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When Carter opened his mouth to protest, Xandros said, “I get them at a fraction of the cost.”
They approached the low-slung building as Xandros explained, “We had to enclose the ruins to preserve them from the winds and the hot Santorini sun. Buried for 3600 years and discovered in the 1800s, they weren’t excavated properly until the 1960s. And yet, after only a few decades, they were crumbling with the heat and the feet of so many tourists. Now, with the walkways above the site, you can enjoy, but we still preserve the archeological find for future generations.”
Tamryn leaned in and snorted at Carter. “He really is a tour guide,” she said with disdain.
Carter shushed her in a singsong voice. “Don’t be a bitch.”
Tamryn grumbled, but said nothing about Carter calling her a bitch. Maybe she was used to it. Probably because she got bitchy a lot.
The building was temperature-controlled, and rows of skylights bathed the ruins in natural light. Raised walkways and platforms allowed a good view without wear on the ancient stones. Like any good tour guide, Xandros related tidbits about the site, the ancient Minoans, and the eruption that destroyed them and created Santorini. He described how the 1956 earthquake once again played havoc with the ruins. He wasn’t annoying or intrusive, giving them the bare facts, then letting them wander as they liked to read the informational placards, only answering questions or explaining when he was asked.
Sometimes she caught him looking at her, and he’d smile. She wondered what her mother had told him about her.
Tamryn soon became bored. “It’s just a bunch of rubble,” she groused. At least Xandros was at the next platform with Sienna’s mom and couldn’t hear the dis to his beloved island.
“Uh, that’s what the word ruins means.” Reed punctuated with an eye roll, and Tamryn elbowed him, though a friendly smile lit up her face.
“It’s interesting,” Irene said. “This place is sort of mystical, don’t you think?”
Carter read aloud from an interpretive sign describing some of the artifacts uncovered, amazing frescoes, evidence of underfloor heating and hot and cold running water, and even an ancient toilet.
“How fascinating,” Tamryn drawled. “That’s what I came to Santorini for, to learn about ancient toilets.”
Unoffended, Carter let the others wander ahead, and Sienna stayed with him.
He pointed once again to the interpretive sign. “They found nothing indicating remains like they discovered in Pompeii. And only one gold object. So these guys must have been able to get out before the eruption.”
“That’s pretty cool.”
Sienna gazed out over the ruins. It was good to know people hadn’t died here. Yes, it was rubble, but it was intriguing to see the way the village had been a community, walkways, houses with doors and windows. Some walls were just a few stones, others taller than she was, but she could make out the outlines of the village, and it allowed her to imagine all the lives lived thousands of years ago.
There were signs of current excavations, ladders, wooden scaffolding, and tunnels as if they were digging deeper. It would have been incredible to walk down the stairs and wander through the ruins themselves, but she understood the irreparable damage so many tourists would cause.
She glanced at her mom standing beside Xandros on the next platform, reading another of the interpretive signs. They never touched, never even walked that close together, and yet there was something in the way her mom looked at him. Sienna shivered before she could even think the word desire. There was definitely something there in the way Xandros looked at her too, as if he was controlling the number of times he glanced her way so no one else would notice.
But Sienna noticed. And she wondered exactly what was happening between the two of them.
