Page 56 of A Vow of Embers

I didn’t know which one of us was more surprised when I was able to lift my arms a couple of inches off the floor.

It only lasted for a second and then he growled and got my wrists back against the ground. As I focused on pushing against him instead of trying to escape, he had a more difficult time containing me. I had thought the strength my sisters and I experienced was somehow tied to the temple, but we had moved that rock in the forest, and now here I was in the palace, making it hard for the strongest man I’d ever met to keep me in place.

“You’re stronger than the last time we did this,” he said, and I didn’t know if he meant it as a taunt or if it was some kind of compliment.

My adrenaline began to ebb away, and while the anger remained, I was just tired. I couldn’t beat him. This was pointless.

I turned my face from his and said, “Let go of me.”

His gaze was on me and I wondered what he saw, why he looked at me for so long before answering. “I’ll let go if you promise to stop trying to stick me with your tiny sword.”

I let my eyes drift shut. I was not going to let him vex me further, because I had allowed him to do so on a constant basis. It was exhausting always being mad at him like this, especially when there wasn’t anything I could do about my situation. I took in a deep, cleansing breath.

“I promise.”

Alexandros stared at me for a few more beats before he quickly stood up and stepped away from me. I didn’t want to get up. I had been so thoroughly beaten that I deserved to lie here on this floor aspunishment. I opened my eyes but I still didn’t look at him. Instead I stared at the balcony and the sunlight that streamed into my room.

“Lia.” He said my name softly.

I didn’t respond. Didn’t move.

He cleared his throat and then said, “Be sure you’ve calmed down and that you’re ready on time for dinner tonight. I don’t want my brothers to wait because you couldn’t be bothered to do the one thing you were brought here to do.”

“Your wish is my command.” I had agreed to obey him.

The prince continued to stand there for several more heartbeats but I refused to look at him. “I’m going to give the guards an order to not let you into the treasury, so don’t try and go there again.”

Was he hiding something in the treasury? Or was he just being vindictive and petty?

I stayed silent, ignoring him. Then he walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

The one thing you were brought here to do.His words echoed around inside my head. He had brought me here to be a pretty trophy for him. An accessory. Meant to sit and be silent, smiling, not harming his chances of becoming king.

While I had no plans to accept becoming a voiceless object that only moved around according to his whims, I had to figure out a better way to deal with our situation. I couldn’t try and physically fight the man every day. It would always end the same.

I wondered what my battle masters would have said.

Antiope would have told me, “Keep fighting until you can’t fight any longer!”

Stupid girl, stop trying to win the battle and focus on winning the war.Demaratus’s words were as clear in my head as if he were sitting next to me.

In this situation he was more correct. The reality was that I would have to spend time with Alexandros whether I wanted to or not, including lying by his side every night.

I would have preferred to not sleep in the same bed as him, but I recalled that he’d already told me I was welcome to sleep on the floor if I didn’t want to share, because he wasn’t going anywhere.

And as I lay on the floor, I realized I couldn’t sleep here every single night. This was supremely uncomfortable. It was cold stone and unforgiving on my back. The truth was I had been raised with some small luxuries and I enjoyed them. That bed was big enough for both of us to sleep in without ever having to touch one another.

Besides, it might be better for me to stay where I could keep a closer eye on my enemy. I knew I was making excuses but my life was already difficult enough without adding sleeping on the floor to it.

It also might have helped if Alexandros were a more reasonable person. I remembered Quynh and me speaking about my betrothal before the tribute selection. She had thought that it might be a good thing for me to marry the Ilionian prince. That I might have been able to help him see reason.

How could I make a totally irrational person see reason?

This entire situation was doomed.

Despite the fact that it had only been a single day since I’d left my sisters, I felt starved for company and conversation. I spent hours alone in my room until my new maid arrived. Parthenia did her best to amuse me while helping me get dressed for the dinner with the prince’s phratry.

She talked to me about how the palace operated and the servants’ responsibilities. I was careful not to ask specifically about Quynh as I didn’t want to alert anyone that she and I knew each other in case Alexandros hadn’t been lying. It occurred to me that it might just be another falsehood from the prince—that in order to make me suffer more, he was deliberately keeping the two of us apart for no reason. But I wasn’t sure, so I couldn’t risk it.