“You are,” she insisted. “I suspected it from the first moment I met you.”
Now I was on my feet, walking over to the farthest wall so that I could get as far away from her as possible. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. You are flame-kissed in more than one way. Your red hair, your skin when I burned you. And you bear the mark of the goddess on your left shoulder. The seal. It’s her symbol.”
“No, it’s Theano’s seal, nothing more.”
“You are marked.”
“By you!”
She just shook her head like I was being the ridiculous one. “The prophecy never said the person was born with the mark—only that they would bear it. Which you do. You are fated to restore magic and save Ilion. I will keep my promise to the goddess and do what I must to see to your safety. And I can’t think of anyone better to watch over you than my brother.”
Io couldn’t mean what she was saying right now. It was all nonsense. I was the last person who could be expected to protect her nation. I would not sacrifice anything for these people who had done nothing but try to kill me since I’d left Locris.
Except your sisters,a voice reminded me, and I immediately silenced it.
“I need you to leave,” I told her. It was all too much, especially with her sitting there, watching me.
She stood up. “I’m here if you need me.” She walked over to the door and unlocked it. Then she paused in the doorway. “I did what had to be done. I am sorry for hurting you. I didn’t want to do that.”
The problem was that she had.
She shut the door, leaving me in silence.
I couldn’t even think about Io’s “promised savior” nonsense. It was a problem for another day.
My immediate issues were with her brother.
Jason was Alexandros.
No matter how many times I said it, I couldn’t bring myself to accept it. The Jason I had come to know was nothing like the man I’d met today.
I didn’t understand why he had been so angry with me. Shouldn’t he have been attempting to charm me? Cajole me into accepting his marriage proposal?
Maybe deep down he was angry with himself for tricking me. No, that couldn’t have been it. Alexandros struck me as the kind of man who would do whatever he had to in order to achieve his desired outcome.
Was he mad because he knew what my answer would be?
No one really knows me.
But I do.
Out of sheer frustration I picked up my pillow and tossed it across the room.
I remembered what else he’d told me. That he would be returning in twenty-four hours and he was going to do his worst.
His worst,I scoffed. He could try. I would be ready for it.
And I felt that way until I reminded myself that he was the prince of one of the wealthiest nations in the world. He had a great deal of resources available to him.
Alexandros’s worst might destroy me.
I refused to come out of my room. I wouldn’t do my chores, wouldn’t go to training or my classes. My sisters all tried talking to me but I wouldn’t speak. Io didn’t come back to our room that night or the next day. I wasn’t sure where she had slept and I didn’t care.
Just so long as she stayed away from me.
I wouldn’t eat, either. Kunguru kept coming into the room and dropping off berries and pieces of bread for me.
