“That is not an answer to my question.”She nuzzled against Thalia.
“I don’t need to answer the question when you already heard me,”Thalia retorted, walking them both over to the off-white couch that sat before the hearth where the caretaker had started a roaring fire.
“You are lucky there are no more of his kind here, Thalia,”Mykonos purred, hopping out of Thalia’s arms and sitting back in the small opening between her legs and the armrest, pupils narrowing despite the abundance of light.“I was not speaking of your words to Dafne about him training her.”
Oh gods—she hadn’t even thought of theotherreason herpsychíwould think that.“It’s not what it seems like…”
Wasn’t it though? She had practically goaded him into touching her, holding his hand firmly as it gripped around her hip, guiding it to all the places she wanted like a woman starved.
“You should really take a bath, I’m sure the prince is delighted knowing he has made his mark.”A small chirrup left Mykonos’s mouth and she curled up on the couch.“Although, it looks like you won’t be able to do that anytime soon.”Ears twitching, Mykonos’s head swiveled to the door before a resoundingknock, knock, knockechoed in the room.
It couldn’t be Dafne, Thalia had just settled her into Leighton’s usual chambers next door and her sister immediately passed out on the bed, curling herself in the forest green satin sheets, muttering about how grateful she was to be on dry, stable land. Cal was no doubt still snoring in his chambers down the hall if he hadn’t been present to stop Dafne from almost stabbing Sebastian in the great hall. Thalia would need to scold him later for letting Dafne out of his sight and not coming to find her immediately when they’d arrived from theAphrodite.
Padding back over to the door, Thalia unclicked the latch, peeking out to the hall. Standing in front of her door, two crystal goblets and one very dusty bottle of wine in hand was Dimitris. He had changed from his traveling clothes, now in loose-fitting, gray sleeping trousers and a short sleeve shirt the color of the sky and far tighter than necessary that accentuated the tiny flecks of aquamarine in his silver irises. If Thalia had any self-restraint she would have told him to go away, shut the door, and gone to sleep. But the label on that particular bottle of wine was all too familiar to her: a twenty-year-aged blend with pepper and cherry she could never refuse.
“I thought you might like a nightcap after what happened at dinner.” Dimitris smiled, holding up the bottle and glasses in front of his chest.
When he’d asked her to stay on the ship, to sit with him and have a drink, to get to know him, she declined. This time she wouldn’t refuse. What was the worst that could happen? She’d realize she actually enjoyed his company? There was absolutely no way that would occur.
“Come in, it’s not like I can say no to one of Alexander’s reserveAgiorgitikos.” She held the door open wider for him to come in. He slipped in quickly and immediately Mykonos trotted over to him and nuzzled against his leg.
Thalia’s eyes flared.“What a traitor.”
“You are the one who let him inside the room,”Mykonos purred back.
“You are doing that thing again,” Dimitris started, “where the two of you talk to each other.”
“Does it bother you?” she asked, though his answer wouldn’t stop her from speaking with herpsychí, even in his presence.
“It is minorly disconcerting, but only because I am completely fascinated by what you two would discuss and have a sneaking suspicion it is about me.” He slid down onto the couch, placing each glass on the table before pulling a corkscrew out of his pocket.
The cork popping was like music to Thalia’s ears. A chance to let the flavors of the world slide past her tongue. A way to travel without ever leaving the confines of her bedchambers. Spices from all over Odessia mixed with fruit that was only found in very specific regions or isles. This bottle in particular was her favorite, not because of its rarity, but because the grapes used were grown along the shores of a small isle just off the coast of where she was born. A memory she craved with every drop that passed her lips.
Dimitris poured a small bit of the wine in one of the glasses, extending it toward Thalia. “Would you like to try it? Make sure it hasn’t gone bad?”
She took the glass, swirling the stem around with her fingers so that the deep crimson liquid slid up the side, leaving trace amounts of the color as it settled back at the bottom. Raising the glass to her nose, she inhaled deeply, allowing the rich flavors to prickle the inside of her nostrils, imagining the warm breeze that used to circle around her as a child. Letting the scent fill the missing parts of her soul that had been picked away over the years.
“It’s perfect,” she said, placing the glass back down next to the bottle so Dimitris could pour a full glass.
“Perfect? You didn’t even taste it.” He laughed, but poured two glasses anyway.
“I don’t need to taste it. You can tell everything about a wine simply from its scent,” she replied.
Dimitris slid closer to her, filling her glass with a hefty pour before he did the same to his own. “Yet another thing that is fascinating about you.”
He clinked his glass against the side of hers before he brought the rim to his lips, taking a sip that had his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down and the Fates be damned if Thalia didn’t watch as his eyes closed while he enveloped the taste.
“Do you like it?” Thalia asked, taking a small sip of her own wine. She preferred to savor this particular blend, letting it sit on her tongue a moment before she let it slide down her throat.
“I do, although I will admit I like most wine…I never had an affinity for it like my brother, but I can appreciate a blend like this over your typical bottle.” Dimitris cocked his head to the side, his eyes lighting once more. “Is there a reason you seem to enjoy this particular one—other than it came from my brother’s special collection? You seemed shamelessly giddy when I showed up at the door holding it.”
“Yes…” Thalia shifted about in her seat, while Mykonos curled right by her hip. “It reminds me of home…or at least the home I would have, if my sister and I hadn’t been sent to Delphine at such a young age.”
“Do you remember much of it? Home?” Dimitris asked, his voice lower and softer than just moments before. His deep black brows narrowed in and his hand seemed to twitch toward Thalia before he simply pulled it back.
Slapping her tail against the couch, Mykonos let out a briefmeow.“Be careful, human, he might begin to think you like him if you share so much.”
Thalia swatted lightly at herpsychí’s head, ruffling her fur. “Bits and pieces, yes, although over time it has faded.”
