A fraught silence followed his question, and Terena saw Xoran tense.
“Vassori,” he whispered. She did not turn to look at him, but she canted her head at his plea. “Do not. I beg you.”
“Listen to your brother,” Terena said when the silence continued. “I do not need your sword. I have Rydon?—”
“And me.”
“And an Olympian god with an army of ten thousand men that grows every day.” Rydon added with smug satisfaction.
“Hermes is the trickster god,” Xoran fumed. “Do not think because you’re a god he will not use his clever tongue to deceive you. Has he told you what happens when you reach two and twenty? What happens to your eudaemon?”
“Aye,” Terena said, glaring at him. “He’s told me I will become immortal and my powers will manifest fully. And Rydon will be mortal once more.”
“Rydon?” Xoran sneered. “What of Commander Antonius of the Liodari?”
Croak made an unpleasant sound, but Terena ignored him. She cursed inwardly at how the heat rushed to her neck and face at the mention of Daris’s name. Pretending a calm she no longer felt, she shrugged.
“What care have I of the commander?”
Xoran laughed, his face incredulous. His sister hissed at him but the captain was very animated, crossing to Vassori’s side with manic glee.
“Your care, goddess, is most definitely with the commander. And if Hermes told you this one is your eudaemon,” he jabbed a finger in Rydon’s direction, “then he’s already spun lies for you.”
“Speak plain,” Rydon roared, his face a deep red. Spittle gleamed near his mouth where the hairs of his beard shook. “What is he lying about?”
Xoran seemed to revel in the moment, his chest puffed out as he shifted his gaze from Terena to Rydon. “You are not her eudaemon. Daris Antonius is.”
Stunned,Rydon gaped for a moment before erupting. He lunged for the Captain of the Imperial Guard, his hands fisting in the man’s tunic before Terena and Vassori could think to stop him.
“Rydon! Rydon, stop!” Terena yelled over Vassori’s shouts. Behind them, he heard Croak’s distinct laughter. Vassori had a hand wrapped around Rydon’s wrist, tugging ineffectually.
It was Terena’s voice, close to his ear, a breath away from Xoran, who calmed him.
“Rydon,” she whispered. “If it’s true, it changes nothing. You are for Sonah, and I am glad of it. I am glad, do you hear me? I cannot think of a man more worthy to watch over my sister. Do you hear me?”
“What?” Xoran whispered, his mouth dropping open. “What—Sonah Yahn… is your sister?”
Looking between the two of them, understanding dawned and his expression changed to awe.
“And a god. How?” Xoran’s face went through a range of emotions finally settling on satisfaction, a smile blooming as he turned to Terena.
“Shut the fuck up,” Rydon growled, his face so close to the captain, spittle landed on the man’s nose.
“It makes sense now,” Xoran continued.
Clearly, he had a death wish.
“What makes sense?” Terena asked with a sigh, her hand still on Rydon’s shoulder.
Xoran turned to his sister. Her hands covered her mouth and she stared back at the captain with wide eyes. “Emperor Solon has been looking for Sonah Yahn for months now. I didn’t know why he wanted her and not you.”
“Fuck,” Croak said behind them.
“Of course he wants her,” Rydon snarled. “The man is so hungry for power he’d use a child to further his interests.”
Chest throbbing where his heart clearly wanted to escape his ribcage, Rydon’s breaths were coming in hard and sharp. He calmed slowly, still clutching at the captain, whose eyes were now narrowed in a way that made Rydon’s eye twitch.
“You didn’t know? About being her eudaemon?” Xoran asked, incredulous. A look of pity passed through his eyes before he smiled. “And here I thought you, too, were keeping secrets from the goddess.”
