figure it out?” I finally ask.
His pause is longer this time. “Strangely enough, it was a dream. I dreamt I was swimming in a vast and stormy ocean in the dead of night. When I couldn’t swim any longer, I sank to the bottom, and you were there. You lit up the dark like a lightning bolt, took my hands, and pulled me to the surface. You told me we could change everything—that you knew the truth.”
My heart seizes and then crashes violently against my ribs. An oracular dream! Beta Sinta was gifted with an oracular dream— Poseidon’s oracular dream—and he doesn’t even know it.
Queasiness turns my insides upside down. Poseidon, why have you betrayed me?
My mind races while my stomach ties itself in knots. What in the Underworld is going on? Why is Poseidon even interested in Sinta? There’s no ocean in the west, his Oracles are on the other side of the realms, and magic has always been weakest here. The Ice Plains get diagonally bigger as you go east. Sinta has the narrowest strip. As the middle realm, Tarva has twice as much glacial territory, and Fisa, in the east, has even more. To core Olympians like Poseidon, these dusty hills, plains, and old forests are an afterthought. As much as I love Sinta, it’s the runt of the realms.
“From there I started thinking about old legends,” he continues. “I went to Mylos for the knowledge scrolls and found you, or the equivalent of you. The Kingmaker—the woman who hears the lie and knows the truth. Basil was the perfect test. I knew he wasn’t who he said he was. I was constantly drawn to you. The dream told me I needed you. After I saw your reaction when Basil lied, I knew what to do.”
Constantly drawn to me? A weird spasm twists my chest. Focus! “Snatch me with a magic rope?”
He laughs. “Exactly.”
My hands, which for some reason keep ending up on his waist lately, curl into fists. Beta Sinta grabs one and holds on.
“Let go,” I demand.
“No.”
My eyebrows snap together. “Why not?”
“Because your gut reaction is always to punch, and I don’t like being tickled.”
Tickled? Tickled! Indignation swamps me. I’ll show him a tickle .
Before I can move, he drops the reins and captures my other hand, easily maneuvering both my hands into one of his. He picks the reins back up with the other. As usual, he gains the upper hand with disgustingly little effort, and I end up with both arms around him, my face buried in his back.
Beta Sinta’s crisp, masculine scent of citrus and sunshine fills my nose. Hard muscle ripples under my cheek. I’m frighteningly aware of all the places his broad, powerful body touches mine, and I shiver despite the heat.
“Let. Me. Go,” I grind out.
“I. Said. No.”
I open my mouth, teeth bared.
“If you bite me, I swear to the Gods I’ll dump you off this horse and make you walk.”
I close my mouth. The town is still miles away. “I won’t bite.”
“Or punch.”
I grit my teeth. “You’re asking a lot.”
“Am I?” he drawls, tightening his grip on my wrists until I hiss.
“Ow! Fine. Or punch.”
His fingers loosen. “Is that your binding word?”
My eyes widen. Beta Sinta says he needs me for information, but he already knows more about the ways of magic than is good for me .
“Fine. It’s my binding word.” It’s like pulling my own teeth, but I’m desperate to stop hugging him. He’s too hot and…and… something .
“Ever,” he stipulates.
Something between a laugh and a snort explodes from me. “Don’t push your luck.”
“A day, then. Starting now.”
“Fine. A day,” I agree, fuming.
He lets go of my wrists. I sit up so fast I almost tumble off the back of the horse. Beta Sinta’s chuckle is almost as irritating as the jolt of magic that seals the deal. Hoi Polloi can say one thing and do another, even if they shouldn’t. They may feel guilt, or regret, or possibly nothing at all, but there are no physical consequences. I can’t get away with
His pause is longer this time. “Strangely enough, it was a dream. I dreamt I was swimming in a vast and stormy ocean in the dead of night. When I couldn’t swim any longer, I sank to the bottom, and you were there. You lit up the dark like a lightning bolt, took my hands, and pulled me to the surface. You told me we could change everything—that you knew the truth.”
My heart seizes and then crashes violently against my ribs. An oracular dream! Beta Sinta was gifted with an oracular dream— Poseidon’s oracular dream—and he doesn’t even know it.
Queasiness turns my insides upside down. Poseidon, why have you betrayed me?
My mind races while my stomach ties itself in knots. What in the Underworld is going on? Why is Poseidon even interested in Sinta? There’s no ocean in the west, his Oracles are on the other side of the realms, and magic has always been weakest here. The Ice Plains get diagonally bigger as you go east. Sinta has the narrowest strip. As the middle realm, Tarva has twice as much glacial territory, and Fisa, in the east, has even more. To core Olympians like Poseidon, these dusty hills, plains, and old forests are an afterthought. As much as I love Sinta, it’s the runt of the realms.
“From there I started thinking about old legends,” he continues. “I went to Mylos for the knowledge scrolls and found you, or the equivalent of you. The Kingmaker—the woman who hears the lie and knows the truth. Basil was the perfect test. I knew he wasn’t who he said he was. I was constantly drawn to you. The dream told me I needed you. After I saw your reaction when Basil lied, I knew what to do.”
Constantly drawn to me? A weird spasm twists my chest. Focus! “Snatch me with a magic rope?”
He laughs. “Exactly.”
My hands, which for some reason keep ending up on his waist lately, curl into fists. Beta Sinta grabs one and holds on.
“Let go,” I demand.
“No.”
My eyebrows snap together. “Why not?”
“Because your gut reaction is always to punch, and I don’t like being tickled.”
Tickled? Tickled! Indignation swamps me. I’ll show him a tickle .
Before I can move, he drops the reins and captures my other hand, easily maneuvering both my hands into one of his. He picks the reins back up with the other. As usual, he gains the upper hand with disgustingly little effort, and I end up with both arms around him, my face buried in his back.
Beta Sinta’s crisp, masculine scent of citrus and sunshine fills my nose. Hard muscle ripples under my cheek. I’m frighteningly aware of all the places his broad, powerful body touches mine, and I shiver despite the heat.
“Let. Me. Go,” I grind out.
“I. Said. No.”
I open my mouth, teeth bared.
“If you bite me, I swear to the Gods I’ll dump you off this horse and make you walk.”
I close my mouth. The town is still miles away. “I won’t bite.”
“Or punch.”
I grit my teeth. “You’re asking a lot.”
“Am I?” he drawls, tightening his grip on my wrists until I hiss.
“Ow! Fine. Or punch.”
His fingers loosen. “Is that your binding word?”
My eyes widen. Beta Sinta says he needs me for information, but he already knows more about the ways of magic than is good for me .
“Fine. It’s my binding word.” It’s like pulling my own teeth, but I’m desperate to stop hugging him. He’s too hot and…and… something .
“Ever,” he stipulates.
Something between a laugh and a snort explodes from me. “Don’t push your luck.”
“A day, then. Starting now.”
“Fine. A day,” I agree, fuming.
He lets go of my wrists. I sit up so fast I almost tumble off the back of the horse. Beta Sinta’s chuckle is almost as irritating as the jolt of magic that seals the deal. Hoi Polloi can say one thing and do another, even if they shouldn’t. They may feel guilt, or regret, or possibly nothing at all, but there are no physical consequences. I can’t get away with
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