Page 122 of A Tribute of Fire

If he were in trouble, would I know it?

A mischievous grin lit up his face. “What if I said a little bird told me?”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

My heart stopped completely before it began beating too hard and too fast. Was he being literal? For a brief moment I wondered whether Kunguru was also keeping secrets from me. Could he speak? But that was impossible and ridiculous. I immediately dismissed that possibility.

But I was going to ask Ahyana about it later, just to be certain.

“You have your secrets, and I have mine,” Jason said. I wouldn’t tell him why I’d come to the hetaera house, so he was going to keep how he’d tracked me down to himself.

Had he been watching the temple? Hired someone else to do it?

If he had, why? It made no sense.

Maybe it really had been just a coincidence. Or perhaps the goddess had decided I needed to be punished for approaching her statue without permission and had sent him as a plague to vex me.

If I shared something of why I’d come, would he do the same?

“The owner asked about what happened to my sister,” I said. Truthful, but not the entire story.

Jason frowned slightly, seemingly lost. But then he realized that I was answering his earlier question about what I’d been doing upstairs. The frown stayed put, though. “I’m sorry about what happened to Quynh.”

I hadn’t heard her name out loud in so long that it was like he’d punched an open, gaping wound with all his might. My head felt light and I bent slightly at my waist, needing to catch my breath.

What had the Ilionians done with her? Had her death been quick or slow? Had she suffered? Had her captors triumphantly paraded her lifeless body through their streets before they set her on fire? I squeezed my eyelids shut. I couldn’t think about these kinds of things or I would curl up into a ball and never move again.

His fingers brushed lightly against my arm, as if he intended to hold me. Like he planned to put his hands on my shoulders and then pull me in close. I could have used a hug. It had been so long since I’d had one. I missed that kind of close physical contact.

But he didn’t follow through, dropping his hands away from me. I didn’t know whether to be sad or relieved. I groaned internally. I had to stop being pathetic like this, hoping for some affection from a man willing to offer it to anyone who looked his way. I didn’t have time for Jason. I had something I needed to get done before the sun rose.

Opening my eyes back up, I resumed my determined march toward the docks. Despite how quickly I was moving, he had no issues keeping up with me.

“Do you blame me?” he asked.

His question surprised me. “Why would I blame you for what happened to Quynh?”

“You did on theNikos.”

That was true. I had blamed him and the entire crew for taking us to Ilion and putting our lives in danger. It wasn’t his fault, though. He wasn’t the one who had ripped her out of my arms. I renewed my internal vow to someday find that redheaded man and stab him repeatedly.

“I hope you know that she’s not dead because of me,” he added unnecessarily.

With a shake of my head, I said, “I know that. And I don’t blame you.”

“That feels like progress.”

I was about to tell him to take it any way he wished, but given the kind of person Jason was, I knew he would find some way to take advantage of my statement. Better to stay silent.

But he couldn’t let the conversation falter. “You’re not at all worried that you might be recognized?”

“By who?”

“After your run, you became quite the legend. There are many who would still kill you just for the opportunity to brag about having done so. You did a fair amount of damage. You even killed some men.”

I would not feel bad about that. “They tried to kill me first.”

“You misunderstand me. I wasn’t accusing you—I was admiring you.”

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