Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

T erena exhaled, and her shoulders slumped.

What have you done? she thought as she gazed at Sonah in resignation.

No one spoke after Sonah’s revelation. She watched the stunned expressions on both the king’s and the commander’s faces as they swiveled their eyes from Sonah to Terena.

Sonah shifted, breaking the spell.

“Your sister,” the king said, his voice soft as if speaking to himself.

“Aye,” Sonah said, and Terena looked at her again, noting the proud lift of her chin as she stared across at Terena. “Now. Do we have an accord?”

Terena looked to the king and waited. He stared back, thoughtful, then nodded absently. Daris Antonius waited another heartbeat before going to his king, the royal whispering in his ear. The commander stiffened, but gave a brief nod. Walking away, he motioned for a guard to follow him as they went behind the dais. Terena watched them as they exited from a concealed door in the curved wall.

“You are a god,” the king said, snapping Terena’s attention back to him. He hadn’t moved, his back straight as he fully recovered from her assault.

Terena said nothing as she regarded him warily.

“And if she’s your sister,” he said as understanding dawned. He shifted and turned his gaze to Sonah, his brown eyes narrowed.

“I will kill you if you touch her,” Terena snarled, hands balled at her sides. “Bargain or no, you will die.”

“I believe you,” the king said, his voice sincere. Terena relaxed a fraction when he turned back to her, his expression almost reverent.

The silence settling while they waited for the commander to return was tense. Terena thought her nerves might snap. At last, the door opened, and the commander strode into the room, carrying two short swords. He glanced over at Terena, his lips pressed tightly, as he stopped before his king. The royal motioned for him to give them to Terena.

As he neared, Terena glanced at her sister. Sonah’s lips opened and she let out a shuddering breath.

The commander did not speak as he held up the blades in front of Terena, his eyes hard as he stared at her. Terena stared back, taking the short swords from his hands without breaking eye contact. The Liodari stepped back and walked to the king’s side.

As soon as she held them, a jolt coursed through her hands and arms. Power surged under her skin, racing through her veins. Terena heard a gasp and looked down at the swords. Light flashed back and forth across the blades, illuminating symbols and letters, disappearing when the light faded. The swords appeared normal once more.

The king laughed and Terena lifted her eyes. He gazed at the swords with wonder.

“What you hold,” the king said in a rough voice, “are what the man who sold them to my father over twenty-one years ago called The Twins. When I came into power, I went to see the oracle in Messene. She told me one day, a woman would come to claim them, and I was to give them to her, for they are her birthright.” The king laughed in disbelief and Terena looked up at him to see him shaking his head at her. “I was angry at her, because I had wanted what every king wants when they go to see the oracle. I wanted to hear her tell me how to secure the safety and prosperity of my people. I had hoped to hear her speak of my destiny. Instead, she had instructions for me on how to help you .”

Terena snorted. “There’s a surprise.”

“What?”

Terena arched an eyebrow. “That she was not helpful. I went to her as well. I left more confused than when I’d arrived.”

The king flashed a grin and ducked his head. He lifted his eyes to her again and said, “She told me you would bring me Bethana’s fangs. So that’s why I asked it of you.”

Terena looked down at the swords, then up at Sonah. “My sister has made a bargain with you,” she said and turned her gaze to the king. “I will honor it and bring you the serpent’s fangs. I trust your honor, Sonah will be safe in my absence.” Then she hardened her expression. “But know she is not without her own resources. She may be young, but she is strong.”

Terena looked over at Sonah, who was smiling at her even as a tear tracked slowly down her cheek.

“I would not do her, or you, the disservice of thinking otherwise,” the king said. “And to honor your sister’s bravery, I will lend you my aid in your endeavor.” He gestured to the commander. “Daris will accompany you on this quest with two of his men.”

“I don’t need?—”

“Your Majesty?—”

Terena scoffed and looked at the commander, who was protesting as she was. She looked back at the king. His mouth was set firmly.

“I don’t need his help,” Terena bit out.

“Nevertheless, you have it.”

Commander Antonius hung his head for a few seconds before he turned his gaze back to her. His eyes burned, his lips pressed so tightly together they were white. “I will serve, Your Majesty,” he said to the king. He shifted back to Terena and added, “We leave tomorrow at dawn.”

Terena, Croak, Gabriol and Rydon arrived at the eastern gate ten minutes late.

As they walked up, horses at their sides, Terena sensed Daris's displeasure, even before she saw the frown on his face.

She didn’t care. When she’d returned from the castle without Sonah, the others were understandably upset. Terena had told them of King Altos’s demand in return for the swords and the bargain Sonah had made with the king. She’d told them, too, she had revealed their relationship, and Terena had lost control, angered into displaying her powers.

“Any other family secrets you told them about?” Croak had grumbled.

Terena knew he was upset about Sonah. And Terena was angry with herself at how quickly the audience with the king had devolved. She had punched Croak a tad too hard on his shoulder. He had stumbled back, a hurt look on his face that had nothing to do with the punch. Rydon had suggested they get some food, which turned into too much wine and ale.

Terena was in a lot of pain from the overindulgence, having only slept for three hours before dragging everyone else out of bed so as not to be late.

Terena shifted her tired eyes to the two men at the commander’s side. She knew Jason, the man she’d fought in the fighting pit and celebrated with at the bar that same night. The other she didn’t know, although she’d seen him as well that night.

Turning back to Daris, she lifted an eyebrow, expecting him to make introductions. Instead, he looked over at the others with her, and his frown deepened.

“You and your friends don’t look well.”

She loosed a sigh, stopping a few feet away from him.

“A little softer, please,” she said and closed her eyes, her own voice barely above a whisper .

Daris shifted on his horse, narrowing his light blue eyes and glared as he leaned over the pommel.

“Are you drunk?”

“No,” she answered, drawing out the word. Not convincing, apparently, by the way his lips curled back.

He didn’t speak for a long while. Terena opened her eyes and looked up at him. He glared at her friends.

Daris turned to Terena. “They cannot come.”

She shook her head, then winced. Sighed.

Loudly.

“We can waste time,” she replied, as patiently as she could muster, “or we can go. We’re all going. I’m not leaving my friends behind.”

Rydon move closer to her as she watched Daris decide.

“This is my quest,” Terena added. “Stay if you want.”

She clicked at Nyx, turning to move past the commander. He shifted his much larger stallion to block her. His horse snorted in a not-friendly way above her.

She lifted an eyebrow at Daris.

“It’s a long way to Pyrgos,” he bit out. He lifted his chin, motioning behind her. “They’ll slow us down.”

“Why would we be riding to Pyrgos?” she asked.

“Because that’s where?—”

“We’re going to Ibros,” Terena cut him off, her patience snapping. “To Thuria.”

Jason snorted behind the commander.

Daris stilled. Terena shrugged and made to move around him once more.

“A word,” the commander bit out, dismounting in one graceful motion. “Please.”

She swallowed the curse she was about to hurl, pursing her lips as she whispered to Nyx, rubbing her neck once before she handed the reins to Rydon.

Terena followed the commander as he moved a few feet away from the others, steeling herself against the rebuke she was sure he was about to give her .

She put her hands on her hips and shifted her weight as she glared up at him.

Even scowling, he was striking.

Unfair.

She wished she’d bathed before they’d left. Terena was sure she smelled of cheap wine and Ambrosia. She could smell it coming out of every pore in her body.

She took a couple of steps away from him. Just in case.

“I’m leading this party,” he hissed, bending closer as he pointed a finger at the ground.

“Aye, fine,” she said. “But lead us to Ibros.”

“And why would we go there?”

“Because that’s where Melanos is from.”

“What’s that matter?”

Terena cocked her head to the side. “Hey—out of the two of us—which one does this for a living?”

He straightened. No response, though.

A terrible headache was creeping up on Terena, making her more surly than she had intended. “That’s right. Me. And we go where I say. I’ll let you know when it’s time for whatever you’re here for.”

He jerked forward a step, his face tight. “Tell me why.”

Terena startled, but… gods. He looked good. Even angry. Then she remembered she was angry as well. Angry he’d ambushed her yesterday, taking her to his king for an audience ending with Sonah staying behind as hostage.

The gods must be punishing her.

Terena held out a placating hand. “Do you know the myth?”

He gave a curt nod.

She sighed. “Right. The thing is, no one knows where exactly the serpent was when it slew Melanos. There are different versions. A lot of it was lost because it was mostly word of mouth. But if we go to Thuria, where Melanos was born—he was a demigod, right?—we might find something, giving us an idea of where to look. He’s their hero. They’d know that story inside and out and in ways you and I do not. ”

Terena waited a few seconds for him to speak. When he didn’t, she bowed her head, sweeping her left arm out. “So. We start in Thuria.”

She took a step forward to head back to their group, but he stopped her with a hand at her elbow.

“You’re right,” he said, surprising her. Terena’s gaze flew to his face. He was looking down, his face so tight a muscle jumped at his jaw. “You are the expert. I apologize for overstepping.”

She huffed a laugh. Terena hoped she sounded as unaffected as he seemed; his touch sent a spike of lightning down her belly.

“I’m sure it won’t be the last time.”

A corner of his mouth curled up, and he gave a quick nod before letting her arm go.

“We good?” she asked breathlessly.

His eyes stared into her, and for a second she was sure he could see inside her head.

Daris straightened and nodded curtly. Terena stared at him a moment before moving to step past him, then stopped.

“How is Sonah?” she asked softly.

The commander didn’t respond. She looked up at him. He sighed and his expression softened.

“She’s fine,” he said. “King Altos is a good man. You need not fear for her.”

Terena searched his eyes, deciding at last he was in earnest. “Thank you.”

She turned to leave, but he grabbed her elbow again. “I am sorry for what happened yesterday,” he said, his tone urgent. “I had no time to send a warning, and in front of my men I…” He dropped his head and shook it, then lifted his eyes to her. “She’ll be well cared for. You’ve no worry on that account. But I am sorry for my part in the affair.”

Terena frowned and mumbled her thanks. She knew that wasn’t something he’d control. If Altos had ordered him as Commander of the Liodari, Daris had had to obey without question. That didn’t mean she had to like it.

But she could be more gracious toward him, she decided .

“Mama and Baba are done arguing,” she called out to the others. “Let’s get this quest started!”

Croak whooped in excitement. Even Daris's men were grinning.

Daris choked on a cough behind her.

Rydon and Gabriol both grinned at Terena before mounting. She mounted Nyx and glanced over to check on Croak.

Croak hocked and spat on the ground before mounting his horse so smoothly she was impressed by his constitution that morning. He seemed to be the only one of them not hurting after last night’s bad decisions.

Maybe it was the anticipation, but Terena was excited as well, her lips widening as she turned her gaze to Daris. He watched her with an unreadable expression.

She gave him a pointed look, and he rolled his eyes.

He turned his horse to the gates and rode off, Jason and the other Liodari falling in behind. Terena and the others followed.

They rode until an hour after sunset, until the moonlight was the only thing to light their way. Daris steered them toward dense woods off the Greek road they’d been traveling.

As they neared a clearing, Daris called a halt. Terena dismounted and handed the reins to Rydon. He and Gabriol led the horses to the edge of a creek. Terena set off with Croak to gather wood. They found berries in a thicket further away from where the others set up camp and picked some to bring back.

Once they’d eaten, they sat in silence around the fire Daris had built with Rydon and Jason. Croak sat next to Terena, his legs pulled up to his chest as he stared into the glowing embers.

“I feel like we should be singing,” Croak said, his voice a shade too loud in the peaceful silence.

Rydon grunted, tossing a twig into the fire. Jason looked over at him from his right.

“Sing away, if you know any,” Jason said .

Croak shrugged. “I?—”

“Don’t,” Terena warned, her hand grabbing his wrist. She looked over at Jason wryly. “The only songs he knows are dirty ones.”

Jason and the other Liodari, Michael, chuckled. Even Gabriol was grinning from his place at Croak’s other side.

“Sing one,” Jason goaded.

Croaked loosed a loud sigh. “Terena will turn bright red if I do that.”

Terena scoffed. “I’ve heard your songs before, idiot.”

“ There once was a man with a very big c ? — ”

“Stop!” Terena yelled, and the others laughed.

After the laughter died down, Michael asked, “How did you become a tracker?”

Terena looked across at him in surprise. It was the first time the warrior had spoken to her, to any of them.

She ducked her head and lifted her right shoulder. “I,” she cleared her throat. “I was maybe eight or nine, when I find out my father and mother—the people who’d raised me—weren’t my actual parents. I was… devastated. To learn the only parents I had ever known, my family, were not my blood.”

“She beat the shit out of the boy who told her,” Croak added, his eyes boring into Terena’s and she ducked her head. This was the story they had concocted, because to share the truth would be to reveal too much.

“He started taunting you with it and you wailed on him, remember?”

Terena nodded. “My father was horrified when the boy’s father approached him, dragging me along. Screaming at my father about what a heathen I was.”

“He was so pissed,” Croak muttered.

“Did you two… grow up together?” Daris asked.

Terena started, her gaze jumping to his across the fire. “Yes, of course.” She looked over at Croak and jabbed her elbow into his side. “He’s my brother. ”

Terena glanced back at Daris, a look flashing on his face she couldn’t decipher.

“What’d your father do?” Jason asked. “I hope he gave the man a good beating, too.”

“No,” Terena answered, shaking her head as she dropped her gaze from Daris to her hands. “He spoke calmly to the man, diffusing his anger.”

“I thought you said your father was the one who taught you to fight?” Rydon said.

“I didn’t say he didn’t know how to fight,” Terena clarified. “He was the best fighter I’ve ever seen. But that was only his profession, not his passion. Books. Knowledge. That was what he lived for, and what he gave me—us—along with the gift of how to defend ourselves.”

“Your father was a soldier?” Jason asked, his voice soft.

“Our father was the Captain of the Imperial Guard to Emperor Solon,” Croak said proudly, his eyes on the fire.

She heard the murmurs from the Liodari.

“Aye,” Terena said, clearing her throat once more. It hurt still to talk about him, even though it had been five years since his death. Croak leaned closer and Terena calmed. “He taught us how to fight, but he also taught us about the gods and the wars, the myths and the heroes.” Terena rubbed at her forehead.

“When I asked him if… what he—what that boy had said was true, about me not being his daughter, I’d never seen such devastation on his face. I knew right then it was true, and I cried. Cried so much it took him forever to calm me down.”

This part of the story was true. She’d been shattered.

Croak slipped his hand into the crook of her arm. Terena blinked furiously to clear her eyes of the tears that threatened.

She didn’t speak for a long time, but no one said anything to push her.

“He told me,” her voice cracked, and she swallowed a couple times before trying again. “He told me he would always be my father. That we were family, no matter how I’d come to them. And then he told me the story of how he’d found me. How he’d been on his way home from Olympia with a company of soldiers. They had stopped at Hekate’s temple to leave an offering, and he’d wandered off to relieve himself,” Terena laughed and Croak shot her a grin. “And then he heard me crying a few feet away. He walked until he found me. When he came over to grab me up, he found a man beside me, face down. Lorence, my father, said he’d gone to the man, but he wasn’t moving. When he flipped him over, he saw the man was dead.

“A few years later, I asked him for more details.” Terena wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sighed. “I asked him if the man had any wounds. If he looked like me; did he have the same black hair or hazel eyes?” Terena shook her head. “And when I started asking more questions about the man, he told me if I wanted to know more about who I am and who my parents were, he would help me. He gave me some things he’d found when he rescued me: my blanket, a gold armband the man wore, a gold necklace he’d had in his pocket.” Terena lifted a hand to touch the necklace she wore at her neck.

“We poured through books to see if we could find any mention of either, anything similar that might lead us to the city-state or region I might have come from. Of course, we started in Olympia, where he found me. Lorence told me about people called trackers and how they made their living finding lost treasures left behind by the gods. That we could hire one to find my parents. I told him I wanted to be a tracker, and that was that.”

“Have you found your birth mother?” Jason asked, his voice soft as he looked at her, his eyes shining.

Terena dropped her head, but did not speak.

The silence thickened around them.

“ There once was a man with a very ? — ”

They erupted in laughter as Croak began singing in the fraught silence. Terena’s laughter was sharp as tears stung her eyes and she hung her head. The others howled as Croak’s bawdy song got worse.

Terena looked up at last.

And met Daris’s heated gaze.