ever could, so I merely nodded in agreement. I was tempted to ask him to take me with him, not only because I didn’t want to leave his side, but because I was genuinely curious to see him in action. But I was sure that my presence would only complicate things for him. No doubt the others would be distrustful of a perceived enemy in their midst while discussing their defenses. And the idea of hiding from their harsh scrutiny in a hot bath for a little while was just too appealing for me to resist. Perhaps that made me a coward, but I didn’t have the energy to care just then.
“You’ll tell me what you learn about what might have happened to Nell?” I verified, and Riordan nodded.
“Of course. I hope you will join me for these debriefs in the near future, but for now, I want you settled.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“I will send Ares and Orion with you. Orion and I can communicate over a distance, so you can keep in contact with me through him,” he offered.
I saw Orion’s wings begin tensing on either side of us. Not because he could hear our words through the shield Riordan had erected, but because he could probably hear them right through his bond with his king.
“Just take Orion with you. I’ve had enough dirty looks thrown my way for today, and he seems to dislike me the most out of everyone,” I pointed out.
Riordan’s jaw tightened, and his eyes hardened.
“They are all ignorant and entitled. I am sorry for their behaviour. They will learn better. And Orion is obstinate, probably even more stubborn than I am, but he will come to care for you. I am confident of that,” he told me.
Orion did not react this time, so I assumed that he had either schooled himself or Riordan shut him out. I would need to watch that connection of theirs if I wanted to have any privacy from Orion.
“Well. I am not going to hold my breath,” I admitted. Riordan might know his friend, but he seemed completely unaware of how the other male really felt for him, and it complicated things. I could tell him, of course, but I was sure Orion would hate me even more than he already did if I blew up their friendship with that kind of knowledge.
Riordan tipped my chin with his thumb and forefinger to meet my eyes, and I was helplessly distracted by how gorgeous my intended mate was. It seemed insane that he wanted me, someone his skiá and family disapproved of, when he could probably have his pick of women.
But he did want me. I trusted that now after the way he defended me to all of them. And I trusted he would find a way to make me safe and comfortable here too.
“I will take Orion with me as you wish,” he conceded, his golden eyes dropping briefly down to my lips. “I will come to you after my meeting, and we can eat together. We will talk about everything then,” he assured me.
“Sounds good,” I agreed, wishing he would make good on the promise in his eyes to kiss me, even though I knew it was unlikely now. Even an innocent handhold had been enough to make his mother glare at me.
Riordan smiled, and then I felt the shield around us drop with the faintest tinkle like shattering glass. He took my hand to guide me to Rhea who still looked uncertain, but she linked her arm with mine. I glanced back over my shoulder as she drew me away from her brother and saw Riordan nod at Ares and Helena to follow me.
I faced forward again as we began to climb the steps of the dais where the crowd of nobles drew together at our approach the way they had with Riordan. They reminded me of a flock of perturbed birds with their wings shuffling and their heads tilting as they eyed me in disapproval.
Ares made a menacing sound from behind me which could only be described as an animal growl, and it made even Rhea flinch from him. I had lowered my eyes to the stairs to avoid the gazes of the Imítheos, but I looked up again when they gasped and hissed in offense.
But they moved and averted their eyes.
I heard Riordan’s voice rising behind me, and I could not help halting halfway up the steps to turn back. I saw he was striding into the middle of the courtyard and was looking up at the Ktínos warriors.
“What is he saying?” I asked Ares who had also turned to listen to his king with pure pride in his eyes.
“He is addressing them as brothers and sisters. He says he has missed them, that he is glad to be home, and that it is because of you. He wants them to welcome you in their hearts and to honour and protect you as his intended mate. He says there is much work to be done. His leadership will be different than anything that has come before for our people. It will be a time of difficult healing, but we will all be stronger for it.”
A thundering shout of collective affirmation rose from the Ktínos warriors and made my heart soar with pride. Sadly, I could tell the Imítheos were far less impressed with this speech. They huddled together and whispered, shaking their heads and their hands.
Riordan began speaking again once the overwhelming noise from the Ktínos had dissipated.
“He says we have enemies who have infiltrated our borders and taken fey without consequence. Until now,” continued Ares more solemnly.
Another cheer, this one accompanied by the thumping of fists on shields and armoured chests and the thuds of spears being beat against the stone.
“He asks everyone to remain at their assigned posts until he has reviewed our defenses, and then he will make what changes are necessary. He wishes to speak with the war cabinet, everyone he appointed and anyone who was promoted in his absence. He will eventually speak with everyone who wishes to greet him once he addresses immediate concerns for our borders,” finished Ares.
I watched as Riordan shifted back into his griffin body, and all the Ktínos warriors immediately followed his lead when he flew back the way we came over the waterfall.
“Where are they going?” I asked Ares.
“The war room is in Ergastiri, the war college on the eastern bank of the lake,” Ares explained.
I remembered the beautiful, walled fortress to the right of the waterfall. It had certainly seemed like what I might imagine for the campus of an ancient war college.
“He is very different with the Ktínos,” I remarked as we turned to continue up the steps toward the tower.
Rhea stiffened slightly but said nothing.
“Yes, thárrosi , we loved him as our general, and now he is our king. We trust you both will continue to strive for a better future for all griffins,” Ares assured me.
“And fey too,” I added impulsively.
“Of course,” Ares agreed.
We reached the top of the steps where Rhea had left the companion that she’d arrived with. The other woman looked nervous, especially of Ares as he stepped up to my other side with his wing brushing my shoulder.
“Kassia, this is Amira. My brother’s intended mate,” Rhea advised her companion whose wide eyes slid only briefly to me. “I have been tasked with making her feel safe and comfortable here, so I’d like her to be stationed right next to me in the royal suites. She needs bedclothes and a hot bath right away. I will bring her up the stairs and show her a little of the Metropolis to give you the time you need to prepare her room.”
“But the Ktínos are not allowed in the Metropolis—” Kassia attempted to protest.
“These warriors are welcome. They are the guardians assigned to Amira by the king,” Rhea interrupted with a firm but patient tone. Kassia still looked highly uncertain, but she nodded in understanding.
“As my princess wishes,” she conceded with a curtsy and another doubtful glance up at Ares.
The handsome Ktínos warrior responded with a hostile smile that made the handmaid cringe from him. Then she turned away quickly, and her wings beat hard to carry her up toward the top of the tower.
Rhea released a soft sigh as we continued through the arched entrance way of the mountain tower.
“My brother wants you to have our respect, but you will not have it so long as you are determined to act like wild animals,” she chastised him mildly.
Ares bristled, and his wings drew into imposing towers on either side of his head before he stepped smoothly in front of Rhea to stop her.
“You want me to ignore being sneered at, princess?”
“I want you to show the respect you wish to be given,” Rhea corrected him.
“I do. Until I am disrespected, and then I will always respond in kind,” Ares insisted.
“How do you expect to earn respect—”
“Respect is never earned , it is owed to everyone. It is esteem that is earned, and I do not crave that from any Imítheos aside from your brother,” Ares interrupted her.
Rhea glared at him harder, and I could certainly see her resemblance to her brother in the defiant set of her face. She had his dark, wavy hair which they must have gotten from their father because their mother had russet hair. Rhea’s was waist length and half of it was pulled up into an artfully messy bun while the rest of the long, loose curls twirled over her bare arms. She was taller than me and slender, but still appeared very strong, with dark gold eyes that drilled into Ares. Her delicate and aristocratic features came from their mother, but they were prettier and less frigid. Her silk dress was a creamy blue colour with silver accents and a darker sash over her shoulder which was tucked into the belt around her waist. She had dark eyeliner smudged around her almond-shaped eyes, and it made her look even more fierce.
I had a feeling that surrender was a foreign concept to both Rhea and Ares, and I had no interest in watching them glower at one another all afternoon.
“Ares,” I called softly, hoping he would listen to me, and luckily he did, although with great reluctance.
Rhea did not say anything more as she continued to lead us to the entrance of the mountain tower. The stone hallway was wide enough to accommodate the wingspans of three griffins side by side. Hanging gardens cascaded down the walls between enormous, elaborately carved statues which were spaced every ten feet or so. Up ahead, I could hear the sound of many voices echoing as if they were in a large chamber.
“Welcome to Kórinthos, the capital of the city-states. Also known as The Mountain City,” Rhea added as we reached a stone balcony.
My eyes were first drawn up above to a dome of gold and cream through which sunlight gleamed brightly and ignited the chamber. I was stunned, wondering how they got light into the heart of the mountain like that, and then I looked down into the large chamber below. It appeared to be a bustling marketplace with dozens of vendors. Their customers wandered through with baskets cradled on their hips, and many of them carried or walked with children who had the tiniest, downy wings.
“The city proper includes the farmland you would have flown over on your way here as well as the college and the Rookery where the Ktínos live. But this tower is the Metropolis, and it is the hub of our city!” Rhea claimed, beyond proud of her home. “Below is the South Bazaar which is one of three major marketplaces in the city that import from every city-state in the Vale.”
“It is beautiful,” I assured her, not wanting to dismiss her obvious enthusiasm, because the Metropolis truly was beyond beautiful! But my heart was stumbling over a horrible suspicion that was triggered by her description of the city proper. “Only Imítheos live here?” I verified as we turned to walk along the wide balcony that ran all the way around the enormous cavern.
“We are far fewer in number than the Ktínos as we do not breed quite so… quickly,” Rhea explained, and I was sure that she’d stopped herself from using a harsher word. Neither Ares or Helena missed this either, and I saw them exchange droll looks.
“So… is the Rookery that city across the lake from the war college?” I asked her tentatively, and I saw Ares and Helena trade another glance.
“That’s right,” Rhea confirmed, oblivious to my heart sinking at the knowledge that that decrepit city was home to all the Ktínos while the Imítheos had this tower.
“Have you ever been down there?” I asked.
“Of course not,” Rhea said, looking confused by my question before she cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the impassive Ktínos. “It is not thought to be safe for Imítheos to go down to the Rookery,” she explained.
“But Riordan goes?” I guessed.
“He does,” Rhea answered with a sigh in her voice. “Much to our mother’s discontent.”
We had almost reached the midpoint of the cavern when two griffin males emerged from an arched doorway. They looked elegant in their long, cream togas with richly coloured cloaks over one shoulder and matching sashes cinching their waists. Like most of the other noble men I’d seen outside, their dark hair was shoulder length and braided with gold adornments. They wore gold cuffs on their arms and had charcoal smudged around their eyes. The cylinder bag that one of them carried appeared to be filled with aged scrolls.
The men stopped talking at the sight of us and stared. Their gazes were not friendly.
“Do Ktínos really not come here?” I whispered to Ares once we had walked by them.
“With the exception of Orion,” he answered, his mouth drawn down in a frown. “It is the first time I have seen it for myself. It is… as he described.”
“And how did he describe it?” Rhea asked, raising her brows at him.
“You wouldn’t appreciate the humour,” Ares assured her with a shake of his head. Rhea narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, but she did not press him.
Someone called out a sharp reprimand from behind, and the only word I could recognize was Ktínos .
Rhea stepped around Ares, shoving his wing out of her way as she put herself in front of him to face the man that was walking quickly toward us.
“Nikos,” she greeted the newcomer who had slowed in surprise at the sight of her.
“Rhea,” the griffin responded as he reached her and stopped to survey her companions. He touched her arm with a casual familiarity, and she put her hand over his.
“Riordan returned,” Rhea informed him.
“Yes, I heard. We were summoned to the war room,” Nikos said while his eyes continued to trace distrustingly over the Ktínos standing in front of me.
“This is Ares and Helena who have been assigned to protect Amira. My brother’s intended,” Rhea explained before he could speak again. No doubt to stop him from saying whatever negative comment seemed to be brewing. “This is Nikos, my cousin,” she added to me.
Nikos dragged his eyes away from Ares to study me, and I had the wayward thought that he looked the way Riordan might have if he never went to Ergastiri.
My king was a powerful, battle-hardened warrior with battle scars and calluses on his knuckles from fighting, but there was genuine warmth and kindness in his eyes. Nikos might be a similar height with similar, classically handsome features, but he was slender, and there was a gleam of sharp calculation in his expression. They had the same dark, wavy hair which Nikos kept at nape length, and he had intentionally styled it. He wore a gold circlet around his brow which was mostly hidden under his curls, and he was clean-shaven, unlike Riordan. Nikos was also dressed like the other Imítheos nobles in a short-sleeved, ankle-length, cream toga with a very broad, gold and leather belt around his waist. He looked enough like my mate that I could tell Riordan would actually look really good with the charcoal smudged around his eyes.
“I should not keep my cousin waiting. I will find you after the meeting,” Nikos told Rhea without another word about me or the Ktínos.
Rhea inclined her head in agreement, and he gave her arm another squeeze, his eyes dragging over us one final time before he turned to continue on his way. I could not help wondering if he was one of the Imítheos that Riordan had promoted or if that elevation had been given to him after Riordan left. It certainly had not escaped my notice that my mate indicated a desire to speak with the current leaders as well as those he’d appointed. He already knew that the Ktínos he’d elevated would have all been ousted from positions of command as soon as he was gone.
I turned to ask Rhea what Nikos did and for how long but closed my mouth when I saw the look on her face as she watched her cousin leaving. There was a knit between her dark brows and uncertainty turning the right corner of her mouth down slightly.
“Are you afraid for your brother or for your cousin?”
The words had popped out of me before I had a chance to reconsider them.
Rhea looked startled as her golden eyes darted to mine, her nostrils flaring before she seemed to compose herself.
“Both,” she admitted. “Riordan and Nikos never… They could never agree on anything.”
Ares muttered something under his breath which I did not catch, but it made Rhea bristle.
“Riordan won’t be happy to see him?” I guessed as we commenced our way again, passing several more griffins who gawked openly at the Ktínos.
“No. I expect there will be harsh words exchanged,” Rhea admitted with a sigh. “But Nikos knows very well what battles to pick and which ones to let lie. He is astute. A gifted strategist and legislator. I just hope my brother will finally see his merits rather than allow himself to be blinded by their old rivalry.”
Yeah, I was going to assume Nikos had been promoted after Riordan left the Vale.
“You think Nikos would be useful to Riordan?”
“I do. My brother makes no secret of the fact that he has no patience for politics. He certainly gets things done, but he does it regardless of how anyone else might feel about it. I hope Nikos can… help him,” she admitted.
I almost pointed out that she could help too, but I held my tongue on impulse. It occurred to me that she hadn’t expressed an opinion other than scolding Ares and then explaining his presence in the Metropolis to her cousin. And neither of those situations told me how she genuinely felt about the Ktínos or their plights. She obeyed Riordan, but I was not sure that she agreed with him.