Page 12 of A Tribute of Fire

That wasn’t something I had considered before, and it made my stomach feel queasy. “That would be a foolish choice. There’s nothing to be won here. They’re already choking us to death.”

“Lia, you might be a steadying influence on him. Help him to see reason.”

I was probably the last person who could do that. “If he’s as reckless and irresponsible as they say, my marrying him won’t change anything. There is only one way to save Locris and it isn’t by becoming a bride.”

“Maybe you can marry him when you return.”

I didn’t know how long it would take me to find the eye and return to Locris. I intended for the prince to not ever find out what I was doing. I hoped my parents would delay the betrothal for as long as they could to give me enough time to search and make my way home.

When I returned, it would be with the eye of the goddess in my hands. Which might lead to a new set of problems with Ilion and the prince beyond a delayed wedding.

But I would face that when the time came.

I only needed to concentrate on the here and now.

“Perhaps,” I agreed. “Or you could marry him. You would make an excellent queen. And there isn’t anyone else alive who could touch the heart of that horrible man the same way that you could.”

“I have no desire to be queen,” she said. “I have seen what it entails and would prefer a quiet life with a man I love.”

“Like Andronicus?” I teased and she shrugged.

As much as she seemed to enjoy being with him, I realized that she hadn’t once said that she loved him.

It spoke volumes.

“You should tell our parents about what you’re doing,” she said. “They should be given the chance to prepare.”

“If I tell them, they will find a way to undo what I’ve done,” I said. “Everything is in place.”

“It will destroy them to lose another child.”

Her words thrust into me like a sword, just under my ribs and then dragged up to my heart. I had considered what my death would do to my family, but not too closely. It was too painful. “I’m not going to die. You know how stubborn I am.”

Quynh laughed, which had been my intent. “Lia, you are the sister of my heart.”

“And you are of mine,” I said as I hugged her. “I will come back. I will restore Locris and save the people. One for many.”

“I just wish you didn’t have to be the one,” she said against my shoulder.

With a sigh I said, “It had to be someone. It might as well be me.”

CHAPTER FIVE

The palace was a hive of activity as everyone tried to prepare for the Ilionians’ arrival. My mother refused to be embarrassed that her home might not be up to their standards, so we were all roped into cleaning. I had hoped to spend this day talking to my family, saying all the things I needed to say, but instead I was sweeping stone floors.

Quynh proved why she was my favorite person when she found me and said that she had sweet-talked Hippolyta into drawing a bath for me. The water was warm and soothing and I sighed as I lowered myself into it. I thanked Hippolyta for fetching the water. She was one of the few maidservants that we had left, and she was always so helpful and sweet.

I dunked my hair under the water, and Quynh insisted that she help me to wash it. Usually we would work sand into it to clean it and then brush it out, but given that it was a special occasion, we dipped into our ever-diminishing store of soap. It was created from tallow and ashes, and it was a complete luxury to have such clean hair.

“Do you think we’ll have to do this for the male guests?” I asked. In some countries it was normal for the virgin daughters of a household to bathe male visitors. It wasn’t something that any of us had done before, but I had heard rumor that the Ilionians might expect it. I’d never seen an unclothed man before. I was a tiny bit curious.

“I hope not,” she said. “If you’re allowed around naked, unarmed Ilionians, my fear is that they will wind up murdered and then we will certainly have to go to war.”

“True,” I mused. “The temptation might be too great for me to withstand.”

The Ilionians weren’t the only visitors we were expecting. People would arrive from all over Locris to attend the selection.

To bear witness.

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