I looked down. “Probably because I told her how much freedom she would have in the Motherlands. She wants to learn martial arts.”
“Really?” Athena set down her glass. “How interesting that she wants to learn how to fight. I wonder if she wants to know how to protect herself or if she’s motivated by the need to harm someone.”
“Someone like Magni, you mean?”
Athena lifted her shoulders in a small shrug.
“I don’t know.” I blew away a loose strand of hair from my face. “Magni is a dominant and moody man, and I get the sense that he sees Laura as his property; but when I first met her she was happy to be his wife.”
“Until you started describing a different life to her.”
“Yeah.” I looked down.
Athena reached out and lifted my chin. “People are put in our path for a reason, Christina. First you crossed the border to come here, then Laura crossed the border to go there. It makes a balance somehow, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Not really, because then Magni kidnapped you and now a war might break out.”
She tilted her head. “Yes. You make a good point, but then again…”
The secretive smile on her lips made me sit up straight. “What is it?”
“It’s an exciting time we live in, wouldn’t you say?”
“I don’t know.”
Athena popped a grape into her mouth and chewed it. “For someone as adventurous as you this is a great chance.”
“How do you know I’m adventurous?”
She gave an untroubled laugh. “You came here, voluntarily. That surely suggests a sense of adventure, I’d say.”
“Fair enough,” I agreed.
“You’ve got a chance to be part of something bigger.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, but she just patted my hand with a knowing smile without elaborating any further. Confused by her talk, I turned the subject back to the main point on my agenda. “We need to find a way to get you out of here.”
“You want to help me escape?” she asked.
“Yes.” I picked up a rope. “I’m not letting that bastard tie you up in here.”
“Christina,” she said reproachfully. “Your language.”
“I’m sorry. It’s because I’ve been adjusting to their crude talk.”
“I understand, but do try and use proper communication.”
“Yes, I apologize.” It hadn’t taken me long to come to respect her. Athena was charismatic and when I offered to fetch her clothes, she surprised me by pulling aside the cover and getting out of bed stark naked. Unashamed, she walked across the room to her pile of clothes and started to dress.
“How is the excavation going?” she asked.
“Good. We’ve found thirty-five books so far. Only five of them were in good condition, but I have a feeling that today we’ll find more.”
“That’s wonderful. Can I be of assistance while I’m here?”
“That would be wonderful, but they won’t let you walk around freely.”
“No, probably not, but maybe we could convince Finn to keep an eye on me at the digging site instead of in this room.
