Page 23 of A Tribute of Fire

CHAPTER EIGHT

Several people turned in my direction and I immediately bent down to pick up the broken clay plate.

My gentle sister, who just two days ago had wept over a dirty seagull that had crashed into the outer wall of the palace and died, was to be married to that monster?

I had to stop this from happening. But how?

It was nearly impossible to undo royal marriage contracts once all parties had agreed to them. The only reason my parents had been able to break the original one with Prince Alexandros and Kallisto was because they could offer me as a substitute.

And I had seen the marriage contract from Lykaon’s family in my father’s study. It had been written to be favorable to his family, not ours. There had been some legal blustering over the fact that we had previously broken another contract and they wanted to make certain that they wouldn’t be put aside so easily.

At the time I had wondered why my parents had agreed to such a heavily slanted document, but now I understood that things in Locris must have been more desperate than I realized.

The terms of that contract could ruin us. Lykaon’s family could instill serious financial fines if my parents reneged. And I knew they would end it once I told them what Lykaon had done to me. They would do it to protect Kallisto.

There had to be another way. If Locris could be restored, we would have the resources to fight back or to pay off Lykaon’s family.

Either that or I would have to find my dead brother and figure out a way to resurrect him. As the eldest the throne would have belonged to him. If he had lived, Kallisto would have been safe. I wondered how far a life mage’s powers could extend with a full eye.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked as he stooped down next to me, trying to help.

I hit his hands away. “I’m just clumsy.”

Then I made the mistake of glancing over at him. His gaze latched on to mine, not allowing me to look away. “You are not clumsy. You are very practiced, sure, and confident in your movements. Even with ones you’ve never done before.”

He didn’t have to clarify his meaning—I could feel my own cheeks burning under his words and implication.

I gathered all my mess just as Hippolyta walked by with a tray. I called her over and put everything on the tray for her to discard.

Jason stayed close, even though I had clearly indicated that I was done with him. He nodded at the dais. “I feel sorry for her.”

“For the princess?” I asked. When he nodded, I added, “Why?”

“Lykaon and his father are well known in Troas for their cruelty. I would be willing to bet that as soon as the princess gives birth, Lykaon will have her killed so that he can take her throne.”

My mouth dropped, my hand going over my roiling stomach. This was so much worse than I’d initially thought. My mind frantically tried to think of a quick solution.

“Perhaps there is another man from Ilion she could marry. A wealthier man.” One who could protect her from the financial penalties Lykaon’s family would impose.

“His father, Pelias, would never allow it. There is no one wealthier than him in all of Ilion and they have influence everywhere. No one would dare cross him.”

“Not even the prince?” I asked. Maybe I would have to reevaluate my plans if Prince Alexandros would be a viable path to help save Kallisto.

“Especially not him,” Jason said with a laugh. “The prince is a powerless, pathetic man.”

My hopes were dashed. “Do you know him?”

“I’ve never had the pleasure. In my experience royalty doesn’t spend much time with people like me.”

That wasn’t currently true, but I wasn’t going to share that information with him. Instead I found myself asking, “Have you seen the prince in a royal processional? Or ...” What else did they do in Ilion where the royals might make an appearance? “A religious parade?”

“I don’t spend much time gawking on parade routes. I have a job to do.”

My blasted curiosity forced me to keep asking him questions. I’d never spoken to an Ilionian before and Prince Alexandros was supposed to have been my husband. I wanted to know more. “I heard he’s malformed.”

“In what way?” he queried.

“Some traders say he’s half-man, half-beast.”

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