Page 115 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

I could almost hear Orion’s voice telling me not to tell her anything. Rhea might be Riordan’s sister, but I knew to use caution with her. She liked to gossip far too much, and Riordan anticipated that this news might make any possible enemies in the kingdom rather nervous that he was making such powerful alliances.

“Yes, I am very excited to go! I am told that it has been a while since they received guests there. We are extremely honoured that they invited us,” I said, avoiding the answer about whether we’d sent an envoy to the elves.

“Well, of course they invited their new king! Are you excited for the ceremony? Everyone is wondering if my brother will invite all the Ktínos to join us. It has never been done before,” she revealed as if it were scandalous.

“I believe he means to have all the appropriate officials there, including the newly appointed ones,” I answered.

“Lots of security then,” she mused, swirling her drink in her crystal goblet, although I was not sure that she was pleased by the prospect. I still was not able to get a read on Rhea when it came to her feelings on the Ktínos and her brother’s work. “Speaking of them, you should stay away from the Ktínos today. It is the full moon.”

“Why is that?” I prompted her in confusion since I had seen Ares, Helena, and Orion that morning for breakfast and none of them seemed any different.

“Imítheos are not as affected by the moon, but I have heard stories about how the Ktínos are driven to frenzy. Just… do not be alone with any of their males,” she said kindly as if she were giving me sage advice.

She took a swill of her wine, and a wave of indignance swelled up inside me. It was on the tip of my tongue to reassure her that the Ktínos were just fine, I actually knew the feeling of being unsafe, and I’d never felt safer than I did among the Ktínos.

Sofia caught my eye as Rhea’s handmaid, Kassia, went to get another bottle of wine. My friend gave me a subtle shake of her head, but I was not convinced silence was the best way to confront such blatant bigotry.

“I have not noticed a difference in them. They seem as reasonable as they always are,” I assured the princess with as much calm confidence as I could muster.

Rhea did not even acknowledge what I had said as she finished her drink.

“Any idea where my brother will take you for your first night together after the ceremony?” she asked.

She was focused on Kassia who poured her another glass of the wine, so she missed the way I blinked at her in utter shock. I realized she had to be far drunker than I’d thought because that was such an inappropriately personal question for an Imítheos to ask.

“No,” I told her simply, and she finally raised her head with brows furrowed in either concern or confusion.

“Are you not in my brother’s confidence?” she asked, looking suspicious, and I wondered if that was actually all she cared about. She had no real interest in helping me, only in having a hand on the strings that she thought were attached to herbrother. Rhea had already admitted that her mother wanted to see me in order to discuss her son. Something I needed to bring up with Riordan in case she really did have important information about the way that the Imítheos were responding. But perhaps that was all I had ever been to Rhea too: leverage for the king.

Not that I was too heartbroken over it. I didn’t really care for Riordan’s sister, and although I appreciated that it was important to play the game, it was also critical to know who people really were.

“Some things are better left as surprises,” I covered with as casual a shrug as I could while raising my glass to her as if to toast.

“I do not like surprises. They too often get you killed,” Rhea declared, but she tapped her glass against mine and drank with me while I mulled over her cryptic words.

Orion

“This is Amira. My mate,” Riordan told his spy when the witch finally joined us in the king’s old office in Ergastiri after her brunch with the princess.

She was still dressed in a pretty gown and full makeup rather than the sensible leathers she usually changed into when we worked or trained. And I could not help noticing how the heavy silk moulded to her form, leaving little to the imagination concerning her body. The wide belt only further accentuated the graceful curve of her waist and the swell of her hips as she strode into the office.

The witch had been growing steadily more confident in herself as Sofia dressed her more and more beautifully. But she seemedespecially self-assured after she had taken on the relief program in the Rookery. Perhaps it was false bravado, or maybe she’d simply needed to find her purpose, but I had finally been able to catch a glimpse of the woman Riordan had been telling me about.

And I respected her a lot more than the insecure and timid little creature that the witch had seemed at first.

I still had concerns over her ability to use his magic and how controversial Riordan’s choice of her was for the majority of his subjects. But I had also been watching and listening to her and Riordan, not just in the meetings with the King’s Council, but at breakfast and during training. And it became clear that they really did complement one another surprisingly well. He emboldened her, and she softened him. He bolstered her confidence; she cultivated some greatly needed humility in him.

I was still hurt and grieving the loss of the relationship that I’d hoped to have with myskiá. Seeing him touch her in the free way that used to be reserved only for me was truly heartbreaking. But as the razor-sharp edge of my anger grew dull, I started to see beyond my own pain.

Helena, whose shrewd judgement I trusted above that of almost anyone, had embraced the witch even after she learned that she could use Riordan’s magic. The others initially accepted her because they trusted the judgement of our king, but I could tell they had genuinely begun to like the witch too. And she even managed to win over members of the King’s Council which was not something I had expected. Although that was not because they were especially fond of her, but rather that they recognized the impact she had on their king.

Which made herusefulto them.

But above all else, Riordan was happy, and as much as it cut me down to the bone that he was with someone else, I would have given him my last breath if he asked.

Besides, she was right about one thing; Riordan made it clear that neither of us would be displaced in favour of the other. My relationship with myskiáwas not changing, and that precious friendship had been more than enough for centuries, so I’d find a way to make it enough again.

It had to be enough.

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