He pressed his mouth against hers, startling her. For all the whispered words and longing looks, he had never dared touch her. This was their first kiss-the first time they had crossed this line. Guinevere knew that Lancelot would suffer more for betraying Arthur, his cousin, king, and closest friend, more than she would because Lancelot loved Arthur, and she didn"t. Guinevere pushed against his shoulders for a moment, trying to spare him the guilt she knew he"d feel, before giving in to the swell of desperation she felt rising up in Lancelot.
His hands dug into her hair, sending her hairpins flying and her tresses tumbling down around his calloused fingers in messy locks. His lips nudged hers apart. Guinevere fell back against the flagstones and pulled Lancelot down on top of her. He slid his knee between her thighs, pushing her many-layered skirts up until his hand could reach the bare skin underneath. He ripped her under-shift off, and she cried out as the silken ties burned across her skin. Lancelot stilled and eased back.
"Am I hurting you?" he asked, his voice breaking and his eyes vulnerable.
"The only time you ever hurt me is when you leave me," she replied, wrapping herself around him. "Don"t ever leave me again."
Her heart still pounding away, Helen quickly dried her hair and half ran to the library to escape the borrowed memory before it got any more graphic. She stopped at the door and fanned the hot flush on her cheeks, reminding herself that in her memory Guinevere was betraying her husband, so she shouldn"t have enjoyed it so much, and in this life, she and Lucas were cousins so she had no business dredging up those old memories to begin with.
She could hear Lucas"s deep voice through the library door, and after such a vivid flashback, even that was enough to make her giddy. She recalled Lancelot taking her to his rooms, untying the laces on her dress, and . . . other things. She blushed furiously.
Stop being such a giant, throbbing hormone and get in there, she chided herself, shaking out her hands. It"s not like everyone will know what you were just thinking about.
She pushed open the door and saw Orion immediately glance down at her chest, look back up at her, and raise an eyebrow as a knowing smile spread across his face. Except maybe Orion, she thought, wishing she could drop dead on the spot.
The men rose to greet Helen, but Ca.s.sandra stayed in the giant leather chair that dwarfed her fragile body. Helen bowed to the Oracle respectfully and noticed that Ca.s.sandra had her iPad on her lap.
"What"s up?" Helen asked, ignoring the jolt of warmth she felt when she sat down in the only vacant spot-next to Lucas, of course.
"Another attack," Ca.s.sandra replied gravely, handing Helen the iPad.
"A tsunami in Turkey," Orion said. Helen scrolled through the pictures of flooded land.
"But why here?" she said, looking at the area in Turkey that had been hit. "This isn"t a major city."
"Not anymore," Lucas said. "But thirty-three hundred years ago, Troy was there."
"That"s some grudge," Helen whispered, closing the iPad.
"The G.o.ds are getting bolder." Ca.s.sandra sat back in her giant chair, her brow drawn with worry. "The Scions can"t waste any more time. We have to unite."
"And to do that, we need to figure out how we"re going to deal with this meeting of the Houses," Hector said, taking the lead. "The three of you are all Heirs, so you"ll be standing behind your House Heads. Except for Orion, of course, who is the Head of the House of Rome. I guess you"ll have your second in the House standing behind you."
"No way in h.e.l.l I"m standing with Phaon at my back," Orion said with a grimace. He saw the questioning looks on Lucas"s and Hector"s faces and knew he had to explain. "Phaon and his elder brother, Corvus, disputed my succession when I was little."
"Wait. Corvus?" Lucas asked, leaning forward. "My father killed Corvus before any of us were born."
"No. Castor thought he killed Corvus. But he survived," Orion said. His voice dropped. "Believe me, I wish it were otherwise."
"Orion. You don"t have to explain," Helen said, trying to spare him.
"It"s okay, Helen. I"d have to tell them about my scars eventually, anyway," he said, giving her a sad little smile. "My mom"s cousin Corvus officially challenged me when I was eleven. I won."
"In the Colosseum?" Hector asked. Orion nodded. "Wow. Is it true that if members from the House of Rome kill each other in the Colosseum, they don"t become Outcasts?"
"It"s true. Romans have spilled so much blood into the sands of the Colosseum that the Furies lost track of the blood debts. It"s a cursed place," Orion said in a subdued voice. Hector"s eyes gleamed enviously like he would give anything to fight in the Colosseum, but the haunted look on Orion"s face kept him from voicing that desire. "When I killed Corvus, Phaon lost his only ally-the man who"d raised him like a son. Phaon"d put a knife in my back as soon as look at me. I"ll never stand with him."
"Well. That"s something to consider," Lucas said quietly, and a heavy silence followed.
Helen could see Hector"s heart swell for his friend. Out of all of them, Hector could relate to Orion the most. It was strange for Helen to think about, but both of them were killers. A bright flash from Ca.s.sandra"s direction caught Helen"s eye. The silvery orb that hung in her chest rippled like moonlight reflecting off a dark pond.
"And you"re not to go anywhere near Phaon," Orion said suddenly, following Helen"s eyes and pointing at Ca.s.sandra. His tone was uncharacteristically rough. "If he tries to get you alone, you come straight to me. Understand?"
Ca.s.sandra nodded cautiously, puzzled by his angry look.
"Why?" Lucas asked.
Orion"s lips twisted into a bitter scowl, like there was a vile taste in his mouth. He shook his head, like he was shaking off Lucas"s question.
"Why?" Lucas repeated, undeterred.
"He"s a monster." Orion looked away, his volume dropping. "He only goes for little girls."
Ca.s.sandra looked away and frowned, the light inside her chest dimming. "I"m not a little girl," she said quietly, but no one responded.
"Are you sure about that?" Hector asked Orion seriously.
Orion nodded. "My father"s little sister." He didn"t elaborate. "Trust me, Ca.s.sandra"s his type. Some family I got, huh?"
"They"re not your family," Lucas said sharply. He tipped his chin at Helen and Hector and Ca.s.sandra, including everyone before looking back at Orion levelly. "We"re your family. You stand with us."
"We are blood brothers," Helen said, reminding him.
"If it makes you feel any better, I"ll be watching for a knife in the back, too," Hector said, his face falling. "Tantalus will be there. Who knows what he"ll do when he sees me?" He looked over at Lucas, and the two of them shared a sad smile. "Some family we got, huh?"
"I think the five of us have to stand together no matter what," Helen said before Hector could get any more upset. She bit her lip, finding a snag. "Except Ca.s.sandra is supposed to be neutral, right? She"s the Oracle and she outranks us all, so she"ll be the only one seated."
"Right," Hector said with a quick nod. "When the Houses meet, she is considered above all bloodlines and sits alone."
Helen looked over at Ca.s.sandra, so tiny in that big chair. She was always alone.
"Are you guys okay with this?" Helen asked sheepishly.
"It"s never worked like that before," Hector said slowly. A moment later he looked around smiling, his decision made. "If we stand together it"ll be like we"re our own House-the Scion Heirs or something. I"m willing to do it, but I think our parents will be p.i.s.sed."
"So what?" Lucas said, his eyes gleaming dangerously. "We"re not doing things the way they did them. I say we stand together."
"I agree," Orion said with a definite nod. "But only if Helen"s our leader."
Helen burst our laughing. "Are you serious?" She looked around, and saw that everyone was nodding in agreement. "Wait. Back up. I can"t be the leader."
"Yes you can," Hector said, nodding his head. "In fact, you have to be the leader."
"So when did all of you start eating bowls of crazy for breakfast?" Helen asked, her patience growing thin. She didn"t even like to win track races-she sure as h.e.l.l didn"t want to be the leader of the Scion Heirs. "I"m the worst choice. Hector . . ."
"Hector can"t be the leader, Helen. He"s not an Heir," Ca.s.sandra said, her voice low. "And Orion has too many enemies trying to depose him already. Worse than that-too many people think he"s the Tyrant. He would be challenged the moment he stepped forward as the leader of the Heirs."
"Lucas, then," Helen said, a hint of desperation entering her tone. "He"s the smartest. He should lead us."
"Lucas is the brother of the Oracle," Ca.s.sandra said, shaking her head sadly. "That would give too much power to the House of Thebes. Your own mother would fight it. It has to be you."
"No," Helen said simply. "I don"t want to do it."
"Tough luck, Princess." Hector smiled at her with infuriating smugness. "Come on. You always knew it had to be you."
"But I"m clueless!" she said, bolting up out of her seat anxiously. "And the worst fighter. What if someone from another House challenges me to a duel or whatever? I"d totally lose." Helen started pacing around, running her hands through her hair.
"If you"re our leader, you"d never fight," Lucas said, liking this new development more and more. "Leaders choose champions to fight for them when they get challenged-usually the best fighter. It"s a bad idea for our best fighter to be the leader."
"Okay, we all agree. Helen"s the boss," Orion said.
"We did not agree-" Helen interrupted, but Orion kept talking over her.
"Now all you need to do is choose a champion." He stood up and bowed formally to Helen. "I accept."
"Like h.e.l.l," Lucas said, standing up and squaring off with Orion. "I"m Helen"s champion."
"Can"t let you do that, bro," Orion said with an apologetic shake of his head.
"Did you just say let me?" Lucas asked in a disbelieving voice.
"Ladies, please," Hector said as he nudged Orion and Lucas apart and stood between them. "Weren"t you listening? The champion is supposed to be the best fighter. Clearly, that"s me."
"Really? Prove it," Lucas said coolly.
Helen could see a brawl coming. It killed her to think of any of her guys hurting each other, and although she wasn"t ready to face it just yet, she knew that there was only one of them that she would ever be able to send into danger.
"Hector," she said firmly. "If I"m the leader, I want Hector to be my champion." Helen looked at Lucas and Orion, her face set. "He is the best fighter."
"Atta girl. Already making the right decisions. You might be a better leader than you think." Hector grinned.
"Hold on," Lucas objected.
"Do you accept?" Ca.s.sandra asked Hector, ignoring her brother.
"I do," he replied immediately.
"I bear witness. Hector is Helen"s champion from this day forward. If anyone challenges Helen, Hector will fight in her stead." Ca.s.sandra looked sharply at Orion. "Lucas will be Hector"s second."
"Wait just a d.a.m.n minute," Orion sputtered.
"And you will be my champion," Ca.s.sandra said loudly over his protestations. "That way Atreus leads, Thebes protects Atreus, and Athens and Rome protect Thebes. We need to show them all that the time of fighting between the Houses is over. The best way to do that is for the five of us to trust each other with our lives."
Orion closed his mouth with a snap, thought about it for a moment, and sighed reluctantly. "That makes a lot of sense."
"Do you accept?" Ca.s.sandra asked him, a timid note entering her tone. "Will you be my champion?"
"Yes," Orion answered seriously. Then he cracked a smile and gave her a little push. "Of course I accept, Kitty."
Ca.s.sandra smiled back, relieved.
"I"ll witness," Helen said, sensing that this needed to be voiced. "Orion is Ca.s.sandra"s champion." She looked over at Lucas, who she could tell was barely holding his tongue. "Do you have something you want to say?"
"I don"t like being sidelined," he said angrily. "But I"ll deal with it."
"Okay. So we"re a team now," Orion said, looking around at everyone. "This should be an interesting meeting."
"Matt!" Claire snapped. "Can you focus, please?"
Matt"s head turned, and he looked at Claire blankly. She had just said something about Helen, but he wasn"t sure what.
He was distracted.
At that moment, a ship was landing on the beach at Great Point, right under the lighthouse. It was a small ship. Matt didn"t hear it sc.r.a.pe across the sand all the way from his house in Siasconset-nor did he see the three Myrmidons vault lightly out of the vessel, grab hold of the sides, and carry the boat up the beach at an effortless run. Matt wasn"t physically present when ten more small ships followed and his soldiers took the beach, but he was aware of it happening as if he were. Even as Claire waved a hand in his face and sighed with frustration, his eyes could also see the precise steps of his thirty-three men as they tracked silently up from the waterline.
"Greetings," Claire said with a worried grimace. "Are you ever going to land that s.p.a.ceship and join the conversation?"
An ironic laugh burst out of Matt. "Land that ship," he repeated as he sensed members of his landing party regarding the terrain with soldierly precision. With this new double awareness, Matt saw a Myrmidon warrior, his skin black and shiny like a carapace, kneel and lay a hand on the cold sand in one sleek, swift motion.
"He"s here. Our master"s mind is with us right now," said Telamon.
Matt remembered that Telamon was a prince of his kind, and one of Matt"s best captains.
"Another beach, brothers," he said ruefully. Telamon rubbed his hands together to brush away the sand. The distasteful sneer he wore made it clear that he still detested sand after all these years away from Troy.
"What are your orders?" asked a soldier with faceted black eyes.
"Make camp. We wait for our master here," Telamon decreed. "When he"s ready, he will join us."
"Are you okay?" Ariadne asked plaintively.
Matt blinked hard and was finally able to banish the image in his head.
"I"m fine," he said, concentrating on the task at hand. "Go on, Claire."
"Okay, so like I said, the first time I saw something weird-well, weirder than usual-was when Lennie was reaching for a spoon. It shook for a second, like it was shivering, and then it just flew into her hand."
"All three of us saw something similar to that when we were in Andy"s hospital room," Ariadne added.
"Describe it," Matt said, turning to Andy.
"Well, first she got angry and then she lit up. Sparks started to fall out of her skin and hair like rain," Andy said, her lovely voice filling with awe as she remembered. "All the equipment in my room started to rattle, and I could have sworn I felt my bed move."
For a moment, Matt"s bedroom fell silent as they all thought about this.
"I felt something strange like that when Helen got angry the other day," Jason added reluctantly.
"What happened?" Matt asked.