Thief of Olympus (Greek Myth Series Book 3) (22 page)

Zarek rushed over to help her, but by now the baby too had awoken from the noise and cried loud enough for everyone to hear. The gods looked up from across the room and Artemis shouted out and pointed a finger in their direction. A flash of light left her and came toward them, engulfing Zarek, Lysandra and little Sander. Instantly, Lysandra felt the sensation of air whisking past her face and a tingling over her entire body. Her vision blurred so bad it looked as if everyone and everything were but a smear on the wall. And when it cleared, the breeze stopped, and she and Zarek were standing directly in front of Zeus’s throne, transported there by Artemis’s godly beam.

“I smell a rat,” said Artemis from his side. “There is more than one thief in Olympus this day.”

Twenty-One

Stealing from the gods was easy compared to trying to understand a woman like Lysandra. Zarek didn’t know why she’d come to Olympus when he was totally capable of bringing back their son without her help.

It was in her nature to want to be the aggressor, so why should he have been surprised to see her in the palace of the gods? But one thing that did surprise him was her confession of love for him. It was something he truly didn’t expect, but something he was very pleased to hear. He knew Lysandra was the type to have to prove what she said was true. That had to be why she’d come. To show her love for not only him, but the baby. But now they were in a predicament that he was sure could only bring trouble. Love could not get them out of the bind they were in.

“What is this?” bellowed Zeus, getting to his feet.

“These two,” said Artemis, “have deceived not only me but every god here. They tried to steal the baby behind my back.”

“Is this true?” asked Zeus, putting his hands on his hips.

“It is,” admitted Zarek, trying to calm the child. “But only because he is our son and we wished to save his life which was to be taken so unfairly.”

“Artemis, what do you have to say?”

“The baby was to be a sacrifice to me. Lysandra showed disrespect to both a goddess and her tribe by denying me this baby.”

“Lysandra,” said Zeus, looking at her now collapsed on the floor. “What do you have to say?”

She slowly got to her feet, and knelt before him. She pulled the thunderbolt out of the bag, still contained in her quiver.

“My thunderbolt!” exclaimed Zeus. “Are you the one who stole it from my Cyclops?”

Zarek opened his mouth to speak, but a slight shake of Lysandra’s head kept him quiet as to his part in the thievery.

“Yes, I stole it,” she said, then turned toward Apollo and Dionysus. “I was the one who stole each of your possessions, and now I know I never should have done it.”

“Lysandra,” Zarek spoke up, knowing her confession would bring her a terrible punishment indeed.

“Please, Zarek,” she said, her eyes begging his cooperation.

“Well, why did you do it?” asked Zeus in question. “Did Artemis have something to do with this, causing trouble in Olympus as she’s done before?” He looked toward Artemis, and she looked away. “You have always been the troublesome twin,” he growled. “If I find you have had a hand in this, you shall be banished from Olympus forever.”

Good, thought Zarek. This was their way out. This must have been what Lysandra planned. With Zeus on their side and Artemis exposed as the culprit behind the initial acts, they were as well as free.

“No,” Lysandra said, and Zarek already felt the knot twisting in his stomach. Once again, she was venturing into unknown territories with no thought as to where they led. “Artemis had naught to do with my decision of stealing from the gods. And King Zarek of Thrace is as innocent as is our baby. Let them all be, and I will serve the punishment I truly deserve.”

“No, Lysandra!” he warned, but she glanced at him and raised her hand to stop him.

Her sad, tired eyes looked at him and then back to Zeus. “I beg you,” she added and once more looked at Zarek. “I beg you.”

It was not like Lysandra to beg. And it was not at all like her to take the blame for something she did not do. She was using the same words he had used when asking for her cooperation. He could do nothing now but trust that she had a plan to get them all home safely.

Zeus lifted his hand to the crowd and raised his thunderbolt in the other. Then, looking toward Zarek and Artemis, he said, “You may go.”

Zarek heaved a sigh of relief and walked forward meaning to collect Lysandra. But before he could do so, Zeus stopped him.

“Lysandra will stay here until I decide the punishment which would best fit her crime.”

“No!” said Zarek. “She does not deserve this.”

She looked back to him with those sad, sad eyes, and he reached out to her, but it was too late. He felt the flash and then the tingle. And when the smoke cleared he was standing in his own courtyard of Castle Thrace with his sleeping son fastened to his chest.

Daedalus ran to him as well as Tessa, Idola and the Amazons. They were filled with joy to see that he and the baby were safe. But when Idola realized Lysandra was not with them, she spoke freely.

“Where is our queen?”

By the gods, he wished he could answer them differently. Zeus’s eyes, she didn’t deserve whatever punishment they put forward.

“She is in Olympus,” he told them softly. “She has chosen to stay and be punished for something she was not truly guilty of, in order to insure our son’s safety.”

Yes, he decided, she truly did love the baby even if he was too blind to see it before. And she truly did love him. Her choice to save him and the people of Thrace must have been the hardest decision of her life. By wishing for the safety of every boy and girl that walked through his castle, she had wished more times than one for the safety of her own son. Her love for Sander is what started this all, and he could see it clearly now that it had never once dwindled. ’Twas his own selfishness that kept him from seeing how wonderful a mother she would be if he only gave her the chance. And it was through his own fears that he had not told her that he was in love with her and wanted her to be more than just the mother of his baby, but also his wife.

Twenty-Two

Zarek clutched his son to his chest and walked the battlements in the light of the moon. It had been two whole weeks now and still Lysandra had not returned. He had gone to the gates of Olympus every day now, asking to see her. But every time, word would come from inside the palace that she could not see him and would not be returning that day. His horse had been returned, and even Daedalus’s wings, but not what meant the most to him. He still didn’t have Lysandra.

He had thought of sneaking up to Mt. Olympus to steal her back, just as he did with Sander. But he knew Lysandra wouldn’t be pleased with that decision. She had her plan and had begged him to trust her. Although it was the hardest thing he’d ever done, he decided to just wait the whole thing through.

Sander looked up to him with big round eyes. Eyes that looked so much like his mother’s it made him want to cry. His son had grown chubby and happy since being home at Thrace and in his care. If Lysandra could see him now, she’d be so proud. If only he had told her she was a good mother, and that he loved her. There were so many things he wanted to say, but now he wasn’t sure he’d ever have the chance. He didn’t know how long Zeus would keep her there, or what type of punishment he was putting her through. Not knowing was driving him mad, and lately he’d been wondering if he should have just defied her and tried to bring her back even though he’d agreed to trust her.

“I know you will love your mother once you get to know her,” he told Sander. “I love her very much.”

“Then why don’t you tell her yourself?” asked Daedalus, climbing the steps to meet him.

“What do you mean, old man? By the gods, are you saying she has returned?”

Daedalus nodded. “She waits for you in your chamber this moment. She’s asked to see the baby.”

“Then I shall take him to her,” he said, running down the stairs and making it to the bedchamber in no time at all. He pushed open the door and rushed inside, to find her sitting in front of the fire. His heart beat rapidly in his chest, his want to see her strong. He pushed the door closed behind him, the noise making her turn to look at him.

“Zarek,” she said, her face solemn. “I’ve come one last time to see the baby.”

“Last time?” His world crumbled around him. Had she really meant to leave him and Sander forever? Had she decided to stay with the Amazons after all they’d been through? He walked to her and placed Sander in her hands. She took the baby carefully to her chest and hugged him, a slight smile passing her trembling lips. Then she buried her nose in the top of his soft hair and a cry spilled forth from her lips.

“Lysandra,” he said. “Why are you doing this? Where are you going? Have you decided to hold your title as queen of the Amazons after all?”

She lifted her face and wiped a tear from her eye with the back of her hand. “You know I’m no good as queen. I spent the last two weeks in the company of Zeus, trying to convince him I would make a horrible queen.”

“So what are you saying, Lysandra? What happened while you were there?”

“I resigned as queen of the Amazons. Idola will take the title. But I managed to convince Artemis not to require the male babies to be sacrificed anymore. I think she only agreed because I kept her secret of how she’d caused trouble among the gods, and therefore I kept her from being banished from Olympus.”

“Why didn’t you just tell Zeus she was the reason we stole from the gods?”

“I don’t know,” she said rubbing a hand through the baby’s hair. He had fallen asleep in her arms. “I suppose it’s because I could see she only did those things because she craved the attention of her father and brother. And also all the gods in Olympus. Her position is a hard one to hold. So was my mother’s.”

She handed the baby to Zarek, and he placed the sleeping child in a cradle he. himself had made for his son while he awaited Lysandra’s return. He had kept himself busy, trying to keep his mind off the woman, and these past weeks had been the longest ones of his entire life.

“You don’t hate your mother for what she did?” he asked in surprise.

“Nay,” she answered. “And because of you, I’ve learned I needn’t hate men, just because I’ve been raised to believe they are worthless.”

He reached out his finger and ran it down her cheek. “I’ve missed you, Lysandra.”

“As I have missed you.”

“I am ashamed of myself, by far. I have acted ill-mannered to the mother of my child.”

“I will not complicate your life further. You are a wonderful father, and you deserve to keep our baby. Sander will grow up to be just like you, and you will be very proud to have such an heir.”

His hands went to her shoulders, and he placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I love you, Lysandra. I was a fool not to tell you before. I love you, and I am sorry I wasn’t honest with you of how I felt.”

“I didn’t give you a chance to say it, through all our arguing,” she said with a smile.

“You said you would not make a good queen, but I do not believe you, Lysandra. I think you would make a wonderful queen, and that’s why I want you to stay in Thrace and rule with me at my side.”

“Zarek? What is it you’re saying?” Her eyes held all the hope of the world, and Zarek could only pray she would give him the answer he needed to hear.

“Marry me, Lysandra. Be my wife. Be the wife of all my children. I love you, and I don’t want you to leave ever again.”

She took his hands in hers, looked him in the eyes and smiled.

“I love you, too, Zarek, King of Thrace. And I would be honored to be your wife and rule as queen with you, if you will have me.”

He pulled at her stolen ring on his finger, finally getting it loose. He put in on her finger as a sign of his love and affection, and pulled her to him in a kiss to seal the nuptial agreement.

“If I had known I had to agree to marry you to get my ring back, I would have done it long ago,” she said, twirling it around her finger by means of her thumb. Her smile warmed him to his soul, and he knew their days of arguing were over.

They both laughed and fell to the floor. She lay next to him, and he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“We have so far only coupled in lust,” he told her. “I would like to couple with you again, but this time out of love.”

“As would I.”

They started out with gentle kisses and undressing each other oh so tenderly. But he was a thief - a man who always took whatever he wanted, and she still an Amazon warrior in her heart, always fighting for control. Even in love, their ways were not tender. But it did not matter, for that was the way they both liked it.

He mounted her quickly, meaning to be inside her before she could object as to his position, but she flipped him over and straddled her legs around him in a possessive hold.

“I told you, I like it on top,” she reminded him.

He pulled her arms up over her head and slid her off of him, mounting her again and keeping her arms prisoner. He reached down with his mouth and trailed kisses from her mouth down her neck. “And I told you, I like it on top, also.”

Her warrior skills used wisely, she pulled with her hands, setting him off balance and with her strong legs she hurled him over her head. He landed on his back with the wind knocked from his lungs and she laughed, and he joined her.

She crawled over to him like a dog upon the rushes, and once again he got the better of her and ended up on top.

“I want to conceive a girl this time,” she told him. “The girl you were supposed to give me last time.”

“I want another boy,” he said and watched her eyes light up in a smile.

“I don’t want to argue,” she said. “So to make us both happy, I guess we’ll have to have twins - one of each.”

The thought excited him, and he entered her, and in a matter of minutes they had both met their peaks, finding themselves wrapped sideways together in the end.

“Mayhap this is our solution,” she said, laughing.

“Aye,” he said with a kiss to her nose. “And then neither of us would have to steal the top.”

“I conquer, I don’t steal,” she corrected him. “You steal. After all, you are a thief.”

“Nay. I don’t want my son thinking I am a scoundrel.”

“Oh, but you are a respectable thief,” she reassured him. “After all, you have to be good to be able to steal an Amazon’s heart. From this day on, your name will be known by all as the only man ever to get an Amazon to love a male. Not to mention, steal from the gods and live to tell of it. Our son will know you not only as his father and the King of Thrace, but also as an honorable thief who risked all to save his life. You, my love, are one of a kind. You are the
Thief of
Olympus
.
”