I looked at him, still in shock that he was here. “Are you crying, Demaratus?”
“Daemonians do not cry. There was dust in my eye,” he said as he wiped his face. “Let me call for the others.”
He turned and shouted toward the boat closest to the dock. Thrax stepped behind Demaratus and pointed to his missing hand and delightedly mouthed, “Did you do this?” to me. I just shook my head at him and smiled.
“Cut off one man’s hand and suddenly that’s all you’re known for,” I whispered to Xander.
“To be fair, in this instance one is a lot.”
Surprise at seeing Demaratus in person had impaired my manners. I should have introduced him to Xander, but my husband did it on his own. He offered Demaratus his hand and they shook.
“I am King Alexandros, Lia’s husband. I love her more than my own life. I owe you a debt greater than you can possibly imagine. Thank you for teaching her how to survive.”
Demaratus’s face crumpled, and he turned his back to us while muttering about how terrible the dust in Ilion was.
It touched my heart how happy he was to see me, but I knew I couldn’t say as much or else he might run back to his ship and sail back to Locris.
When he faced us again, I asked, “How are you here?”
“I had a dream where I was speaking to you and you said that you were going to war and needed help. It took some time to gather men and supplies. And to commandeer the Ilionian blockade ships in the middle of the night.”
Oh no. “Did you—”
“Minimal loss,” he said. “We have brought everyone back who surrendered to be reunited with their families. Ship fights are pathetic.”
Soldiers walked toward us, and I realized that I recognized them. “Andronicus! Telamon! Linus! Polymedes!”
It was my regiment. I rushed over to hug them and they all talked at once, greeting me with grins. Then, almost as one, they took a step back from me.
“Who is that large man scowling behind you?” Linus asked me, his eyes wide.
“Oh, that’s my husband. Xander. You’ll get used to him.”
This time I did make the introductions, telling Xander that this was the regiment who had helped me train to run the tribute race. That improved his jealous glower immediately and he thanked each of them for training with me.
“Is Quynh here?” Andronicus asked me, and I heard the hope in his voice.
“She is. That man right there, that’s Thrax. Her betrothed.”
I saw how Andronicus’s face fell but I figured it was better for him to know right away. And it turned out to be a good thing, as Andronicuswent over and introduced himself to Thrax and they had a very nice conversation.
“You were supposed to close the blockade,” I reminded Xander.
“I’ve been a bit busy,” he said. “It was on the list. But it’s a good thing I didn’t because if I had, the Locrians wouldn’t have had a way to get here.”
Behind the Locrian soldiers and the Ilionian sailors, there came a large group of men who wore armor similar to Demaratus’s.
“Daemonians?” I asked him.
He nodded. “We stopped in Olyer and recruited them to the cause.”
“We tried to contact them and they wouldn’t answer.”
“I owe this man a life debt,” a Daemonian officer said as he stood next to Demaratus. “He saved me in battle at the loss of his hand and eye.”
“Aristodemus is the commander of the outpost in Olyer,” Demaratus explained.
Saving his friend had cost Demaratus everything. It didn’t surprise me then that Aristodemus would be willing to join the fight if Demaratus had requested it.
