Page 107 of Thief of Hearts

The steward’s face didn’t move at all. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

She walked away and I felt ill for what I’d requested. As if Actos and I were alike.

“You won’t be able to make everyone happy,” Zain said as he came over. “Something will have to give.”

“Then I need you to come up with a solution so that I can save those girls and keep the caduceus out of Actos’s hands.” I might not have cared a great deal about Epirius’s future, but I cared very much about that man not having more power.

“The only thing I’ve thought of is that we retrieve the weapon, bring it to him, and then steal it after. Perhaps Dione could secretly let us into the palace. It’s not a great plan.”

It was better than nothing, which was what I currently had.

Because it sounded like my “kill all the guards in the hallways until we reach Actos’s room and then kill him, too” plan wouldn’t work.

“We grab the caduceus and then I could free the concubines who were still here after I get the Thracians out,” I said.

And once we did that, I would take the weapon to Ilion. If anyone knew how to deal with god-weapons, it would be them.

Then there was a very soft knock at the door.

“I’m the servant, I’ll open it,” he said.

“And I’m the one who requested them, so it might look off if I’m not there to collect my prize.” Again, I felt ill even saying it, but I pushed the sensation down.

I fixed a smile on my face before I opened the door. The steward stood behind the two Thracian girls. “As requested, Your Majesty.”

Both girls had their heads down and I started to feel my anger bubbling up. This was not how Thracians behaved. What had the Epirians done to them?

“Thank you,” I said, waving the girls inside.

“Enjoy yourself, Your Majesty.”

I kept the angry glare off my face. “I intend to.”

Then I shut the door and listened as the steward walked down the hall. When her footsteps were far enough away, I went over to the girls. “Please come and sit on the sofa. There is much for us to discuss. Z—Theogenes? Can you get Dione?”

“Dione?” The one on the right looked panicked. It was the same one who had told me they were Thracian. The girl on the left continued to keep her head down.

And I supposed it wasn’t surprising that they were worried about Dione. She told me that she had served as the king’s representative before. “She has pledged herself to me. I think she is trustworthy. We are all working toward the same goal. What are your names?”

The one on the right said, “I am Nesdahlia, and this is Cotys. We are twins, both ten and four years old.”

Bile rose up in the back of my throat. They had only seen fourteen summers? They were younger than I’d even thought. Still children. “I am Basileia, daughter of Leiva of Thrace.”

“Leiva?” Nesdahlia repeated. “Your mother is the leader of your clan.”

I heard Zain and Dione reenter the room and I took advantage of the opportunity to help Dione see why I needed to rescue these girls. I asked them, “How does the king treat you?”

Cotys’s head somehow went even lower.

“He treats us as if we are his slaves, like we belong to him,” Nesdahlia said.

“How did you come to be in Epirius?”

“We were in a hunting party to provide food for our village,” she responded. “My two sisters, our cousin, and my mother. We were captured by Epirians and brought here. He locked our mother up and uses her against us. If we do not behave, if we do not do the things that we are told to, he will kill her.”

Older Thracian women might have just gutted him and accepted their death, but these girls were so young and frightened.

“Has he . . .” I couldn’t think of the right way to phrase it.