Page 97 of Thief of Hearts

“Because I tend to infringe upon their business, and the Epirians don’t care for that.”

It seemed obvious to me that I couldn’t say anything about who he really was. If I told anyone that I had the king of thieves with me, then he could reveal I wasn’t Queen Thalia and this would all get a lot uglier. Mutually assured destruction.

Which would be easier to deal with if Dione could actually retrieve my weapons.

Fifteen minutes later two maidservants arrived. They only had a few black lines on their skin. When I tried to speak to them, they exchanged glances and didn’t respond.

As if they weren’t allowed to talk to me.

I stayed quiet while they dressed me and fixed my hair. I’d never been one to dress up. There had never been a need for it.

So I felt a bit silly when they were finished. Dione had returned to accompany me to the king’s dining room.

When I emerged from the washroom, I saw the look in Zain’s eyes as he took me in.

Desire.

Hunger.

Appreciation.

Then it was gone. Someone had brought him a tunic that matched what the maidservants were wearing.

“If you’ll both follow me,” Dione said.

Zain was coming as well? I couldn’t object because, considering what his position was supposed to be, it made sense that he would always be with me.

We walked down hallways and through grand rooms and I added the new places to the mental map I’d been making. When we reached the dining room, two guards flanked the doors and opened them when they saw us.

Dione stayed back as Zain and I walked in.

“The queen of Ilion,” one of the guards said.

The king of Epirius was not at all what I had expected. He was a lump of a man, not regal or distinguished looking. Very ordinary. He only had a few black lines on him, which I found surprising. I would have thought that he would have the most.

I didn’t know how royal protocol worked, but I had thought that King Actos would greet me.

Instead he had surrounded himself with women in diaphanous dresses, who sat on the floor near his feet, stood behind him massaging his shoulders, and flanked his sides, feeding him food.

Then he finally noticed that I had entered the dining room.

“Ah, Queen Thalia.” He pointed to a chair at the opposite end of the table from him. “Please have a seat. We have much to discuss.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Should I go and sit? What would Lia do? I took on a haughty and threatening tone.

“My husband will come looking for me, and then he will burn this nation to the ground.” Did I sound convincing? The only other person who knew I was here was Zain, and that didn’t do me any good because he was just as trapped as I was.

“I’m sure your husband won’t mind briefly lending you to us. I have something I need you to do.”

Looking at the women surrounding him, I had a good idea of what he needed me to do. “I think you already have a full harem.”

The king laughed. “I do not have a harem. That was outlawed centuries ago. Such an archaic concept. I have concubines.”

If there was a difference, I didn’t know what it was and I truly did not want him to explain.

I looked around the room at his concubines. It was then I noticed they all had leather neckbands on, like the one Dagger wore. Anger fizzled in my veins as I realized it wasn’t a fashion choice or jewelry. He treated them like pets. Some of the concubines’ neckbands were attached to chains on the wall, and they sat, unable to move.