Chapter Ten
Chapter
Ten
Dani
And so, while Theseus believed the beast’s body held its strength, I saw its true power: its eye.
Without his knowing, I cut the bright, fiery eye from the creature.
Once extracted from its body, the eye hardened into the most beautiful red gemstone I had ever seen.
I took it to my homeland and buried it. There, hidden beneath the ground, its energy seeped into the soil, bringing numerous riches to the earth and prosperity to my family.
Dani and Theo sat on a small couch, bounded on either side by Maurice and Louis, in Lydia’s living room.
They all sat silently as she read a printout of Theo’s story while seated on a chair in the opposite corner.
It was a little uncomfortable, not only because they were sitting in silence while she read the five-page story, but also because the couch was much too small for the four of them.
Not with Dani’s hips, Theo’s tall frame, and her desire to sit as far away from Maurice as possible.
It had nothing to do with Theo’s magnetism pulling her in.
There was no way they could sit beside each other without touching, especially with all the frilly pillows and the dip in the center that almost forced the two of them together.
And with Theo’s good arm draped over the back, it forced Dani to fall into him, resting safely under his armpit, like the cute engaged couple that they were pretending to be.
Leaning right into the place where that tattoo was etched into his skin.
The tattoo that she knew had a meaning and she had every intention of seeing again so she could write down the letters and then look it up.
But as they sat there, with their sides pressed against each other, she fought to keep her attention anywhere but on Theo’s crotch. Every time she glanced in that direction, her mind went back to the prior evening and her “peek.”
This. This was exactly why she’d tried to avoid seeking it out. Because she knew that if she saw his dick, it would consume her.
Funny thing was, she was the one who wanted to do the consuming.
She quickly shook her head, trying to dismiss the thought. Theo looked down at her and shot her a questioning glance.
She waved him off, signaling that it was nothing.
“So,” Lydia said, putting the paper down on a coffee table. “This tells me you are an archaeologist.”
Theo straightened up a bit, but that made Dani sink only farther into his side. God, he smelled good. Like sun-kissed olives.
“Yes,” he responded.
“Why did you tell my employee that you were food writers?” Lydia asked.
“Because we didn’t think you’d talk to us about this otherwise,” he said.
She nodded as if thinking to herself that he was right about that. “So what do you want to know?”
“Is it real?” Theo asked. “Papantonis’s account?”
Lydia leaned back in her chair. “That, I don’t know. I know the stories our family has told. The origins of our farm here. But those truths tend to get lost over time, despite how hard we may try to preserve the stories.”
“I understand that completely,” Dani chimed in. “I’m a librarian and sometimes people come to me for help searching for their family roots. They are often surprised by what is truth versus fiction. I would imagine that’s especially true in a culture that’s rooted in mythologies.”
Lydia nodded, seemingly appreciative of Dani’s comments.
“What are the stories your family has told?” Theo asked Lydia.
“Exactly what you have here. Minos hid the Minotaur in the labyrinth, and after Theseus killed it, he intended to take it to Athens. He believed the Minotaur contained the powers of the gods and wanted to worship it. But Demetrios believed the power of the Minotaur was actually contained in its eye. So he cut the eye from its head and brought it here to bring wealth and prosperity to the lands of his family. Our family adopted the crest of the Minotaur as an ode to Demetrios. But ultimately, the eye did not stay here.”
“How do you know that if it’s buried?” Theo asked.
“Because he said so in his journal.”
Dani shot a glance at Theo, who was furrowing his brow. “Have you seen the journal?”
“Not personally. But it’s there. At the Acropolis Museum in Athens.”
Theo cocked his head. “Are you sure? I’ve been to the museum countless times, and I’ve never seen any mention of Papantonis, and certainly no journal.”
“That is because you don’t know who to ask,” Lydia said, proudly. “My grandson, Andreas, is an archaeologist who works at the museum.”
“Dr. Andreas Demetrious?” Theo asked.
Lydia’s eyes lit up. “You know him?”
She seemed surprised. Dani was surprised, too.
“I know the name,” Theo explained.
“Well, Andreas has been studying the Minotaur for many years, trying to solve this very same mystery of whether the eye existed and if so, what happened to it, on behalf of our family. I could connect you if you’d like.”
“You would do that?” Theo asked. “Not to discourage you, but why? We’re complete strangers.”
“Because, for centuries, people have forgotten this legacy of Demetrios. The mythologies omit the eye, like a concerted attempt to conceal history. I want to know why that is. Perhaps you will see something in the manuscripts that others have missed. That, and…”
She let her voice trail off and turned her head, staring out the window.
“And what?” Theo asked.
Lydia remained still and quiet for a few moments before blowing out a breath and facing them again.
“And there are people who’ve discounted Demetrios’s connection to my family.
That is why I was so suspicious of you when you first started asking questions about our history.
So I want to know whether there is any truth to my family’s lineage, or whether we are carrying this emblem for no reason, and you’re the first people in my entire lifetime who have come here searching for the answers.
Besides…I like you. You remind me of someone from my past,” she said, squinting her eyes at him as if trying place the familiarity.
Theo’s head ticked to the side, clearly wondering whom she could be referring to. From what Dani knew, his family came from the mainland, not Crete.
But maybe it could explain how Theo’s papou came about owning the necklace.
“You could work with Andreas to find the eye,” Lydia continued, moving past her prior comment, “or, as you said, learn what was truth and what was fiction. Don’t you ever want to know the truth? Don’t you ever simply want an answer? To find out who you are?”
Her explanation was clear enough, and after spending the last sixteen years being unsure who she was anymore, it was one Dani could understand wholeheartedly.
“I don’t know if—” Theo started, but Dani put her hand on his forearm.
“Then we will do our best to help you find that answer,” Dani said. “We would love to be in touch with Andreas.”
“Perfect. I will call him right now,” she said, getting out of her chair and shuffling into the other room.
The moment she was out of earshot, Theo turned to Dani and said, “We can’t work with them.”
“We have four days, Theo. Sorry, but this seems our best bet at the moment, so unless you have any other ideas…” She let her voice trail off.
“But we can’t involve these innocent people,” Theo said under his breath.
“Why not?”
“Because no more people,” Maurice snapped, tearing their attention over to him. Dani was shocked by how easy it was for her to forget other people were around when she was with Theo.
“Maurice is right,” Theo said. “Besides, they want to know about their family history. Vautour wants to take it from them. If we find out the eye is real and by some luck manage to get our hands on it, he’s not going to let them keep it.”
“Precisely,” Maurice said.
“You’re both getting way too ahead of yourselves, here,” Dani said, putting her hands up between them as if trying to calm them down.
“We don’t need to figure that out yet. For now, we need to find as much information as possible about whether the eye existed and what happened to it.
What happens if and when we find it is a problem for solving later.
And I’m sorry, but we don’t have any other leads.
Andreas getting us access to that journal is our best bet. ”
Maurice scratched his chin. “Maybe she’s right. We see what Andreas has and then we ditch him.”
“No,” Theo said, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her body to face him. “I don’t think you understand who we’re dealing with here, Juicy. Pierre Vautour is not someone who should be messed with. Some of the things he’s done—”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t tell me,” she said, putting up her hand to stop him. “It’s easier being foolish when you don’t have all the facts to realize how foolish you’re being.”
Theo laughed incredulously. She hadn’t been trying to be funny.
“Why are you laughing?” she asked, scowling.
“Oh, nothing. No wonder my mom always said you were reckless. I’m thinking of all the times you went into situations half-cocked, and now it all makes sense.”
Reckless? Dani’s blood started boiling. Is that what his family really thought of her? That she was reckless, going into things willy-nilly?
She opened her mouth to protest, when Lydia reentered the room and settled back into her seat, setting a phone on the table beside her.
“I’ve spoken with Andreas. Would you be able to meet at the ferry terminal tomorrow?”
Dani glanced at a clock hanging on the wall. It was only ten a.m. They needed to get hustling if they were going to meet Vautour’s deadline.
“We’re a bit pressed for time,” Dani said. “Is there any chance we could meet Andreas today?” She could sense Theo’s body silently objecting beside her, but she was sorry—his sit-back-and-pray routine wasn’t cutting it anymore.
Lydia chuckled. “The sea is very large, and the ferry very slow. But if you want to fly—”
“No airplanes,” Maurice chimed in.
Dani shot her head toward Maurice, and then Dani glanced back at Lydia. Her head was tilted slightly to the side and her eyes squinted, wondering why no airplanes. Good question.
But Dani already knew the answer. Airplanes meant airports. Airports meant people. Security. Identification. They couldn’t exactly hand over Theo’s passport to get on the plane. Maybe no one had recognized Theo after all this time—except Dani—but that wouldn’t last if they showed up at the airport.
“He lost his passport,” Maurice quickly followed up, motioning toward Louis. He must have sensed Lydia’s suspicion. “We’re waiting for a replacement from the embassy. But we have a speedboat back in Heraklion. We can drive ourselves.”
“That is not an easy journey, traveling all that way by speedboat,” Lydia said. “It’s quite far.”
“Then we’ll take a helicopter,” Maurice said.
Now everyone was looking at Maurice.
“Do you have a helicopter?” Lydia asked with her brow raised.
“We do. I’ll need to make some arrangements, but if we get moving now, we should be able to get to Athens this afternoon if you want to give Andreas another call,” Maurice said almost like a command. He stood up and took a phone out of his pocket, then stepped outside.
Silence fell over the room, aside from the ticking of the clock.
Lydia’s gaze danced around from Theo, to Louis, to Dani, and to Maurice pacing outside on the phone before finally picking up her phone and calling someone.
Lydia spoke to whomever she was speaking to in Greek, staring at Theo the whole time.
He sat straighter, fidgeting with his hands as he listened.
With the way the two of them watched each other intently, it was almost as if Lydia were speaking to Theo rather than whoever was on the other end of the phone call.
“Πρ?πει να ανησυχ?;” Lydia asked Theo once she hung up the phone.
“Δεν ξ?ρω, αλλ? ε?μαι. Συγγν?μη,” Theo responded.
“English!” Louis barked. He then immediately followed up, calming his tone, “If you don’t mind.”
Lydia blinked a few times at Louis, questioning him, then said, “Andreas will meet you this evening. Let me know where and when. But for now,” she said, reaching for a piece of paper and pen, “I need to get back to work. You can call here when you finalize your plans.” She scribbled some numbers on the paper and then stood up, passing the paper to Theo, which Louis instantly snatched out of his hand the moment Lydia looked away.
They all got up from the couch as she escorted them to the door.
“Thank you for your help,” Dani said.
“Thank you for not forgetting the forgotten. Good luck,” Lydia said, holding the door open for them. “And Theo,” she called out after they’d all exited.
He turned around—they all did.
“Yes?”
“Ξ?ρω ποιο? ε?σαι.”