She nodded. “I will.”
“Thank you.” She was the only one I could count on to do so. The others would try to save me, but if I died, they would have to flee as quickly as possible.
I climbed onto my horse and my sisters came over. Ahyana said, “Please don’t die. None of us wants to give that information to your husband.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
Io wiped tears from her cheeks. “I feel like someone should say something. Something important.”
Demaratus’s old phrase appeared in my mind. “Breakfast here, dinner in the underworld.”
That earned me a few smiles. I gave them one last, long look and then headed out. Once again I rode my horse farther north so as to not give away my adelphia’s location.
As I rode I sent up a quick prayer.
Be with me. Please don’t let me prove unworthy of my sisters.
Artemisia waited for me, surrounded by red dirt. She had her war hammer in her hands and looked eager to fight.
As eager as I was. I dismounted. “Swear it out loud. Swear on your god that if I kill you, your army leaves.”
“I swear on Arion that if you kill me, the Carian army will leave.”
“And I swear on Dea that if you kill me, Troas will open its gates to you.”
She hefted her hammer, pleased. “This is going to be a short fight.”
I planned to delay invoking my aspect until I was closer to her. I wanted to get as much use out of it as possible.
“It will be,” I agreed as I began to head toward her. “You’re not the only one with a god-weapon.”
I started to run, and she did the same. Exhilaration and anticipation flowed through me. She had no idea what was about to happen.
“Dea Erinys,” I said.
That was when everything went wrong.
Chapter Fifty-One
I came to a stop. The magic sputtered inside me, as if struggling to surface. I tried the sword. “Dea Nikos.”
Nothing happened.
Artemisia continued stalking toward me. “Did you really think you could stand on the soil of my god and use your goddess’s powers?”
The dirt was everywhere. They had covered the entire valley floor in it. I would never make it back to my horse before she reached me. I would have to fight.
My aspect was there, but barely.
The fortification potion wasn’t working, and the magic started to drain me immediately.
I wasn’t going to last.
I wouldn’t beat her.
I would die on this field.
A hysterical part of my brain reminded me that I was about to break my promise to Xander.
