“No.” The lie tasted bitter on my tongue.
Penelope had made it clear we were not to breathe a word of our plan to Telemachus, for she knew he would never approve of it. All his life, Telemachus had been fed stories of glory and honor; he would want no part in such an ignoble victory. It was best for Telemachus to believe the pirate attack to be an act of divine justice.
Doubts creased his brow as he looked to the shadows. “I fear perhaps I have…disappointed her.”
I stopped walking. “Telemachus, you could never disappoint her.”
“I returned from Sparta empty-handed.” He winced, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “If Menelaus had given me men, I could’ve ousted the suitors the moment I stepped foot on these shores.”
“That reflects badly on Menelaus, not you. He forced all of Greece to fight forhiswife, but he would not lift a finger to aid the family of his greatest comrade.”
Telemachus nodded, though he seemed unconvinced. He then adjusted his robes and turned briskly, as if eager to escape this conversation.
“Telemachus?” My voice caught him midstride. “If you were in Menelaus’s place, what would you have done?”
“I would have offered my help,” he said without hesitating.
I smiled. “Andthatis why you’ll be a far greater king than he.”
A sudden rush of emotion shimmered behind Telemachus’s gray eyes, seeming to catch him by surprise. He looked away, clearly embarrassed yet smiling all the same.
“Thank you, Melantho,” he whispered.
56
“What did youdo?”
Eurymachus cornered me in the banquet hall, as I had known he would.
“I do not know of what you speak.” I felt the wall bite into my back as he pressed closer, hands flexing into fists. It was not even noon, and his eyes were already hazy with wine.
“Telemachus returned yesterday,” he said, each word forced out through his clenched teeth. “Alive.”
I widened my eyes. “Are you certain?”
“Of course I’m fucking certain. I saw him.” He braced his hands on either side of my head. “So I’ll ask you again.What did you do?”
“Me? You think this is my doing?”
“That isn’t an answer.”
I let out a strangled laugh. “You believeIwent to the pirates myself? Convinced them not to kill Telemachus? And what exactly do you think I had to bargain with? To persuade them to listen to a woman? A slave?”
Doubt punctured Eurymachus’s rage, his body seeming to deflate as he stepped back. Over his shoulder, I saw suitors slowly filtering into the banquet hall, having finally dragged themselves out of their wine-addled slumber, ready for another day of indulgence.
Little did they know that it would be their last.
I suppressed a smile as I turned back to Eurymachus. “You have a palace full of men who all want whatyouwant, yet you point the finger atme?”
“Keep your voice down,” Eurymachus snarled.
I held his glare for a silent beat, then turned to walk away.
“Where are you going?” He caught my arm. “You said you had news for me.”
“Why should I share anything with you when you clearly do not trust me?”
“Perhaps I…hastened to conclusions,” he muttered, releasing me. I was certain this was the closest Eurymachus had ever come to admitting he was wrong. “It’s difficult to know who to trust in this madhouse.”
