“Why? Because they were slaves?”
“I’m a legitimate child of the King and Queen Eurymenye, not that it really matters. Since we were declared Mageians, we were all disinherited. Our half-brother Maalik was declared the Crown Prince when he developed his Elusian abilities, even though he was a literal bastard. Since my mother returned to Greece in disgrace it’s doubtful he’ll ever have another legitimate heir.”
“What happened with your mother?” I asked.
V’s eyes went wide, and he squirmed for all the world like a five year old. I wondered if he was trying to figure out how to lie to me.
“She…she got caught trying to protect me,” he said finally. “The laws are harsh for anyone who tries to hide a Mageian. When they found out I had developed Mageian powers and she had hidden it from him, he effectively divorced her. They dragged her naked through the streets. He personally whipped her bloody in the market square before shipping her back to her father.”
“It sounds like she was lucky to escape alive,” I said.
He nodded.
“Of course, everyone talked about how benevolent he was, how kind he was not to kill her,” V said angrily. “He announced he would keep the peace treaty, but according to its terms, he could have restarted his war against Greece. They were in no position to fight him.”
V was staring down at his hands, blinking rapidly.
“He made me help. He put the whip in my hand and made me strike her,” he tightened his fingers into fists. “He said I had to strike her one blow for every year of my life for disappointing him. And that for every blow that I made that didn’t draw blood, he told me he would deliver five.”
“Goddess,” I whispered. “You were fifteen?”
V nodded.
“Almost sixteen. I couldn’t do it. I tried. I knew it would have saved her more if I could have done it, but I couldn’t.” His head was bowed, and I could see tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.
“I’m sure she understood,” I whispered, gripping his shoulder. He shook his head.
“She told me she never wanted to see me again,” he said. “I got to see her a final time, and I told her I’d find a way to get to Greece, somehow. She told me no, that I wouldn’t be welcome there.”
He dashed the tears from his eyes and sniffed.
“So, I ended up in the Legion, which then brought me here,” he said with a note of finality.
“The Goddess works in mysterious ways,” I said deciding a change of subject was in order. “So, how do I get your brother to give me the time of day?” I asked.
V’s face turned from sad to mischievous as he said, “You don’t give him a choice.”
Chapter 18
Kat
Tik and Deliah were just the first Mageians we had convinced to join the Illyrian cause. In the following days we had approached Mageia after Mageia and day after day our numbers grew. Soon we were over sixty Mageia strong, and I marveled at the number of Mageia who were willing to risk their lives for freedom, though I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. I knew as well as anyone else that the life that awaited us in Alexandria would be a living hell.
As our numbers increased, we moved everyone from the smaller rooms to the barracks area, transforming them into a makeshift infirmary. Tik had been only the first Mageia who needed treatment for a variety of injuries.
Hel had co-opted Tik and Betts to help him treat the injured recruits. He was stretched thin, between taking care of the injured and helping with new recruits. V and I stepped in and did our best to help keep things running smoothly.
A week or two after the beginning of the Machi, I stood looking across the dorm room. Row after row of cots now lined the barracks, filled with Mageia going about their daily lives.
“Scary, isn’t it?” V asked as he joined me at the entrance to the tunnel system, watching the other Mageia moving around like a small hive of insects. I nodded at V. It was terrifying. Allthese people were relying on us, on Hel. What if we were wrong to trust him? What if he betrayed us?
“We’re not wrong,” V said, reading my emotions easily. “Hel has come through on everything he promised.”
I grunted in acknowledgment. I had to admit it was true. Hel and Betts had shared more and more about life in Illyria, and as much as I tried to stop myself, hope had begun to grow that there might be an escape for my people from slavery.
I’d managed to avoid spending time alone with Hel since the first night we met, something that seemed to frustrate the Illyrian to no end. I don’t think he was used to having his prey elude him, and I was positively beginning to feel hunted.
Our time on the island was running out and all I could do was hope that I could continue to keep away from him until the ship arrived. The Illyrian… unsettled me on a deep level, a fact my brother had picked up on. V kept trying to talk to me about our host, but I’d managed to avoid most of those discussions. We met daily with the leaders of each of the Mageian elements. V cornered me during one of our morning strategy meetings.
