I can tell by the way his mouth flattens that he hadn’t thought of that. “Unless there’s a dire emergency,” Griffin concedes, giving me his hard look as the vow jolts through me, brutally taking hold. “And our definitions of ‘dire’ had better be the same.”
CHAPTER 19
I get up before dawn and stumble into Flynn’s room, rubbing my eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid,” I mumble sleepily. “Like die.”
He nods gravely, tying the straps on his leather bag. “I’ll scratch that off the list, then.”
I grunt. “How long will you be gone?”
“Not more than a week, probably less. Ios isn’t far, and Griffin and Egeria have to concentrate on the realm dinner next.”
Queasiness slithers around my insides at the thought of all those nobles here. I’ve been describing their magic and lineage for the family. I know of many of the people we’ll see, even though they’re Sintans and I’ve never met them in person. “I can’t believe you told Griffin I don’t have nightmares with him.”
Flynn shrugs. “It’s true.”
“He just snores so loudly you couldn’t hear me screaming.”
“Nice try,” Kato says, coming in behind me. He musses my loose hair, and I bite my lip, feeling empty and sad. The circus made me soft. Being here is making me something even worse—emotional.
Unable to shake the ache in my chest, I lay my head on Kato’s arm, feeling his biceps roll under my ear.
“What’s wrong with you?” Flynn peers at me with a frown. “Are you sick?”
I sigh. “I’m being left behind.”
“Plan something unpleasant for Daphne,” Kato suggests. “It’ll keep you busy.”
Of course they badgered her name out of me. “I think I’ll destroy Griffin’s room with the sword he bought me, make him regret forcing me in there.”
“Maybe you should hold off on the fits of martial irony,” Flynn suggests. “You’re only staying there while we’re away.”
I’m not sure any of us fully believes that. I’m scared to death Griffin is going to come back from Ios and somehow convince me to stay. Andromeda would merrily dismantle him piece by piece if she ever thought I needed him. She’d move Mount Olympus to get her hands on him, carve him up, and serve him to me for dinner. She’d probably call him Sintan Steak and present a slab of meat on Fisan pottery with a sprig of rosemary and my favorite crispy potatoes. I don’t think she’d expect me to eat. She’d smile like a knife’s blade and tell me the fun was in the cooking.
We make our way to the stables. I help Kato and Flynn saddle their mounts, my job mostly consisting of patting noses and sneaking apples to the horses from a barrel across from the stalls. Griffin shows up for Brown Horse and readies Egeria’s mare as well. Carver appears last but makes up for lost time by being efficient. Panotii looks as grumpy as I do about being left out.
“We’ll have our revenge,” I whisper into one of his donkey ears. He nudges my shoulder like he understands. Then again, he might just want another apple.
A few minutes later, I find myself staring in confusion at the empty courtyard. The only thing out here besides us is the statue of Athena glowing in the first rays of the morning sun, her toes polished to shining by the adoration of men. “Where’s Egeria’s entourage?”
Griffin leads Brown Horse behind him, the stallion’s shoe irons clip-clopping on the marble, his hot breath chuffing as he senses a run. “We’re her entourage.”
I groan. Apparently, I need to be more proactive in my role as advisor, but I thought this was common knowledge, or at least common sense. “She’s Alpha. She shouldn’t travel without part of the army, at least ten attendants, and a few maids.”
Griffin’s expression turns mulish. “She doesn’t need attendants and maids. That’ll only slow us down.”
“It’s not a question of need. It’s a question of appearance. You want healers to take you seriously. They won’t listen to Egeria unless they think she’s a force to be reckoned with. They respect power.”
“Power isn’t about being ostentatious. It’s about results.”
I shake my head. “Not only. Not for them.”
“Egeria will convince them.”
He either has too much faith in Egeria, or too much faith in human nature. Probably both. “They’re not reasonable. They’re attention-hungry sycophants. If they don’t think Egeria will last, they won’t give her the time of day. They’ll look for someone else to flatter and fawn over and get rewards from. You’ll have a mass exodus of healers on your hands. They might all just pack up and go to the other realms, back to royals they understand.”