Her gaze returned to Hylas, the man who had twice sacrificed his life to save her. So much time had passed, and so much had changed. But perhaps the person he had been was still there. The man she knew. The man she could trust. The man who had loved her.
‘We will come with you as far as Myconos, and I will think on what you have said.’
Odysseus flashed her a gleaming smile. ‘As you wish.’
38. A Seer’s Choice
Odysseus’ ship docked at Myconos harbour under a pathway of stars. A scatter of mud-brick buildings clustered around the bay and across the surrounding hillside, their windows glowing with firelight.
Danae, Telamon and Atalanta joined Odysseus, Hylas and four of the Ithacan soldiers in going ashore, while the rest of the men remained on the ship. Danae carried her bundle of Poseidon’s armour, the trident and the collar slung over her shoulder. The bounty was too precious to be left on board. Two of the soldiers ran ahead, the other pair lingering a pace behind Danae.
By the time they entered the heart of the little town, the first soldiers returned, a set of rooms procured. As they headed towards the lodgings, the smell of roasted meat wafted down the narrow street, driven by the wind that had chased them all the way from Delos. A kapeleion stood on the corner, voices and hearth-smoke curling from the windows and doorway.
‘I’ll see you at dawn,’ said Atalanta.
Before Danae could reply, the warrior darted down the street and disappeared into the kapeleion.
‘Don’t mind if I do,’ said Telamon, striding after her. When he reached the doorway he glanced over his shoulder. ‘Danae, Hylas, you coming?’
Danae lingered. She would love nothing more than to join her companions and drown the night in wine. But she knew she must keep a clear head. She had a decision to make.
‘I need rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Telamon looked expectantly at Hylas, who glanced at Odysseus, then said, ‘Not tonight.’
The flame-haired man shrugged. ‘Please yourself. But don’t think you’ve escaped recounting your tale.’
Hylas’ face broke into a half-smile, and for a moment his coldness thawed, and he looked like himself again. ‘I know you’ll get it out of me whether I want to tell it or not.’
Telamon grinned then followed Atalanta into the depths of the kapeleion.
‘The rooms are this way, my lord.’ One of the soldiers gestured further down the street.
The weight of Poseidon’s armour dragged down her back as Danae followed Odysseus and Hylas to the end of the row of buildings, the soldiers ghosting her steps.
One of Odysseus’ men pushed open the door of a modest single-room hut. A lone candle glowed from within. The furniture was sparse. A faded rug stretched over the floor, and a pallet rested against the far wall with a single table and stool to its left.
‘I will have my men bring you food while I attend to a small matter of business.’ Odysseus shared a look with Hylas. ‘I’m sure you two have much to catch up on.’
Danae set down her bundle at the foot of the pallet. Hylas lingered in the doorway, leaning on his crutch.
‘You can come in.’
He did so and closed the door behind him, leaving the soldiers to stand guard.
Even as she watched him walk over to the stool and lower himself down, she still could not quite believe he was real. She was afraid that, like a dream in which the dead once more walk the earth, she would blink and find that he wasnot really Hylas at all, but a stranger whom grief had painted in the likeness of her friend.
But ghosts did not bear scars of the flesh. Those wounds were her doing. She might as well have gouged them herself.
‘I thought you were dead.’
Hylas ran a hand through his curls. The longer hair suited him. He looked leaner, sharper, older than the youth she had known. She wondered if she too appeared as changed as she felt within. Then she remembered: her features were frozen in time. She pressed the thought away as she sank down onto the pallet.
Hylas watched her. ‘For a while, so did I.’
‘How did you survive?’
‘The Earthborn that snatched me took me back to its nest – a cave in the mountain. Then a fight broke out. I think over which would eat me …’ He paused at the horror blooming across Danae’s face. ‘In the chaos, I hid. I waited for two days until all of them had left the cave. Then I seized my chance and escaped.’
