Chapter 5 #3
“Dimitrios,” Pandora began, coming forward, “this is Milonia Dardana. Your new Head of House.”
He bowed his head in greeting. “How was your tour?”
“Thorough, Your Majesty.” Milonia’s accent came like musical notes crafting a lullaby. “I shouldn’t face any issues finding my way around.”
“If you should, I’d be happy to help,” he said, then caught the strange look on his mother’s face. Her hazel eyes darted between the two of them, lips in a slight pucker. “Selene, too, would be most helpful. She grew up in the palace. Have you met her?”
Milonia let loose a low, throaty chuckle that tickled his skin. “Not yet, but your mother speaks as if she is a saint.”
He felt the urge to smile. How strange. “Selene is no saint, but we are quite fond of her.”
“She certainly helped our transition into the palace,” Pandora said. “It’s too bad she will be leaving soon.”
The room sharpened, and Dimitrios directed his full attention on his mother. “Leaving?”
He’d asked Selene for three months, and when she and Augustus continued to stay on, he hadn’t questioned it. Selene filled certain holes in his heart that had been emptied by the loss of his sisters.
Pandora lowered onto a settee. “Augustus is, at present, preparing to crew his ship so they can begin their travels.”
Milonia cleared her throat in that gentle way servants had to interrupt. “I’ll let you two catch up. Shall I see to your afternoon tea?”
“Yes, please,” Pandora said. “Thank you, Milonia.”
She curtsied to them, then strode toward the exit. At the door, she paused to peer over her shoulder. Her gaze found his right away, and a flush filled her cheeks.
Then she was gone, and he stared at the empty place she’d occupied as if she might reappear.
“Oh, my son,” Pandora said, her tone morose. “I hope I can trust you not to sully that woman’s reputation.”
He spun on his back heel. “Pardon me?”
“Her staff can’t question why she maintains her position or wonder if she’d earned it through dubious methods.”
“Like fucking the future king?”
Pandora’s chin notched a touch higher. “Yes.” She stood and took his hands. “I can hardly believe I’m saying this, as I’ve waited a long time to see you show even a little interest in someone new. I was starting to wonder if you had thoroughly died with Sophia.”
He flinched at the sound of his wife’s name. “I assure you, I haven’t.”
“Well, can you blame a mother for worrying? You should attend Court more often. There are many suitable Ladies—”
“You worry needlessly.” Dimitrios kissed her cheek.
He didn’t want to get into another conversation about Perean’s eligible women and how he was expected to produce heirs.
The topic inevitably led to nightmares of his bloody, cold wife and their stillborn son.
“I will not sully the help while you are gone. I swear it.”
“See that you don’t. Milonia won’t be easily replaced. She was one of only a few who even wanted this position.”
Orestis and Alexandra had built such a stinging reputation that no one with any sense volunteered to work here.
As such, much of the palace staff were slaves, and those who weren’t had been put into place specifically to report back to Apollon Rodelis, the High Priest who died in the mountain with Orestis and dozens of others.
Releasing the indentured would be one of his first acts as king, and Pandora had already replaced much of the latter. Roya had been the first of a very long list to go. Too bad she couldn’t do anything about the Council.
Everywhere he turned, Dimitrios was being clobbered by a history of people in power who lacked dignity and care. Above all, and at the very least, the King’s Council should have Perean’s best interest in mind, but…
What was Primakos up to?
Dimitrios dropped into the nearest chair and rested forward on his knees.
“What is it?” Pandora took the nearest seat to his. “The blood just rushed from your face. Are you unwell?”
As succinctly as he could, he relayed the conversation he’d overheard, including his concerns with the inquisitor. He’d meant it when he’d told Stavros that their time was limited, but in truth, he worried it was already too late.
“What a mess,” Pandora said once he’d finished.
“I’m at a loss as to what should be done,” he admitted.
“Selene helped me enter this foreign world to understand what’s happening beneath the surface.
She highlighted some of the corruption that’s been allowed to grow untethered for decades.
Not once did I think to look even further.
What could Titos Demakis possibly be after? ”
“The simple answer is Perean. The complicated one is Perean’s maritime trade. The agricultural export. The ioprese mines. The lure of our local artisans and their renowned craftsmanship. Perean has long been a center for cultural exchange, bringing the country great wealth.”
“Clearly not if the coffers are damn near dry.”
Pandora tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair, staring toward the bay. “Yes. That is a wonder.” With a sigh, she returned her full attention to him. “I should stay.”
“No.” Dimitrios shook his head. “As things grow more unstable, I want you as far from here as you can get. Besides, the rest of our family needs you.”
“You need me.”
“I—” He didn’t know how to respond to that. What and who, exactly, did he have without her? He wasn’t precisely overloaded with allies here. “I’ll be fine,” he finally said. “I’ll figure it out.”
Pandora perched on the front of her seat. “I’ll reach out to my family again. You need allies, and who better than your own blood?”
“The Nicoleas have known of our presence for months, and none have returned to Court. Have any responded to your letters?”
She frowned, and her gaze dipped to her lap.
“They don’t care and, like the rest, won’t acknowledge me until I’m made king. Then, I’m certain they’ll come flocking in a grand hurry.”
“You don’t have to sound so condescending. They’re not like that. The history between your grandfather, King Minos, and my father— Let’s just say they had no love for each other, and my father has let it carry on for a bit too long.”
“It’s unlike you to leap to excuses for others. Don’t start now.”
Pandora raised her chin, and the defiance in her eyes turned his blood cold. He’d gone too far, but it was too late to take it back.
“I apologize,” he said. “The day has thinned my senses.”
Her expression softened. “My father has strong opinions and a strong hold on the family. My siblings likely wish to meet you but won’t until he gives his blessing. When you do meet them, I only ask that you do so with an open mind.”
Dimitrios stood and knelt at her feet, taking her hands. “You raised me to do what’s right, and I will not fail you when you’re gone. I swear it.”
She swept her fingertips across the side of his head and smiled. “I know you will always do the right thing, but I am your mother. I will always worry.” Tears sprang to her eyes suddenly, and her next breath shook. “You look so much like him.”
A hard lump entered his throat.
She never said things like that, and if she had, there’d been a time he’d have formed a blockade against it. Maybe she sensed the shift in his thoughts where Mihail was concerned.
“One day,” he began, “I hope they’ll say I ruled as he would have.”
Dimitrios was no longer going through the motions.
His heels were firmly planted into Perean’s soil.
God help the men standing in his way.