Chapter VI #3
I do my best to sound neutral as I address him again. “Athena wouldn’t blame you just because you were the last person to see Maheer alive,” I say, forcing a levity into my voice that I don’t really feel. “That wouldn’t make sense.”
Theo is still frowning. “There’s more,” he says quietly. “I can’t be sure, but some of the slaves are saying something else was found in the prince’s bedchamber: a sack with a knife in it.” He gives me a meaningful look. “The kind of knife I use when I carve.”
I feel as though I’ve been plunged into a winter sea.
Goosebumps stipple my skin, and my mouth goes dry.
I brought more than the two gemstones with me when I went to Maheer’s bedchamber; I also brought a knife for protection.
Theo had given it to me ages ago. In the chaotic aftermath of what had happened, I left it behind, too.
“The other slaves know what my carving knives look like,” Theo goes on.
“Athena will learn that I was the last one to see Prince Maheer alive, and then she’ll learn that one of my knives was found where he died.
” He swallows hard, and tears prick his eyes.
“I’m sure that’ll be more than enough for her. ”
New anger rises within me like a bright flame, but just as quickly, it’s extinguished. I realize I have no one to blame for this but myself.
“Athena is a goddess of wisdom and logic,” I say, trying to sound calm. “Logic says you didn’t do this. You had no reason to.”
Theo’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Whenever something in a household goes wrong, it’s the slaves who are held responsible. Missing jewelry, spoiled food, bad weather—slaves are always easiest to blame.”
“But—”
Theo speaks over me: “Athena and your parents will all want this matter resolved quickly. Everyone would like to name a culprit so that this can all be over. It’s just how these things go, Meddy. Believe me, I’ve seen it before. Logic won’t count for much.”
I open my mouth to tell him he’s wrong, but the words stick in my throat.
An uncomfortable silence hangs between us, and it’s not the first time I’ve felt it.
Theo is my dearest friend, and Theo is a slave.
I’m keenly aware that, in the eyes of the world, we are not equals, no matter how much I wish it were different.
Now I watch as Theo stares at the floor.
He’s the same age as me, seventeen, but in that moment he looks younger, somehow smaller despite his tall frame.
It takes me a moment to realize what’s changed in him, and with a terrible clarity, I understand that it’s Theo’s light that’s now missing from him.
I have seen any number of emotions in my friend, but for the first time, I see true resignation.
“It was my father who taught me how to carve,” Theo murmurs, still staring at his feet. “I don’t remember what he looks like anymore, but I do remember his hands. I remember him teaching me.”
New pain tears through me. We don’t speak of it often, but I know well how Theo came to be on this island.
Like most of those who serve my parents, he was found marooned on the beach, the lone survivor of a shipwreck off the coast. My father gave Theo the same wretched ultimatum he gave any mortals who washed up on our shores: Serve or die.
Theo was so young when he made that impossible choice.
Now I am the closest thing to a family he has left.
And my actions have put him in danger.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, taking his hands in mine.
Theo swallows hard. “It’s all right.”
“It’s not.” I shake my head. “And I’m not letting you take the blame for this. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Theo looks up at me. His eyes are wet with tears. “You believe me.”
I regret not having told him the truth earlier, and for one impulsive moment, I consider doing it now.
I want to tell him every horrid detail of what really happened, not just to absolve him but so I won’t have to carry the weight of it anymore.
Almost as quickly, I hear the echo of Stheno’s voice in my mind.
Gods have been incited to violence and retribution for far less.
I open my mouth, then close it. The less Theo knows, the safer he’ll be.
I take a deep breath and offer a tight smile. “Everything’s going to be all right,” I say with a confidence I don’t feel. “I’ll always protect you, Theo, I swear it.” I glance over his shoulder. “For now, just find somewhere to stay hidden, if you can.”
Theo looks equal parts curious and confused, but I can already see some of the muscles in his jaw relaxing.
“All right.”
He stays with me a few minutes longer, making idle conversation. When he finally slips out the door and I am alone again, I breathe a sigh of relief and lean against the wall.
I’ve sworn to protect Theo because he’s my friend, but as I begin pacing back and forth around my chamber again, I realize it is more than that.
I have felt helpless all my life. Helpless because I am not strong or beautiful or immortal; helpless because I have never had the power to protect myself, let alone those I care about.
My steps slow. I realize that, for the first time, I do have power.
It isn’t much, but it’s still something.
I know the truth about what happened to Maheer, and I have the power to protect Theo from taking the blame.
That knowledge hums through me as I turn and make my way out the door.