A Promise of Fire (31 page)

“A few men and one woman massacred every last Tarvan sent to Ios to kill the new Sintan royals,” Urania continues. “That doesn’t happen unless there’s a lot more to them than we know.”

“Makes me wonder what else they’ve got up their sleeves,” Agatone says, looking to where Griffin, Piers, and Egeria seem to be regaling a group of people with a story we’re too far away to hear. Agatone’s voice conveys curiosity, and maybe even respect. The biting, jealous, condescending tones I’ve been hearing around the room are absent here in this corner where I imagined they’d be the worst.

“Everyone knows there was a great flash of lightning and then a deafening clap of thunder over Ios after the battle,” Oreste adds. “What if Zeus got involved to keep Beta Sinta alive?”

My mouth drops open in shock. In the haze and fatigue, that flash, the boom, that great, terrible voice in my head that I’d never heard before and didn’t recognize… It all got lost in the pleats of my memory, all those days without consciousness or thought.
Zeus. It was Zeus!

Urania’s almost-clear green eyes narrow. “Gods. Powerful magic. There are things at play here. Things we should land on the right side of if we value our lives.” Truth.

“But Gods backing Hoi Polloi?” Oreste asks, seeming more surprised and interested than inherently bothered by the notion.

“It’s not impossible. Don’t forget, they have the mysterious Magoi woman already,” his father reminds him. “Fisan, I heard, which is something in itself. She must see something in them, or at least in Beta Sinta. And never underestimate Hoi Polloi when they decide to fight for something they want. They may be mongrels, but mongrels can be vicious.”

Griffin? A mongrel? And I was starting to like these people. They didn’t fry me once with lies to each other during their whole conversation.

“Sinta will be stronger with all these projects for new roads, schools, and healing centers. Not to mention a growing and loyal Hoi Polloi army, and royals who actually care about defending the realm and not just about themselves.” Urania’s eyes stray to Griffin. Everyone is looking at Griffin. All the time. He’s that magnetic. “Just look at him. This Power Bid won’t be like any other. Maybe Tarva should be worried about Sinta this time, and not the other way around.”

I shift uncomfortably in my sandals. All this talk of invasion, whichever way around, makes me feel like I’m about to pop out with hives.

“And Fisa?” Oreste asks.

Both his parents shrug. Then Agatone says, “Alpha Fisa is a viper. She’ll only strike if you get too close.”

They’ve secluded themselves for too long already, and sensing curious looks from the other guests, the family moves back into the main part of the room. I very much doubt they’ll say anything of interest to the other nobles, at least not tonight, so I leave and come back without turning invisible this time, having already heard enough.

Griffin spots me almost immediately and brings me to Jocasta, handing me a glass of chilled wine. As the three of us circulate, they introduce me as Jocasta’s friend, but from the way Griffin keeps a possessive hand on my lower back, it’s clear I’m more. At Griffin’s side, I draw more attention than I’ve ever wanted, and whispers of “Fisan” and “Magoi” and “power” blanket the air, suffocating me.

After a while, Griffin maneuvers me into an alcove much like the one I was in earlier and leans close to my ear. “Have you picked up anything about Ios?”

I nod, accidentally sending shooting pains through my aching head. “Confirmation of what we already thought. It’s probably the Tarvan royals who sent that tribe to attack.”

Griffin looks back up. “Who thinks that?”

I shift my gaze to the right. “Most notably, the white-haired Water Mage over there, Agatone, and his wife, Urania. She’s the snake charmer.”

“And poison master.”

I nod just a little this time. Griffin’s studying is paying off.

“They’re intrigued. And impressed. They didn’t say it in so many words, but if the Power Bid heats up, I think you have their support.”

“They’d fight with me?” Griffin asks, seeming surprised.

“Well, they wouldn’t fight against you, and that’s already something.”

His eyes glint with satisfaction. “They’re key players. Others will follow their lead.”

“Cultivating their goodwill is important,” I agree. “And they seem reasonable and intelligent, which is a good start.”

“What else?” Griffin asks.

“Calandra of Mylos. Smile at her, say jump, and she’ll ask how high,” I say sourly.

Griffin lifts his eyebrows at my tone.

“She’s the important one in her couple,” I continue, “with both the money and the magic. Her husband married up. She has a weakness for pretty men and, apparently, strange and violent sexual encounters.” I make a face, wishing I hadn’t gotten a vivid taste of
that
truth. “He gives her what she wants, and he gets a high-ranking position in return.” I glance at Griffin. “She took one look at you and decided everything was great. I guess she thinks you’re pretty.”

“Gods forbid,” Griffin mutters.

I smile weakly. I have a headache the size of Zeus’s ego, and I’m burning up. I touch my fingers to my forehead, finding it clammy. “She’s not the most powerful Magoi here, but she’s rich, and she’s protected by her city’s defenses.”

“Mylos has the knowledge scrolls, and every temple containing them has its own company of guards. Altogether, there’s practically an army there, and the commander listens to local nobles like Calandra. She’d make a strong ally, and a potentially difficult enemy. I’ll have to make sure she stays on my side,” Griffin says, finding the statuesque blonde with his eyes.

My voice sours further. “Yes, but without any weird sex.”

The corners of his mouth twitch at my jealous tone. I could swear his chest puffs out. “Anything else?”

“Lots of things, but nothing to worry about. You have everyone thoroughly terrified and impressed with the way you so easily disposed of the previous royal family. The news has traveled from Fisa that someone in Sinta killed Sybaris, and they assume it was you, or at least something to do with you. Then there are the melted Tarvans.”
And a possible intervention from Zeus.
“And, of course, there’s also the mysterious and powerful Magoi working for you—the one drawing nearly as much attention as you are,” I say unhappily.

“Or more,” Griffin says, not helping my nerves. “What about the projects and responsibilities we announced earlier?” he asks.

I shrug. “More surprise than real resistance. Interest, really. Some people, like Agatone and Urania, seem to think the ideas are good and that Sinta will be stronger for them.”

“And here you thought the nobles would all have internal fits when Egeria said they were to spearhead opening healing centers in their areas.”

“They did. Sort of. They got over it faster than I thought they would.”

“What about my requirement that they begin taking more responsibility for shoring up the defenses of their local towns and cities?”

“Same reaction. Mostly surprise. They’ve never been asked to do anything before except pay their taxes and sit around being superior.” I worry my bottom lip, contemplating the possible outcomes we’ve been discussing for days. “I still think letting them build up their own forces is a risk. They might turn into rebellious city-states. They could become too powerful.”

“And I told you, I’ll give them incentives to stay loyal: gold, privileges, my ear so they’ll know their voices matter.” Griffin looks beyond me, surveying the crowd. “Everyone showed up tonight. No one has done anything offensive. You haven’t uncovered any plots to murder or overthrow us. They just want to maintain their status. Otherwise they would have done something by now.”

He’s probably right. “At least Mylos doesn’t need extra protection.”

“No, but it needs a healing center.” He winks. “I’ll personally ask Calandra to be in charge of it.”

I snort. “She’ll love that.”

“She’ll love having a say and getting to push healers around. Most of these people are just bored. It’s up to me to get them doing something useful rather than something destructive.”

My temples are throbbing, but I find a smile for him. “And
that
is why you’re a wise ruler.”

Griffin draws me farther into the alcove, saying quietly, “But beyond all this, we can’t just sit on our hands if Alpha Tarva is preparing to move against us. We only delayed his plans at Ios. Galen Tarva won’t give up that easily.”

“What if it’s not Alpha Tarva? What if it’s his sister, Acantha? She might have planned it all.”

“You have a theory?” he asks.

I always have a theory. “She eliminates all of you and then sets herself up as Alpha Sinta. That way, she doesn’t have to kill her brother or her nephews, which could prove difficult, she ends up with allies next door, and she still gets her own throne, which is all she really wants.”

Griffin frowns. “Alpha Fisa won’t want two realms allied against her. Would she attack?”

I’m having trouble thinking over my excruciating headache. I take a deep breath, but it doesn’t help. “She’d strengthen her border, but I don’t think she’d attack. She’d probably think no one would dare invade Fisa, and not be too worried if they did. Fisans are pretty convinced of their own superiority.”

“You don’t say?” Griffin drawls.

I give him the evil eye. It doesn’t feel very evil. “Magic is strongest in Fisa. It has the biggest chunk of the Ice Plains, and the Fisan royals are the only ones still blood-related to the Origin.”

“The Origin? You mean the first king of Thalyria?”

“He was a God, remember. Zeus’s son. Half-Olympian, half-Titan. A combination of the old Gods and the new. Zeus created Thalyria for him.”

Griffin curses. “Does that mean Andromeda has God-like power?”

I shake my head. “She’s very powerful, but the line is too diluted for that. It’s been thousands of years. Gods are immortal, not unkillable. The Origin’s demigod offspring, two sons and a daughter, turned on him. They beheaded him and then fell into war with each other, eventually splitting their father’s kingdom into three realms: Sinta, Tarva, and Fisa.”

“And Andromeda is the only living descendant of the Origin?”

“Andromeda…and her children.”

His lip curls in distaste. I think I turn a shade whiter, but I was probably pretty pasty to begin with.

“Does she hold Zeus’s favor?”

I swallow, my chest tightening with indefinable emotion, the echo of a booming voice swelling in my head. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not?” Griffin asks. “She’s his blood relation.”

She’s not the only one…

Griffin is so capable that I sometimes forget we come from completely different backgrounds. In the south, people learn to fight and survive, farm and build, make and trade. Everything is like the climate, gritty and real. Ancient history is irrelevant, and Gods are worshipped, not studied. “Zeus hates infanticide because he was almost swallowed whole by his own father. In my opinion, Andromeda has brought about the death of too many of her own children to hold Zeus’s favor,” I explain.

Griffin looks out over the crowd, his eyes cool and assessing, his bearing confident and proud. People watch us curiously, but no one dares approach our private alcove. The guests here aren’t stupid enough to bother the Alpha wolf in his den. “The Power Bid is in motion. There’s no turning back.” Griffin shifts his gaze back to me. “So let’s do it our way.”

“Do what?” I ask.

“Take over the realms.”

I stop breathing. “Excuse me?”

“We’ll bring things full circle. No more divided rulers. One kingdom, like the Origin’s.”

“Who? Where?” I sputter.

“Us. Wherever you want.”

And I thought I felt sick
before
. This conversation is giving me a new appreciation for the dangers of tachycardia. “Ambitious, aren’t you?” I ask, trying not to hyperventilate.

“You think I’d be here if I wasn’t?”

“You already have a realm. We could all die in a war. We could destroy it all.”
I
could destroy it all. “It’s not worth it.”

“It
is
worth it. We could change everything.” His eyes suddenly blaze, turning a luminous gray. “That’s what you told me in the oracular dream.”

“I… But…”

“It’s why Poseidon brought us together.” Determination darkens his features, molding them into his conqueror’s mask. “I understand now. It’s what we’re supposed to do.”

“No.” All I can do is shake my head, stubbornly denying what sounds too true. “No.”

Turning to me, Griffin smooths his hands down my arms. “I know you’re scared, but maybe we can avoid an all-out war.”

“How?” I croak.

His fingers capture mine. “I have a secret weapon.”

My eyes widen. “What?”

“You.”

Good Gods! He has no idea how true that is.
I kill one person, take my rightful place, declare the Origin’s kingdom restored, crush Tarvan resistance, and… My stomach lurches, and I beat down nausea. “What happens when our children start fighting each other? Or our children’s children? That’s how we ended up like we are now.”

Griffin shakes his head. “It won’t happen like that. We’ll bring peace to the realms. Healing.”

Healing
. That’s exactly what Poseidon said, his voice thundering in my ears like a thousand storms rolling over the seas. What if we
are
supposed to unify the realms? But what about the prophecy? Why is my destiny written in destruction?

Griffin frowns. I must look as ill as I feel because his voice deepens with concern. “Cat?”

I shudder. “Plans like this… You have to talk to Egeria. She’s Alpha.”

A tiny muscle ticks under Griffin’s eye. For the first time, I think he’s annoyed he didn’t put himself in charge. Then again, I guess he was saving himself for bigger things—like
everything
.

“We decide,” he finally says. “You and me.”

“
We
decide?” I snort softly. “I don’t want to get married, and I
really
don’t want to invade Fisa, but you appear to have decided on both without ever consulting me.”