Page 20 of A Tribute of Fire

He didn’t seem concerned, though. If anything he seemed amused. “Was the kiss not to your liking?”

“Who are you?” I demanded, crouching into a fighting position.

His smile grew bigger. “We’ve already had this discussion. My name is Jason.”

“An Ilionian.” I spat the word out.

“Yes. I also just made that clear.”

I used my dagger to point at the amber beads around his neck. “You’re wearing Pyronean beads. I thought you were a Pyronean nobleman.”

“I’m not a nobleman.” If he was at all concerned about me pointing a weapon at him, he didn’t show it. He was the picture of ease and amusement. “I’m a sailor. First mate to Trierarch Nereus. He is the captain who oversees the transport of the maidens every year.”

That was so much worse than simply being from Ilion. Jason was actively involved in the sacrifice of maidens. I raised my dagger higher.

He uncrossed his arms and took a step toward me. I held my ground while he kept speaking. “I found a very accommodating Pyronean woman earlier today and she gave me these beads as a token of her affection.”

Bile rose up in my throat. What was wrong with me? How could I have imagined that my soul had recognized his? I wondered what it said about me that I’d thought I was fated to be with an Ilionian sailor who actively participated in killing innocent maidens and apparently had spent his entire first day in Locris kissing every woman he came across.

I scowled. He had just cheapened everything that had passed between us. It had meant nothing to him—I was just another willing woman who had been fool enough to fall for his charm. To not recognize the danger he presented.

I really was the stupid girl that Demaratus constantly accused me of being.

There were two things I wanted in that moment—the first was to return to my room and scrub everywhere he had kissed or touched me.

The second was to give him even a fraction of the pain he had just caused me. He was only a sailor. My father wouldn’t be too angry with me for disemboweling a sailor, would he?

Especially one who took maidens to Ilion?

As if he could hear my thoughts, Jason said, “You should put your dagger away. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’m not the one who is going to get hurt. I am going to cut out your lying tongue.”

“That would be a shame, seeing how much you just enjoyed it.” He purred the words, his voice silky and slightly menacing. My body traitorously shivered, enjoying his tone and what he’d said. I shook my head. I would not be tempted by him ever again. He took another step toward me.

“You should have told me from the beginning that you were from Ilion!”

“What would be fun about that? To be fair, I didn’t tell you anything. You made an assumption.”

Jason was not going to turn this around on me. I tightened my hold on my weapon. “I will slit your—”

His movements were so quick that I didn’t have time to react, to come up with a countermeasure. He swept my feet out from underneath me while simultaneously knocking my dagger out of my hand.

Before I could slam into the ground, he was there, catching and lowering me down the last bit. Then he pinned me into place, his hands holding down my wrists as he sat atop my hips, straddling me.

I struggled, attempting to move, but it was like being held by a stone wall. I was stuck.

We were both breathing hard as he stared down at me. My body tingled at his nearness and I tried to stop it. But it was as if it were working independently from my mind and I couldn’t control its response.

His gaze dropped down to my lips and I was torn between wanting him to kiss me and finding a way to get my hands free so that I could squeeze the life from his neck.

For several long, aching, desperate heartbeats, I didn’t know what he was going to do.

Or how I would respond to it.

Then his voice was low, full of deadly intensity. “If you intend to slit your opponent’s throat, you should not talk about it first. Do not hesitate. Act immediately. Your enemy will do the same.”

I was going to headbutt him, but he moved out of the way so that I couldn’t reach him while still managing to hold me down. I tried thrashing my torso up and had to strangle back a scream of frustration.

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