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And she just needed to know that she was not alone. That he might understand. She reached across to him, curled her fingers around his arm. “Tell me. Please.”
He did not look at her, but he also did not dislodge her hand. He simply squinted behind his sunglasses at the approaching island, the sun painting him a stunning, golden figure in the midst of all this blue and white.
“Memories mixed with monsters. But once my revenge is complete, I will conquer them the same as I will conquer my old friend.”
“This king was yourfriend?”
“I thought he was, anyway. But it is of no matter. We are enemies now. And once I have vanquished my enemy, all will be put behind me.”
“You’re sure of this?”
He glanced at her, though the glasses hid any hint at what expression might be in his eyes. “Absolutely.”
She wondered if she would ever have the confidence to believe she could vanquish her subconscious coming out in dreams. When, if she had that power, she would have conquered it already. Really, men were such ridiculous creatures.
The boat pulled up to a dock, and Lysias threaded his fingers with hers as they waited for his staff to secure the boat and ramp that would allow them to disembark.
Al studied his hand in hers. It felt oddly familiar, here in this place.
She shook that strange thought away and surveyed the island before her. It looked cheerful on the sunny, warm morning, and yet she did not find herselfcheered. She felt cold.
It was nerves, she supposed. Lysias said he had no doubts the king would be there to greet them, and their act must begin at once.
She had to pretend to be the man’s sister.Deadsister. It seemed a bit cruel, but she knew life was cruel. It had been to herandLysias. Perhaps it had been to the king as well, but he was aking. He could no doubt weather it.
She had been forced to scramble, to fend for herself at too young an age—and so had Lysias. Perhaps it was dangerous to view herself on the same team as Lysias, but it was temporary. And if they could trust one another, it would serve their purposes at deceiving the king—which would lead to her payment.
Lysias drew her down the ramp to land, and Al worked very hard to look her part. The wide-eyed princess who’d only just remembered who she was. The, if not sophisticated, graceful andfemininefiancée to Lysias Balaskas.
“Ah, home,” he said, but with a sharp edge. Certainly not a warm homecoming, what with revenge clearly holding his whole mind in its grip.
Itwasa beautiful little jewel of an island. Al had never been out of Athens, not that she could recall, but she’d seen the pictures and paintings of all the beautiful Greek islands and knew people sought them out.
The air was warm and smelled of the sea. And just beyond the docks, there was a small crowd. Everyone was dressed in black except one man, who wore black and red and stood on a kind of platform that led to a large official-looking car on the road beyond the beach.
He was also the only one without a gun.
Beyond him were buildings—homes and shops, she supposed—but then, high on the hill, a bright white building—devoid of any and all color against the dark blue of the sky. Stone turrets, stout and tall, reached up into all that blue just as domed spires did. It was beautiful, clearly old and important.
Something like pain sliced through her. She had a sudden bolt of panic. She stepped backward, thinking only she needed to run, but she was met by the hard wall of Lysias himself.
“What is it?” he asked. She supposed she was imagining any true concern in his tone. This was an act, after all.
“I...” She didn’t know how to explain it. This feeling of dread that seemed to coil around her heart and squeeze. “I don’t like the look of this place.”
“Kalyva is beautiful, Alexandra.”
“Yes.” It was. Objectively. This wasn’t about beauty though. It was about a feeling. Deep in her gut. The feeling she had always listened to on the street. The one that had kept her alive. She didn’t feel safe here. She didn’t feel right.
But Lysias was behind her, moving her forward. He was her protector. Maybe that was temporary, but for now, she would take it. She would relax within that knowledge. Or try.
They moved toward the man who stood on the road that was lifted above the beach and docks. He looked down at them as if they were bugs. Yet there was something about him... Al tried to breathe through the scrambled racing of her heart. Panic twined around her lungs. Squeezing.
She wanted to run.Hadto. But Lysias held her there.
“You are either very brave or very foolish,” the man said in clipped tones once Lysias came to a stop not far from him. The man was clearly ignoring her and talking specifically to Lysias.
Who flashed his fake billionaire smile. “Both, likely. And I know you will not fall to your knees and thank me just yet, though you should, but I have brought your sister back to you, Your Majesty. You are most welcome.”
