“Are you coming?”
He nearly did not and almost called Nephele back. As a child, he had been told time and time again never to go beyond the boxwoods, and he assumed that it hadn’t been possible to do so. Should he still follow that rule?
Orion gave his head a shake. No doubt his parents worried that the children would get lost and that was why they could only go so far. He was no longer a child.
“Yes,” he called and followed the path until he stepped into a small field of bluebells. A lone cypress tree grew in the center. All other foliage was at the edges, allowing dappled sunlight to nurture the ground.
“Come on,” Nephele called as she skipped ahead, disappearing into another wooded area.
Around him the trees seemed to come alive as the wind picked up, but there were few clouds in the sky and none of them were dark, but wisps of white.
He dismissed it as a strong breeze off the sea and hurried to catch up so that he didn’t lose her again, his curiosity building with each step.
Nephele stopped and pointed ahead. Orion truly hoped there was a lady there and not a figment of Nephele’s imagination.
What he had not expected was a round, marble temple set upon a small rise, partially surrounded by a lake with the rest edged by foliage. Orion was certain the marble had once been bright, but now it was dull with moss growing at its base. While he was surprised that it had not been discovered by any of his cousins or siblings when they were younger, he was not surprised that there would be a small Greek temple on Drakos land.
As he drew closer, it was something else that caught his attention.
On the steps near the water, with sunlight cast upon her from a break in the trees, a redhaired young woman sat reading. A rich emerald skirt of silk or satin fell about her, as well as an underskirt of orange. A scarf of deep blue wound around her neck and trailed down her back. Not only were her shoulders bare, but so was the foot that stuck out from beneath her skirts. And if Orion wasn’t mistaken, the garment covering her breasts and abdomen was a corset of cream and gold.
He blinked and wondered if he was the one with the vivid imagination.
Consumed with curiosity, Orion was nearly pulled toward the temple and the woman within when his boot snapped a twig in his quest.
The young woman’s head jerked up and he sucked in a breath. The vision, sitting on the step of the folly was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Red hair curled about her shoulders, light eyes stared at him, full, pink lips parted in shock as her perfectly rounded cheeks lost all color.
Slowly she closed her book, set it aside and stood.
“Why are you here?”
“Nephele mentioned the lady and I thought to meet her myself,” Orion answered as he drew closer.
The woman shifted her eyes to Nephele and offered a stern glare, but Orion was mesmerized by her. He had thought her eyes were blue given they were light in color, but they were grey, and growing stormier by the moment.
Nephele glanced down. “I know you were to be a secret. I am sorry.”
“Why must you remain a secret?” Orion asked.
The woman speared him with her pewter eyes. “It is best if I am. Now please, go away.”
“Not until I know your name.”
Her grey eyes shifted, taking in the top of his head down to his Hessians before meeting his eyes once again. “Is it so important?”
“It is to me.”
“If I give you my name, will you go away?”
Orion didn’t want to tell her yes. He had too many other questions.
“No.”
“Then I shall go.”
She bent, picked up her book and turned. Her back straightened and her chin lifted as she crossed to the opposite side of the folly. Orion hurried forward, hoping to catch the lady before she disappeared.
“Wait,” he called.
