Page 13 of A Vow of Embers

But the high priestess could tell Prince Alexandros no. I was subject to her and her rules, given the vows that I had taken. There wouldn’t be anything that either he or I could do about a refusal.

And he would kill my sister.

I was about to cry out and beg her to agree when Theano inclined her head slightly to the right.

“I swear it,” Antiope said, and so did Maia. I let out a giant sigh, grateful that Theano had allowed the others to take an oath.

Then the high priestess added, “I swear to keep your confidence, Prince Alexandros.” I heard her reluctant tone and wondered if anyone else noticed it.

Or if they noticed the slight smile on the prince’s face, one that he quickly smothered. Was he pleased that he was getting his way? “I know the vows that the priestesses and acolytes take. And so I propose that Princess Thalia become my wife in name only.”

Name only? That meant we wouldn’t ... Relief joined the other emotions currently swirling around inside me.

There was a note of disbelief as Theano asked, “Are you quite serious?”

The prince studied the high priestess, narrowing his eyes at her before he answered. “Very. Agreeing to let the princess marry me would put you in a position where the king of Ilion would be indebted to you.”

“That is a bold statement from someone who does not yet wear the crown.”

He leaned forward. “My stepmother will dismantle your temple and all those who support it. She considers it a waste of resources. I don’t think you would want that to happen.”

“I would not,” she conceded. “Is that all you have to offer?”

As if he’d been expecting this, the prince had an immediate answer. “We will double the yearly contributions to the temple when I am named king.”

Theano nodded slightly. “I see. And you swear that you will not bed her?”

That got the prince to turn his gaze to me. He looked at me as if he found me revolting. Like his skin had crawled every time he’d been forced to touch me as part of his ruse.

As if being near me were the worst kind of torture.

“That will not be a concern,” he said, and Thrax let out a short bark of laughter before falling silent again. I once again wanted to stab the red-haired man. Bedding me was a joke?

Since I’d discovered the prince’s manipulation, not once had it occurred to me that he hadn’t enjoyed the physicality between us. To find out that it was another lie, another way to trick me ... it was almost more than I could stomach.

“And when you said it was temporary, you meant that you plan to return her?”

He nodded. “Once I am named king, she can return to the service of the goddess and I will select another bride. One more fitting.”

I clenched my teeth together so that I wouldn’t tell him exactly what I thought of him and his plan. I needed it to go forward.

“But no one else can know about those terms,” he went on. “Which is why I asked you to take the oath. The court will need to believe themarriage was consummated, that I might potentially be creating an heir. If they think that she is untouched, this will all have been for nothing. We will have to share a room. And a bed.”

Again I wanted to rage, scream, and then throw a chair at his smug, arrogant face. He spoke as if I weren’t even in the room. Like I wasn’t part of this agreement. It made me feel like my blood vessels were all about to burst open.

“As long as her vows are kept and she retains her maidenhood, that’s all I—that’s all the goddess cares about,” the high priestess said. “So I agree. You have my permission to marry Princess Thalia, and after you are named king, you willtriplethe contributions from the palace. Then you may return her to our care, where she will serve the rest of her days.”

Prince Alexandros didn’t react to Theano raising the price of his contribution and simply turned his head to the right. “Rokh? Do you have the contract?”

The other man, the one apparently named Rokh, stepped forward and handed two scrolls to Alexandros. The prince opened them in turn, wrote something down on each one, and then handed them to the high priestess. “This contract has my terms. I added your condition that she be returned to you and that the temple will receive triple the normal yearly contribution. If you would sign both, my half brothers can witness it.”

Brothers? Plural? He had mentioned earlier that Thrax was his brother, but I thought that was in the sense of his phratry, which Io had explained to me. I hadn’t realized that they were blood related. My blasted curiosity wondered how that had happened before I stuffed it back down. I had to pay attention to what was happening, to look for my moment.

I wished that my brain worked differently. That I could think about where all this was headed so that I could plan several moves ahead of Prince Alexandros. Instead I was going from one life-altering moment to the next, dealing with the obstacle in front of me before skittering over to the next one.

Theano signed both documents and pushed one back across the table. “I do not think things are going to turn out the way that you hope. You may find Princess Thalia a formidable opponent.”

He let the scroll roll back up and then handed it to Rokh. “I am well aware of the princess’s strengths ... and her weaknesses.” He paused, letting that insult seep into my bones so that I would never forget the way he had played me. “But given our current circumstances, I think she’ll behave.”