The Dragon Legion Collection(12)

She’d asked Cetos to marry her and he’d kept his vow. Cetos had ensured that she and her son survived. Cetos put no stock in the stories told about her, and even if he saw the truth, she didn’t think he’d care. She wasn’t nearly as certain what Alexander would think.

Alexander lifted a hand to her in appeal. “Katina, I love you...”

She was swayed more than she knew she should be, for love might not prove to be enough. “Will you ever leave me again?” she demanded.

Katina saw the answer in his eyes. He made no promise and she knew the meaning of that, for Alexander didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. She saw the doubt in his eyes, and it was all she needed to know.

Her compromise was better than having nothing at all.

“If ever you cared for me, leave before Cetos finds you here,” she whispered. She saw a strange sparkle in Alexander’s eyes in the same moment that she heard her husband’s step approaching the courtyard.

“Hide!” she muttered, then swept past Alexander to welcome her husband home.



* * *



Cetos whistled to himself as he led his burro toward the house he shared with Katina and her son. It had been a long journey, but he was pleased with the results. A weight of extra coin jingled in his purse, the sound making him smile.

His trade had been terrible. The price of olive oil had dropped, due to a large supply after the last harvest, and he hadn’t been able to sell his for a price that was worth his trouble. No one wanted Katina’s pots, but that wasn’t new.

Still she had provided an unexpected asset to him, one that made all the difference.

Talk about an offer Cetos couldn’t refuse. He’d sold Katina’s son, simultaneously making up the difference in bad prices for olive oil and ridding himself of a nuisance. The boy wasn’t much trouble: it was the look of him that caused the problem. The brat so strongly resembled his father—who could have expected there to be no hint of Katina in his features? Alexander might as well have been living in Cetos’ house, every glimpse of the boy making Katina sigh for the past again.

Cetos couldn’t understand why she didn’t appreciate her good luck. He couldn’t imagine why she still longed for a man who had abandoned her, and never sent a single word of how he fared. Cetos had done her a favor in marrying her, taking on her son, even letting her stay in the house she’d inherited. But what did she do for him? She was dutiful enough, serving him at table and spreading her legs when he demanded as much.

But she had never yet given Cetos a son.

And worse, she whispered Alexander’s name in her dreams.

It was possible that she thwarted him on purpose. They all said there was something strange about Katina, that she’d been touched by the gods and would earn their blessing or punishment. Cetos had been hoping for the former, but it seemed his wife had earned the latter. He was impatient with childlessness and determined see his situation changed.

He needed a son.

He would bed her daily, perhaps twice daily, until she bred.

Then he’d do it again. He’d have half a dozen sons if it were up to him.

Cetos paused before the house, composing his story. Katina wouldn’t take well to the news that her son was to leave, but he was ready for that. He’d never tell her that he’d sold the boy: he’d say that he’d found him a paid position, providing companionship to the son of a rich man. He’d say he had to do it, to make up for the low prices of olive oil and the fact that her pots never sold. He’d say he was ensuring that the boy would eat, that he’d have an education and a future.

She’d be grateful, if he told the story right.

She’d never see the brat again, which suited Cetos well.

It was all arranged. The buyer would arrive at the house after dark, the better to ensure that the neighbors saw nothing. Cetos had planned everything perfectly. Katina would be completely beneath his hand and carrying his child before the month was out.

The merchant had been right. Cetos deserved far more from his beautiful wife than she’d given him so far.



* * *



Katina had married Cetos.

And he’d been gone eight years.

Alexander didn’t know which detail he found more astonishing. Both together were incredible. He hauled on his pants and buckled his belt, then tugged on his boots. If he’d been gone a full eight years, did that mean that his term of service to the Pyr was complete? Alexander thought it must be, but he wouldn’t make a promise to Katina until he was sure. He put on his shirt but left it open, freezing at the sound of voices in the courtyard.

She’d asked Cetos to marry her. There was another incredible detail.

But then, his Katina was nothing if not practical. If no other man would have her, she would have spoken to the one who would. He had no doubt that she would have done anything possible to ensure Lysander’s welfare, regardless of the cost to herself.

But why wouldn’t any other man have her? She was beautiful, perfect in his eyes. Alexander couldn’t make sense of that. What kind of stories had people told about her?

He also couldn’t understand how he’d missed the signs he should have noticed. As soon as he paid attention, he smelled a man’s routine presence in this room. Initially, he’d been savoring the scent of Katina and had ignored everything else. Only the joy of seeing Katina could make him forget his years of training and experience.