Chapter
Sixteen
Dimitrios, his guard, and half a dozen Blades approached the Nicolea estate on horseback as the dipping sun’s golden light painted its lush gardens. Olive trees and grapevines shaded stone benches where children played, and ladies sat in conversation.
The estate gates opened upon their approach, bookended by private guardsmen. The royal entourage passed by the smooth but formidable marble walls into a courtyard with a reflecting pool, greenery, and more olive trees.
A demure older woman stood outside the entrance, her hands clasped in front. The loose sleeves of her lavender-and-gold chiton fluttered in the breeze like butterfly wings.
She was an aunt, though Dimitrios didn’t yet know which one. The woman shared many of the same features as Pandora, from their dark hair color to the shape of their hazel eyes. Her hair had fewer white streaks than his mother, making her younger.
His aunt descended the steps with a smile that made his heart ache for his mother—they had the same gentle, approachable essence. “Welcome to our home, nephew. I am your Aunt Rena.”
Several groomsmen assisted him and the others with their horses while he kissed his aunt on the cheek.
“You received my message?” he asked with a light hold of her upper arms.
“We did.” Her smile faltered. “Though I do not know how much good it will do you.”
“Will he not see me?”
Rena hooked her hand around his elbow. “Come. I will explain on the way.”
At his back, Nikolas and a Blade named Sahirah silently agreed to follow him inside. Sahirah was as tall as most men, and her skin was such a dark brown that her sharp features were difficult to discern within the shadows of her hood. Her straight black hair was braided and hung forward across one shoulder. A quiet yet fierce woman, she was among the few females in the Assassin’s Guild and was now Second to their new Master Blade, Cain.
Dimitrios was sad to learn of Oskar’s decision to leave the Guild—he was yet another ally gone. However, Dimitrios took heart in knowing that Oskar had joined theEntia’s crew. Selene needed all the help she could get.
Nikolas’s men and the remaining Blades positioned themselves in the courtyard, earning curious eyes from the Nicolea guards and groomsmen. Now that they were on his family’s estate, they didn’t expect trouble but would remain vigilant.
Rena strode across floors of polished stone and mosaic tiles, squeezed tight to Dimitrios’s side as if they’d been close his entire life. “I’m sorry I missed Pandora while she was here.”
“As was she.”
“Is she happy?” Rena lifted her bright face to look at him. “What is her husband like? A good man, I hope.”
Dimitrios eased to a stop within the shadow of an exterior walkway that surrounded a second courtyard. Marble statues of robed men and women stood between every column of the walkway’s overhanging roof.
“I mean no offense,” he said, “but if you wanted these answers, you had five months to get them.”
She lowered her chin. “My father is very…” A billowing sigh passed her lips. “He can be a bit exacting in his opinions and unforgiving of transgressions against him and the family.”
“And this stoppedyoufrom visiting your sister?”
Pandora hadn’t come here, knowing her father wouldn’t admit herwithout an invitation. The trip was too long to find herself standing outside his doors. Dimitrios, as the would-be king, had been willing to bet he wouldn’t be denied. But what kind of man wouldn’t want to see his own daughter?
Rena urged him back into a walk and through another set of doors. The interior hallway was topped by vaulted ceilings with colorful frescos depicting the gods and ancient battles. “Our father is a good man who feels his emotions very deeply. He loves more than anyone I’ve ever known, which only enhances how much it hurts to face his disappointment. When Pandora vanished?—”
Rena cut off and swallowed deeply.
“Father hired an untold number of people to find her,” she continued. “We didn’t know about her marriage, let alone that she had entertained Mihail’s advances. She disappeared, and we thought the worst had happened.
“Then, five months ago, word reached us of your arrival and the truth of your birth.” Rena stopped to face him. “To my father, Pandora cutusout, not the other way around. I might understand she had her reasons, but his hurt runs very deep.”
Dimitrios hadn’t considered what Pandora’s absence had done to her family, and now it all made sense. Especially given the resources his grandfather must have spent to locate her.
“Come,” she said. “He’s waiting.”
Rena brought him to the brink of a main hall, where she paused. “There’s just one more thing you should know before entering.”
