bruised and in tears
of pain on more than one occasion.
He was grinning, which pissed me off
more.
Rolling my shoulders back, I settled my gaze
on him. “I’m ready.”
“Fighting isn’t supposed to be pretty or
easy,” he reminded me. “You don’t have Herakles’ size or Adonis’
speed.”
“They’re both more disciplined than you
are.”
“True, but I fight dirty, and that’s what you
need to learn if you’re going to take on men like us.” This time,
when he attacked, he pierced my defenses and smacked me across the
cheek hard enough to jar me out of my senses.
Catching myself against the ropes, I spun,
anger flaring to life inside me. My cheek burned from the
strike.
“There we go. That’s what we need,” Niko
said. “Now you’re ready.” He waved me forward, inviting me to
attack.
I didn’t know why he pushed me the way he
did, but I didn’t care.
I attacked him with everything I had.
We sparred for over an hour,
until I was panting too hard to move, and Niko was satisfied with
what he called progress, which was the name he gave to undoing the
training I’d already been taught. Herakles had done everything with
honor, even fighting, whereas Niko did nothing with honor,
especially not fighting. His philosophy was to win at any cost.
“You’re probably not going to survive Cleon,
but at least you’ll be a little harder to take down,” Niko
said.
Asshole. Doubled over, I struggled to catch my breath.
“And the answer is no about meeting Lantos,”
he added. “I’m not even going to tell Cleon the request came
in.”
Niko threw me a towel then draped one over
his neck.
I straightened. On the surface, Cleon was in
control of my life. But Niko was the one managing me day-to-day and
reporting my activities to Cleon. I didn’t want to meet with
Lantos, but I didn’t want anyone else telling me what to do with
every minute of my life either.
“Lantos already knows I don’t want to see
him,” I said when I’d caught my breath.
“He’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Queen is gone. There’s only one man
capable of competing with Cleon for power left in DC.”
“You think Cleon will expel him?” I asked,
genuinely curious at the insight.
“If he’s smart, he’ll take a more permanent
approach and not let Lantos escape like he did the Queen,” Niko
answered. “We’ve almost completed consolidating SISA into my army,
and the gods aren’t doing shit for us now. There won’t be a need
for a Supreme Priest, once Cleon is satisfied.”
Niko was not normally this talkative. If he
had a purpose in revealing this information to me, what was it?
The army commander said nothing more and left
the gym floor for the locker rooms. I wiped sweat from my brow and
hopped down from the boxing ring, my legs wobbly. I snatched my
clothes off the floor as I crossed to the door. My escorts were
waiting.
We all trekked back to the villa that was
mine, and I entered alone, passing the other guards stationed just
inside my doorway. As I reached my bedroom, I caught sight of
Leandra, my servant and longtime classmate from the forest where
we’d both been raised.
Was Niko warning me about Lantos’ fate
because he thought I’d tell Lantos? Was it a warning for me to
behave?
Or … did Niko give me false information
because he suspected what Leandra was – the head of a spy network
created by the priests who knew my fate? Leandra was my connection
to Theodocia, the leader of the insurgency. If Niko or Cleon ever
found that out, I’d be on the wall where Cecelia was now, and
Leandra would probably be dead.
The beautiful blonde girl my age was nibbling
on the afternoon snacks she had placed on the table near the bay
window in my room. If anyone would know what Niko was up to, it was
Leandra, who was trained in human intelligence.
My eyes went from her to the tall, wide wall
opposite the door. Despair unfurled within me, along with a sense
of being
of pain on more than one occasion.
He was grinning, which pissed me off
more.
Rolling my shoulders back, I settled my gaze
on him. “I’m ready.”
“Fighting isn’t supposed to be pretty or
easy,” he reminded me. “You don’t have Herakles’ size or Adonis’
speed.”
“They’re both more disciplined than you
are.”
“True, but I fight dirty, and that’s what you
need to learn if you’re going to take on men like us.” This time,
when he attacked, he pierced my defenses and smacked me across the
cheek hard enough to jar me out of my senses.
Catching myself against the ropes, I spun,
anger flaring to life inside me. My cheek burned from the
strike.
“There we go. That’s what we need,” Niko
said. “Now you’re ready.” He waved me forward, inviting me to
attack.
I didn’t know why he pushed me the way he
did, but I didn’t care.
I attacked him with everything I had.
We sparred for over an hour,
until I was panting too hard to move, and Niko was satisfied with
what he called progress, which was the name he gave to undoing the
training I’d already been taught. Herakles had done everything with
honor, even fighting, whereas Niko did nothing with honor,
especially not fighting. His philosophy was to win at any cost.
“You’re probably not going to survive Cleon,
but at least you’ll be a little harder to take down,” Niko
said.
Asshole. Doubled over, I struggled to catch my breath.
“And the answer is no about meeting Lantos,”
he added. “I’m not even going to tell Cleon the request came
in.”
Niko threw me a towel then draped one over
his neck.
I straightened. On the surface, Cleon was in
control of my life. But Niko was the one managing me day-to-day and
reporting my activities to Cleon. I didn’t want to meet with
Lantos, but I didn’t want anyone else telling me what to do with
every minute of my life either.
“Lantos already knows I don’t want to see
him,” I said when I’d caught my breath.
“He’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Queen is gone. There’s only one man
capable of competing with Cleon for power left in DC.”
“You think Cleon will expel him?” I asked,
genuinely curious at the insight.
“If he’s smart, he’ll take a more permanent
approach and not let Lantos escape like he did the Queen,” Niko
answered. “We’ve almost completed consolidating SISA into my army,
and the gods aren’t doing shit for us now. There won’t be a need
for a Supreme Priest, once Cleon is satisfied.”
Niko was not normally this talkative. If he
had a purpose in revealing this information to me, what was it?
The army commander said nothing more and left
the gym floor for the locker rooms. I wiped sweat from my brow and
hopped down from the boxing ring, my legs wobbly. I snatched my
clothes off the floor as I crossed to the door. My escorts were
waiting.
We all trekked back to the villa that was
mine, and I entered alone, passing the other guards stationed just
inside my doorway. As I reached my bedroom, I caught sight of
Leandra, my servant and longtime classmate from the forest where
we’d both been raised.
Was Niko warning me about Lantos’ fate
because he thought I’d tell Lantos? Was it a warning for me to
behave?
Or … did Niko give me false information
because he suspected what Leandra was – the head of a spy network
created by the priests who knew my fate? Leandra was my connection
to Theodocia, the leader of the insurgency. If Niko or Cleon ever
found that out, I’d be on the wall where Cecelia was now, and
Leandra would probably be dead.
The beautiful blonde girl my age was nibbling
on the afternoon snacks she had placed on the table near the bay
window in my room. If anyone would know what Niko was up to, it was
Leandra, who was trained in human intelligence.
My eyes went from her to the tall, wide wall
opposite the door. Despair unfurled within me, along with a sense
of being
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