“Look beyond what your home is now to what’s possible beyond. He will be a stranger to you at first, yes, but if you’re open, he can be so much more. The full effect of his presence might surprise you.” She swept her arminto the temple again. “He could be corridors and great rooms and personal lodgings and bathing pools you never imagined existing.” She leaned close and whispered as if they were conspiring against someone. “Dare to imagine he might make all the difference in your choices going forward.”
The point wrapped Kai in a tight fist. One person’s experience and viewpoint could make a world of difference. Wasn’t choosing Fala as her wife one such example? Kai waited patiently for her mother to finally see that marrying outside the clan didn’t harm their lifestyle at all, but enriched it.
Kai tried again to imagine letting a male into her home, offering him comfort and a meal. A smile and conversation.
The very thought curdled, rot in sweet water. Not fear. Revulsion. She was not a hearth to warm a male’s cold hands.
“I think I understand your point,” Kai said. “But I—” She stood and prepared to leave, her jaw aching with renewed clenching. “I can’t.”
The Eternal One’s voice came almost like a hand desperate to keep her still. “Let him help you.”
Kai paused at the staircase entrance and gripped the cold stone wall. “If you choose to name a male for us this week, I will refuse him. I will not let him into my home or my world. There will be no one to influence me and my decisions.”
“Kai—”
“No.” Kai stared into the darkness ahead. “Tell your seer to ready her gods. I’ll ready my warriors.” She began her descent. “If it’s my focus she wants, she’ll have it.”
Chapter
Five
Dimitrios exited the horse’s stall, breathing deep of the sun-warmed hay mingled with the sharp tang of horse sweat and oiled leather.
Nikolas Contas, a unit commander in the Horse Guard, exited the stall beside him, his blond hair windblown and a permanent smile sketched across his face. Like Dimitrios, he was outfitted like any other regular citizen in a basic knee-length chiton, calf-high boots made from supple leather, and leather vambraces.
Throughout the stable, hooves scuffed against the packed earth floor, some impatient, some merely shifting under the weight of their own strength. These weren’t mere mounts—they were warriors in waiting, bred for power, for endurance.
Nikolas, eyes crinkling at the corners, scratched his full beard. “I thought you said you were a good rider.”
His mare tossed her head as if eager for another race.
“I am,” Dimitrios said. “However, I don’t typically spend my days galloping through winding forest paths in a race where my opponent cheats by giving himself a five-second head start.”
Nikolas laughed. “Youhad the faster horse.” Dimitrios grunted, and Nikolas mock-bowed. “My apologies,Your Majesty.”
Honestly, Dimitrios didn’t know why he’d ever gravitated to a manlike Nikolas. The two men were the same age and of similar build, but couldn’t be more different. Nikolas was forever amused, whereas Dimitrios still found it difficult to smile. If there was potential for a drink and a woman nearby, Nikolas was like a man led around by a noose. Dimitrios preferred the quiet of his apartments and the company of his mother, Pandora.
However, Nikolas also despised the entire council and thought their ruling of Dimitrios’s legitimacy was self-serving bullshit.
So, naturally, they became fast friends.
Dimitrios took a moment to appreciate the sea breeze curling through the open doors, stirring the thick heat of the midday sun, but cooling his heated skin. “I want a rematch tomorrow.”
“I’ll just win again.”
“We’ll see about th?—”
“No!”
The young boy’s cry came from somewhere inside the building, drawing the men into utter stillness.
“Mind your business,” a man said. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
Nikolas’s jaw set, and he shook his head.
“Is that—?” Dimitrios started.
“Yes.” Nikolas already sounded tired. “Come on.”
