One week until Midsummer Night.Still no word from Hippolyta.Perhaps she really had washed her hands of him and his Court.If that was the case, then she was not the person he’d thought she was.
Then again, she had deceived him into thinking she was a handmaiden named Ariadne for most of their acquaintance.She literally wasn’t the person he thought she was for most of the time he’d known her.
“Your Majesty?”Philostrate’s voice came from behind him.“Are you all right, sire?”
Theseus released a long breath and pushed away from the window to face his steward.“I’m fine.”
Philostrate’s gaze searched his, then he shook his head.“You haven’t been yourself ever since you returned from the Court of Swordmaidens.”
Theseus wasn’t going to tell Philostrate about Hippolyta and the constant ache in his heart ever since.He focused on the floor rather than on his steward.“I failed, and now the Court will likely be overrun on Midsummer Night.”
“There is always the Court of Sand or Stone or any of the other Courts we can turn to.We aren’t out of options.”Philostrate’s tone remained neutral.
“Perhaps.But the cost to bargain with another Court will be high.Perhaps higher than we are willing to pay.”Theseus itched to slump against the windowsill yet again.He had paid for this attempt to save his Court with his heart.Maybe another bargain wouldn’t be so dreadful.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to give up on Hippolyta.Surely she would come.She would save his Court.
Even if she didn’t love him the way he had come to love her.
ChapterEight
Something cold and sharp jabbed his chest.Theseus started awake, blinking at the glow from the faerie lights bobbing near the ceiling now that someone had called them into brightening.
Dressed in her full battle regalia, complete with a chainmail tunic and a golden crown tucked into her hair, Queen Hippolyta stood next to his bed, her sword drawn and menacing him.Ariadne, her black hair in a braid, flanked Hippolyta, guarding her back.
Theseus wasn’t sure if he should reach for a weapon or dredge up the last of his charm and pretend he was nonchalant about this queen showing up in his bedroom.
As he didn’t have any other choices, he went with the second option.He placed one hand behind his head as if he were relaxed.“Queen Hippolyta.This is a surprise.It seems you could not resist my charms after all.”
She smirked and tapped his bare chest with the flat of her sword.“King Theseus, I have conquered you and your Court.You have no choice but to yield to me.”
What was going on?What was she doing here?Sending a few of her swordmaidens to help out on Midsummer Night was one thing, but this was not what he had expected.
His blood ran cold.All those times she’d asked him about his Court and his castle, had it all been another trick?Had she been setting him up so that she could conquer his Court without a battle?
She had betrayed him.Used his friendship to take over his Court.
He met her gaze, opening his mouth to spew anger at her.
Yet instead of the hardness he had been expecting, her eyes were soft.Almost begging something from him.
Whatever gentleness in her eyes, her voice remained hard as she rested the flat of her sword against his skin.“Yield, King Theseus.”
What was she trying to tell him?
Either he remained angry, or he trusted her one more time.Hippolyta never did anything without a good reason.She had shown him that over and over again.Perhaps she was nothing but a cold, calculating woman who had planned all along to steal his Court from under him.
Or this was actually for the benefit of both their Courts.
It was time to trust her.One last time.
He trailed a finger up the flat of her sword.“I yield, Hippolyta.You have conquered me.”
Her pink lips twitched, as if she wanted to smirk but wasn’t ready to drop the hard façade just yet.“Then I have one last test for you.I ask you again, what benefit will you provide to my Court?”
For all of Hippolyta’s tests, this question was the most important.He’d answered wrong the first time.He couldn’t afford to give the wrong answer a second time.
His mind raced, as he thought back through his experiences in the Court of Swordmaidens.The pain in Hippolyta’s voice when she talked about leaving her family in the Court of Sand.The way no married women were allowed to remain on the island with their husbands and families.
