Danae sagged against the wall.
So, this was how she died. Perhaps it was for the best. She would see her sister again. If she was allowed to enter the Asphodel Meadows after what she’d done.
“How long does it take?”
The priestess tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“The poison.”
She laughed. It sounded like the tinkling of bells. “That was just to relax you.”
Danae stared at her. She did feel calmer, like she was floating in a warm summer sea.
“What is your name?”
“Danae.”
“Where are you from, Danae?”
“Naxos.”
The priestess smiled.
“That’s a long way from here.” Her voice was like honey. Danae could have listened to it all day. “How did you get to Delphi?”
The edges of the room were soft, she hadn’t noticed that before. They blurred into each other, like she was inside a giant egg.
“A cheese boat. They took me to Athens as a slave.” She grinned. “But I got away. I slept in a tree, then Athena gave me a cloak and I...” She frowned. There was something itching at the back of her mind.
“Go on.” The priestess leaned forward.
“The oracle... I can’t go home without a cure for my...my...”
The priestess watched her intently. “Who helped you?”
“My Pa...” Her eyes drifted out of focus, and the priestess morphed into her father. Tears ran down his weathered face, trickling into his beard.
The priestess snapped her fingers, and her father’s face dissolved. “Who helped you get inside the oracle?”
“The... ?” The itching became gnawing, like there was a fly in her brain.
“King Theseus sent you, didn’t he?”
It was hard to focus on the priestess’s words, the drone was so distracting.
“How did you do it?” The priestess was standing now. “How did you close the crevasse and destroy the oracle?”
Danae’s limbs went slack, and she began to shudder uncontrollably.
The priestess let out a sharp sigh and floated the veil back over her face. She picked up the box and turned to the guards.
“We won’t get any more out of her for now. Do not let anyone enter this room. Understand?”
Danae slid to the floor, streaks of red and gold dancing across her vision as the guards bolted the door behind them.
Danae had no idea how long it took for the snake’s venom to work its way out of her system. Hours might have passed, or even days. She had no way to mark time in her sunless, windowless cell. After the convulsions ravaged her body, she passed out. When she came to, there was a cup of water and a stale hunk of bread next to her. For some reason, they wanted to keep her alive.
She felt untethered, adrift in a sea of fear. For the first time in her life, she couldn’t see a way out. She leaned back against the wall, the cold rock connecting her to something solid.
