Page 67 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

I looked at them over my shoulder but quickly saw that my intervention was completely unnecessary. Sofia was dragging her eyes over my guardian, deliberately taking her time to consider each and every gorgeous inch of him. She didnotlook like a chaste Imítheos handmaid but a Ktínos warrior who was calm and confident.

“Muddy my skirt, brute. Idareyou,” she retorted.

Ares looked so pleasantly surprised that he was not even offended by her slur. He swayed a little closer to her, invading her space completely, and then snapped his sharp canines down at her in a mock bite. I couldn’t decide if it was meant to be flirtatious or threatening, but either way, Sofia was unphased.

Ares continued to eye her with that strange intensity and a crooked grin which was at once teasing and slightly hostile before he turned back toward the guards. I stopped walking so Sofia could catch up, but her head turned over her shoulder to watch Ares shouting commands.

“I think his bark is worse than his bite,” I advised her, but she did not look rattled by him the way that Rhea had been the night before as she faced forward again.

“I know perfectly well why he would dislike me. I am at peace with it,” she assured me with a shrug.

“Ignore him,” Helena suggested, surprising us both when she fell into stride on my other side. “Ares is a bully and a shameless flirt. It is a most vexing combination.”

I snorted a laugh and turned my attention to the city around us. The squat, mudbrick buildings and cobblestone streets were filled with griffins who were dressed simply and humbly in cotton and linen.

Ares maintained some distance from us all morning, overseeing the guards that tracked us through the city from the rooftops. It was distracting at first to be followed like that by many soldiers, but soon enough, we entered the marketplace which was teeming with people. Not just Ktínos, but fey as well, too many kinds for me to name. There were musicians playing in courtyards and children in rags darting through everyone’s legs. I was reminded of my own childhood pickpocketing unsuspecting people, and I could not help wondering how many coin purses were being snatched off belts. The scent of the freshfish, flowers, fruit, and perfumes in the market stands that were manned by both griffins and fey was incredible.

Sofia hooked her arm with mine to keep me close and began to shop the vendors. She had said her father was not Ktínos, merely a sympathetic Imítheos, but she was so comfortable in the Rookery, she could have fooled me. She’d brought some money which she kept in a coin purse under a heavy bag where it would be almost impossible for someone to get at it. She seemed to know the proper costs of things and where to go to get them.

“You have been here lots before,” I observed after a while, and she shrugged.

“The Metropolis is a great hub of commerce, but there are rarely fey items sold there unless it is repurposed by an Imítheos vendor. I know a fantastic seamstress here,” she admitted with a glance at me as if nervous that I’d disapprove. “She is fey. I would never bring another lady to her, but I suspect you will not mind her?”

“Not in the least!” I reassured her. “I trust you.”

And I was astonished to realize that I did, or at least Iwantedto trust her, which was remarkable for someone like me who had spent their life mostly distrusting others. Perhaps it was her genuine kindness and acceptance of me and the Ktínos whom I’d already come to like. Or perhaps it was the fact that she would not be intimidated by Orion or Ares despite all their best efforts. More likely it was that I felt a kinship with her thanks to our harsh pasts.

It reminded me of Ornella, and my heart ached.

“You say that Orion won’t be yourskiá,” Sofia stated, cautious about prying even after we’d spent the morning getting familiar and comfortable with one another.

“Correct,” I told her without taking my eyes off the delicious snack in my hand made of yogurt and berries.

“May I ask… why? I am sorry to be nosey, it is just usual forskiáto share their female mate so I am curious,” Sofia admitted with a wince.

“For an Imítheos, you are shameless and outspoken,” Helena informed her approvingly. Another compliment which Sofia accepted with a smirk and a shrug. It was as if being out from under the confines of the Metropolis had made her freer and more comfortable.

“You can ask me anything. I am not afraid to tell either of you that he is a spectacular arse who hated me before he even met me,” I shrugged.

“He is jealous over the king,” Sofia guessed, and I did not miss the way Helena’s head jolted in her direction.

“You know that?” I gasped at them both, and Helena snorted at me.

“I practically raised those boys. Of course I know how Orion feels. Everyone but Riordan knows it.”

“Well, then you know why he could never be myskiá,” I pointed out and shrugged as I returned my attention to the melting treat in my hand.

“Then he is one of the Ktínos who prefer only males?” guessed Sofia, looking at Helena who shrugged.

“I have yet to see or hear of him taking a female into his bed,” she admitted, and then she glowered at someone. “Not likethatone who cannot seem to keep the females out of his bed,” she muttered, shaking her head.

Sofia and I turned to where Ares was chatting with a pretty Ktínos woman.

“Imítheos males do not have any such preferences,” Sofia told us, facing forward as we continued to walk. “They do not feel desire until choosing a mate or being bound by thetaíribond, so they typically feel desire for both their male and female companions.”

“That makes sense, but Helena, are you saying you’ve actuallyseenOrion… with men in his bed?” I verified with heated cheeks and wide eyes as I peered at her from around Sofia. “Or do you just mean you have observed his relationships?”

Helena laughed rather loudly at me.

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