XIV Hera
When Hera woke up, there was a hairy brown spider crawling on the ceiling. It had eight legs and four eyes and was as big as the bed she was lying on.
She started screaming.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
She had to admit. The landlord reacted fast. She hadn’t even screamed for a minute when the door to her chamber flew open and Dago ran inside. He was disheveled and wore only a wide loincloth, but his eyes showed he was ready for anything.
For some reason, Hera fell silent at his sight, even more puzzled. Dago too seemed surprised to see her cowering against the headboard, covered with the quilt up to her neck, but after a moment he relaxed and looked up into the spider’s poisonously green eyes.
“Haven’t I told you that humans consider it rude to scare them?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“You have,” the spider replied in a familiar voice.
“Then why did you ignore me again ?”
“Because I was bored again . You promised we’d be chasing fish, but you’re sleeping instead.”
Dago rubbed his temples, then ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll prepare the food, and you will set out the sunbeds, table, and chairs on the island’s edge. If you get bored, you can start looking for koralion. I’ll join you after I eat. All right?”
The spider slid down a strand of silk until he was hovering over Dago’s head. “Will you make a chocolate dessert later?”
“I will.”
The imp swung the silk, did a flip, and landed on the floor. He reached the door in a dancy step and squeezed by it thanks to the spider-specific gymnastics of his legs. Once he was out of sight, Dago looked at Hera, who had straightened up, trying to look more like a woman who liked to read in bed than a child who believed that the blanket would protect her from nightmares.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his gaze flickering over her exposed cleavage.
Blushing, she adjusted the strap of her chemise, which had slipped off her shoulder. “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “He surprised me. I didn’t know… What other forms can he take?”
“A dolphin, pigeon, and chimeric panther, but I suspect he’s secretly learning another shape so don’t lose your guard.”
“Has he the makings of an ifrit?”
“Yes.” Dago looked up at the ceiling and rubbed his chin in thought. “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns out to be a marid. Sometimes he looks at the clouds like he wants to become one of them.”
This information made her shame slip into oblivion. Imps and ifrits could take specific shapes such as animals, plants, humans, or objects. “Imp” was the term for a morpheus who could only take a few of them, unlike an ifrit, who could have as many as they wanted, provided they had the power and patience to master them. “Marid” was the name given to those dwellers of the Dreamland who, in addition to specific shapes, were able to become phenomena such as gusts of wind or rainbows. The strongest of the strongest could even become a whole land .
The queen’s ancestor was a marid who had rooted in the human world. That was why she knew almost everything that was happening in her country. Ilion was a part of her.
If Pandorian became a marid…
…and he wouldn’t want to go back to the Dreamland…
…and nobody would unteach him nightmarish reactions…
…and he would still be a friend of Dago Midais, who had nightmarish reactions written in his genes…
…then one day the residents of Ilion might have a problem.
“How did you meet him?” Hera asked.
Dago’s gaze returned to her. He shrugged. “Just like humans usually meet morpheuses. He appeared out of nowhere and asked if I would play with him.”
“And what did you play?”
“Chess.”
Hera tried not to look too indignant but failed. “You forced an untamed dream to play a logic puzzle? You knew he would lose!”
“I didn’t force , only suggest . He wanted to try, so we played.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And you just played, without any bet?” When Dago didn’t answer, she glared at him. “Don’t tell me that’s why he’s guarding your castle now.”
He grinned. “I’m not telling.” Seeing her exasperation, he spread his hands. “I don’t like wasting time, Galenos, you know that. Besides, he had nowhere to go. It’s fair that he works for his living, don’t you think?”
Hera clenched her jaw, but she didn’t stop glaring. Only Dago Midais could be impertinent enough to plead honesty in the same discussion that exposed his fraud.
“Since we’re talking about not wasting time…” His gaze moved over the storm of her curls, her bare shoulders, and her breasts, the round shape of which was clearly visible under the fabric of her thin chemise. “You intend to spend the whole day in bed?”
The erotic overtones were so obvious that Hera couldn’t help but think about last night’s kiss, which had so intoxicated her with its passion that she let this goblin carry her in his arms like a love-struck filly.
Dago smiled wickedly, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He probably did. Judging by the temperature of her cheeks, he didn’t have to try too hard.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he said. “You can join me if you want.”
He didn’t wait for her answer. He left, and she choked on her unspoken emotions.
Hard candy, what was with her? Midais’s displays never impressed her, just as his words never stimulated her to such extreme reactions. Why did she lose her temper so easily in his presence now?
That had to end.
Determined, Hera got up, changed her clothes, and, after making sure that the bathroom on the first floor was free, made her morning toilette. When she entered the corridor again, the castle walls changed color from white to blue, which baffled her a little, but she didn’t let herself be swooned. Having understood why elements such as doors, window frames, and furniture were black—black matched every color—she entered the kitchen with a perfectly neutral expression. She examined the situation. The long counter, which was the centerpiece of the room, and on which enchanted knives were peeling and cutting vegetables and fruits. The cindercounter by the window, on which water was boiling in an angry red kettle. And Dago, who was dressed in a knee-length tunic but without a belt or jewelry, and who was taking a fresh loaf of bread from the stone oven with a wooden peel.
“When did you manage to bake bread?” she asked, forgetting her poise. “Dorian said you slept as long as I did.”
“I have bread supplies in the froster. I put the bread in the oven before I took a shower.”
“Why didn’t you suggest we use kitchen magic yesterday? Cooking would’ve taken us less time.”
“Is that so?” He tilted the peel, allowing the bread to slide onto the counter. “Our brains needed a break. Today we’ll do mainly physical exercises, so a little magic in the morning won’t hurt.”
His eyes clearly suggested that his words had a double meaning, but Hera pretended not to see it. Convincing herself that it was a fighting stance and not a defensive one, she crossed her arms over her chest. “You have an answer for everything?”
He feigned surprise. “And you don’t?”
It was the perfect moment for a pointed reply, and under normal circumstances, Hera would have said one without much thought, but now the retort was lost somewhere in the tangle of thoughts that wrapped around her mind like vines around an old fence. Under normal circumstances, Dago Midais used irony to sting her. Behind his every word and gesture was pure, honest malice. Hera was used to it, and it didn’t affect her much. Now, however… Now the man was not mean.
He was flirting with her.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. “The nuts and dried fruit are there.” He pointed to the cupboard standing against the wall. “Take out the ones you like. They’ll come in handy when you get hungry after swimming.”
That again. Seemingly neutral words, but his gaze intense. Subtlety and suggestiveness in one gesture.
Hera started toward the cupboard wordlessly. She didn’t know what else she could do, just as she didn’t understand why goosebumps formed on her skin. She wondered where yesterday’s calm had gone, until she realized that she hadn’t been calm at all yesterday. Yes, the day passed peacefully, but she was on tenterhooks, watching Dago who… had done nothing.
And then he’d kissed her. And today…
I can do this , she told herself.
Today was going to be a difficult day, but she could handle it.
She had to.
For her country.