I sighed. "I'm fine, Theo. I'm a big girl, I can get myself washed and dressed."
He hesitated by the door to his room and just looked at me, but if he had something to say he chose not to voice it. And in the next instant the door was clicking shut at his back.
I had thought becoming what I was, was the roller-coaster ride from hell. But I was beginning to think loving Theo Peters was even worse. The only problem was, that even though my heart felt battered, I knew that I would walk this treacherous path again and again, for just a glimpse of the real man.
The Theodoros Petropoulos he presented to Pyrkagia was not the Theo Peters he showed me. I resolved to cherish that. To accept it as the gift that it was. And to hold it dear when the going got tough. Because there was denying, the going was about to get very tough indeed.
Chapter Eighteen
As Though He Felt My Dread And Pain And Fear Along With Me
Nico arrived within half an hour, looking just as anxious and on guard as Theo and Aktor had. I wasn't sure how Theo's cousin would act around me. I mean, the last time I had seen him, I'd just released him from an Earth prison I had placed him within and left him in a rejuvenated clearing created by my Stoicheio. I was certain there'd be some sort of awkwardness.
But as I walked into one of the front rooms, following the murmur of deep male voices, his only greeting was a smile. It wasn't quite beaming, the tension in his shoulders prevented him from achieving that, but it was welcoming. More so than I deserved.
"Hi," I said meekly at the doorway.
Aktor bustled about pouring me a cup of coffee and pulling out a chair at a little table in the corner. He obviously wanted me to eat. But it wasn't Theo who came over to take my hand and lead me to Aktor's meal, it was Nico. I sucked in a deep breath and just told myself to keep doing it; to keep breathing.
"I'm to be your escort," Nico announced, leading me to my chair. His eyes darted over Theo's bite mark on my neck, a flash of gold was the only indication of a reaction at all, and even then, I wasn't sure what it meant. "It is expected that you will not be called until later in the meeting. While you wait, I'll entertain you." He said that last with a wink.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him why he was being so nice to me, when Theo stepped up and brushed Nico's hand from my arm. Then he purposely settled me in my chair and kissed the top of my head. The move was possessive, not loving. So I just glared at him.
Aktor fussed around the table, filling my plate up with more food than I could possibly eat, but at least giving me something to look at other than Theo. I needed the distraction, his aloofness was pissing me off right then.
I noticed the fire was roaring and both Nico and Theo retreated to stand beside it, a sure sign they wanted to fuel themselves before they faced the Pyrkagia council and Theo's father. I wished I could spend some time with my trees, but at least Aktor had placed a potted palm on the table beside me. I momentarily thought, if I did have to leave Auckland, could I convince Aktor to accompany me?
I scoffed softly at that notion. If I couldn't convince Theo to come with me, then how could I make an old man? And then as I swallowed my mouthful of decidedly delicious, but barely registered food, I realised I was on the cusp of giving up. And I shouldn't be. No one was going to make me leave my city. No one was going to bully me around.
I swallowed a few more mouthfuls of sausage and egg, sipped my coffee and then rose from my chair. I'd been in the room five minutes. Theo stiffened and pushed off from the fireplace hearth.
"Do you need something?"
"Just five minutes," I replied and swiftly left the room.
"Was it something I said?" Nico's joking voice wafted out after me.
"No," Theo replied, evenly. "It's me."
I didn't stick around to hear more, I ran down the front steps and across the gravel, seeking refuge in my trees. My dress today was flowing, it flared out behind me in various shades of red; a glorious sunset of scarlet. The graduation of colouring was like watching the end of a long, hot day. I came to a standstill in the middle of my alcove, breathing the soothing scent of Earth into my lungs. The empire line of the dress accentuated the rapidity of my breaths. My breasts rising and falling, making the sunset undulate in waves.
I wanted to cry. I don't know why and that just confused me. I lost my virginity last night. No, I gave it away willingly. It had been beautiful, magical even. But today made yesterday seem surreal. I'd always thought I'd feel differently when I finally did 'the deed'. I hadn't realised I'd feel this different though. Life changing in a way that was not necessarily good. I should have been happy, floating on a cloud of bliss left over from the sensations Theo had created.
But I felt flat. My heart heavy and my mind a mess of conflicting thoughts. I reached out and a vine wrapped lovingly around my wrist. The Earth sighed when the vine's thorn broke my skin and a drop of my blood fell to the ground.
Why do you do that? I asked, a little annoyed it took advantage of my touch to steal a drop of my blood.
Because you will need us, and we are not strong enough yet, the trees replied without apology.
I didn't like the sound of that. The meeting this morning already left a bitter taste in my mouth. And the now trees were warning of something more ominous. I was about to ask what they feared, when Theo's voice found my ears.
Time to go. The vine unwrapped and stroked my arm comfortingly. Take care, the plants whispered. We watch and wait. For what exactly I didn't know.
I walked out of the clearing feeling full in my soul, but empty inside. Even the sight of Theo standing at the edge of the gravel driveway, arm outstretched to take my hand, immaculately dressed ready for political battle, did not soothe the ache that had started inside. I took his hand and stopped before him, my eyes searching that impassive face.
"You're very good at this," I murmured. Even I could hear the disgruntled sound to my words. He leaned back and frowned.
"Good at what, Oraia?"
Good at what indeed. I shook my head and pushed past him to the open rear door of the car. I slid in without another word and purposely avoided Nico's gaze. It was several seconds before Theo joined us.
The ride to the Rigas' Pyrgos, where the council meeting was being held, was inordinately quiet. Theo and Nico had obviously discussed all they needed to prior to the big show. I wondered if Theo was nervous. I gazed at his strong profile and tried to see a smattering of nerves. There were none, but I could hardly blame him for hiding them. He was about to face his father. I hoped when I was called on, I wouldn't have to do it alone. Would Nico come? Would Theo stand beside me? His present behaviour indicated not.
When we arrived Theo left without a parting word and Nico guided me up the stairs, down a corridor and into a spartan room. I sat down in the chair he offered and wondered how long these things were meant to go on for. A full thirty minutes later Nico broke. I found it amusing that he did before me.
"This is utter crap!" he announced bounding up from his chair and starting to pace. "God knows why they insisted you be here, but if they suspect you to be Gi royalty then they are hardly treating you appropriately."
"That's because I'm not Gi royalty and they know it," I replied steadily, crossing my legs.
Nico scoffed. "Don't delude yourself, princess. They want you to be royalty, then they have sound reason to exile you, politically correctly, from our land. How do you think the Rigas is coping with the knowledge you're in his son's bed?"
I refused to give in to the discomfort of Nico's words.
"Then what are they discussing, if it is a foregone conclusion, and why am I here?"
"Exactly!" Nico said with a finger pointed towards my face. "This is crap. A lynching, not a discussion. And if they are about to pull you to pieces without you even being present then I denounce all allegiance to the realm." A bit melodramatic I thought.
I cocked my head at Nico. He was player, an actor, a little bit of a court jester, I think. But he was
deadly serious now. Why? I'd given him no reason to back me, not that I believed his words just now. He was angry and rambling, he'd regret it later.
"Just relax, Nico. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," I said, leaning back in my uncomfortable chair trying to get comfortable.
He breathed deeply for a few moments and then forced himself to sit again. His fingers tapped across the top of the table next to him.
"You were amazing, you know," he said softly, out of nowhere. I felt my eyebrows rise up my forehead. "I was cosseted in that cell you placed me in. When I used my Stoicheio the Earth did not retaliate. The roots I singed would have hurt, but it still did not fight back. You told it to keep me safe, didn't you?"
I nodded, unsure what else to say.
He flexed his jaw, eyes staring unseeing at the floor. I had no way of knowing what he was thinking. And then he surprised me by standing and announcing, "We're going to watch."
"What?" I said coming to my feet, because he seemed about to storm out of the room.
He grabbed my hand and walked toward the door, confirming my suspicions, but not easing my mind at all. He peered around the exit and checked that the cost was clear, and then pulled me out behind him.
"We used to spy on the council meetings when we were kids," Nico whispered in my ear as we walked swiftly and quietly down several more hallways and up a flight of stairs. "Of course, this isn't the same building as that which existed in Greece back then, but the original Pyrgos was replicated; stone for stone. I would hazard a guess, that it mimics to perfection the Pyrgos of old. Right down to where Theo and I used to watch council meetings when we were young."
"Is this wise?" I asked in a whisper.
Nico flashed a mischievous grin at me and just kept walking.
Finally we came to a deserted hallway and Nico stopped in front of a larger than life tapestry on the wall. He took a look over both his shoulders and when convinced that we were still unseen, lifted the bottom right edge of the fabric and dragged me behind it. Dust wafted up and tickled my nose, but I forced myself not to breathe it. He fumbled around blindly for several moments and then I heard the click of a door releasing.
Nico leaned into my ear and whispered, "Not a sound from here on in."
My heart leapt into my throat. I was an enemy of these people, already suspected as a spy, and here I was about to eavesdrop on a council meeting. Oh, this was not going to end well. I knew it. But, damned if I was going to stop now. I wanted to know what they were saying about me. This meeting was about me, I was sure. So I deserved to be there. And obviously Nico agreed.
The little space he pulled me into was covered in dust. Inhabited New Zealand's not that old. But I'd guess this building to be several centuries in age. Perhaps the Pyrkagia came here before Abel Tasman, maybe even as early as the first Māori settlers in the thirteenth century. Looking at this dust, you'd think the new Pyrgos had been here that long, and this room neglected not long afterwards. Nico was very careful not to disturb too much of it, creeping along between crates of God knows what and perching himself at the very end, on a dusty upturned wooden box. There wasn't enough space for another makeshift seat beside him, just the one he sat on in front of a tiny peep hole in the wall. I stifled my gasp as Nico pulled me onto his lap, and pointed at the opening for me to view.
I had to duck down to get my eye level with the hole, I was sure from Nico's position he could have just leaned forward and been at the right height. But I was higher, sitting on his lap, which was disconcerting and distracting and felt wrong. I pushed those thoughts aside and peered through the gap.
A large white room surrounded by tall white columns sat on the other side. Several white robed people, both male and female, sat across a long table, that stretched from one side of the room to the other. The council, I was betting, and in the centre on an ornate throne, sat the King. Our vantage point showed us their faces clearly, but only the top of the heads of anyone who stood before them, giving their reports or answering to crimes. I was only guessing, but the room held the feel of a tribunal. And the person on trial right now was Isadora.
I breathed out a slow breath and Nico pushed me gently aside to take a peek. He pulled back and stretched up to whisper, "Perfect timing." My heart sank into my shoes.
I leaned forward to have another look and a voice sounded out, the first we'd heard since arriving, and almost made me squeak. Nico squeezed my waist in warning and I bit my bottom lip to ensure I didn't make a sound.
"Are we ready to proceed then?" A man on the council, two down from the King on his right, said. Murmured words of agreement ran along the line of council members.
"Isadora Petros, please give your report," the man announced in a ringing voice.
I watched as Isadora straightened her spine and lifted her head, mentally and physically preparing herself for her moment.
"It is with grave regret that I must bring the Pyrkagia council dangerous news," she said, sounding every inch the regretful messenger that she portrayed. "The Gi have, until several days ago, been quite settled. Had I left last week, I would not have uncovered this development. I thank Aetheros that I remained long enough to bring this change in circumstance to you."
"On with it," one of the women on the council snapped, clearly not enjoying Isadora's grandstanding. Isadora shifted nervously when the woman spoke, but pulled herself together to deliver her 'dangerous message'.
"The Gi became suddenly distressed. The forests uneasy. A sense of something big... no momentous" - she corrected herself with a nod of her elegant head - "occurring became obvious, but no one would divulge what it was. Council meetings were called on days they didn't usually meet and then, last Tuesday, they started to send out scouts. First a couple, then by Thursday the numbers escalated to their entire regiment."
"How many in a regiment?" a man on the council asked, sitting forward in his seat.
"Twenty-five," Isadora replied and several murmured words were shared amongst the councillors in response. I couldn't make out what they were saying, Greek not being a language I spoke.
Thankfully they returned to English for the next question.
"What are they looking for?" a man on the end of the table asked.
"It took some effort, but I finally managed to obtain the information from an informant of mine. Unfortunately I had to... dispose of him afterwards. I fear I may have given myself away, had I not."
"Understandable," a woman said, sitting next to the King, who so far had not spoken a single word. Isadora seemed relieved to get that dispensation. It clearly wiped her conscience clean.
I wasn't sure what to make of all of this. But the fact Isadora had killed a Gi to find out the next bit of information, did not sit well. I pressed a hand into my stomach to stop the nausea that was threatening to grow. I couldn't explain my reaction, but a death of anyone, Gi or otherwise, should not be dismissed with just a single word.
"They have discovered a lost treasure, at least, the knowledge that the treasure survives. They search for it, in the hopes of bringing the treasure home."
Isadora's words rang out in the stillness of the room Nico and I sat in. I felt his shoulders slump. He knew what she'd say next. I think I did to, but I hoped I was wrong.
"And do we know what the treasure is?" the King finally asked, entering the conversation, or inquisition, at last. His voice was steady, deep and resonant, but entirely devoid of emotion. He'd perfected the impassivity that Theo used. In that spilt second I saw the son in the father and it left me feeling scared.
"I believe it is a lost daughter, Rigas," Isadora announced. "They search for a princess of Gi."
I made a sound, but thankfully it was muffled and couldn't be heard over the exclamations of alarm in the council room. So many voices rose in disharmony, that nothing could possibly be gleaned from what was being said or shouted or cried.
Nico held me tightly, rubbing a hand up and down my naked arm. Goosebumps had appeared when Isadora had spoken,
and he was trying to soothe them away; calm me, settle me. I didn't deserve his comfort and I stubbornly wanted someone else's than his.
"Quiet!' the King shouted and all voices ceased on his command. His eyes bore into Isadora's and to her credit she held steady under that penetrating stare. "Tell me, do you have any idea where that princess is now? Do they?"
The wait for her to answer was interminable. It was one of those moments, that you know the outcome already, but you hold out hope, desperately and uselessly, for it to end in another way. I didn't want her to confirm something that couldn't possibly be true. It was a lie, but if she said it, they would think it a truth. How could I fight this? How could Theo? I was determined not to be bullied out of my city, but reality was a harsh leveller, it seemed.
"I do, Rigas," she replied and Nico actually rested his forehead against my back. As though it was him they were talking about, as though it was his life about to be destroyed. As though he felt my dread and pain and fear along with me.
"I believe she is here," Isadora announced, her voice gaining in strength as she spoke each false word. "I believe her to be the Gi that Theodoros Petropoulos has taken under his protection. I believe he has been duped. She is not an asylum seeker, she is an escaped princess and will be sought by the Gi at all cost."
"Unacceptable!" a councillor cried.
"We must return her at once," another added.
"To fool our own Rigas' son," one woman exclaimed, shocked, as though I'd committed a most heinous crime.
"They will attack us, if they think we harboured her knowingly. This will lead to war!"
And on that last loud, portentous statement all voices fell, realisation of impending assault by the Gi, because of me, hitting hard.
The Rigas stood. Silence reigned for several moments and then he declared in a dark voice, "Bring in my son."
Chapter Nineteen
It Was The End Of The World As I Knew It
Elemental Awakening Book Bundle Page 19