Page 81 of Hot Zone

Twenty

Tessa thought fast. She shot back mentally to Rustam, Tell her Athens is being evacuated by sea right now. If the Persian fleet hurries, they can trap the Athenian navy and force it into battle to protect the retreat of the citizens. That’s what happens, anyway.

Rustam retorted, We risk speeding up how soon the Persians get to Athens. For all we know, it’ll cause Xerxes to annihilate the Athenians.

As a guard grabbed her roughly by the arms and yanked her elbows behind her back, she responded frantically, The fleet’s too unwieldy and the straits are too narrow for it to speed up, as long as it stays together in one flotilla.

“Off with their heads!” Artemesia snarled.

Rustam laughed lightly. “Temper, temper, my dear queen. Trust me. You want to hear what I have to say.”

Artemesia threw up a hand, stopping the soldier beside her in the act of lifting his scimitar for a swing. Tessa exhaled carefully. With her arms held behind her back like this, she had no access to her emergency cuff. Of course, she had no idea if Professor Carswell could get her out of here fast enough to avoid a beheading, anyway. Athena had said she could usually pull out operatives in a few seconds. But what was “usually” and how long was “a few seconds”?

At the moment, one or two extra heartbeats could mean life or death. And that was assuming Tessa could wrench her arms free and activate the cuff at all.

“Speak,” Artemesia purred to Rustam, her voice silky and dangerous.

He nodded. “Athens is being evacuated. It’s an exodus by ship. The city’s entire navy is assembled en masse to protect the retreat of the civilians. If Xerxes strikes now, he can wipe out the Athenian navy and most of its population in a single blow.”

Artemesia stared. “Truly?” she half whispered.

“I swear it upon my life and my honor,” Rustam replied solemnly. Tessa felt the wave of sincerity he sent the queen to reinforce his vow.

“How do you know this?” the queen demanded.

He stepped forward, and Tessa, sensing his intent, dragged her guard forward a step so she could stay in close proximity to Rustam. He would need the extra strength she could lend him for this stunt.

“May I touch your exalted highness?” he murmured deferentially.

Artemesia started. Cautiously, she held out her hand. “You may. But take no liberties with my person,” she added sharply.

Tessa grinned inwardly. Always had to be in control, that lady. But she supposed she didn’t blame the queen. The woman held her own in a time and place that gave new meaning to male domination.

Ignoring the proffered hand, Rustam reached out and gently placed his fingertips on Artemesia’s temples. As the queen’s eyes drifted closed, Tessa carefully pulled her right arm free of the guard’s grasp. She was surprised when he let her go. But apparently, permission to touch the queen put the two of them firmly in the class of non-threats. And then, of course, there was the soldier’s fear of and fascination with Rustam’s “magic.”

Regardless of the reason for her release, Tessa reached out quickly and laid her hand on Rustam’s back. She allowed her own aura to flow over him, blending with his in a familiar swirl of indigo.

As Rustam shaped the energy and formed a mental image, which he projected into Artemesia’s mind, the image also flowed through Tessa.

For someone who hadn’t actually seen the evacuation of Athens in person, he created an amazingly vivid image of it. The Parthenon stood proudly on the Acropolis, bathed in moonlight, its white marble architecture so perfect it stole Tessa’s breath away. Is that what it looked like new? It was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen.

The view shifted to an Athenian port. Long lines of people crowded the shore, waiting impatiently to board small rowboats that would shuttle them to larger seafaring ships moored close by.

Artemesia’s eyes grew wide as the vision flowed through her mind. Tessa’s mouth twitched with humor when Rustam blasted the queen with the absolute belief that what she’d just seen was real. Heck, it probably was close enough to real.

The monarch whirled away from Rustam to face the captain, who’d come up on deck by now, rubbing sleep from his eyes, “Take me to the imperial barge,” she ordered.

The man looked alarmed. “I cannot maneuver in this crush. If we get broadside of the fleet, we’ll get rammed and sink.”

“Then put a barge in the water,” Artemesia ordered impatiently.

Rustam cleared his throat. “With all due respect, my queen, I would not see you risk life or limb in such a flimsy craft.”

She shot him a suspicious look. “A barge was good enough to bring you to me.”

“Ahh, but I would gladly risk my life to return to your side, my lady.”

Tessa winced at the heavy wave of sexual attraction he sent along with that remark.

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