Chapter Seventy-Six
“This cannot be right.”
The women’s disbelief matched my own. With my confusion mounting, I nudged Erebus to walk in a circle, wondering if I had somehow veered us off course.
But there was no mistaking the gentle curves of the river Thermodon or the angle at which the sun struck the sea.
We were in Themiscyra. Yet at the center of the field stood a city. Or at least the makings of one.
Scouts had been sent to keep watch for us, and no sooner had we reached the open plains than women on horseback were galloping toward us, Thalassa with them.
“You have been gone over half a moon. Some of the women feared you had been stolen or worse.”
“Then such women are lacking faith,” I replied.
“You found them?”
I nodded. “The children are safe and well with Hirtus and his men. Now tell me, what have you done here? And how? I do not understand how you have built such structures.”
Thalassa’s smile broadened into a grin. “Come see.”
I had expected the shelters to be similar to those Sotiria’s women had slept under—sturdy tents, large enough to house a fire, whose thick fabric could hold back the wind and rain.
Simple but sufficient. What I found could not have surprised me more, for the buildings were made of bricks.
How the women had learned to shape and bake and build such things, I did not know.
“There is good mud at the bottom of the river and endless sand on the shore,” Thalassa said. “Zehra had the idea of making bricks the first day that you left. We thought she was foolish, but she insisted we had all we needed, so I allowed her to try. After the first day, we were all convinced.”
“Zehra.” I scoured my mind but could not recall such a person. “I do not know that name. She is from Oreia?”
Thalassa nodded. “I assume so. She must have joined us when the men fell. I believe she is the one who told Damaris of this place.”
Thalassa’s vagueness did not surprise me. She had never been one to show interest in others unless it benefited her. However, I made it a priority to know all the women who needed our protection.
“I must meet her immediately,” I replied. “I must thank her for what she has done here.”
“You will have to wait to meet her. I am afraid she took to the horses almost as swiftly as you and accepted your offer to become a nomad.”
“After achieving all this?”
“She taught us how to make the bricks,” Thalassa said and pouted. “We built the buildings. Come and see what we have done.”
The structures were rough around the edges, the bricks slanted in some places, curved in others, but to me, every building was a masterpiece, worthy as a temple to the gods.
Our women had built homes with their own hands and had needed no help.
No guidance beyond this woman who had gone. They had achieved so much.
“Let me guess. You have come to see the forge.”
Sotiria’s voice was enough to raise my lips into an even broader smile as she laughed and drew me in for an embrace. Only when we broke free, both still grinning wildly, did I question her statement.
“Did you really build a forge?”
“I was overruled when I tried to make it a top priority,” she said with mock terseness. “But I did.”
“I do not doubt it,” I said. “And we will make do with our current weapons until then. As long as all the women are confident in using them, it will be enough.”
“Come, let us show you your chamber. It was the first room we finished, and I think you will approve of the views. Not to mention the baths, with room for kindling beneath. A design of my own creation.”
My chamber. Mine. That word spiraled around me. I had been given Phile’s house, yes, but several of the more elderly women from Oreia had joined us there, and we had been living atop one another. Even more so since the second group had arrived. I would never have to share again.
“Come. Come.”
The closer I got to the city, the more women joined us, and by the time I reached the buildings, two dozen led me to the room that was to be mine. Thalassa, Damaris, and Sotiria were joined by girls of different ages, including a newborn who had not been present when I left.
“It is beautiful, is it not?” Thalassa said.
There were no colored throws or embroideries, no painted fabrics or great wall hangings depicting scenes of the gods. Other than the bathtub, bare bricks and a thin mattress were all that filled the space. Yet Thalassa was right. It was the most stunning chamber I had ever seen.
Two of the walls had windows with views out over the sea and the plains to the east. At that moment, the sun was setting, and the last of the sunlight reflected off the water, painting the waves in shades of coral and deep rose.
There was still plenty of work to be done, of course.
While the walls were solid and grand, upon glancing upward, I was faced with only sky.
“Are there plans for a roof?” I asked. “I am sure we will get rains when winter comes. Tiles would be beneficial.”
Tension rippled through the women, and I sensed I had touched a nerve, though it was left to Damaris to explain.
“We are struggling to make such a thing. When the clay is thin, it becomes brittle, but when it is thick, the weight is too heavy for the walls and beams.”
“So what alternatives are there?” I asked.
“We will master the skill,” Sotiria said, “perhaps when Zehra returns. For now, the obvious solution is thatching. Although there was some discussion of trade? Taking some metals or leathers to the agora and exchanging them for tiles?”
As she likely expected, I shook my head at the suggestion. “No. No, they are not necessary. Thatch will keep us dry. Our appearance at an agora would lead to speculation. We will use thatch.”
Sotiria smiled knowingly.
“We have collected the rushes already and are drying them now. They should be ready to lay in two to three days. Though for now, I suspect you would like to eat. Come, we will feast and praise the gods for your safe return.”
She moved to leave, only to stop, her eyes locked on something in front of her. My breath caught in my throat.
“Sotiria?” I said. “What is it?”
She remained there a moment longer. I saw the tension grip her body, felt her held breath quivering in her lungs. When she finally released it with a sigh, she turned and looked at me.
“It was a snake, the colors of which I have never seen before.”
She edged forward, her eyes scanning the area, before she looked back at me and smiled.
“It is gone,” she said. “Come, let us enjoy our feast.”