From the balcony we watched as a ring of soldiers surrounded the man, their spears glinting, shields overlapped, while their sandals scuffed red stone in wary circles. The man only stood there, his bare feet planted on the sand as if the sea had delivered him here.
He didn’t reach for a weapon or resist.
Achilles barked a command, and the stranger inclined his head and walked forward of his own accord into their midst.
I backed from the rail and turned for the door to the hall, throwing it open only to stop mid-step at the sight of two guards blocking the threshold of the room.
“Your Majesty,” one said, his spear haft braced firm against the floor. “The king has ordered you to remain inside.”
My hands curled at my sides. It was doubtful the king had ordered anything, judging by how drunk he was. Which meant that Achilles had made the order.
“Very well,” I snapped, stepping back into the room and nodding my head at Alcmene. “Go, fetch me some wine.”
She dipped her chin once, eyes flicking to mine in a quick, knowing glance. The guards shifted aside, lowering their spears just enough for her to slip past. She did not look back, but I knew she understood … the queen’s maid going out under the guise of an errand, but really to spy, to listen, to return with word of what was going on.
The door shut again with a dull thud.
Squeak.
Roz ran out from under a dresser, jumping over a brush that had fallen to the floor. I scooped it up and cuddled it against my chest as I anxiously paced back and forth across the room.
“Who do you think that was?” I asked. “Do you think he was the one who shook the palace?”
Roz obviously didn’t answer, but I felt better having it near.
I strode faster, as though motion alone could drown out the restless churn in my chest. I measured time in steps and breaths, straining for the sound of her return.
But the minutes stretched on. At last, my legs weakened beneath the weight of waiting. I dropped into a chair by the window, the wood cold against my back. The silence pressed in until even that could not hold me upright. My body sagged, lids dragging lower, and despite myself I drifted, slumping in an uneasy doze, still waiting for Alcmene to return.
I saw water. Fire. A figure walking out of the sea with the confidence of a god and the patience of a hunter. From behind my eyelids, I dreamed of violet eyes watching me.
“Your Majesty.”
I woke with a gasp, the taste of salt and fear on my tongue. Alcmene was hovering in front of me. For a moment I simply stared at her, the dream clinging to me like mist. I tried to reach for it and remember why it felt like something returned rather than new, but the images slipped apart too quickly, dissolving before I could grasp even a single piece.
I glanced down and saw Roz hadn’t stirred from its spot on my lap. Somewhere along the way, it had decided Alcmene was trustworthy, and when shehadn’t startled at the sight of it, it stopped darting from the room every time it sensed her approaching.
“You’re being summoned,” she said without preamble. Her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed everything. Tense. Wide. The way I imagined you would look if the gods had come knocking and no one yet knew whether to kneel or run.
Roz sat up at that, emitting a small squeak.
“To the king?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“To the Great Hall,” she confirmed, stepping forward with a bundle of fabric. “You are to look your best.”
My heart lurched. “What did you find out?” I asked as I stood up and stripped off my dress so I could change into a fresh one.
She shook her head, reaching for a jar of unguent, her fingers moving swiftly as she went to work on my skin. “Everyone was talking,” she said in a hushed voice. “The guards, the servants, even the stewards in the hall. But no one seemed to know anything beyond what we saw. A man who came across the sea. Who walked straight into the palace prisons without a fight.”
I frowned at that. “What about …”
She pursed her lips and started working on my hair, her pulling edged with reprimand. “What of the king nearly discovering you?” she muttered. “Fortunately for all of us, he remembers nothing—only the stranger … and the hangover gnawing at him today.”
I breathed out a deep sigh of relief.
“You’re shaking,” Alcmene said as she fixed a curl. It wasn’t a question, just an observation. “We need to get a flush in those cheeks.”
“I’m fine. It was just … it was close.”
