Page 11 of A Vow of Embers

I closed my eyes and tried to center myself. I could not go into this house until I had regained control. I tried to think of something pleasant and remembered the last time Haemon and I had gone to the beach to build sandcastles. We had built one that was nearly as tall as I was. I had been so pleased, so proud. Haemon had stood next to me, telling me how well I’d done.

And then a few moments later, a single wave came in and washed it all away. All that work gone.

I realized it was the perfect example for my relationship with Prince Alexandros. I had thought we were building something sturdy and wonderful together, not realizing it had been made out of sand all along and would melt the first time it was exposed to the truth.

“Bah,” I said under my breath. Now the prince was infecting even my good memories, turning all my thoughts toward him. This couldn’t go on. I couldn’t let it.

“Please, join us.”

My eyelids flew open and I saw Thrax standing in the doorway, inviting us in. The air around me suddenly felt too heavy to drag into my lungs, making it so I couldn’t catch my breath. I wanted to grab my xiphos. I could reach that redheaded menace in two bounds and stab him in his gut before he could pull out his own sword to defend himself.

I needed him to suffer.

“Thank you,” Theano said and took a step forward.

Thrax cleared his throat. “I’m afraid your guards will need to wait outside. There isn’t enough room for everyone.”

“Fine,” Theano said, nodding to the others. The guards took a step back. Thrax moved from the doorway and Theano went in, followed by Antiope, Maia, and then me.

It was incredibly difficult to enter this room again. The first thing I noticed was that the bed apparently hadn’t been touched since I waslast here. It was still rumpled, the covers that Alexandros had pushed aside bunched up against the wall.

Another reminder that he’d left to wound me.

I wouldn’t look at it again. I would pretend it wasn’t here.

The prince was seated at the table, and just as I’d suspected, he wore a dark gray tunic lavishly embroidered with green threads. His entire demeanor spoke of wealth and privilege.

Still devastatingly handsome,a wistful voice inside me whispered, and I immediately silenced it.

Then I couldn’t help but remember when I’d first met Jason—I’d thought that if Alexandros looked like him, I would reconsider marriage.

What a fool I’d been.

Another man stood behind the prince. He had dark black hair and eyes shaped like the prince’s. They looked as if they were related. One of the half brothers that Io had mentioned?

Or was he the prince’s life mage? I didn’t see an amulet around his neck, but I also didn’t know if life mages always wore them.

There was something familiar about the man, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. He gave me a sincere and encouraging smile, as if we were friends, and I didn’t know how to interpret it so I just looked away from him.

Thrax closed the door and said, “I’m afraid I’ll also have to insist that you remove any weapons you might have, as was agreed upon.” He held up a basket that he intended for the weapons to go in.

Antiope began removing weapons, as did Maia. Theano stood there, motionless. I supposed she didn’t need to defend herself when she had Antiope.

Thrax placed the basket on the floor in front of me, and I again thought of how quickly I could pull my sword and end his life.

“Princess Thalia, do you have any weapons?” I shook my head, and then he put out his hands as if he intended to search my body. Something he hadn’t done to the priestesses. “My apologies, but I was instructed to make sure that you in particular were unarmed.”

“Touch me and die,” I told him, my anger making me vibrate. The prince meant to publicly humiliate me. But I would not allow Thrax to lay his hands on me.

“Remove your xiphos, Princess Thalia,” Alexandros demanded quietly. “I know you have it.”

The priestesses didn’t say anything about the prince being so certain not only that I had a weapon but of what kind it was. But I did see the meaningful glance Maia and Antiope exchanged.

I turned my attention back to Thrax, and it was Antiope’s words that echoed in my head: This was not the time or place. I would get my chance later. I willed my raging heartbeat to calm down and repeated my internal vow to end his life the first chance I got. I reached for my sword and reluctantly dropped it into the basket.

“Please take a seat,” Thrax said. I wondered why he was playing host, being so congenial. I had seen him every day for nearly a week and he had been demanding and arrogant. It shouldn’t have surprised me that the prince’s men were just as duplicitous and two-faced as he was.

“Steady,” Antiope murmured to me. Maia squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, letting me know she was there.