Xander was inside.
With murderers, thieves, and cutthroats.
There was no way he would be there voluntarily. Someone must have captured him.
I let out a groan as I dismounted. Haemon moved to do the same and I stopped him. “Will you stay here with the horses?”
“There’s no possibility that I will let you go in there without me,” he said. He was doing better, thanks to the food and Io’s concoctions, but he wasn’t healed yet. There was no way he could fight. I would have been surprised if he’d been able to stand.
“If I have to worry about you, it will be harder for me to fight. I promise that I can take care of myself. And I will be out here in ten minutes or less with my husband. If I’m not, you can come in after me.”
I handed him my xiphos, and this seemed to mollify him. He nodded curtly. I knew that Haemon was used to protecting me, but I didn’t need him to do that anymore.
My sisters arrived and dismounted, bringing the reins of their horses over to Haemon.
I took out the goddess’s golden sword and went first.
When I walked into the main room, there was a fire roaring in the fireplace against the far wall with wooden chairs and tables scattered about. A tired, older woman stood behind a bar getting her patrons what I presumed was beer, based on the smell.
There must have been two dozen men in this room who had been talking, laughing, and playing games before we came in.
And every single one of them pulled out their weapons and stood when they saw us.
“Who’s in charge here?” I asked.
“That would be me.” The man speaking had been standing near the fireplace and flirting with a hetaera. He left her to walk toward us. “I am Autolycus, king of thieves. Welcome to my home.”
He was tall and had dark hair, dark eyes, golden-brown skin. His tunic was a bright red. He had several earrings in both of his ears, and every one of his fingers sported a ring.
“Usually we have to seek out beautiful women. They don’t tend to wander willingly into our web.”
The men laughed in a menacing way, and the sound sent chills of disgust racing along my skin.
“I hate spiders,” I said.
He tsked. “That’s a shame.”
“Do you like your head?” I asked him.
My question surprised him, and he seemed delighted by the novelty of it. If he was the king of thieves, I was sure people didn’t typically speak like this to him. “Very much. Why?”
“Because if you wish for it to remain attached to your neck, you will return to me what’s mine.”
“And what is it you think that I have stolen that is yours?” Autolycus asked, and the men laughed again.
“My husband. The king of Ilion.”
“My apologies, my queen. I am the only king in this inn.”
I lifted the sword. “Dea Nikos.”
The sword ignited and every person in the inn took a step back.
Autolycus’s entire demeanor changed. “Oh, you mean King Alexandros. He’s right this way. Just follow me.”
I kept the sword lit as my adelphia and I followed him. He took us up the stairs and led us to a room at the end of the hallway.
“He’s in there,” he said.
