Chapter One
Dimitris
Violet eyes narrowed on Dimitris, claw-like nails clacking against the armrest of the chair opposite him. A feral creature sat in the seer’s lap, hissing with pearly teeth on display. Lavender and pine mixed in the air, emanating from the vase that sat on a small wooden table beside the bed. The scent was a stark contrast to the rigidness of Thalia’s posture as she stared at him. With each crackle and pop of the fire he had to remind himself not to let the seer’s disdain nor the cat's obvious hatred bother him.
He was only doing what was ordered.
Dimitris had spent many days in these chambers, watching as the moon-haired woman slept curled up next to that littledaimonof hers. Watched as she healed, albeit slowly, from whatevermonstrosity they’d encountered in the dungeons of Aidesian. But descending into the underworld had been by his own choosing, some strange allegiance to his brother and those Ander loved, despite the years and distance between them. And now, somehow, that very brother pressured him into the one situation he absolutely did not want or need. Confined quarters with that damned cat, unable to escape to the woods when he wished to be alone, be rid of her scent.
For days they waged this war of silence, but there was no longer time to ignore their fate. They were to set sail for Skiatha to rally an army for the impending war and time was no longer a luxury.
“You think this is how I meant to spend my winter, seer?” Dimitris rumbled, tapping his foot in the corner of the room where he leaned, arms crossed, against the stone wall.
Thalia’s brow twitched up—a match to herpsychí’s dark smudge across the top of her head. “Actually, I do,” she chuckled, though her voice was the furthest thing from lighthearted. “You have barely left my side since Aidesian, I can only guess it is because you enjoy my company. Or perhaps it is because you are afraid I will send Mykonos after you.” The cat hissed once more at the declaration, showing off tiny incisors as if the small creature would cause him to shake in his boots. How many times would that thing let out that high-pitched noise?
“You wish,gatáki. The only thing I am afraid of is my brother slitting my throat or throwing me in the dungeons for killing a precious member of his crew.”
It made Dimitris’s skin crawl, the undying loyalty Ander gave everyone but him. For as long as he could remember it was that way. Even Ajax seemed to receive more brotherly love than Dimitris ever had. And, still, Dimitris had bent the knee when Anderdelivered his orders to venture to Skiatha, because although he said he was asking as a brother, not the future king, there was no real choice in the matter.
“I wish? Trust me,fengaráki, there is nothing I wish for less. Your stench has been unbearable.” Once again, thedaimonhissed in agreement.
His stench? Thalia must be still healing in her head if she thought he was the one overwhelming the air, especially if she thought it was bad. Every time he stepped foot in this room it was here, the oddly sweet scent of something he could not place, an unnamed flower he would find in the woods, the fresh air that came when a full moon rose in the sky. It would wash over him in waves and it was utterly infuriating that such a woman made him want to fall down to his knees and beg while simultaneously making him loathe himself for the thought.
She was untouchable. And he wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot spear even if she weren’t. Thalia would probably claw his eyes out.
“Well, I regret to inform you that neither of us has a choice. I even suggested Leighton go in my stead,” Dimitris said.
“Ander would never allow that,” Thalia replied, placing Mykonos down on the floor.
The little creature padded over to Dimitris and he flinched ever so slightly as she brushed up against his legs. Thalia’s lip twitched up in anI told you that you’re afraid of herkind of way and Dimitris immediately turned his face to stone.
“And why is that? He knows the course to get there, the soldiers trust him—”
“The soldiers trust me as well,” Thalia scoffed, cuttinghim off.
“I do not doubt that,gatáki, but Leighton is much more suited to the task than I am.” Dimitris pushed off the wall. “So, I ask again…why me?”
“Because he doesn’t trustyou,” she snapped.
It felt like an arrow struck right into his chest and Dimitris’s blood boiled. Ander didn’t trust him. His own flesh and blood. Dimitris knew that already, especially with what happened with Marianna, but that was always an emotion between brothers. Something he passed off as envy and well-deserved grief. A mocking of some sort. To hear someone else say it out loud made it seem finite, unchanging, as if there was nothing he could do to prove himself to the beloved captain and prince. Brother—it was as if that word meant nothing when it came to him.
“He trusts me with you.” Dimitris was ready to storm out of Thalia’s chambers, but attempted to roll his shoulders back, stand tall, brush off the slight as he had done so many times before.
“No,” she said, her tone nonchalant, “but he does trust that I will keep you in line. It is time to grow up, Prince, and accept the responsibilities that come with your title.”
That was it—he was tired of being insulted, by his parents, by his brother, and especially by this feline woman. She was no longer injured. She had no excuse for her venomous words other than being a cold-hearted bitch.
“You know nothing of the responsibilities of my title, of what an alpha means on this isle,” he growled.
Thalia’s eyes coated over with a whitish-blue hue and a chill crept into the room, causing the hairs on Dimitris’s arms to raise. Icicles formed and crackled against the stained glass windows inthe room, spiraling out in a delicate pattern before the windows themselves shattered.
“I may not, but neither do you.” Thalia’s voice changed to a lower pitch and it made Dimitris want to flee to the forest. “And it will cost you your life.”
Dimitris couldn’t help but feel the bile stir in his stomach at the words. This is why he hated seers—why he avoided them at all costs. He should have avoidedher.
It will cost you your life.And if Thalia spoke it, it was true.
The goosebumps on Dimitris’s skin had not receded since he left Thalia in her room. Not as he made his way from the castle to the docks, where his crew was arranging to set sail. Not as he threw back a stiff pour of his favorite ouzo. Not even as he detailed the preparations of the journey to Skiatha in his logs—something that always stilled his mind.
