Page 117 of House of Dusk
Ichos set his cup down with a clang that sounded very much like the ring of a sword being drawn. “What?”
“My...my contacts. The others I work with. They sent me here to rescue the kore. That was all. That was my mission. But now they want...you.”
Sinoe blinked. Then understanding settled over her. “They want the Sibyl of Tears.”
“I won’t let them do it. I’ll get them the kore’s bones, but they won’t get anywhere near you, Sinoe.”
The princess frowned into her teacup. “I believe you, Yen. I do.Two maidens shall be bound, but only one shall walk free if the divided heart remains.”
“My heart isn’t divided,” Yeneris said. “It never has been. I love my people. And I love you. I don’t need to choose. It’s a false choice.” She reached out, taking Sinoe’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I choose both.”
“Love?” Sinoe’s lips twitched, but there was something raw beneath the humor. Something tender and sweet that drew Yeneris like a bee to bloom.
“Love,” she repeated, honing the word against her heart, making it sharp enough to slice through whatever trials the Fates threw before them. It was dizzying. To think she’d been afraid that giving in to her feelings might make her weak. Might somehow dilute her courage. Yeneris could have wrestled a lion. Could have leapt the Bleeding Sands in a single bound, if it lay between her and Sinoe.
But therewasnothing between them now. All that was past. The world might be spinning toward a second cataclysm, but she was not alone. She would never be alone.
Sinoe made a sort of low growl, tugging Yeneris down for another kiss.
Ichos groaned. “Could we save the flirting until after the apocalypse is averted?”
“I think the eve of the apocalypse is the perfect time for flirting,” said Sinoe, releasing Yeneris with a wicked wink. “Speaking of which. Ichos, brother dear, do you think you might arrange a sparring match with Lord Hura? He offered his help, and I think it’s time we took him up on it.”
CHAPTER 32
YENERIS
“Aren’t you worried your father will find out?” Yeneris asked, as she and Sinoe made their way out along the gravel path to the athletic field. “I thought he didn’t want you speaking with the Scarthian emissaries.”
“We’re not speaking with anyone,” Sinoe said. “We just happened to be passing by on the way to the shrine, and saw my brother, and stopped to say hello.”
“Your brother, who just happens to be sparring with the ambassador’s son.”
Sinoe rolled her eyes. “I know, yes, fine, it doesn’t look entirely innocent, but Father’s got plenty of other distractions right now. Agia Beroe’s barge is nearly to the docks, and he wants a grand procession to welcome her. Get the people all fired up for their new queen’s rebirth.”
They found the prince and Hura in a wide sandy sparring ring, both armed with blunted spears. They were both quite skilled to Yeneris’s eye, though her training had leaned more toward small secret blades than spears. Lord Hura seemed to have a slight advantage, landing a sharp crack to the back of the prince’s knees as they approached. Spotting Sinoe, he broke off the attack, dipping his head. “Princess Sinoe. You bless us with your presence, as always.”
Sinoe snorted. “It’s certainly a blessing for my brother. It looks as if I just saved you from a proper trouncing, Ichos.”
The prince scowled. “I was doing fine. That was a good trick there, though,” he added, glancing to Hura. “I didn’t even see it coming.”
“Few do,” said Hura. “But I’d be happy to teach you. Today seems to be a day for learning new things.”
His eyes rested on Sinoe briefly, and his smile sharpened. “That’s a lovely hair ornament, princess. Is it new?”
Sinoe brushed a careless hand over her dark hair, which had been twisted up atop her head, held by the amber pin. “Yes. A gift, from someone I love very much.” Her voice wobbled slightly. “A generous gift.”
“Ah. I’m sure they will be pleased to know that you appreciate it.”
“I do,” said Sinoe. “I would very much like to see them again. But that isn’t possible right now. Perhaps after my father’s wedding. I have duties here. Responsibilities I cannot abandon.”
Hura’s smile became slightly fixed. He glanced toward Ichos. “Yes. Your brother told me some of this. But princess, surely you can leave those duties to others. You have an opportunity now. It may not come again.”
Sinoe drew in a breath, shading her eyes as she glanced around the empty field. “No,” she said, her voice lower, serious now, for all that she continued to smile as if in the midst of some trivial conversation about the weather. “Ichos told you about Lacheron, yes?”
Hura tamped the butt of his spear into the sandy ground. “He told me a pack of wild-wind tales. The sort of thing my grandfather sang over the fire at midwinter.”
“I know,” said Sinoe. “But this is real. Yen and I saw it. Saw him ordering the skotoi. Heard him speaking with that nasty, nameless thing in the brazier.” She turned to Yeneris for confirmation.
