Athena’s—
Destroy him
Find—
Find—
Athena’s Weapon.
Terena bolted upright,her chest heaving as she gasped for air. She didn’t know where she was for a moment. She looked down and saw the bed in the dim light of dawn coming through the small window.
Was she back at the inn? Was she still in Messene?
Terena’s eyes darted right and saw the lump of Sonah’s body huddled beneath the covers. Wiping her hand over her face, she exhaled. She threw off the covers, rising and dressing as quietly as possible.
Before leaving, she paused and turned back to Sonah.
Terena took a few steps closer and gazed down at the girl. She could not see her face, her mass of blonde hair covering most of it.
My sister.
Still coming to terms with what the oracle had told her, this at least was something she did not question.
Her breathing hitched as she reached out a hand, pulling back quickly when Sonah moaned and shifted, burying her head even more within her pillow. There’d be time for them to talk, but it was enough now for Terena to see her.
Turning to pad softly across the room, Terena glanced over her shoulder at Sonah before unlocking the door, lifting the latch as she pulled it open ever so slowly and ducked out.
The innkeeper was at his desk, nodding at her as she passed. Terena paused when she saw Rydon sitting at the back table in the common room. He was holding a mug, steam rising from the rim. As she neared, he looked up, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline when he saw her.
“Where’d you come from?”
Terena’s brow wrinkled. “What do you mean? I was upstairs sleeping.”
Rydon stared at her as she sat. He glanced over her shoulder as the innkeeper came around the bar toward them.
He leaned in before the innkeeper reached them.“The fuck you were,” he hissed at her. “You left yesterday with the acolyte, remember?”
Startled, Terena whipped her gaze to him. The innkeeper asked if she’d like anything for breakfast and she blinked, looking back at him as she searched for words.
“Get her the eggs with bread. And coffee,” Rydon said when she didn’t answer.
The innkeeper waited a moment, possibly to see if Terena would say something different. When she nodded, he turned and strode toward the door leading to the kitchen in back.
Terena looked around to ensure they were alone before she leaned closer to Rydon. “That was the last time you saw me?” she whispered. “When I left with David?”
Rydon nodded. “Aye. How did you get back? And when?”
Terena lifted her eyebrows and shook her head. “Fuck if I know. This has been the strangest few days of my life.”
A corner of Rydon’s lips crooked up. “Only the last few days?”
Terena pulled a face.
“Not sure how we missed you getting back, unless we were already abed,” Rydon said, his eyes searching her face. “So? How was it?”
Terena let out an enormous sigh. “Honestly? Still trying to process. They drugged me.”
Rydon choked a bit on his coffee. He stared at her. “What the fuck?”
