“So we’re alone?”
I nodded, then stiffened as Melanthius abruptly pulled his chair closer to me. “What are you—”
“I’m getting outta here, Mel.”
“What?”
“I met a sailor in town. He promised me safe passage.”
“Passage to where?”
“To the mainland.” He said this as if it were obvious. “Then I’ll find my way on from there to Sparta.”
“To Sparta?”
Melanthius nodded fervently. “To Melitta. To my child.”
A knot tied in my gut. “What have you promised the sailor?”
“Silver pieces.”
My eyes narrowed. “Do youhaveany?”
He shrugged. “Enough.”
“How?”
“I’ve got my ways.”
I did not like the sound of that, not one bit. But from the stiffness set into Melanthius’s jaw, I knew he would not elaborate further.
“I want you to come with me, Mel,” he said, trapping my hands and pulling them to his chest. “The boat leaves tomorrow night from the old harbor. You know the one?”
I said nothing.
“Melantho.” He squeezed my hands tighter, voice softening. “Ineed you to come with me. Please.”
I could not stand the feverish hope burning in his gaze. I had not seen such light in his eyes since we’d left Sparta, and a part of me ached to feed those flames, to protect them with everything I had.
But to flee Ithaca… To return to Sparta…
“This is madness,” I whispered, guilt aching between every word. “You know it is.”
Melanthius let go of me instantly, anger falling across his face, eclipsing that fragile light.
“It’s not madness. It’s achance.”
“A chance for what? To get yourself killed?” I reached for him, but he pulled farther away. “Melanthius, please—”
“I see how it is,” he whispered, voice dangerously quiet. “So long asyou’recared for, right, Mel? So long as you’ve got the nice room, the clean clothes, the fine wine, that’s all that matters, eh? Forget the rest of us.”
My face grew hot, hands trembling into fists. “If you think for one second that I have forgotten—”
“No? Then that’s even worse. That you’dchooseto stay here and serve the woman who had us caught and beaten, who had Melitta taken from me and my chi—” The word caught in his throat, choking him.
“Penelope was only trying to protect us.”
“Don’t.” He slammed the table with his fist, making me flinch. “Don’t you dare defend her.”
