“He has already hurt you!” Cressida declared.
Nina bit back a groan. She had hoped they’d returned to whatever they’d been doing and not wait for her.
“He did not harm me,” she finally answered.
“Then why do you cry?” Hermia asked with concern.
“He is angry because I cannot give him the answers he seeks, and his mother certainly will not.”
Zephyra sank down onto a marble step. “He is a human man and will likely persist until he knows all.”
That was Nina’s concern, and it would be her fault.
Oh, if only she would have noticed Nephele before the child had noticed her, then Nina could have hidden, and nobody would ever have known.
But that is not what had happened and now she must figure out what to do.
“He will be back!” Cressida insisted. “He will come for his answers. And he will bring others.”
“He will not bring others,” Nina insisted. At least, she hoped that he didn’t.
“They always return, and they bring friends,” Cressida argued. “He knows only about you, but he will tell the others, then they will come. We will be discovered…”
Given the way Cressida was near a panic, Nina did not dare tell them that Orion had already seen the five of them and that their identity was one of the questions she would not answer.
“If anyone returns with Orion, it will be a brother or cousin. All are of Drakos blood. They will not harm us,” Basilia promised.
Cressida whipped around and pointed at Basilia. “How do you know? Their fathers would not but the sons know not of our existence. How is that proof they will be honorable?”
“Orion has not harmed Nina,” Hermia offered.
“He has not harmed her yet,” Cressida yelled. “In time he will,” she predicted. “We have all witnessed what happens when gods, half-gods and even human males are blinded with lust, and it is only a matter of time when we are no longer safe.”
Nina sank down beside Hermia. She would like to promise Cressida that neither Orion nor his male relatives would harm them, but could she be so certain?
She knew what they feared, but those experiences were also centuries ago, and in Greece. Certainly, men have changed over time, and Englishmen were more honorable.
But what if they were not?
Nina knew nothing of lust and men, other than what the women told her. Had she put them all in danger?
Five
Orion managed to make it back into the house, which was more a mansion given the size and number of rooms, without encountering his mother. She would ask about his visit to Bocka Morrow, and he didn’t want to lie to her. Though, she had no difficulty keeping secrets from him.
He had so many questions, but he also knew that she would not provide the answers.
He could go to his father or an uncle, but as the grove and the women within had been kept a secret from him his entire life, it was unlikely that they would tell him anything either.
Perhaps he could ask his sister, Petra, or a female cousin. Though it was likely they’d keep the secrets to themselves. Further, Petra would take great joy in knowing something that he did not and remind him of the fact at every opportunity.
How had his mother and aunts been able to keep her existence quiet all these years? Did his father and uncles even know?
The questions plagued him all through dinner. So many times, he had wanted to stand up and demand answers. But he couldn’t let on that he knew anything. Besides, it was likely his mother would deny everything while his brother or male cousins may grow curious. He didn’t want Nina to meet any of them until he had his answers.
Just the thought of any of them encountering her brought about the oddest sensation of selfishness, or was it protectiveness? Except, Orion knew that none of his relations would ever harm her.
He’d only known her two days, why was he possessive and wanting to keep her to himself?
