Melanthius opened his mouth to argue when a gaggle of slave boys hurried past, sandals slapping eagerly against the pink soles of their feet. They were heading toward a long, narrow building set apart from the palace. Though I had never stepped foot inside, I knew this to be the gymnasium where our masters trained.
“What’re you doing?” I called out to the boys.
“Shh,” one hissed.
“We’re gonna watch the princesses fight,” another whispered.
“We got bets on how quick it’ll take Precious Penelope to cry.”
Penelope.Her name twisted inside me.
“I’m coming too,” I said.
“Melantho.” My brother grabbed my arm. “They’ll beat us if they catch us spying.”
“Then go back to the stables, coward.”
Melanthius scowled, releasing me, and I followed the boys through the uniform columns standing like tall teeth at the mouth of the gymnasium. As we crept inside, I glimpsed Spartan women stretching in the shade of the colonnades. In the center of the space, there was a rectangular training ground, and there, limned in early morning light, was the most fearsome girl I had ever seen.
“Clytemnestra,” my brother murmured, crouching beside me in the dark.
“I thought you weren’t coming?” I muttered.
“Well, I can’t let you get into trouble alone, can I?”
I made a face at him before turning back to watch the princess.
Clytemnestra was completely naked, her body strong and bronzed, hair falling down her back in a tangle of gold. She was afascinating sight, but my focus was drawn to the gray-eyed girl beside her. Unlike her older cousin, Penelope had chosen to wear a thin tunic, hair plaited tightly around her head. She was saying something, though I could not make out her words.
“If you wish to spend the summer here in Sparta,” Clytemnestra replied loudly, “then you must train like a Spartan. Or do you wish to remain weak?”
Penelope stood very still while Clytemnestra paced around her. I had seen slave boys scrap before, but their fights were just bursts of childish temper. The way Clytemnestra circled Penelope felt entirely different. It felt…dangerous.
“She’s gonna hurt her.” I whispered the realization as it came to me.
My chest felt oddly tight, as if someone were clutching at it.
“I’ve seen Clytemnestra flatten girls before,” one of the other boys snickered. “Maybe she’ll break Penelope’s big nose.”
“Or knock her out cold,” another smirked.
“Come on,Precious Penelope,” Clytemnestra goaded as titters rippled through the crowd of women. “I’ll let you strike first.”
“Women of Acarnania are not permitted to wrestle,” Penelope said.
She began to walk away, but Clytemnestra darted forward with frightening speed, catching Penelope’s wrist and twisting her arm between them.
“Stop it,” Penelope gasped.
“This is the only way you will grow stronger, cousin. Trust me. It’s for your own good.”
“You’re hurting me.”
“I’mhelpingyou!”
I was moving before I even realized it, as if an invisible rope were tugging me out from the shadows.
“Melantho!” My brother grabbed for my hand, but I surged forward, out of his reach.
