Konstantin was right by the door, embracing Marcella with a bone crushing hug as she laughed, the two of them speaking rapidly in her tongue. Konstantin finally let her go to shake hands with Gavril, clapping him on the shoulder and exchanging pleasantries before he turned to Nikias.
Konstantin switched to their language. “Prince Nikias, we are honored.”
Nikias shook his hand, expression never changing and his voice as cold as ice. “Chief Konstantin, thank you for your hospitality on such short notice.”
There she was, in the shadows of the room, black curls and a grin that would shoot fear into even the bravest of men. No one did deranged and wicked through her eyes quite like Hypatia.
She hadn’t said a word. She hadn’t moved. She was as still as a statue as she leaned against the wall, draped in a silverpeplos. Her eyes, however, were not on her near perfect replica, Marcella. Nor on the mortal enemy she had taken as her sacrifice for peace, Nikias.
They were directly on Aimilia.
Aimilia met her gaze, refusing to look away. Hypatia didn’t scare her.
Although the way she looked at Aimilia, with pure utter, unfathomable knowledge, did unnerve her just a little.
“Commander Aimilia, a pleasure to see you again.” Konstantin’s voice broke through Aimilia’s staring contest with Hypatia. She turned her head so she could shake Konstantin’s hand.
“Always pleased to see you, Chief.”
Commander Calix was introducing himself to Konstantin as Hypatia moved for the first time. She pushed off the wall, graceful as a snake as she moved around the table and toward her physical reflection.
Marcella bowed her head at her approach. “Chiefess.”
Hypatia caught her face in her hands and tilted it back up, cooing, “Oh there’s no need for all that, little one. We are more family now than ever. All of us.” Hypatia’s eyes skimmed over them all. “You are my sister-in-law, which makes your husband family as well. And family of my family is family. So we’re all family here, except of course, you two.” Hypatia nodded at Aimilia and Commander Calix.
Marcella pulled her face out of Hypatia’s grip, stepping back, and Gavril put his arm around her shoulders.
“Now that we’re all here, we can get to business. We are—” Konstantin gestured between him and Hypatia. “—adequate enough in your tongue. I think.”
“That will be fine,” Nikias said, still having not looked at Hypatia once.
Hypatia rolled her eyes and moved back toward the table, skimming her fingers on the edge. “Straight to business then. We’ve heard rumors of what happened. Care to tell the whole story?”
Nikias turned to Konstantin. “I’d rather hear from you two about what has been going on up here that caused you to seek my brother’s wife to feed you information behind my back.”
Aimilia had had such high hopes too.
Hypatia took a step forward as Konstantin took a deep breath and shot her a pointed look. Hypatia only smiled in return as she came to a stop at the center of the table on the other side.
“I believe it will take us longer, so maybe we should start with your side?” Konstantin suggested, moving to the other side of the table as well, heading for Hypatia. Gavril and Marcella stood at one end, leaving Calix, Aimilia, and Nikias to approach the side opposite Hypatia and Konstanin.
At least someone was capable of being diplomatic.
“Commander Aimilia, I believe your account will be most beneficial to our allies,” Nikias said, inclining his head toward her.
Aimilia took a deep breath and obeyed the clear order. She launched into a cold, factual account of the events of that day, staring straight at the wall ahead and refusing to meet Hypatia’s or Konstantin’s gaze as she spoke.
She gave no details about her and Nikias’ interactions other than that he took the position to belay her down into the collapse.
There were several moments, always around Aimilia mentioning Nikias, where Hypatia’s eyes sharpened.
Once she finished, she shifted back slightly, rejoining Commander Calix in flanking Nikias evenly.
“How utterly barbaric,” Hypatia said.
Nikias’ impassive marble expression shifted. “Yes, it was also a cowardly maneuver. The Stonai responsible escaped before we could apprehend them.”
“Oh, I meant the practice of forcing a bunch of children to fight chimeras in order to be deemed worth teaching.”
