A Promise of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles, #1)(127)

“It might not be hers.”

“She might be guarding it,” I argue.

I feel him shrug behind me. “Or she could say she was expecting us.”

“Expecting to kill us,” I mutter.

Kato inhales sharply, moving enough for me to lean over and see what he sees. Atalanta has stepped out onto a ledge. Framed against the gallery of caves above, she’s magnificent. Wild and dark. Silky hair falls to her knees, spilling over her arms, hands, and lowered bow. Diaphanous skirts cover her long, shapely legs only to mid-thigh, and gleaming, golden upper-body armor illuminates the smooth, pale skin of her neck and face. Dark brows wing across her forehead, arching delicately. Her full mouth looks like it’s been stained by kalaberries, offering an exotic splash of color against her flawless, almost translucent complexion. She’s as cold and perfect as the ice crystals adorning the cavern.

Thick-lashed, elongated eyes send a shock through me. They mirror mine, glinting with the pure, light green of magic and the north.

She moves forward, her long hair swaying. “The Gods sent you to me that I might be free?”

Free? From what? “Yes!”

Kato gives me a warning squeeze, and I stick an elbow in his ribs.

Atalanta cocks her head in a perfectly savage way, reminding me of a wolf let loose in a field of unsuspecting sheep. “Please Artemis and you may depart from this.”

Artemis is the Goddess? Heed the Goddess’s needs.

What does that mean?

“We don’t have an offering,” Kato whispers in my ear.

“I know!” I grate back.

Atalanta steps so close to the edge of her perch that the tips of her boots kiss empty air. “We’ll take the warrior to serve as courtier.”

My insides plummet in a nauseating rush. Is that why the Gods sent Kato in here?

“You can’t have him.” I search frantically for an alternate offering. “You can have a magic cloak.”

Atalanta laughs.

“Fine. Two magic cloaks.”

Kato grunts. I don’t think he wants to give his up.

“I’m not just handing you over!” I snap.

“Your worry can end, for we will not keep your friend.”

I look sharply at the other female. “Then what do you want from him? And for how long?”

She wets her berry-colored lips. Her hands curl at her sides. “Mistress and I, we’ve decided to try…”

Her words trail off, an intense, heated look coming over her face. I know that look. I look at Griffin that way all the time.

Scowling, I wiggle enough to turn around and face Kato. “She looks like a wild animal in heat. I have a good idea of what they have planned for you.”

“Me too.”

I smack his arm. “You don’t have to look so happy about it!”

Kato shrugs. “What’s not to like?”

“She shot me!”

“She shot me, too.”

Gah! Men! “Artemis is sworn to virginity. Her…disciple might be, too. You can’t touch them.”

“Heed the Goddess’s needs.” Kato spreads his hands like he can’t help it if Artemis wants a man.

“That’s not a need, it’s a want! She can live without.”

“She’s immortal. That’s a long time to live without.”

“Maybe she is sick of her eternal virginity.” I would be. “But what if you’re wrong and Zeus strikes you down with a God Bolt for deflowering his daughter?”

Kato looks less keen about that. “This is part of what the wizard said. I have to go with her. What happens next…” He frowns. “I’ll figure it out.”

“It’s a test.” I start to panic. I don’t like it. “It’s a test to see if you’ll hold out, if you’ll keep the Goddess pure.”

“If the woman is brave,” Atalanta calls down, “she’ll find her man in the second large cave.”

“What second large cave?” I glance at Kato. “It took us hours just to find this one.”

“She thinks I’m your man,” Kato says, surprised.

“And yet she has no problem dragging you off for an Olympian orgy!”

“Two women is hardly an orgy,” he points out.

I glare.

Kato takes my shoulders and squeezes. “This is why it was me, Cat. Why they said only I could come into the caves with you.”

My eyebrows slam down. “What do you mean?”

“I’m the only one of us who can do this without damaging something. I’m the only one whose heart isn’t engaged.”

“What? Oh…” Griffin loves me. Jocasta is clearly something to Flynn, even if he’s not sure what. And Carver… Obviously Kato knows something about Carver that I don’t.

“There are always consequences,” I say darkly.

He shrugs. “Sometimes more. Sometimes less.”

My mouth flattens into a tight line. I don’t like this. “Who is Carver pining for?” No wonder he’s been moody and a little solitary lately. Whoever she is, he had to leave her behind. “I can’t be the only one who doesn’t know.”

Kato smiles faintly, something sad edging into his eyes. “A ghost.”