“Thirty years.” A beat passed. “Where is she?”
His lips lifted in the corners. “I’ll tell you where to find your mother, but I need you to answer some questions first.”
I didn’t like this. Not one bit. But I couldn’t walk away, either. And he knew it. He and Zeus must have taken my mother captive, and if I could give the right answers to these questions, perhaps I could convince them to let her go. According to the treaty, monarchs couldn’t enter another kingdom without an invitation, but she’d done nothing else out of bounds. She hadn’t stolen humans or killed anyone, two of the greatest crimes.
And if they wouldn’tlether go…
I scanned the length of him. Ares was several feet taller than me and powerfully built. And as an Olympian, he would be much older—nearly two hundred years older, in fact. He probably thought he could best me in a physical fight, but he knew next to nothing about me. High King Ares did not understand the weapon my mother had built.
“How many questions?” I eventually asked.
“Just three.”
Expression still blank, I nodded. “All right. I’ll answer your three questions, and then you’ll tell me where my mother is.”
“Good.” He sheathed his sword and folded his arms over his cloak. “First question. Did you enter the city, or did you wait in the ruins with your raven?”
My mouth went dry. He could have asked me anything, and yet he’d chosen this question. That meant the answer was important. They wanted to know if I’d crossed the city walls, too.
I knew what my mother would want me to say. Still, I hesitated, if only from that protective instinct all vampires had for those we loved. It went far beyond what mortals felt. When we cared for someone, we would rip apart the fabric of the world to save them.
But I’d agreed to do what she’d asked. It was my duty.
“I waited here. She said it was too dangerous for me to go with her.” I forced out the words, hating myself a little bit for it.
“Then why did she even bother bringing you to Olympia?” he countered so quickly it caught me off guard.
“Is that one of your questions?”
A long moment passed, then he shook his head. “No. Do you worship Gaia?”
I blinked at the unexpected turn in the conversation. “What?”
“You heard me. The Thirteen Crowns recognizes Erebus as our only god. That includes Troy, even though your monarch is a Titan. So my question is, do you worship Gaia?”
“No.”
Another lie. This one was much easier to speak. As much as Troy still secretly worshiped the Titan god, I didn’t bother. To me, she was just a vague idea, a symbol of a world long since gone. Duty had become my religion far more than anything else.
“I have one more question for you, then.” He edged in closer, lowering his head so that our eyes were level. It took everything within me not to recoil from his close proximity. “Who is your father?”
I gazed back at him, unblinking. Inside, I wanted to scream. My mother had hidden my existence from the world, partially to protect me from the machinations of the Olympians and partially to obscure the identity of my father. No one could know who he was, least of all someone like Ares. He would tell Zeus. Together, they would track him down.
And they would do everything in their power to destroy him.
So I repeated what she’d told the kingdom all these years, what no one had ever questioned. “A vampire lord named Valerius. They were briefly married. Unfortunately, he died just before I was born.”
His gaze narrowed. “How very convenient.”
“His early death meant I never even got to meet him, so I’d hardly call it convenient.”
“Do you know what I think?” he murmured, leaning even closer. The scent of blood billowed from his lips. “I think every single word coming out of your mouth is a lie. Your father isn’t a random, dead vampire lord. He’s someone else. Someone you and your mother don’t want the world to know about.”
His words cut straight through me, but I stood tall, refusing to crack.
“Feel free to visit Troy to confirm what I’ve said. I can send you an invitation with directions, if you’d like,” I replied, lifting my chin. “Now tell me where my mother is.”
His lips quirked to the side. “So commanding. So cold and regal, like a queen. That’s lucky, since you’re no longer a princess.”
