She took a step back. “And not only did she just try to kill me now, she also tried in the very first trial. So I don’t want to hear about how she only just now started this. She has been trying to kill me since the beginning of this tournament. The cerberus that killed Eleni was meant for me.”
Nikias’ eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”
Aimilia crossed her arms. “Commander Eleni died in the night. Her wounds were too great. That cerberus, it wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t supposed to be random. It had been selected for me, but because of how it was in such a rabid frenzy, the handlers couldn’t control it long enough to reach me, so they gave it to Eleni. It was supposed to be me on the ground with my throat ripped out. That’s what your mother wanted.”
Nikias was a ghostly white and he shook his head. “That can’t be—I mean, how could you possibly know? How can you be certain?”
Aimilia just crossed her arms. “I just had to ask the right questions. That’s not the point here. Your mother just tried tokill me.And she’s trying to pin the blame on Stonai that you know you’ll never find. Are you just going to let her get away with it?”
Nikias stepped closer, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want to let her get away with anything. I have no intention of letting her harm you.”
Aimilia laughed. “Then do something about it. Your father is not here. It’s just you and her. Why don’t you just stand up to her for once in your life?”
Nikias ripped his hands back. “Oh, that’s so easy for you to say. Even when your family is furious with you, they still try to save you. Cyprian is your active competition, and he still helped you. You can complain about them all you want, but none of them have ever lifted a hand to you.”
“They may not have, but they’ve done plenty. This isn’t about me or my family. This is about you. Do you think that when your father dies, all your problems are going to be solved? What exactly do you intend to do about your mother? You’re so desperate to marry me, but that woman won’t stand for it. She’ll keep trying to kill me, so then you’ll have no choice but to marry who she wants you to marry instead.”
“I won’t let her.”
“Then prove it!” Aimilia couldn’t stop her desperate, frantic plea. He’d stood up to his father for her before, why wouldn’t he again? Was she no longer worth the risk?
Nikias fell silent, staring at her silently.
If he loved her, why wouldn’t he prove it?
Aimilia said, “Well?”
Nikias whispered, “I wish I could make you understand, but you can never understand.”
Aimilia shook her head. “I don’t think I want to understand.”
The two of them stood there, a gentle breeze rustling the branches above.
“I don’t want to fight.”
Aimilia crossed her arms. He took a step closer and Aimilia’s breath caught in her throat.
She didn’t want to fight either. But how could she ever know if he was being genuine?
It was easy for him to say all the right things, to claim he would protect her, but when it came down to it, would he actually defend her against his mother? Would he actually protect her, or would he just sentence her to the same fate he was trapped in?
If he was just trying to manipulate her, then of course he would just say what he thought she wanted to hear, but he wouldn’t actually do it. Nikias was very good at saying what she wanted to hear. But when it came to his actions, that’s where his manipulations fell apart every single time.
Nikias started to reach for her, but Aimilia stepped out of his reach. She shook her head. “I—I should go. I’m sure the announcement of Eleni’s death will start to make the rounds. I expect we’ll have the funeral tomorrow. Everyone’s already here.”
“Aimilia, wait—” Nikias grabbed her arm. “Can we please just talk? I don’t understand what’s going on. I thought—I thought?—”
Aimilia pulled her arm back. “If you’re not going to do something about the fact that your mother just tried to kill me, I don’t think we have anything left to talk about right now. There will be plenty of time to talk when all of this is over. But right now…” Aimilia shook her head. “Right now, I just need some space.”
Nikias watched her go. Aimilia hurried away before he could try again. She had to cut it short. The longer she talked to him, the easier it was to believe him. Aimilia couldn’t afford that right now.
It was clear she was on her own, or at least, she couldn’t trust Nikias to be her ally. Thankfully, she had another. With Turpis’ help and Hypatia’s premonitions, who needed Nikias?
Chapter 56
NIKIAS
Nikias didn’t see Aimilia again until Eleni’s funeral.
