Theta (24 page)

I wanted to believe Lantos would never send
his people after me with the intention of hurting me, but I didn’t
know him as well as I once thought I did. He was a lesson about not
trusting anyone – a very painful one. Anyone posing a threat to his
or Cleon’s plans was likely to be killed, no matter what emotional
attachments were once believed to be present.

It was my fault for falling in love anyway.
I knew better. My duty always preceded any personal interest. A
queen could never let her heart lead, when it was her shrewd mind
preserving the Bloodline and the family’s elevated position in the
world.

Did Theodocia make it back
inside the wall?
I asked.

“
We don’t know,” Kyros
replied. “Sorry. We’ve been concerned with keeping you alive and
out of the hands of the uniforms.”

Deep inside, a part of me softened when I
realized what Kyros had gone through to protect me despite how I
treated him and Paeon at camp. Was it possible to distrust the god
and admire the human, even if they were trapped in the same
body?

Thank you.
The words were difficult to admit.

“
You’re welcome. You can
put a knife in our back when we get to camp, if it’ll make you feel
better.”

I settled another cold look
on Kyros, who smiled in return.
I will look
you in the eye when I do it,
I assured
him.
I’m not a coward.

“
I know,” he said. “Do you
feel well enough to leave the stadium?”

I stood in the shadows of the box seats of
the stadium. My body was healed, aside from the occasional bruise
and lingering muscle stiffness. Considering what I’d been through,
I was in near-perfect shape. It was hard not to feel grateful when
my children and I were not only alive but healthy hours after
surviving an explosion.

I’m fine,
I replied.

Kyros stood and handed me a bottle of water.
“The only thing Paeon can’t do is rehydrate me. We figured that out
the hard way a few weeks ago.” He laughed. “That was rough.”

Something about this human tugged at the
tension that was always curled at the base of my belly. I wanted to
do something that I never did ever. I wanted to let my guard drop a
little when he was around. His informal manner would never survive
court or the political scene of DC. Easygoing and friendly, Kyros
often rubbed me the wrong way, because he didn’t seem to understand
how serious our circumstances were or what was at stake. Like
Herakles, he was trusting and soft inside, which was a recipe for
being killed.

Was he a genuinely nice guy, or was he an
absolute idiot? The line between the two was blurred with him.

“
I may be a Virginia farm
boy, but I’m not stupid,” he said. “I understand what’s at stake. I
guess I just have a different perspective than you do.”

Displeased with his ability to read my mind,
I narrowed my eyes at him and then struck off down the field,
towards one of stairwells leading out of the field and into the
stadium.

“
Do you know where we’re
going?” he asked, trailing.

Yes.
I glanced at the night sky to orient myself. Herakles had
taught me to navigate by the stars as soon as we established camp.
He was always preparing everyone around him for the worst-case
scenario. For once, I was grateful for his attention to what
sometimes seemed to be the smallest, most mundane details I didn’t
usually concern myself with.

I needed him to be okay, not just for
myself, but also for the sake of my war. Herakles belonged at my
side, the human, compassionate face of the battle against the gods.
I liked him. I didn’t want him wrenched out of my world as everyone
else always seemed to be.

Kyros said nothing, and I led us into the
stadium, through the silent hallways winding around it that once
housed restrooms and eateries, and out into the quiet night. We
paused at the edge of the expansive parking lot.

Do you sense
anything?
I asked, lingering in the shadows
of the stadium.

“
Now you believe me,” he
replied.

Twice was enough to prove the point – even
to me – that he had an ability I didn’t think he should.

“
Feels good,” he said after
a moment. “I’m pretty sure we lost them about a kilometer from the
stadium.”

I strode into the parking lot. He drew
abreast of me, and I gave him a sidelong glance. Built like a
linebacker, Kyros carried himself with upbeat confidence and walked
with a gait that bordered on a swagger. His dark eyes were bright
and alert.

Skeptical after a lifetime where I was
taught I could trust Theodocia and Tommy, and no one else, I found
it hard to believe he was a good person. Good people with no hidden
agendas didn’t belong in this game, in the control of a god, in
this world at all. Survival depended upon ruthlessness and
strategy, and in general, good people were not known to possess
these traits.

“
Every once in a while, you
think something nice, and I start to thank you. Then you think
something really offensive, and I’m left wondering why I would ever
consider thanking you at all when I know what’s coming,” he said
quietly. “Good people can be survivors, too, and gods can be
genuinely benevolent. Not everyone is out to get you or to betray
you.”

Anger lit my blood. He was aware of Lantos
or at least, that someone I trusted had recently turned on me. He
had to be since I thought about Lantos more when Kyros-Paeon was
around than when they weren’t. It struck me then that the timing of
my Lantos thoughts made little sense, given the son of a Titan was
just as likely to be an enemy of Paeon as I was.

Why, then, did I always think of Lantos when
I was near Kyros?

“
We better pick up the
pace.” Kyros-Paeon’s gaze was to the north and the abandoned
cityscape in that direction. “And find cover.”

I didn’t need a second warning and jogged
towards the forest hedging the parking lot dead ahead of us. Kyros
kept pace with me easily. We reached it and ducked into the shadows
of the trees, just as headlights appeared from the northern side of
the parking lot. A caravan of armored, military vehicles drove
close to the stadium and stopped.

How do you do that?
I asked, sinking deeper into the
forest.

“
I’m not sure.” Kyros
sounded puzzled. “Paeon says he can’t do it on his own, and I know
I can’t. There’s something in our chemistry.”

If you tell me one more time that you make a
good team, one of us will not make it back to camp.

Kyros chuckled. “I’m just happy you
listened. I definitely don’t want to be blown up again.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes in the
darkness of the forest. A familiar form emerged from one of the
vehicles, and fury warmed me from the inside out.

I told Theodocia he should
have been killed long ago,
I said at the
sight of Niko.

“
It can’t be easy for her
to kill her baby-daddy,” Kyros replied.

I’d kill my children’s father in a
heartbeat.

“
You say that now, but what
about when you see him again?”

Pain radiated through me, the kind with no
physical source. I never wanted to see Lantos again. When I had the
city under control, he was among the first people I’d send before a
firing squad or have hanged or worse – send to the House. He had
betrayed me worse than Niko ever did Theodocia, and he’d pay the
price for it.

So why did the thought of him disappearing
from the face of the planet – forever – hurt, when I had every
right to end his life?

Thankfully, Kyros chose not to respond to
these thoughts. As if sensing my pain, he was quiet. I watched Niko
for a moment, vowing to send an assassin after him the first chance
I had, and then stepped away from the edge of the cement. The only
good to come out of Niko being here: if Theodocia were in danger,
he would help her. Theodocia always doubted this about Niko, but I
saw the way he looked at her, the few times all three of our paths
crossed. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her anymore than he
would his son. If she were in danger, or if she didn’t make it back
to the wall, he would distract or bribe his men to give her a
chance to escape, if not outright order his people to help her.

What would Lantos do, if he knew I was
here?

He would let me die, if it suited his
purpose.

If I let myself think about him, I would
break down and cry, which was rare for me. Theodocia brought out
the only drop of good existing in Niko, and I ... well, I brought
out Lantos’ betrayal. What did that say about me?

We need to go. They won’t
stop until they find me.
I said to Kyros. I
turned away from the scene before me and reinforced my emotional
state with the reminder of what happened when I chose my heart over
my duty. Resolve solidified inside me, and the pain withdrew
without leaving completely. It lingered in the shadows of my mind,
waiting for me to allow it to confuse me again, which I wasn’t
going to do.

My path was set. I would fulfill my oath to
free humanity or die in the process. There was no room for Lantos
or emotion or doubt or torturing myself with thoughts of what might
have been.

“
We’ll stay ahead of them,”
Kyros said.

Picking my path through the forest, I
reached a sidewalk marking a running trail and began walking
quickly down it, fueled by the anger in my blood.

“
I know what you think of
my opinion, but for the record, you’re amazing and strong,” Kyros
said. “You’re also human. You’re too hard on yourself.”

I’m not a mere human. I am a queen who
happens to be cursed by the gods. I will behave as required to
fulfill my duties without any concern what you think about it.

He said nothing else.

I marched until my anger ebbed and was
replaced by more tempered determination. My pace slowed then, and I
became fully aware of my surroundings. Owls, crickets and other
nocturnal animals were active in the woods hedging the sidewalk.
The summer night smelled of trees. It was clear and breezy but
humid enough that I was sweating after an hour of walking.

We passed a sign marking this trail as
following an old railroad path, and I checked the sky again to
ensure the trail was leading us in the direction we needed to go.
Without a map or my cell phone, I couldn’t gauge our exact path. At
some point, we were going to need assistance to find camp. I was
confident I could get us to the general vicinity, thanks to
Herakles’ basic survival lessons.

We walked for two to three hours in silence,
without passing anyone, and with no sign of Niko following. At that
point, Kyros spoke.

“
Not to be a downer, but
could we stop for a break? Healing as much as we have the past few
hours drains Paeon and also me.”

I glanced up and noticed the dark circles
around his eyes for the first time. I was torn briefly between
pressing on to reach camp as soon as possible and stopping, because
my companion requested it. Being tired was constant for me anymore,
since I found out I was pregnant. I had a feeling if I said no,
Kyros was too good-natured to object.

If it were only Paeon, I would continue, but
it wasn’t. The man beside me housing two spirits was at least half
human, and he had risked his own life to protect mine.

Very well,
I relented.

“
We think there’s shelter
that way.” He pointed.

I stepped aside to let him lead us in the
direction he indicated. We left the path onto a dirt trail emptying
out into the parking area of what was once probably a great estate,
before the gods firebombed it five years prior.

Kyros made a sound of disappointment at the
sight of the destroyed mansion and approached the garage, which was
equally damaged.

“
I guess it’s as good as
we’ll find,” he said. “Wait here. I’ll see if I can find blankets
or something.” He struck off towards the house.

I circled the garage and spotted an empty
pool a short distance away. The quiet estate was situated on
several acres of cleared land. A herd of deer grazed on the
expansive lawn. My eyes fell to the jungle gym not far from the
pool and then to the sole tree visible in the yard, close enough to
the house to provide shade during summer picnics and far enough for
its branches not to pose a threat if hit by lightning during a
summer storm.

On a hunch, I approached the tree and
spotted the wooden boards hammered into its trunk to create a
ladder. I craned my neck back to see the tree house with
satisfaction.

I would definitely feel less exposed up
there than sleeping in the middle of a field. Testing the boards
closest to me, I determined they were safe enough to support me and
climbed the tree.

The tree house was empty, its interior
small. Spider webs filled the open windows, and dust was thick on
the floor. I entered and sat down in the middle, relaxing for the
first time since leaving camp to meet Theodocia.

“
Phoibe?” Kyros called. “I
mean, Your Majesty?” This was followed by a sigh. “Well, how am I
supposed to know protocol for dealing with royalty?”

I started to smile at the sound of him
arguing with himself.

“
Yes, I remember. We don’t
want her pissed enough to murder us.”

Leaning out of the tree house, I summoned
him telepathically.

Kyros was at the back door of the destroyed
mansion, his arms filled with linens. He looked up when I called
him and then smiled before starting towards the tree house.
Flinging the linens over one shoulder, he scaled the ladder with
ease and entered the space that had not seemed quite so confined
when I was alone in it. He hunched over to prevent his head from
hitting the roof and jostled past me before he sat.