Chapter Six
Despite how tired I was, I hadn’t slept much the night before.
As if I didn’t have enough to be anxious about already, now I had to worry about Xander being named king and telling me he needed to find a real wife.
I supposed, in the end, it wouldn’t matter if he let me stay in the palace or not—my goals would remain the same.
Get the eye of the goddess and restore Locris.
And find a way to stop Artemisia.
I didn’t have to be sleeping next to him every night to stop her.
When I dropped by my adelphia’s room to tell them that I was going to interrogate Lysimache, Io insisted on coming with me.
Xander walked both of us down to the stables, with the siblings chatting the whole way.
I didn’t pay attention to what they were discussing because I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would feel like if Xander told me that it was time for our marriage to end.
My stomach churned. The thought of never seeing him again . . . at one time it had been the only thing I wanted, and now it felt like the worst kind of punishment.
When we got to the stables, one of the servants brought out the horse his mother’s family had given me as a wedding gift.
At first glance the horse almost looked white, but when I got closer, I saw that it was a goldish/silverish color and its coat and mane seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.
“She’s so beautiful,” I said.
“Come say hello,” Io told me. “Give her a treat and she’ll love you forever.” She handed me a parsnip and I offered it to the horse. The horse took it quickly and I brushed my hand down her nose.
“Do you like her?” Xander asked.
I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “I can’t believe she’s mine.”
“You’ll need to use a stool to help you mount, but today I can just do this.
” He came over and put his hands on my waist and lifted me up so that I sat on the horse.
I felt so many things at once—swoony at how strong he was, lightheaded from being close to him and lifted up so quickly, thrilled that he was touching me. “Swing your leg over.”
I did as he asked and was sitting on the horse. The leather saddle was small and a blanket had been folded up on top of it, probably to make me more comfortable.
Xander lifted Io onto her horse and then got onto his own by leaping up quickly.
It was one of the most attractive things I’d ever seen.
His black horse was massive and powerful, and Xander looked like an angry storm god about to ride off into battle, destroying anyone who dared to stand against him.
“I thought Rokh said that we got a matched set as a gift,” I said, ignoring the way my mouth had gone dry.
“We did. But the male is a stallion and has to be kept away from the mares,” he said. I was about to ask why and then realized it on my own. It was perhaps a problem that the stallion and I had in common—I should be kept away from Xander.
Maybe it would be a good thing if he told me to go after he was made king.
“When did you get your horse?” Now I was just saying inane things and didn’t know what was wrong with me. I should stay silent.
“Aides has been with me for the last five years.” It was easy to see how much he adored his horse, and for some reason that just made me like him more.
Io was crooning to her own horse and I suddenly realized just how far off the ground I was.
Xander started explaining to me what to do, in a calm, soft voice.
He told me how to use the reins and that I shouldn’t sit as if I were in a chair, but like I was standing with my legs apart while riding.
He told me how to use my legs and the reins to get the horse to go in a different direction or to stop or speed up.
“But we’ll start off at a walk today,” he said. “Follow me.”
Io and Xander rode their horses out, and mine, thankfully, followed behind them. It was an unfamiliar sensation, swaying as the horse walked. It reminded me of being on the Nikos, the ship that had brought me and Quynh to Ilion.
I hoped I wouldn’t get whatever the horse version of seasick was.
The house was thankfully close by and Xander jumped down and handed his horse’s reins to a guard stationed outside the front door. He went over to help Io dismount and then it was my turn. He held out his arms and I swung my right leg over and reached for him.
His hands were at my waist and I crashed into his chest. He held me close as I slid slowly down the hard length of his body.
My breathing had gone sharp and irregular and my entire body tingled with delight at being like this with him.
His hands tightened around my waist, as if he were trying to draw me even closer, and it caused my heart to pump violently in my chest while bright, fiery sparks lit up my veins.
“You good?” he asked, his voice a rough silk whisper that created unmentionable images in my mind.
I could only nod. I wasn’t sure that I would ever be this good again.
Io coughed loudly and I turned to see the mixture of disappointment and concern on her face. I stepped back from Xander and immediately missed his warmth.
“I have some things to do, so I’ll see you at the palace later,” he said.
Again I could only nod and watch as he got back up on Aides and trotted off.
I walked over to Io, expecting her to scold me. It was somehow worse that she didn’t. Thrax was inside the house, waiting for us.
“She’s upstairs,” he said with a nod of his head. “And don’t expect her to be very talkative. She hasn’t said a word since we brought her here. She’s also been refusing to eat and drink.”
Lysimache could go for a long time without eating, but she had to drink something. I didn’t want her to die from dehydration before she answered our questions.
“Thank you,” I said. “How is Quynh?”
His whole face lit up at her name, and that helped to soften me even more toward him. It was obvious how much he loved my sister. “She’s doing well. She and my sister, Basileia, are becoming good friends.”
“Xander mentioned something about her being able to protect Quynh.”
“She’s supposed to take over as chieftain of our clan after my mother dies, and I’ve never seen her lose a fight. You would like her.”
I suspected that I might. I thanked him again and then Io and I went upstairs.
We greeted Stephanos, who stood outside the room. I knew that Xander wanted his phratry to help him gather in citizens outside Troas’s walls, and I appreciated the fact that they were here, watching over Lysimache.
Your husband did that for you, that voice inside me whispered. I ignored it while Stephanos had me give him my weapons; Io wasn’t carrying any. I made a mental note to tell her to start wearing some. We all needed to be prepared.
“Just a precaution,” he said as I handed over my knives and sword.
He couldn’t have thought that I would kill her. I was the one trying to keep her alive. Or perhaps they wanted to make sure that Lysimache couldn’t steal a weapon from one of us.
Stephanos opened the door and ushered us into the room.
Lysimache had removed her armor and was bandaged in several different places. They had brought a healer for her, and while I would have enjoyed the idea of her suffering, I was glad she wouldn’t bleed out anytime soon.
The room was minimal—she had a bed and a table and a chair. A tray of uneaten food sat on the table and she was seated in front of it. I noticed that she hadn’t been given any utensils.
“If it isn’t the traitor and her little mouse,” Lysimache said with a sneer.
Stephanos stood in the doorway and said, “That is Princess Thalia and Princess Iolanthe to you and you will treat them with respect.”
Her eyebrows lifted and a smile played at the corners of her mouth. “You hid that very well, didn’t you, Io? I suppose that makes us family.”
“You aren’t the first person in my family who deserves to die,” she snapped back, and this served to only amuse the high priestess.
“The little mouse has grown fangs!”
I heard Stephanos muttering something, so I quickly turned around. “We can handle this. Would you wait downstairs? I’ll call if I need you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. We’ll be fine.” I wasn’t at all worried about my ability to subdue Lysimache if need be.
I was, however, a bit concerned about possibly having to restrain Io.
“Don’t worry, Io,” Lysimache said after Stephanos had shut the door. “My end is coming soon.”
“Yes, I heard you haven’t been eating and drinking,” I said. “That seems like a pathetic way to die.”
The smile slid off her face. “If you wanted to give me a sword, I’d be happy to go out fighting.”
“With as weak as you are right now? That would be a short and boring fight.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “What is it that you want?”
“Answers,” I said.
“And you think that I’ll give them to you?”
“I do. What good is it doing all this plotting and planning if you don’t get to tell anyone the details?” I asked. I glanced over at Io. She was vibrating with anger. I took a step to the left to adjust my position so that I was between the two women. Just in case.
Lysimache nodded. “Yes, you should know how you made those plans possible.”
She was trying to goad me into anger but I wasn’t going to let her do it. “How did you curse Locris?”
“I told you that already. I used the eye of the goddess.”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “What words did you say when you called on the goddess, Dea? What aspect did you use?”
She made a surprised sound, and her mouth turned into a round O. “How do you know any of that?”
“I kidnapped a life mage and got him to talk.”
“Again, Princess Thalia, I underestimated you,” she said, that amused, mocking smile returning to her face. “I’m happy to tell you. I used the goddess’s fury aspect and said ‘Dea Erinys,’ envisioning the whole land turning to dust.”
It was obvious why she didn’t have an issue telling me—using that aspect couldn’t reverse the curse. Fury led to destruction, not creation.
If the fury aspect was what Lysimache had connected to, then why didn’t she wield her magic when she said the words? Or pass out?
“Are you wondering why nothing just happened?” she asked, and it bothered me that she could so easily read my thoughts. “I have been cut off from using the goddess’s power since I cursed Locris. I haven’t felt or heard her in over a millennium. I imagine it’s her way of punishing me.”
“And you made sure that no other priestesses and acolytes could tap into that power themselves by taking away their knowledge of how to do so. Destroying the books and changing what was taught in the temple.” Letting Artemisia strike them all down so that they wouldn’t be able to perform magic against her.
“Fortunately for me, your people had managed to kill or kidnap most of the women who were still at the temple in Troas, so it was easy to begin anew.”
“Why go back to the temple? Why not take over as queen and rule?” I asked.
“There’s no power in government. All the power is in religion.
If you control people’s beliefs, you can control them.
I only had to wait a generation or two to start changing everything.
You let the elders die off, you destroy every book and text about religion, and then you tell the people what to believe and how to worship.
It was almost laughable how quick the men were to embrace the idea that the goddess had intended magic only for them, the ridiculous way they treasured their amulets and the fraction of power they could tap into.
They called themselves ‘life mages’ and put themselves into the upper echelons of society even though they could do so little. ”
“So what’s true and what’s not?” I asked. “What are the goddess’s laws and what did you make up for your own amusement?”
Her mouth twitched as if she was suppressing a smile. “We are done talking, Princess Thalia.”
Anger rose up suddenly, viciously. It was a good thing Stephanos had taken my weapons.
I briefly considered going downstairs and getting my sword back.
I was trying to follow the goddess and respect life, even in people who didn’t deserve to have it.
I needed her to see me as worthy, to not risk her anger.
If I didn’t kill the high priestess, I wondered how mad the goddess would be about me cutting off both of Lysimache’s hands instead.
“What will it take to get you to answer our questions?” Io asked. She sounded calm but I recognized that tone. It was the same one her brother had when he was beyond furious.
I wasn’t sure why Io had asked. What could we offer the high priestess? I certainly wasn’t going to release her. I intended for her to spend the rest of her life locked up.
Lysimache considered Io’s question. I expected her to stay silent, so I was surprised when she said, “Water.”
“You don’t have water?” Io pointed toward the tray, where there were several full cups of it.
“I want water from the fountain at the temple. I miss the taste. City water is foul.”
That wasn’t why she wanted it. She wanted to keep her strength up. She was going to try and escape. Lysimache still hadn’t realized that we knew what that fountain water did.
“We can do that,” Io said, and it took everything in me not to intervene. What was she doing? “But first you must drink one of those cups. We can’t have you dying of thirst before we can fetch the water for you.”
After a few moments the high priestess picked up the cup nearest her and drank the entire thing, showing it to Io when she had finished.
Io took me by the arm and said, “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
She hurried me out of the room before I could protest and led me down the stairs. Stephanos waited at the bottom. “All finished?”
“For now,” Io said. I wanted to question her but thought it would be better to wait until we were alone.
He handed me back my weapons and I thanked him.
“Will you . . . will you tell Zalira that I’m thinking of her?” he asked, and I felt so sad at the pain in his voice.
“I will,” I said. I probably shouldn’t. It might hurt her to be reminded of how much he loved her.
But if I were in her sandals, I would want to know.
Io and I left the house and retrieved our horses. They didn’t have a stool here for us, so we decided to walk the horses back. When we were far enough away that no one would overhear us, I asked her, “What are you doing?”
“Returning to the palace.”
“No, why did you agree to Lysimache’s demand? She obviously wants to use the water to overpower her guards and break out.”
A determined look furrowed her brow. “I’m sure that’s her plan. But I need her to drink it because I know how to make her talk.”